KilliecrAnkie1689 was established in January 2018 to campaign for a more sensitive road plan over the Killiecrankie battlefield than the scheme proposed by Transport Scotland.  Two years later a Public Local Inquiry (PLI) was held to examine Transport Scotland’s proposal.
 
The Report of the PLI, delayed by the pandemic and new initiatives to counter climate change, was finally delivered to Scottish Ministers in June 2022.
 
They can accept or reject the Reporter’s recommendations.  If the objections are upheld, the scheme may have to be amended and possibly taken through the statutory process again.  If the objections are dismissed, the plans will be finalised.
 
Our focus has been on just 2 miles of road that bisect the Killiecrankie Battlefield.  This small stretch forms part of a 13.4 mile section from Killiecrankie to Glen Garry, one of the longest in the entire A9 dualling project.
 
The Inquiry exposed the central dispute at Killiecrankie.  Our case is that Transport Scotland’s plan has an unnecessarily adverse impact on the battlefield.  We maintain that the plan to widen on the northbound carriage will damage or destroy important features of the battlefield because the road will be built exactly where the two sides engaged in the Battle of Killiecrankie.  The proposed alignment will cover the strip of land where the fighting was concentrated and most lives were lost.
 
Transport Scotland says the area of mortal combat is not special and that building there would be less damaging than widening on the southbound carriage.
 
In our opinion, Transport Scotland’s analysis is wrong, conveniently so, and fails to interpret the information gathered from the latest investigations.
 
Transport Scotland claims that its analysis complies with the Inventory of Historic Battlefields, the list of Scotland’s most important battle sites.  However, the planners have ignored the fundamental reason for creating the Inventory: to protect and enhance the historic character of our environment so that we understand who we are.
 
Significantly, this is the first time that Scotland’s ambition and policy to protect important battlefields has been tested.