Glasgow

ONE of Scotland’s most remote areas is in danger of becoming the country’s forgotten corner.

Wigtownshire in the southwest has become “deliberately ignored” and its fate has made locals fear that nothing will be done to improve the dismal situation.

13

Stranraer hasn’t had a train line since September 2023

13

MSP Finlay Carson has been championing for better roads in the areaCredit: Tom Farmer

13

The A75 and the A77 are some of Scotland’s most busiest – but dangerous roadsCredit: John Kirkby

13

The ScotRail trains left by road in February – leaving the area without a train service

Former First Minister Alex Salmond^[1] once told the region it would receive investment in roads, rail and regeneration.

But by 2011, ferries to Ireland^[2] no longer operated from Stranraer, the largest town in the region and had been moved eight miles up the coast^[3] to Cairnryan.

The last train left Stranraer in September last year and carriages parked at the terminal were removed in February as the future of the rural route, which once had five direct services to Glasgow^[4] a day, remains uncertain.

13

A blaze was started at the derelict Station Hotel^[5] in Ayr which would close the railway line to the town some 50 miles away.

seaside^[6] peninsula complain about being “forgotten about” as the region is now left without a train line after being snubbed for road upgrades by the Scottish Government^[7].

Ideas to rejuvenate the town have ranged from plans for a super casino to converting an abandoned lorry park^[8] into a waterfront heritage centre – neither of which have happened.

Locals warn nothing will improve until the creaking infrastructure is upgraded to deal with the freight traffic^[9] from the port of Cairnryan.

Finlay Carson is MSP for Galloway and West Dumfriesshire and has campaigned for greater connectivity through his political career.But he argued issues for Wigtownshire are not only forgotten but deliberately ignored.

Most read in The Scottish Sun

He told the Scottish Sun: “To say forgotten is to say we are an afterthought but successive governments – since devolution – have promised upgrades.

“You have to look back 25 years and look at the investment in the roads. There has been nothing significant since the Scottish Parliament^[10] was formed.

Wild moment coach sent off for confronting player on pitch as SPFL play-off clash ends in rammy and pitch invasion

“It’s almost like a deliberate managed decline across the south of Scotland.”

In Stranraer’s high street, residents are reminded on a daily basis about how cut off they are.

Christine McNally and her sister Rita McKintyre, who were born in Stranraer, would usually travel^[11] to Ayr and Glasgow on the train – but haven’t left the town since the service stopped running seven months ago.

13

The train line has over grown in the time since it has been closed

13

Locals like Christine McNally feel cut off from the rest of the countryCredit: Tom Farmer

13

Sheila Adams said that roads being closed add hours onto the journeyCredit: Tom Farmer

Christine said: “This is a lot worse than it was before. There is no sense that there is a hurry to reinstate it. We’ve been cut off.”

Bus driver Claire Proudlock, 30, said frequent road closures added hours onto the journey.

She said: “There are always roadworks and it can add hours if you are diverted through B roads.”

Claire said that she and her friend were intending to take their youngsters to soft play in Ayr, but to travel by public transport^[12] would mean the previous hour journey would now nearly be a three-hour trip each way.

Sheila Adams, 31, who went to college in Ayr, said that commute is not possible as there is no public transport^[13] that would allow people from Stranraer to travel in time for class started.

Businesses affected

A HOTELIER claims delays to reinstating train lines is keeping punters away as they fear they’ll end up stranded.

Iain Donnachie, 64, is the general manager of the North West Castle Hotel, one of the biggest hotels in Stranraer.

He said: “If you want to book a weekend away, you don’t want to get trapped by the roads.

“There is a rail replacement service but it dumps people at the train station at the end of the pier and they have to walk back to us often in the rain.

“We are just not seen as a destination anymore. It’s just as easy to be cut off by the roads than it is by failing ferries.”

The hotel often hosts competitors in curling competions and the town is often considered the birthplace of the sport.

But Gail Munro, 54, who manages the ice rink, said Stranraer been turned down for hosting national contests because they cannot guarantree reliable transport in and out of the region.

She said: “We’ve have hosted competitions with people travelling all over but we can’t ensure they can get back in time because of the unreliable nature of the roads.

“It puts us off putting ourselves forward for bigger events because the transport situation goes against us.”

She said: “We didn’t need to move away to go to college, but it is not possible now.”

The roads to Scotland’s biggest port handles 2.7 million tonnes of domestic cargo a year with the Cairnryan to Belfast^[14] route the second busiest passenger ferry to Ireland.

The huge HGVs heading to and from the ports back up the roads in and out of Wigtownshire and are restricted to a 40mph speed limit leading to frustrated drivers^[15] that cause accidents.

Transport Scotland revealed there have been 564 casualties on the A77 and A75 in the five years since 2016 — an average of ten a month.

Samantha-Jane Sheil, 20, lost her father Tony, 51, after the family^[16] moved to nearby Newton Stewart two years ago.

Finding his “dream home” in southwest Scotland, the family were renovating the property^[17] in Tony’s retirement until his life was tragically cut short.

Hospital fears

LOCALS fear cuts to hospital services could leave the town without an accident and emergency department as NHS Dumfries and Galloway seek to find £29million savings in an attempt to balance their books.

