South Scotland MSP Brian Whittle has criticised the Scottish Government’s response to a question about future improvements to the A77 and other transport infrastructure in south west Scotland.

Scottish Conservative Brian has been campaigning for the Scottish Government to set out a detailed plan for how they could improve the A77 and rail links south of Ayr to make the most of connections to Northern Ireland via the ferry terminals at Cairnryan, and make travel easier and safer for those living in Girvan and other towns in the south west.

With the UK Government now pledging to support improvements to the neighbouring A75 trunk road, Brian argues that the Scottish Government have no excuse for not focussing their efforts on the A77 and railway.

Speaking after Fiona Hyslop’s response in the chamber, Mr Whittle said: “Ever since the SNP first entered office, they’ve promised communities across Ayrshire and Dumfries and Galloway that they’d see improvements to the A77 and other roads, and they just haven’t delivered.

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"Bypassing Maybole, decades after it was first promised and without even bothering to fully dual the new road, doesn’t come close to the investment that’s needed here.

"The SNP are resting on their laurels and expecting the public to be satisfied by one by-pass and some other relatively minor projects when anyone who uses the A77 south of Ayr knows that far bigger works are required.

"With rail services likely to be disrupted for some time thanks to the mess at the Ayr Station Hotel, even more drivers are going to be using the A77 and I hope they’ll join me in pressuring the Scottish Government to make transport infrastructure in the south west fit for the future.”

The Scottish Government has been contacted for comment.