Building a bypass on Fairlie beach, or even through the train tunnel, would be financially more viable, than around the back of the village, a civil engineering expert has claimed.

John Riddell, who was recently a community councillor, has raised strong concerns about the possibility of a bypass ever being built to the east - due to excessive construction costs and environmental concerns.

He has suggested that the government would therefore need to look at an alternative of building a bypass to the west of Fairlie which would ‘simply involve a new road along the whole seaward frontage of the village on a raised embankment.’ He added this would extend from a new roundabout at Southannan to close to the east side of the sewage pumping station at the former Fairlie Pier and then north through the community garden site, which would need to be re-located.

Mr Riddell explained: “It would then enter Fairlie Quay where it would pass between the existing sheds and the railway. It would rise on an embankment or viaduct to cross the railway close to the location of the existing road bridge originally constructed to serve the former NATO base. The route would then descend to the north of the Fairle Bowling Club to again rejoin the present trunk road. Mr Riddell added that the community garden would require to be relocated under this option.

Mr Riddell stated: “Another option would be a route still further to the east than that earlier outlined. or an interesting further possibility would be to close the Largs railway and utilise the existing Fairlie Tunnel” In his report for the Largs ‘News’, Mr Riddell has highlighted a major constraint as the Largs railway, and a crossing of that railway by any bypass route.

In terms of the building to the east side of Fairlie behind Castlepark, Mr Riddell said: “Coming from the south it is possible that a new roundabout would be formed on the Fairlie side of the railway bridge at Southannan carrying the freight line into the Clydeport terminal. From the new roundabout a first option would be for the new road to go off to the north-east.

“After crossing the Glen Burn and passing through the woodland of the Southannan Estate and the open ground to the east of Semple Crescent the road would reach the Largs railway at a point close to the south end of Montgomerie Drive. Over this length it would require to rise to a level which would allow a crossing of the single track line, resulting in a large embankment between the roundabout and the railway crossing.

“A new heavily skewed bridge across the railway would be followed by major works on the steep slope to the east of Montgomerie Drive before a crossing of first the Southannan Burn and then the Fairlie Burn. Both burns flow in deep glens and the crossings, either by viaduct or embankment, would be significant civil engineering structures.” Mr Riddell believes that a deep cutting or even a tunnel would be required to the east of the south end of Castlepark Drive, as well as a new access road to Fairlie Castle. The bypass would then run north parallel to Castlepark Drive and Castlepark Gardens to the east of Keppenburn Avenue and Baillie Road before rejoining the existing trunk road at a new roundabout at the main entrance to Kelburn Estate.

He added that this option would involve ‘very considerable construction costs’, and added that if a future Scottish Government could ever be persuaded that a Fairlie bypass was a national roads priority, alternative and cheaper routes would likely be considered.

“It hardly needs to be said that both the potential east and west routes around Fairlie would raise major amenity and environmental concerns that could be very difficult, if not impossible, to resolve.”