NAC leader wants 'urgency' over Ardrossan harbour decision

Councillor Marie Burns said she'd told Transport Scotland, and the country's transport minister Fiona Hyslop, that "improved communication was vital" at a meeting a month ago.

But she told her fellow North Ayrshire councillors that in spite of her plea, she's heard nothing from them since then.

The long-promised upgrade of the Ardrossan terminal to accommodate CalMac's two new Arran ferries remains shrouded in doubt after the transport body called in the project for a review last summer amid concern at rising costs.

Humza Yousaf promised several years ago, when he was Scotland's transport minister, that Ardrossan would remain the Arran ferry's mainland port, in the face of a rival bid from Troon, and that the terminal would be upgraded to enable it to accommodate the bigger ships.

Transport Scotland's review of the project costs was originally expected to be complete by the end of November, and when that date came and went, by the end of February.

But as the end of March nears, the results of the review still haven't been made public - leaving Arran's ferry users, CalMac, North Ayrshire Council and the residents and businesses of Ardrossan in the dark over what the future holds.

The council leader was asked by Ardrossan Labour councillor Amanda Kerr for a progress report at a full council meeting on March 27.

Ms Burns replied: "With island representatives and the local MSP, we met with the cabinet secretary for transport, Fiona Hyslop, about a month ago.

"As I am sure Cllr Kerr will appreciate, the issues around ferry concerns and the business case for Ardrossan Harbour were put very forcefully by those around the table, and the cabinet secretary recognised that.

"We asked for a greater degree of urgency on the part of Transport Scotland, and agreed to do whatever we could within the council to expedite this.

"We also asked for a date to be arranged for the next Task Force meeting, as improved communication is vital.

"We haven't had a response from Transport Scotland on these actions as yet but we are chasing that up, and hope that the completion of the business case for Ardrossan Harbour is imminent."

The NAC leader continued: "In the meantime, the Chief Executive and I had a meeting last night with the Arran representatives who attended the meeting with the Cabinet Secretary and I have agreed to write a further letter to her to push the urgency of completing the business case and holding a meeting of the task force."

In addition to Transport Scotland's review, a report commissioned by the council from economists The Fraser of Allander Institute on the business case for Ardrossan was sent to the Scottish Government some time ago

The lack of further announcement has fuelled fears that the service could permanently shift to Troon, which is already in use as a relief port - causing economic devastation to Ardrossan and Arran.

The second Arran port - the 'Irish berth' - was closed permanently by Ardrossan harbour's owners, Peel Ports, in mid-January on safety grounds.

Since then, bad weather and repairs to the one remaining operational berth at Ardrossan have meant the route's relief ferry, MV Isle of Arran, has run to and from Troon on several occasions.

The closure of the 'Irish berth' also means MV Alfred, the privately-owned catamaran being chartered by CalMac to provide vital additional capacity on the network, can no longer operate to or from Ardrossan.

MV Alfred is due to start sailing between Troon and Brodick on Friday, March 29, when CalMac's new summer timetable comes into force.

The ship will provide two return sailings a day from Monday-Friday, and three on Saturdays and Sundays, until August 21, to supplement MV Isle of Arran's Ardrossan-Brodick crossings.

MV Isle of Arran has been providing cover on the Ardrossan route since early January, and is expected to continue doing so for several more months, after the overhaul of the route's usual vessel, MV Caledonian Isles, uncovered the need for major repairs.