Highland Council plans 'biggest' single investment in roads

Highland Council is responsible for the longest non-trunk road network in Scotland

Highland Council is planning its "biggest ever" single investment in roads projects.

An extra £20m is proposed for capital schemes and an additional £1.3m of annual revenue for road maintenance as part of the authority's 2020-21 budget.

Highland Council has responsibility for the longest non-trunk road network in the UK, about 4,189 miles (6,740km).

The local authority plans to fund the new investment by increasing council tax by 4.84%.

Highland Council said 3% of the tax increase would be used to balance its budget and 1.84% for investing in roads.

The council's full budget proposals will be discussed by councillors at a special meeting in Inverness on 5 March.

Highland's road network includes 1,000 miles (1,609km) of footways and 1,400 bridges.