Feedback on the £9.3m plans for Kilcreggan Harbour has been ‘fantastic’, Argyll and Bute Council said this week.
A Save Kilcreggan Pier Facebook group already has 620 members after launching when the plans for a pontoon and breakwater were revealed last month.
And the design was branded ‘a missed opportunity’ when it was shown to Cove and Kilcreggan Community Council, with several members calling for the village’s Victorian pier to be adapted instead.
There are fears that the 125 year-old pier will fall into disrepair if isn’t regularly used by a ferry, as happened with the pier in nearby Helensburgh, which was closed to mariners in 2018.
Consultation was due to run from December to January, with the preferred options for Kilcreggan and Dunoon – with an estimated total cost of £17m – being confirmed at the end of this month.
But a council spokesperson said this week that the consultation was still on schedule, since dates in a briefing note (shown above) had been ‘estimated’.
She added: “Making sure everyone has a say is an important part of the work to improve infrastructure at Kilcreggan and Dunoon Piers.
“We have received fantastic pre-consultation feedback from communities and key stakeholders.
“We are listening to that feedback and have taken on board many of the comments to make the consultation as up to date as possible.
“As part of the formal consultation, we are preparing video presentations and an online response form that incorporates the responses we have already received.”
She said the consultation would soon be available on the council’s website, with ‘roadshow events’ being planned together with Transport Scotland, CalMac and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL).
“Hard copies of the consultation will also be available at these events and at Kilcreggan and Dunoon piers,” she added.
Meanwhile, it has emerged that the detailed results of a consultation on the new vessels to be used on the Dunoon route – and possibly Kilcreggan as well – will not be made public.
The public was invited to comment on plans for a 40-metre catamaran or monohull vessel, the design of which will govern the new infrastructure in Kilcreggan since the Dunoon boat will be used as a relief vessel.
The detailed results of a 2020 survey of current Dunoon passengers were shared on CMAL’s website.
But today a CMAL spokesperson said answers to points raised in the most recent survey were being provided via an updated Q&A document instead.
“The questions in the vessel survey were open so didn’t lend themselves to a similar reporting structure as the previous consultation, which was multiple choice,” she said.
“We have grouped the respondents’ questions into common themes, ensuring that full answers could be provided in the Q&A document.”
The consultation was said to be about the Dunoon vessel only, though on the day that it closed a Tweet from CMAL’s official account said that it was also for the Kilcreggan boat.
This is your last day to have your say on the design process for a new passenger-only vessel to serve the routes between #Gourock, #Dunoon and #Kilcreggan. Click the link to learn more and share your views: https://t.co/KiXPVkOh0b pic.twitter.com/1uN4zAym7g
— CMAL (@CMAssets) January 10, 2022
The spokesperson said today: “Regarding the Kilcreggan vessel, CMAL’s vessels team are carrying out further work on potential concept vessels for Kilcreggan, and will follow-on with a consultation exercise.”
The document shows only five recent questions about the vessel design which match the timescale of the consultation:
- Reliable vessels are required for certainty in commuting, attending hospital appointments, travelling on-holiday and shopping, how will this be achieved?
- The 12kt speed limit places a significant restriction on the possibilities for a future vessel. What would be possible with a higher speed vessel?
- The current catamaran is unreliable, why would the proposed catamaran be more reliable?
- Why are half the seats facing backwards? This will be uncomfortable in waves.
- And how will getting on and off the vessels be improved?
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