A Helensburgh resident has been voted on to a key group to decide the future of Kilcreggan’s ferry and pier – rather than a locally-based councillor.
Cllr Maurice Corry was appointed to the Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan Harbour Reference Group, beating Kilcreggan resident Mark Irvine by a single vote.
Both councillors represent the Lomond north ward, which includes the Rosneath Peninsula, but Cllr Corry’s election literature mentioned the pier in Helensburgh rather than Kilcreggan’s Victorian B-listed pier, while Cllr Irvine says he is familiar with the village’s lifeline ferry service from his time as a local community councillor.
Argyll and Bute Council’s history of democratic representation on this group, which gives feedback on designs for new ferries and the hugely controversial Kilcreggan Harbour project, is not a happy one, with councillors from the Dunoon area voting on issues which affected Kilcreggan while local representatives had fewer updates and no opportunity to vote.
Read more: Dunoon gets a vote while we just take note
Initially the only councillor on the reference group was from the Dunoon area.
After the imbalance was revealed by this website Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL) belatedly invited the council in spring 2020 to nominate a representative for the Rosneath Peninsula.
Several months went by before Conservative Cllr Barbara Morgan was nominated – only to resign from the council without attending any meetings of the ferry group.
Cllr George Freeman then replaced her, but he lost his seat in last month’s election.
At last week’s meeting of the council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee Cllr Corry’s nomination was backed by his fellow Conservatives, as well as their Liberal Democrat partners in the TALIG coalition which runs the council.
Cllr Irvine, an independent, was proposed by Labour’s Cllr Fiona Howard, but Cllr Corry was appointed by five votes to four.
Afterwards Cllr Irvine said he was ‘somewhat disappointed’ by the decision as it had a specific focus on Kilcreggan where he has lived for ten years.
“Having spent the past 12-months being heavily involved in the consultation process, as a community councillor, and now as an elected member, it feels like an opportunity has been missed to utilise that expertise and knowledge – and I am sure that the residents of Cove and Kilcreggan will share my concerns,” he said.
“If we are to truly look after the interests of Kilcreggan and its vital ferry service, and iconic pier, we cannot afford to be distracted by diverting attention towards Helensburgh pier, as seems to be the case, especially as this is a Lomond north issue and not a Helensburgh issue.”
Helensburgh pier was closed to mariners in 2018 following years of neglect by the council.
Since then the council has approved spending to improve aspects of its appearance and applied for ‘levelling up’ funding from the UK government to reopen it, but its future remains unclear at best.
Cllr Irvine added: “The specific focus of the harbour reference group is Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan – not Helensburgh.
“To hear Cllr Corry say he ‘had an interest’ in this matter because of his involvement in Helensburgh pier is something of a slap in the face for the residents of Kilcreggan who need a dedicated voice, preferably from someone who actually lives in the village, in fact in the ward.
“It is clear that the needs of the residents of Kilcreggan do not matter to this administration.”
Cllr Howard said after the meeting: “I proposed Mark because he was by far and away the best qualified to deal with ferry issues, having been closely involved for many years as a community councillor.
“Unfortunately that didn’t carry any weight with the administration councillors.”
Cllr Corry has not responded to requests for comment.
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