£320,000 contract for Kilcreggan ferry awarded

A new contract for the Kilcreggan to Gourock ferry service was awarded today by Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT).

Clydelink will carry on running the ferry until July 2018 and possibly beyond, SPT’s operations committee has agreed.

Clydelink’s bid was for an annual subsidy of £247,999 – £87,807 more than currently – but the meeting heard this was £60,000 less than a bid by Gareloch Support Services.

The meeting also heard that a third company had also submitted a tender, but this was ruled out as being non-compliant.

The current contract expires on March 31 and bus services manager Alex Scott said only one company had applied when tenders were initially invited last month, so it had been re-advertised to ensure best value.

He confirmed to the meeting that Transport Scotland had agreed in principle to take over the route, integrating it with the Dunoon to Gourock ferry, a new contract for which takes effect in July this year.

The SPT contract can be extended if required, and Mr Scott said of Transport Scotland: “They did indicate that the way forward as they saw it was to incorporate the Kilcreggan service into the Dunoon service. but they did not see it as practical to do that in the first year of the Dunoon contract.

“July 2018 is the indicative date when Transport Scotland might incorporate the contract into the Dunoon one, but we can extend it for up to seven years should anything go amiss.”

Following pressure from Cove and Kilcreggan Community Council companies were asked to bid for two services, one including a later sailing from Gourock to help commuters, but Mr Scott said this would mean almost doubling the cost, so the timetable will remain the same.

This still represents a 54% increase from the current annual subsidy of £160,000, which an SPT official said was due to increases in harbour dues by CMAL and Argyll and Bute Council.

South Ayrshire councillor Bill Grant said the cost ‘rankled’: “It is a significant increase. There are three main beneficiaries – two councils but the principal beneficiary is the MoD.

“Have any approaches been made to the MoD to subsidise this additional cost?”

But he received no backing, and chief executive Gordon Maclennan said the MoD had been approached five years ago but did not consider the ferry to be on its travel plan so would not assist, and there was not time now to make the request, however Cllr Grant said SPT could still write to the MoD threatening to withdraw the service.

Both Mr Maclennan and Argyll and Bute councillor Robert MacIntyre said the new contract was still cheaper than the previous one with Clyde Marine, which expired in 2012, and more than £1m had been saved on the contract in the last five years. while the Kilcreggan ferry often sailed when Dunoon sailings were suspended because of bad weather.