Scotland’s City Region Deals are fuelling inequality, damaging the environment and further undermining the country’s climate commitments, according to our new report ‘Dirty Deals’, published today.
- £900m of City Region Deal public funding for transport investment is worsening social inequality and damaging environment
- Over 70% of transport infrastructure investment is allocated to high-carbon road projects
- Review of funding priorities required to cut inequalities and promote sustainable transport
- Transform is calling for Parliamentary inquiry and immediate halt to new road schemes
New data uncovered by Transform Scotland has found more than 70% of transport infrastructure investment in Scotland’s City Region Deals – equivalent to nearly £1 billion – is funding high carbon road projects which directly undermine Scotland’s 2045 net zero strategy, increase congestion and damage public health.
The alliance for sustainable transport is today calling for a Scottish Parliament inquiry into the issue, an immediate halt to new road building projects in Scotland, and reprioritisation of funding to reduce inequalities and promote active travel and public transport.
The issues raised in the Dirty Deals report follows recent evidence of both the UK and Scottish Governments delaying or cutting funding for initiatives designed to tackle climate change.
The six City Region Deals cover areas around Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Inverness, Stirling, as well as the combined Tay cities of Dundee and Perth.
Under the Deals, the Scottish and UK Governments work with local authorities to jointly fund major projects based on regional priorities to deliver inclusive growth. Collectively, the Deals incorporate £4.6 billion of spending, including £1.3 billion allocated to transport infrastructure.
However, Transform Scotland found Deal projects were developed with no carbon assessments or reference to Scotland’s climate targets, and uncovered a lack of transparency and data around the carbon impact of spending.
Transform Scotland director Colin Howden said:
“The City Deals provided an opportunity for transformational investment in transport in our cities, but local and national politicians have instead blown the cash on a new round of road-building that will inevitably generate more traffic and higher emissions.
“These politicians could have decided to reduce inequalities by investing in public transport and in our streets, but instead they decided to worsen inequalities and increase climate emissions by spending public funds on schemes that will further benefit the more affluent.
“We’re fed up with Scotland’s political class mouthing empty platitudes about ‘net zero’ and ‘anti-poverty’ yet decade after decade making deliberate decisions to build new infrastructure that makes the country’s climate failure more and more certain, and neglects to provide fairer access to transport for the country’s poorest.”
Transport accounts for 36% of all Scottish emissions – the biggest emitting sector – with no progress in reductions over three decades. Projects chosen for taxpayer investment are important if the Scottish Government commitment to a 20% reduction in car use by 2030 is to be achieved.
However, building new roads, particularly motorways and dual carriageways, benefits the better off who have access to cars. Between 51%–60% of Scottish households in the lowest income levels have no access to a car, with Glasgow, Edinburgh, Aberdeen and Dundee worse than the Scottish average.
Transport poverty and a lack of access to public transport also impacts wider life-chances for those most excluded, including health, well-being, employment and other opportunities.
High carbon projects in the City Region Deals include: the £151 million Cross Tay Link Road near Perth; a new £107 million roundabout at Sheriffhall, Edinburgh; large road building projects to accommodate more cars and lorries on the A9 and A96 in the north of Scotland; a £25 new road access to Aberdeen South Harbour; and a 10m Dundee Airport investment.
The biggest low carbon investment – in addition to small-scale active travel and public transport projects – is £139 million for Glasgow City Council’s ‘Avenues’ project to transform the city centre streetscape and public realm to make it centred on people.
The latest research by Transform Scotland, which required extensive Freedom of Information requests due to a lack of public information, found that:
- £900 million of the £1.3 billion of Scottish City Region Deal spending on transport infrastructure is being spent on high carbon infrastructure that will lock people into unsustainable transport for decades to come
- Only £382 million (29% of the total) is being spent on sustainable and low carbon transport, with only the Stirling Deal committing all of its spending to low carbon projects
- All other Deals spend the vast majority of their transport funds on high carbon transport, with those covering Aberdeen City, Inverness and Highland committing all transport spending to unsustainable projects
- Just five local authorities (North Lanarkshire Council, Perth & Kinross Council, Highland Council, South Lanarkshire Council, and Midlothian Council) account for almost 80% of the high carbon spending
- Only six of the 16 local authorities involved in the Deals are committing over one-third of their transport spending to low carbon projects
Transform has instead called for investment to focus on more priority measures to make buses in Scotland’s cities faster and networks more extensive, more spending on safer routes to schools, and funding to boost active travel and cycling infrastructure.
Transform has written to two Scottish Parliament committees to request that they hold an inquiry to investigate the City-Region Deals’ compatibility with national commitments on equalities and carbon reduction.
The Scottish Government has been urged to learn lessons from the Welsh Government, which established its Roads Review Panel in 2021, on how it appraises and approves projects.
Transform Scotland is also calling for greater transparency, with the climate change emission implications of the Deals’ transport projects calculated and reported annually.
Check out ‘Dirty Deals’ media coverage:
- BBC: Call to halt new roads being built under city deals
- The Herald: Scotland must halt road-building and use public cash to benefit people and planet, campaigners argue
- The Scotsman: Scotland must halt road-building and use public cash to benefit people and planet, campaigners argue
- Daily Record: Transport charity slams ‘dirty deals’ using City Deal £1bn funds on ‘polluting’ road projects
