Opinion: Dunoon has a vote, but we just take note

Locally elected councillors are set to have less say on Kilcreggan’s pier and ferry service than people from Dunoon.

And key information about a new vessel for the Kilcreggan ferry has been shared with councillors from Cowal, but not those who represent its passengers.

A report on infrastructure at Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan piers- revealed here last month – has finally appeared on the agenda of Argyll and Bute Council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee.

It states that Kilcreggan’s pier, which is owned by the council, may need to be redeveloped, but the agenda item is listed only as ‘for noting’, whereas the equivalent Bute and Cowal committee earlier this month was given the opportunity to decide on a response.

And the Dunoon meeting was also given a presentation which included the date when a new boat is due on the Kilcreggan route – that document is not due to be shared with councillors on this side of the Clyde.

It’s fair to say that Kilcreggan does seem something of an afterthought in the presentation, which is headed ‘Gourock Dunoon Project’ and produced by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL).

But it does refer to the council’s ‘commitment to maintaining and upgrading facilities at Dunoon and Kilcreggan, as well as ‘resilient passenger vessel infrastructure’ for both routes.

Target milestones for the project are shown as next spring for an outline business case for new vessels, and winter 2021 for an outline case for infrastructure.

The tender date for vessels one and two is given as spring 2022, but there is no indication of which route these are destined for.

The three vessels are due for delivery in spring, summer and autumn of 2024, while shoreside construction is due to start in spring 2023 and be complete in autumn 2025.

Councillors at the meeting in Dunoon were given the chance to ask questions after the presentation, whereas those representing the Rosneath Peninsula and Helensburgh area are not due even to see it – if any of them are interested though, they can download it here:

It is perhaps inevitable that these issues are scrutinised more carefully in Cowal than here – our local area committee always meets in 17 miles from KIlcreggan in Helensburgh, where most of its members live, although this might be seen as an opportunity to restore Helensburgh’s pier and ferry service.

No meeting in Dunoon is far from the £5.4m white elephant of a vehicle linkspan, which looks like it will never be used as intended.

But both services are lifeline and classed as lifeline – so both deserve equal consideration from our elected politicians, while we will all pay the bill if plans for pontoons at Gourock, Kilcreggan and Dunoon are revived after being shelved amidst secrecy eight years ago.

Ironically, back in March councillors in Dunoon told Transport Scotland that ‘proper consultation can only take place on a transparent basis’.

The council needs to take its own advice if it wants to avoid the impression that some parts of Argyll and Bute are more democratic than others.