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The Upgrading of the A82 Glasgow to Inverness Road
The Chamber of Commerce concerns itself with many issues but our main
focus at present is the Upgrading and maintenance of the A82 Glasgow to
Inverness road. It is the intention of the Chamber to ensure that the
A82 is included in the next round of road improvements to be considered
by the Scottish Executive. The Chamber is in contact with Ian Hudghton
MEP, who has informed us that the A82 qualifies for European funding,
as it is part of the Trans-European Network. We also held a special meeting
in March 2002 with Fergus Ewing MSP which was attended by Chamber members
and other interested parties. It was agreed that Local authorities, Chambers
of Commerce, Community Councils and Local Economic Forums would work together
to make joint representations and lobby the relevant bodies.
This co-operation will strengthen the campaign for substantial improvements
to the A82. A meeting was also held on 27th May 2002 which was attended
by representatives of Oban Lorn & the Isles and Lochaber Area Committees,
Fort William & Oban Chambers of Commerce, Lochaber Enterprise and
Argyll & the Isles Enterprise. The purpose of the meeting was to attempt
to agree a united position on the matter of the A82 and agree a strategy
to progress the campaign. It was announced that funding would soon be
in place to employ a co co-ordinator for the campaign and to carry out
an Economic Impact Survey for the whole of the A82. This is a welcome
boost for the campaign and Fort William Chamber of Commerce will continue
to be actively involved.
The proposed Waterfront Development in Fort William
Fort William Chamber is following the Waterfront Development proposal
with interest. We have held special meetings for our members to air their
concerns and comment on the project. These views have been passed on to
the project Steering Group. This development is potentially the largest
Fort William has ever seen and it is vital that it is right for the town.
The Waterfront must be an asset for local people and also create interest
for visitors, attracting them to Fort William thus benefiting the local
economy. The Chamber will continue to follow the progress of the Waterfront
Development and ensure that the views of the business community continue
to be represented.
Winter Car Parking in Fort William
The Chamber is campaigning for some action to ensure the turnover of parking
spaces in the town car parks during the winter months. As soon as the
charges for parking are removed it becomes almost impossible to find a
free space in the town car parks from 9am onwards. But once the charges
resume there are numerous spaces to be had at any time of the day. The
peak trading weeks for retailers in the town are in the lead up to Christmas
and Easter but if parking is unavailable people will go elsewhere. We
have asked the roads and transport department to conduct a survey to ascertain
the turnover of spaces during the winter months and the Chamber is also
putting together its own survey to back up our members concerns. This
is an issue that must be resolved to ease the frustration of both retailers
and local people.
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