Closures continue on A83 at The Rest and Be Thankful five years on from landslip

Since opening in 2022, day trippers across Scotland have been attracted to The Boat Shed for its coffee and lochside views.

But like so many businesses across Argyll, the café relies on the stretch of the A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, a road plagued by decades of closures and convoy delays.

Often the road diversions via the neighbouring Old Military Road fail to show up on Sat Nav devices, making it harder for businesses like The Boat Shed to bring in customers.

Café owner Neil Patterson told STV News: “We’ve got an amazing location. But we are now dependent on day-trippers and if people are sitting in Glasgow or Edinburgh and they’ve got to get a ferry or go via Crianlarich, they’ll just leave it until another time.

Neil Patterson, owner of The Boat Shed STV News

“But what that means for us is we can have a full team of staff here and almost nobody to serve. So it literally can make the difference between us making a profit or losing money.”

He added: “The other challenge in this area is staffing and we have some staff commuting from Glasgow and if the diversion is on, it can add another hour to their journey.”

This week marks five years since the road was closed to two-way traffic after a major landslip and temporary traffic lights were put in place.

For local residents and businesses, it’s just the latest unwelcome anniversary of the long-running problems with the now-infamous road.

A series of diversions via the single-track Old Military Road have been in place on various dates throughout the summer and will be in place again on Monday and Tuesday.

Traffic diverted onto the Old Military Road STV News

The diversions are due to ground investigations, which Transport Scotland hopes will test the land and pave the way for an ambitious £470m debris tunnel solution in the area.

The plans are currently out to tender, but campaigners say action has been too slow and now have doubts about commitments beyond next year’s Scottish Parliament elections.

John Gurr, the chair of the Rest and Be Thankful Campaign Group, said: “All we’re asking for is a two-way road that stays open when it rains.

“This impacts not only people trying to reach the central belt because for hospital appointments or to access services and get to other parts of the country. It’s also impacting businesses.

“Argyll is a phenomenal place that generates a lot for Scotland and gets overlooked, and this one road is a lifeline road.”

Scottish Labour MSP Jackie Baillie, whose Dumbarton constituency covers the area, said: “We’ve been talking about this for 13 years now.

“Nobody can tell me how long this is going to take.

“I fail to understand why it’s going to be quite so expensive and why it’s going to take quite so long. Local people tell me there is another solution, which is to enhance the Old Military Road and create something that can be done quicker and cheaper.

A Transport Scotland spokesperson said the Scottish Government remained committed to “delivering a permanent and resilient infrastructure solution”.

The statement said: “The situation is being treated with the seriousness and urgency it deserves, with measures to maintain connectivity on a short, medium and long term basis being implemented to ensure Argyll & Bute remains open for business.

“Following the announcement of a debris flow shelter on the existing road as the preferred route, draft Orders for both the long-term solution and future phases of the medium-term solution for the diversionary route along the Old Military Road (OMR) have been published.

“Whilst there is always a desire to deliver proposed improvements to the trunk road network in a timely and efficient manner to provide the associated benefits to the affected communities and wider population, we are duty-bound to follow the correct statutory planning process. The statutory right for individuals to have their say on proposals cannot be set aside.

“This summer has seen considerable progress made with ground investigation work carried out, which is essential in gaining a greater understanding of the ground composition, the nature and depth of superficial deposits and the strength and depth of rockhead in order to design the foundations for the proposed scheme.

“Meantime, the investment to date for short-term mitigation measures, such as catch pits, has kept the road open when previously it would have been closed for considerable periods of time.”