Highland councillors must make a decision on the Inverness West Link when they meet to discuss the project at the beginning of March or risk setting the city’s economic development back by years, leading construction bosses have warned.

A meeting of the full Highland Council is due to consider the Inverness West Link at a meeting on the 1st March. Failure to make a decision at that meeting will send the project ‘back to the drawing board’ according to the Highland Building Employers Association, the local branch of the Scottish Building Federation, a body that represents more than 700 construction firms throughout Scotland.

A West Link crossing the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal was first mooted as far back as the 1970s and has been described by senior council officials as being ‘crucial’ for the future growth of Inverness.

Construction of the link is seen as vital to tackling congestion in the city, opening up the city centre and making it a more attractive destination for shoppers and businesses. It would also open up areas to the west of the city such as Torvean and around Ness Castle for potential future development.

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A public consultation on the project was launched in December 2010 and set out five options for constructing the link. A further period of public consultation was launched in November 2011 and added an additional three options to the original list of five. On the 27th January, it emerged that a cross-party Council working group had shortlisted three options from the long list of eight for further discussion. The group is due to meet again on the 17th February before recommending its preferred option or options to a full Council meeting on the 1st March.

Highland Building Employers Association President Willie Gray of William Gray Construction Limited says time is running out to approve the project and fears for the city’s future economic prospects if a decision isn’t made before campaigning gets underway for this year’s local elections in May.

Mr. Gray said: "We’ve already had more than a year go by while the project has been put out to public consultation and time is running out. If the Council fails to make a decision on the 1st March, we face another prolonged period of consultation after the Council elections which will essentially put the project back to the drawing board.

"Even if a decision is made quickly, it will be a further four years before construction begins. If there is a further delay, I dread to think how long we will have to wait for the project to start. There’s a real risk that we set the economic development of Inverness and the Highland region back by years."

(GK)