Rejected designs for ‘Kilcreggan Harbour’ have finally been made public following a 10-month struggle using Freedom of Information (FOI) legislation.
The 13 drawings, which show pontoons and solid quay structures on both sides of the village’s pier, were produced early last year as part of a £170,000 contract with consultants Mott MacDonald.
Argyll and Bute Council said revealing them would undermine public confidence in the project and an FOI request was refused – they have only been handed over now following the intervention of the Scottish Information Commissioner’s office.
Six of the designs are for a vessel the same size as the current MV Chieftain, rather than the new 40-metre ferries planned for Dunoon which have been a primary justification for the controversial £9.3m preferred option.
The existence of these designs for a smaller ferry has not been mentioned previously by the council or the other public bodies involved in the project – Transport Scotland, CalMac and Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL).
The preferred option was heavily criticised by community councillors when it was revealed last year, and the council has now said it is producing new drawings which include the village’s B-listed pier.
Read more: Villagers say Kilcreggan harbour project should include 125 year-old pier
A public consultation over the preferred design was due to finish last month but has now been delayed until after May’s council elections.
Tom Walker, who grew up in the village, started a Save Kilcreggan Pier Facebook group which now has nearly 700 members.
He said today: “It’s great news that the effort put in by our group members through letter writing and emailing about this important issue has yielded some early results.
“The council had a fast-track timetable for this project which has been paused, and plans for a solution involving the pier are being drawn up.
“I hope they use this time to develop plans that are in keeping with the village, and are more subtle than a giant metal pontoon and a sea wall.
“The pier cannot be left to fall in the disrepair like Helensburgh’s listed pier.
“During the election period and after we will be holding those in decision-making positions’ feet to the fire on this.
“It’s clear that many in the village love the pier, and welcome the potential investment in infrastructure and what that could bring.”
The designs appear to based on obsolete maps, since they take account of floating moorings which have not been in place for several years, and do not show the houses of some residents who would be most affected by the development.
All the designs are shown below – click to enlarge the image. The current preferred option is 4A.
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