A NEW campaign group, TRANSform Scotland, has called upon the Scottish Office to pursue alternatives to the proposed #250m extension of the M74 through south-east Glasgow to the M8.

The group, which represents some 20 organisations with interests in transport and the environment in Scotland, has been developing proposals to establish a new campaign for sustainable transport in Scotland since last autumn and will be launched officially in autumn of this year.

In a letter to Scottish Secretary Donald Dewar, the campaign's working group said it was writing to him in advance of the organisation's formal establishment ''in view of the current public focus on Scottish transport policy and more specifically the recent at-tempts by sections of the business lobby to make the case for an M74 extension through the south-east of Glasgow''.

Meanwhile, Glasgow Chamber of Commerce President Duncan Tannahill has exp-ressed concern at the amount of time the Government will take to review its transport policy and warned that every delay in making a decision on the M74 damaged Scotland's competitiveness on an international scale.

Writing in this month's issue of The Journal, Mr Tannahill gives a cautious welcome to the Government review but stresses that Scotland cannot wait forever for the road to be completed.

He said: ''The completion of the M74 is crucial to the future success of Scotland's economy and must be prioritised as such. Without better trading links around Glasgow, our trading prospects will be disadvantaged and our inward investment successes will be reduced significantly.''

Mr Tannahill made a direct appeal to the Secretary of State to put the M74 to the top of his road-building agenda. He welcomed the decision by Scotland's business community to come together in support of the M74 but urged it to take a stronger stance in defending such projects.

''Far from destroying communities, new roads and infrastructure, if properly planned within an integrated transport policy, can rejuvenate areas of poverty and increase the economic prosperity of a region,'' he said.

Meanwhile, the working group of TRANSform Scotland, which includes Friends of the Earth Scotland, Scottish Association for Public Transport, Railway Development Society, Road Traffic Reduction Campaign, Scottish Wildlife Trust, and Socialist Environment and Resources Association, has said it applauds in particular the statement by Scottish Transport Minister Malcolm Chisholm that major road improvements will need to be compared against the benefits of other transport options.