Introduction

Purpose of the Report

This report provides details of the engagement process and summarises key findings and feedback received from the public during the Community Engagement Events held in August 2024.

In-person Community Engagement Events for the A9 Dualling Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing project were held in the Birnam Arts and Conference Centre, Station Road, Birnam, PH8 0DS between 11am and 8pm on Wednesday 21 and between 10am and 6pm on Thursday 22 August 2024. These events were hosted by Transport Scotland and Jacobs, and were attended by around 200 people. An accompanying Virtual Exhibition, with the same information as shown at the Community Engagement Events, was available from 21 August to 6 October 2024, and was viewed by around 2,000 people.

These events informed local communities and road users of the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 3 design development and refinement work that has taken place since the preferred route for the scheme was announced in December 2023, and provided an opportunity for the public to share their views and comments. This included details on access and side road arrangements, facilities for walkers, wheelers, cyclists and horse-riders (WCH), drainage design, and access proposals to Dunkeld and Birnam Railway Station.

The findings of this document will be used, along with other design and assessment work, to feed into and inform the ongoing design development and refinement of the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section of the A9 Dualling Programme.

This document aims to accurately reflect the feedback received during the engagement. It is not an endorsement or criticism of any of the specific views expressed by respondents to the engagement.

About the Scheme

The A9 is regarded by many as the spine of the Scottish road network providing a vital strategic link carrying over 40,000 vehicles per day (over 65,000 people) between Perth and Inverness. The A9 Dualling Programme will upgrade approximately 129 kilometres of road from single to dual carriageway. The Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section forms 8.4 kilometres of the overall A9 Dualling Programme. Our programme is designed to deliver economic growth through improved road safety and quicker and more reliable journey times, as well as providing better links to public transport and active travel facilities.

We followed the normal trunk road scheme development process and progressed in accordance with guidance in the DMRB. This three-stage assessment process covers engineering, environment, traffic and economic considerations. Throughout this process, we engaged with a diverse range of stakeholders and interested parties including the local community and community groups as well as other interest groups on topics such as heritage, the environment and active travel including pedestrians, equestrians and cyclists.

Following initial identification of route options to be considered at DMRB Stage 2, in Autumn 2016 Transport Scotland, in partnership with the Birnam to Ballinluig A9 Community Group, undertook an A9 Co-Creative Process to bring skills, experience and local knowledge to reach a solution with the community. This commenced in January 2018 and concluded in July 2018 with the identification of the Community’s Preferred Route Option.

Following the conclusion of the A9 Co-Creative Process, scoping work identified a number of challenges and concerns regarding the Community’s Preferred Route Option. As a result of the challenges identified, many of which are difficult to mitigate, three additional route options, taking into account the objectives of the community and the A9 Dualling Programme, were developed and assessed alongside the Community’s Preferred Route Option within the DMRB Stage 2 Route Options Comparative Assessment.

The Preferred Route for the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section of the A9 Dualling Programme was identified and announced on 20 December 2023, with public exhibitions held in January 2024 providing details of the Preferred Route, and outlined the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 2 assessment process and the A9 Co-Creative process, which informed the development and identification of the Preferred Route Option.

The key features of the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section of the A9 Dualling Programme Preferred Route include:

  • The A9 route is generally at-grade (same level as existing) and stays at the current surface level past Dunkeld & Birnam Railway Station;
  • The railway station will be accessible from Birnam via Station Road. The new replacement car park will have provision for both public transport and active travel facilities. A new pedestrian underpass, incorporating stairs and a lift, will provide a link for pedestrians from the car park to the railway station building and platform;
  • Underbridge connecting the existing private access to Murthly Castle to the B867;
  • Grade-separated Birnam Junction just south of the existing B867 and Perth Road junctions with northbound entry and exit slips and southbound entry only slip;
  • A roundabout at Dunkeld Junction close to the current surface level (at-grade) providing connections between the A9, A923, A822 and the road to Inver;
  • Improved at-grade junction layout providing access to The Hermitage; and
  • Grade-separated Dalguise Junction just south of the existing junction with the B898 with entry and exit slip roads in all directions.

The DMRB Stage 3 design development of the Preferred Route Option and subsequent engineering, environmental, economic and traffic assessment is now underway. An extensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) will be undertaken alongside the DMRB Stage 3 scheme development and assessment, which will assess the preferred option against a range of topic areas. This work will inform the preparation of draft Orders for the proposed scheme, which will be published along with the EIA Report in Spring 2025, commencing the statutory process for the proposed scheme. Publication will be followed by a statutory consultation period, during which further in-person and virtual public exhibitions will be held to provide information regarding this key project milestone.

Purpose of Engagement Events

The Community Engagement Events held in August 2024 provided an update on the ongoing DMRB Stage 3 design development and assessment work which has taken place since the announcement of the preferred route for the project in December 2023.

Since the Preferred Route exhibition in January 2024, the project team has been undertaking further design development as part of the DMRB Stage 3 development and assessment. This included consideration of the feedback received to the January 2024 events, consultation with relevant statutory bodies, and design refinements to optimise the scheme proposals and define the required boundary etc. The key design changes presented at the engagement events included:

  • Refinements to the A9 carriageway, junctions, side roads and accesses;
  • Drainage proposals;
  • Provisions for walkers, wheelers, cyclists and horse-riders (WCH);
  • Access proposals to Dunkeld and Birnam Railway Station and car parking facilities; and
  • Factors included in the Environmental Impact Assessment.

As part of the ongoing development and assessment process, the project team will be undertaking an extensive Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) of the impacts and identifying suitable mitigation for these. 

