Introduction

Project Overview

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) ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/publication/scottish-transport-appraisal-guidance-managers-guide/ ). 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) ( https://www.transport.gov.scot/our-approach/strategy/strategic-transport-projects-review-2/ ).

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.

A diagram showing the four key stages of STAG Appraisal. First, Case for Change already complete and published in December 2022 Then Preliminary Options Appraisal, followed by Detailed Options Appraisal which are the subject of this document. Finally, a Monitoring and Evaluation Plan to be produced.
Figure 1.1: The Four Key Stages to the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG)

This report presents details of the Preliminary Appraisal and Detailed Appraisal stages of the A96 Corridor Review, undertaken in accordance with STAG. This comprises both the approach and outcomes of the appraisal process at each of these stages.

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. Further details on the Preliminary Appraisal are 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. Further details on the Detailed Appraisal are presented in Chapter 5 of this document.
  • 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.

This report provides a summary of the methodology and outcomes of both the Preliminary and Detailed Appraisals, with full details regarding the appraisal outcomes provided in the accompanying Appraisal Summary Tables (ASTs) contained in the respective report appendices.

Report Contents

The following chapters of the A96 Corridor Review Transport Appraisal Report consist of:

  • Chapter 2: Case for Change Summary – summarises the key aspects of the A96 Corridor Review Case for Change report, published in December 2022, including the problems and opportunities identified for the transport corridor, the development of the TPOs, and the generation, sifting and development of options.
  • Chapter 3: Approach to Preliminary Appraisal – outlines the approach taken to undertake the Preliminary Appraisal as part of the A96 Corridor Review, including the scoring process, the appraisal criteria considered and details of the assessment against these criteria.
  • Chapter 4: Preliminary Appraisal Outcomes – summarises the performance of each option, including the relevant scoring against the appraisal criteria, and the summary rationale on whether the option was to progress to Detailed Appraisal or not.
  • Chapter 5: Approach to Detailed Appraisal – outlines the approach to undertake the Detailed Appraisal as part of the A96 Corridor Review, including the combining of individual options in to ‘packages’, the use of relevant quantitative data in the appraisal and additional considerations at this stage of the appraisal process.
  • Chapter 6: Detailed Appraisal Outcomes – summarises the performance of each package considered, including the relevant scoring against the appraisal criteria, key details to give context to the scoring, summary rationales and the subsequent development and assessment of the refined package.
  • Chapter 7: Appraisal Summary – presents a summary of the appraisal outcomes for the A96 Corridor Review.