South Scotland MSP Colin Smyth has warned that this week’s summit cannot be another “groundhog day” and called for both the UK and Scottish Government to set out a clear timescale and budget for improvements to the A75 and A77.

However, speaking at the summit the local MSP also warned that stakeholders such as national businesses and local authorities need to “up their game” on lobbying, stating that we have to turn the campaign for improvements into a national issue about the future of Scottish economy, not just the south west.

Colin Smyth said: “While I welcomed this summit and recognise how important it is to get everyone around the table, the fact remains that we’ve been talking for years. This can’t be another groundhog day. The time for warm words is over, we need action.

“We’ve had all kinds of promises from both the Scottish and UK Governments about how the roads are to be improved but my constituents are still waiting.

“The Scottish Government’s second strategic transport projects review (STPR2) was years late in being published and communities in the south west are still waiting to hear exactly when the very limited planned projects to improve the A75 and A77 will be delivered.

“SPTR2 was a long awaited disappointment which proposed very little in the way of meaningful investment for the A75 and A77. However, the fact that years after this review was originally supposed to have reported we are still waiting on an actual timescale for schemes is unacceptable.

“Communities simply won’t believe they will get any respite until we see a meaningful timescale for when work on projects are going to be started.

“The fact both the Scottish and UK Governments keep stalling raises fears they are either not serious about delivering improvements, or they are kicking those plans even further into the long grass.

“For too long the south west has been Scotland’s forgotten region and that isn’t changing anytime soon. We need to show that improvements to the A75 and A77 aren’t just about the south west’s economy – they are about the wider Scottish economy. Most of the freight that use Cairnryan doesn’t come from Dumfries and Galloway or Ayrshire. It comes from the central belt of Scotland and the north of England. We need businesses, including freight companies in those areas, to lobby their MPs and MSPs to demand improvements.

“Only then will it hopefully convince the UK and Scottish Government just how important both the A75 and A77 are to the economic future of our region and Scotland as a whole.”