The purpose of the community engagement events was to seek views on the design work undertaken so far and to help inform the ongoing refinement and subsequent assessment process.

A feedback form was developed to seek the views of the public on the developing proposals in general and also on a number of specific elements, and was designed to encourage people to participate in the engagement event. Attendees were given the opportunity to complete a feedback form and return it either in-person at the event, or by emailing or posting it to the Jacobs Stakeholder team. Online feedback forms were also available and could be accessed through the Virtual Exhibition.

Following the conclusion of the in-person Community Engagement Events, a feedback box remained in Birnam Arts & Conference Centre until the formal closing of the engagement period on 6th October 2024. Blank feedback forms were also left next to this box and continuously replenished to ensure everyone had the opportunity to provide feedback if they wished to do so.

The Virtual Exhibition remained live until 6 October 2024. Following the conclusion of the feedback period, a holding message was added to the virtual room’s welcome page directing visitors to the Story Map website. All exhibition materials were uploaded to the Story Map.

Event Materials

The Community Engagement Events and Virtual Exhibition presented the same materials but in different formats.

The materials presented at the in-person Community Engagement Events consisted of 11 roller banners (Appendix A), detailed scheme maps and drawings (Appendix B), a brochure, and feedback form (Appendix C). The main heading of the 11 roller banners were:

  • Welcome;
  • The Assessment Process;
  • Previous Consultation;
  • Plan of the Route;
  • General Design Development;
  • Walkers, Wheelers, Cyclists and Horse-Riders (WCH) Provisions;
  • Dunkeld and Birnam Railway Station;
  • Protecting the Environment;
  • Community Objectives;
  • What Happens Next; and
  • Your Views Matter to Us.

The roller banners were converted into digital boards for the Virtual Exhibition (Appendix A), with the detailed scheme maps and drawings available as PDFs. Similarly, a PDF version of the event brochure and feedback form were also available in the virtual exhibition room.

All of the information made available for the Community Engagement Events is available to view on the Transport Scotland A9 Dualling Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing Project website, and can be accessed via the following link: Exhibition materials - Community engagement events - August 2024 - Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing - A9 Dualling | Transport Scotland

Pictures of the in-person Community Engagement Events are shown in Figures 1, 2 and 3, with a screenshot of the virtual exhibition shown in Figure 4.

View from the entrance to the community engagement event, showing some of the banners and a table with additional information on.
Figure 1: Community Engagement Event August 2024, entrance to hall
View looking down on the community engagement event space showing how the information banners were laid out and the tables with scheme drawing, maps and other details were presented.
Figure 2: Community Engagement Event August 2024, room layout
View looking down on the community engagement event space, showing people in the hall viewing banners and talking with the project team.
Figure 3: Community Engagement Event August 2024, typical activity during event
Image of the virtual exhibition space showing a number of banners and options available for viewing them.
Figure 4: Virtual exhibition August 2024, typical view

Promotion of the Engagement Period

To promote the start of the consultation, emails to businesses and community stakeholders were issued to those who previously requested to be kept informed of the project’s progress. A copy of the email is provided in Appendix D.

The A9 Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing Story Map for the project includes a latest news page, which continues to be updated. The Story Map directed site visitors to the online feedback form, the Virtual Exhibition and provided the details for the in-person events.

Transport Scotland also issued a press release to national and local media. This was also hosted on Transport Scotland’s website, and was shared across Transport Scotland’s social media channels. The press release generated coverage in The Courier. The press release, the advertisement in The Courier and social media can be seen in Appendix D. Transport Scotland’s designated A9 Dualling website also hosts updates to the whole programme with a specific A9 Dualling Engage page.

Physical advertising materials were also distributed around Dunkeld, Birnam and Perth, including the Community Engagement Event Brochure which contained information presented at the virtual exhibition and in-person events, a leaflet providing a QR code to the virtual exhibition and information on the in-person events, and a larger poster sharing the same information as the leaflet.

Previous Engagement

On 20 December 2023, the then Cabinet Secretary for Transport, Net Zero and Just Transition announced the Preferred Route for the Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing section of the A9 Dualling Programme.

An in-person Public Exhibition to present the Preferred Route and information regarding how it was chosen took place at Birnam Arts & Conference Centre, Station Road, PH8 0DS between 11am and 8pm on Monday, 29 January and between 10am and 6pm on Tuesday, 30 January 2024. These events were attended by around 200 people.

An accompanying Virtual Exhibition was live from 20 December 2023 until 17 March 2024. Across this period, the virtual exhibition space was visited by around 2,000 people.

The aim of the exhibitions was to provide local communities, stakeholders and road users with information regarding the Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 2 route option assessment process and the resultant Preferred Route identified for the project. The exhibitions also provided the opportunity to comment on the outcome of the route option assessment work.

Key points raised in the feedback following these exhibitions included:

  • General comments on the Preferred Route, including comparison to the Community's Preferred Route;
  • Opinions regarding the inclusion of Dunkeld Roundabout;
  • Suggestions regarding access to the Dunkeld & Birnam Railway Station;
  • Comments on the project timescales;
  • Suggestions for active travel improvements;
  • Expression of environmental concerns; and
  • Comments on the proposed speed limit.

The feedback received was collected, analysed, and summarised in a Consultation Summary Report available on the Transport Scotland website (Consultation Report - Preferred Route Exhibition - Pass of Birnam to Tay Crossing - A9 Dualling | Transport Scotland). The feedback received continues to inform the ongoing design development and assessment work for the project.