Introduction

Background

In August 2021, it was agreed by the Scottish Government to take forward a transport enhancements programme on the A96 corridor that improves connectivity between surrounding towns, tackles congestion and addresses safety and environmental issues.

Whilst the current plan is to fully dual the A96 route, it was agreed as part of this process there would be a transparent, evidence-based review of the programme, to include a climate compatibility assessment to assess direct and indirect impacts on the climate. Statutory assessments would also be undertaken that include a Strategic Environmental Assessment (SEA) and social and equality related Statutory Impact Assessments (SIAs).

As it has already received Ministerial consent following a Public Local Inquiry, dualling of the A96 from Inverness to Nairn as well as a bypass of Nairn is separate from the wider A96 review process.

The A96 Corridor Review is being carried out in accordance with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG). STAG is the best practice, objective-led approach to transport appraisal. The transport appraisal has considered all relevant transport modes within the A96 corridor, including active travel, public transport, rail and roads-based transport modes. Adopting STAG also brings the review in line with the same methodology as set out in the Second Strategic Transport Projects Review (STPR2).

The A96 Corridor Review is being carried out by design consultants Jacobs AECOM acting on behalf of Transport Scotland. The review considers transport problems and opportunities within the A96 corridor, the changing policy context and other key considerations, such as development and growth aims for the corridor and surrounding area. Additionally, it considers the impact of the global climate emergency and the COVID-19 pandemic on how people work and travel within the corridor.

The transport appraisal aspect of the A96 Corridor Review assessed the performance of interventions (or package of interventions) against the project specific Transport Planning Objectives (TPOs), and the five STAG criteria, comprising Environment; Climate Change; Health, Safety and Wellbeing; Economy; and Equality and Accessibility. The appraisal has also covered the deliverability, affordability and public acceptability elements associated with each intervention (or package), as well as their consistency with key themes identified from established policy objectives at a local, regional and national level. Key outcomes from the separate Statutory Impact Assessments (SIAs), specifically the Equality Impact Assessment (EqIA), Child Rights and Wellbeing Impact Assessment (CRWIA) and Fairer Scotland Duty Assessment (FSDA) that have been undertaken, have provided further input to inform the appraisal.

Report Purpose

The four key stages of STAG, including the current progression of the A96 Corridor Review, are illustrated in Figure 1.1.

This report presents a summary of the A96 Corridor Review Case for Change and the Strategic Business Case – Transport Appraisal Report (Draft) ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/strategic-business-case-transport-appraisal-report-draft-a96-corridor-review/ ), which together form the Strategic Business Case (SBC) for the A96 Corridor Review. As the appraisal has followed the STAG process, it represents the first step in the assessment of potential solutions to transport problems and is at a sufficient level of detail to provide the SBC.

STAG defines a multi-criteria framework that appraises options’ ability to meet the TPOs and appraises their performance against the five STAG criteria and established policy objectives. The appraisal also covers the ‘deliverability’ of options through identifying their feasibility, affordability, and public acceptability. The A96 Corridor Review Case for Change has already been completed and published on the Transport Scotland website ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/initial-appraisal-case-for-change-december-2022-a96-corridor-review/ ), with key aspects of the Case for Change summarised in Chapter 2 of this report. The remaining key stages of the STAG process for the A96 Corridor Review, are:

• Preliminary Options Appraisal – this comprised a qualitative appraisal of the options retained from the Option Sifting Stage (presented in the Case for Change) against the project specific TPOs, STAG criteria, established policy objectives and deliverability. As part of the A96 Corridor Review, the SIAs undertaken in parallel to the transport appraisal have also informed the options appraisal. A summary of the Preliminary Appraisal is presented in Chapter 3 of this report.
• Detailed Options Appraisal – the options remaining from the Preliminary Appraisal were progressed to the Detailed Appraisal stage. The appraisal at this stage transitioned from the qualitative approach adopted at the Preliminary Appraisal stage, to more quantitative appraisal elements where possible. Note that the Preliminary Appraisal and Detailed Appraisal were combined into the single Transport Appraisal Report. A summary of the Detailed Appraisal is presented in Chapter 3 of this report.
• Monitoring and Evaluation Plan – to determine the success of the implemented option in achieving the TPOs, performance against STAG criteria and any impacts on established policy objectives. A plan for monitoring (gathering and interpreting information on the performance of any implemented intervention) and evaluation (identification of whether the implemented intervention is performing as intended) should be set out prior to implementation of any deliverable. Although the development of a Monitoring and Evaluation plan forms part of STAG, for consistency with the STPR2 it was agreed that this would not be undertaken at this stage as part of the transport appraisal for the A96 Corridor Review.

The A96 Corridor Review Case for Change ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/initial-appraisal-case-for-change-december-2022-a96-corridor-review/ ), published in December 2022 and hereon referred to as the Case for Change, sets out the evidence base for problems and opportunities linked to the transport network for all modes within the study area and draws upon relevant data analysis, policy review and stakeholder engagement. The report sets out a robust method aligned with the principles of Scotland’s Second National Transport Strategy (NTS2) to generate, ‘clean’ and sift options, ensuring that a broad range of options across all modes that would address the problems and opportunities in the transport corridor were considered.

This report summarises the content of both the A96 Corridor Review Case for Change and the Strategic Business Case – Transport Appraisal Report (Draft), which together form the Strategic Business Case in line with the Five Case Model for business cases ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/guidance-on-the-development-of-business-cases-march-2016/4-the-five-case-model/ ), which covers:

• The Strategic Case
• The Socio-Economic Case
• The Commercial Case
• The Financial Case
• The Management Case.

The purpose of any business case is to ensure that programmes and projects meet their intended objectives and deliver their intended benefits by making sure schemes:

• make a robust case for change – the ‘strategic case’
• optimise value for money in terms of economic, social and environmental benefit – the ‘socio-economic case’
• are commercially viable – the ‘commercial case’
• are financially viable – the ‘financial case’
• are achievable – the ‘management case’.

As noted previously, the transport appraisal for the A96 Corridor Review undertaken following STAG covers the first two components of the Five Case Model and hence forms the Strategic Business Case. It is at the next stage of design development, for example Design Manual for Roads and Bridges (DMRB) Stage 2 and/or Stage 3, that all five components will be covered in greater detail as part of any later Outline Business Case (OBC) that is prepared prior to procurement.