A 15 year development plan for transport in South East Scotland has been approved by the Minister for Transport, Infrastructure and Climate Change, Stewart Stevenson.

He has approved the South East of Scotland Transport Partnership SEStran's revised Regional Transport Strategy, following its revision after the last election to reflect the change of government. The strategy focuses on a prioritised approach towards transport investment, which takes into account the new funding arrangements for local authorities and regional transport partnerships.

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SEStran Chair, Councillor Russell Imrie, welcomed the approval.

He said: "I am delighted that the Regional Transport Strategy has finally been approved. It is SEStran's blueprint for building a transport system in South East Scotland that is comprehensive, sustainable, socially inclusive and which meets the needs of business.

"The new realities of public authority financing, following the Government's Comprehensive Spending Review obliged us to reconsider how best to achieve this goal. Capital funding for transportation is now rolled up in the Local Authority settlement, in addition to being one of the tightest settlements for transport in recent years. This presents us with a challenge on how best to deliver regional transport initiatives.

"We look forward to working closely with our local authority partners, through input into single outcome agreements that the partners make with government, in order to build a transportation system for South-east Scotland that is fit for the 21st century."

(GK/JM)