Connecting Scotland’s Cities – Business Survey on Dualling the A9 and A96 September 2013 _________________________________________________________________________ RESEARCH PAPER About Us SCDI is an independent and inclusive economic development network which seeks to influence and inspire government and key stakeholders with our ambitious vision to create shared sustainable economic prosperity for Scotland. Methodology The survey was issued by SCDI in May 2013 to 476 members and contacts. While all its member businesses in Highland, Perthshire, Moray, Aberdeenshire and Aberdeen were included, SCDI also targeted a range of businesses outwith these areas on the basis that they have current interests in the region or (as the survey was seeking information on investments which might be stimulated as a result of the improved connectivity) might develop them. SCDI also sought to include businesses from each of the key sectors in the Scottish Government Economic Strategy. Inevitably, there was some speculation on SCDI’s part and the survey was, therefore, found not to be relevant to all businesses, especially those outside the north of Scotland. SCDI’s membership includes some business networks and trade associations, and SCDI is also aware that it was forwarded by a small number of them to their own memberships. In total, 210 responses were received within the month, a strong response rate for a survey of this kind, with a good spread across areas and sectors. Analysis of responses to the survey was undertaken in June, July and early August. Thanks SCDI would like to thank Transport Scotland for their support; the local authorities, regional transport partnerships and economic development organisations in the areas for their input into the survey design; and, especially, all the businesses which responded for their time and the information and comments which they provided. For more information on this work please contact the Policy Team at: Policy Team Scottish Council for Development & Industry 1 Cadogan Square Cadogan Street Glasgow G2 7HF Tel: 0141 243 2667 e: [email protected] A9/A96 Research | September 2013 CONTENTS Pages Foreword – Purpose, Approach and Findings of Research 3 Your Business/ Organisation 5 Your Business/ Organisation and the A9 and A96 10 Perception of the Existing Roads 23 Impact of Existing Standards of your Business/ Organisation 27 Additional Comments 43 A9/A96 Research | September 2013 P a g e | 3 FOREWORD – PURPOSE, APPROACH AND FINDINGS OF RESEARCH The Scottish Government’s plans to complete the dual carriageway network between Scotland’s cities by fully dualling the A9 between Perth and Inverness by 2025 and the A96 between Inverness and Aberdeen by 2030 are two of the major capital investment programmes which are identified in its Infrastructure Investment Plan. Improvements to these roads to enable increased economic development, particularly in the north of Scotland, have been high priorities for SCDI for many years and, more recently, improvements to inter-urban connectivity and reduced journey times have been prioritised in Scotland’s Agenda for Cities, a collaboration of Scotland’s seven cities and the Scottish Government, which is facilitated by SCDI. Following the commitments made by the Scottish Government, Transport Scotland organised workshops with economic development and business organisations to discuss the economic benefits of the projects and how these could be maximised. These agreed that - as their impact would be substantial, long-term, widespread, and potentially transformational - further research of businesses would be very useful. With its broad-based, national membership, including networks in the Highlands and Islands and North East Scotland, and its track-record of business research, this was of strong interest to SCDI, and its proposal was supported by Transport Scotland. The focus for the planned research was discussed by local authorities, regional transport partnerships and economic development organisations, and, after further detailed input into a draft, the survey questionnaire was subsequently approved. This report presents the findings of the research. Some key findings include: Some businesses in key sectors intensively use these roads In some sectors, freight movements can be time-critical and/ or high-value Quality of road transport infrastructure is rated as very important or important by a large majority of respondents which are located in the north of Scotland The quality of road transport infrastructure for their location in the north of Scotland is rated as poor or very poor by nearly half of the respondents Well over half of respondents rated the A9 as poor or very poor on safety, service area availability, journey time reliability, journey time, and comfort/ feel of ease when driving, with as many as 70% rating it as poor or very poor for safety Between 60% and 77% of respondents rated the A96 as poor or very poor on journey time, journey time reliability, safety, comfort/ feeling of ease when and service area availability, with as many as 44% giving it the worst rating (‘very poor’) on journey time reliability, and ratings generally even more negative among respondents in the North The direct impact of these issues on businesses varies considerably, with certain respondents identifying some very significant issues, and others experiencing little direct impact (the latter finding is partly explained by the survey including businesses from outwith the north of Scotland and by not all respondents which utilise the A9 also utilising the A96 and vice versa), and also varies in different areas in the north of Scotland and in different sectors For the A9, costs of disruption due to road closures/ diversions, additional costs due to congestion or slow traffic on route, and reduced productivity due to congestion or slow traffic on route, were the top three direct impacts A9/A96 Research | September 2013 P a g e | 4 Generally, the direct impacts of the A96 were rated as even more significant, with additional costs due to congestion or slow traffic on route, reduced productivity due to congestion or slow traffic on route, costs of disruption due to road closures/ diversions, and missed meeting/ transport connections due to unreliable journey time rated, on average, as the four most significant Nearly two-thirds of businesses make allowances for constraints Thinking about their own business development plans and opportunities, the benefits which were identified by respondents of fully dualling the A9 included: o Improved access for visitors and customers o Productivity gains from reduced journey times and less stressful journeys o Safer journeys for visitors and staff, with fewer significant disruptions o Widen range of potential suppliers, faster deliveries and possibly lower costs o More efficient and reliable road haulage, with reduced vehicle repair costs Thinking about their own business development plans and opportunities, the benefits identified by respondents of fully dualling the A96 included: o Widen labour market from which to recruit skilled people o Improved access for visitors and customers o Widen range of potential suppliers (and potentially reduce costs) o Productivity gains from less stressful, safer journeys and reduced journey times o More efficient and reliable road haulage When offered a range of potential benefits for their businesses of fully dualling the A9, the greatest benefits appear to be increased attractiveness of area for investment, reduced transport costs and improved business confidence, with businesses in Highland and Moray giving particularly high rankings, e.g. nearly a half in each case giving the highest ranking (‘a great deal’) to increased attractiveness of area for investment and 49% of respondents in Moray giving this ranking to improve links between your business locations When offered a range of potential benefits for their businesses of fully dualling the A96, the greatest benefits appear (as with the A9) to be increased attractiveness of area for investment, reduced transport costs and improved business confidence, with the benefits tending to be ranked as more significant by the businesses in the areas which are served by the road A9/A96 Research | September 2013 P a g e | 5 YOUR BUSINESS/ ORGANISATION Q1. Company Details Total number of respondents to survey: 210 Location of Responding Site 3% 2% 3% 1% Highlands 13% Aberdeen & Aberdeenshire 46% Elsewhere in Scotland Northern & Western Isles 32% Perthshire Moray Dundee & Angus Base: 210 respondents Q2. Please choose the KEY industry that would best describe your business/ organisation. Respondents' Key Industries Oil & Gas 15% 24% Tourism Transport 13% 4% Business Services 4% 9% Food and drink 6% Construction 7% 9% 9% Retail Creative industries Public services Others* Base: 210 respondents *Others include: renewable energy, forestry, financial services, higher and further education, ICT, marine, minerals, social enterprise, textiles, chemical sciences, property, manufacturing, distribution and legal services. In Q3 respondents were also asked to describe their main business activity. A9/A96 Research | September 2013 P a g e | 6 Q4. Across which areas is your business/ organisation located? (businesses were asked to give ALL locations) Respondents' locations of businesses 70% 60% 50% 40% 61% 30% 49% 20% 36% 24% 23% 10% 20% 15% 12% 15% 0% Moray Highland Angus Overseas the UK the Perthshire Scotland Dundee andDundee Elsewhere Elsewhere in