Over 200 residents attended a public meeting  to voice their concerns over a review of services at the Galloway Community Hospital which could see it being downgraded to a minor injuries unit.

Independent councillor Willie Scobie claimed the health board bosses snubbed the community by declining the request to attend, sparking fears the hospital would be axed.  

He said: “It would leave people in the community vulnerable with only two ambulances to serve the area.

“There is a golden hour for strokes and heart attacks and they can’t be blue-lighted a long the dangerous roads.”

“We’ve even had people giving birth on the side of the road because there are no maternity services since 2018. It’s a common occurrence.”

Trevor Harrison, 67, from Stranraer said he would have died if he hadn’t been cared for at the rural A&E after he took ill at the wheel in September 2022.

He said: “I had pneumonia and was turning blue, I was raced for treatment by my colleague and they told me if I hadn’t been treated there and then I would have died if left any longer.”

John Wallace, 73, from the Isle of Whithorn,  had a mini-stroke on Christmas Day.

He said he put his life in the hands of the staff at the Community Hospital.

He added: “People will die if there is no A&E in the area.”  

NHS Dumfries and Galloway have been approached for comment. 

Tony died just three minutes from their home^[18] in Kirkcowan when his Ford^[19] transit van collided with a Volvo^[20] lorry on the unlit A75 last November.

13

Samantha Sheil lost her dad Tony Sheil to an accident on the A75 outside Newton StewartCredit: John Kirkby

13

Tony Sheil lost his live on the A75 just three miles from his homeCredit: Family Collect

But despite gaining hundreds of signatures for a “Changes to the A75” petition^[21] last month, student Samantha feels like she has been met with a wall of silence from the Scottish Government.

She told the Scottish Sun: “It’s beyond ridiculous. If the roads had been upgraded and the work^[22] was done when they said they would, my dad would still be alive.

“I hate driving^[23] past where my dad died. It’s the worst part of the road, it is so dangerous^[24].

“Moving here was his dream. If we leave, we leave him behind.”

Retired firefighter John Campbell, 79, of Maybole, said he was called to over 300 traffic accidents throughout his career with casualties ageing from three to 90.

He said: “When I travel all over Scotland you can see how left behind this part of the country is.

“There are always road works because the roads get so damaged by the lorries.

“When the road is closed due to an accident or planned works, HGVs are sent a near 100-mile detour along B-roads and single track paths.”

13

Retired fireman John Campbell has spent three decades campaigning for safer roadsCredit: Tom Farmer

One section of the A77 – the Carlock Wall – was reduced to one lane of traffic for nearly three years as workers attempted to reinforce the cliff-edged carriageway from landslips.

John added: “If this was the Rest and Be Thankful, everyone would be talking about it but the Rest and Be Thankful doesn’t lead to one of the busiest ports in the UK.

Calls to improve the A75 and A77 have been previously debated in the Scottish Parliament^[25] with the UK Government offering to step in to help fund the costs to upgrade the trunk roads.

The Union Connectivity Review^[26] in 2021 recommended that Westminster^[27] provided the Scottish Government funding to upgrade the A75 and encouraged Holyrood to make steps^[28] to improve the A77.

But the Scottish Government continues to snub plans for any major works – such as duel carriageways along the entire stretches – as part of their 20-year plan for road building.

Stena Line has said it has also lobbied successive Scottish governments over many years in relation to improving the roads.

The firm said the current situation is “not fit for purpose” and the infrastructure is becoming a drawback to any future^[29] potential investment in the region.

13

Curling rink manager Gail Munro says the connectivity prevents them bidding for eventsCredit: Les Gallagher

A spokesperson added: “Stena Line calls on the Scottish Government to work with Westminster to address this devolved issue as a matter of priority for the many businesses and communities who frankly deserve better.”

events^[30], to convey our deepest sympathies, and to try and address some of the concerns raised.

“Road safety is of paramount importance. Our Operating Companies^[31] undertake a review of collisions on the trunk road network to identify cluster sites.”

13

George Hotel in StranraerCredit: Les Gallagher

References

1. ^{^} Alex Salmond (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
2. ^{^} Ireland (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
3. ^{^} coast (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
4. ^{^} Glasgow (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
5. ^{^} started at the derelict Station Hotel (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
6. ^{^} seaside (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
7. ^{^} Government (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
8. ^{^} park (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
9. ^{^} traffic (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
10. ^{^} Parliament (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
11. ^{^} travel (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
12. ^{^} public transport (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
13. ^{^} transport (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
14. ^{^} Belfast (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
15. ^{^} drivers (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
16. ^{^} family (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
17. ^{^} property (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
18. ^{^} home (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
19. ^{^} Ford (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
20. ^{^} Volvo (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
21. ^{^} petition (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
22. ^{^} work (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
23. ^{^} driving (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
24. ^{^} dangerous (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
25. ^{^} Scottish Parliament (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
26. ^{^} Review (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
27. ^{^} Westminster (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
28. ^{^} steps (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
29. ^{^} future (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
30. ^{^} events (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)
31. ^{^} Companies (www.thescottishsun.co.uk)