No boats – no votes!
A full house of politicians got the message from the people of Dunoon on Friday night – “enough is enough – get our ferry service sorted out!”
A packed Queen’s Hall - estimated to be around 300 people - was a clear indication that patience was running out over the issue, as a public meeting called by Dunoon Community Council gave the elected representatives the opportunity to hear at first hand the views of local electors.
And a quote which will be remembered for some time came from Ronnie Smith as he wound up the meeting with a stark message to the top table:
“No boats – no votes!”
Mr Smith stepped into the breach as chairman at short notice, but he ran the meeting in an inspired fashion. He is secretary of Dunoon Community Council, and is also a member of the Pier Pressure Group, along with Professor Neil Kay and Captain Sandy Ferguson. The group has been fighting the corner for the retention of two ferry services for some time, and has been instrumental in keeping the issue alive and in the public eye.
Mr Smith began by outlining the sequence of events to date, a catalogue of mismanagement, incompetence, and indecision over a quarter of a century which had created continuing uncertainty over the lifeline Dunoon-Gourock route, a situation which prevailed until the present day.
He explained that the purpose of the meeting was to seek a way ahead, and warned that he would not allow it to be used as a political platform.
The platform party consisted of Jamie McGrigor, Conservative list MSP; Mary Galbraith, Labour Prospective Parliamentary Candidate; George Lyon, MSP for Argyll and Bute and a Liberal Democrat; Councillor Brian Chennell, chairman of Bute and Cowal Area Committee; Jim Mather, SNP list MSP; Alan Reid, Liberal Democrat MP and Alyn Smith, SNP, MEP.
The members of the platform party were asked to give their view on the situation. George Lyon said local people had to be consulted, but pointed out that Western Ferries had 85 percent of vehicle business. It would be watching, and would certainly complain to the EU if its position was threatened, and rightly so.
Jim Mather observed that the turnout said it all in terms of popular feeling. The £2.5m subsidy paid to CalMac was effectively a subsidy to Western Ferries because the frequency restriction on the CalMac route made it an unattractive proposition for vehicle drivers. He had talked to bidders who felt the dice were loaded.
He expressed disappointment at the non-attendance of both CalMac and Western Ferries, and felt that this was a discourtesy.
For Labour, Mary Galbraith pointed out that her own background was Kintyre, so she had an understanding of the situation faced by the people of Cowal. There was a need for clarity on the CalMac route, and it needed to be done quickly.
Jamie McGrigor said he was not surprised people were angry, but he then raised hackles when he asked what would happen if there were no Western Ferries. “It would be extremely dangerous,” he said, “if we went back to a monopoly, we don’t want to risk putting the private operator out of business.”
This statement engendered mutterings from the hall which were certainly not supportive. Ronnie Smith interjected by suggesting that an extended service by CalMac, or any other operator into Dunoon Pier was unlikely to put Western Ferries out of business.
He said: “Western Ferries’ profitability is at the level most Scottish companies would kill to achieve. It is very firmly established.”
Cllr Brian Chennell said that while the history was important they had to look forward, commenting: “The ferry service is too important to be a political football.
“Our position is clear - we want a centre to centre vehicle and passenger service.”
He posed the question: “How can we promote Dunoon as the Gateway to the National Park if we don’t have cars coming into it? That’s ridiculous.”
Alan Reid suggested that a passenger-only option might be better than what existed at the moment, and that the £2.5m currently expended on subsidy could perhaps be better spent on two high-speed passenger ferries to give a frequent service.
“It’s important that we get your views on this,” he said.
It was hard not to suspect that this was precisely the opportunity that Ronnie Smith was waiting for; he immediately asked the public for those supporting such a concept to raise their hands.
There was a unanimous lack of support from the floor for the proposition. Not a single hand came up.
MEP Alyn Smith said the difficulty arose from the fact that there were a number of layers of UK government which were simply not coming together.
“The rules being applied just don’t match the Scottish reality,” he said.
He went on to explain that Europe stretched from the Arctic circle to Cyprus, and that EU law was designed to be interpreted to suit particular requirements. However, under the terms of the Scotland Act, which created the devolved government, the interpretation taken was the harshest possible.
The situation was made worse because access to the European Court of Justice was through the Secretary of State for Scotland, not the Scottish Executive.
“Any normal country would interpret what fits their reality best,” he said, “we take the most literal interpretation, and that’s the least advantageous.”
Professor Neil Kay was called upon to speak from the floor. Professor Kay has been one of the most outspoken critics of the way the ferry issue has been handled, and was recently accused by Alan Reid of being a member of ‘the SNP letter-writing squad’ in the pages of the Dunoon Observer.
He opened his presentation by pointing out that he had been a member of a political party, and had in fact acted as constituency secretary during his membership. That party was the Liberal Party – a disclosure which brought forth considerable laughter from the audience, but was received rather less warmly by the two party representatives on the platform.
Professor Kay reinforced Mr Smith’s views on what had transpired in Europe. He said that putting subsidised passenger-only vessels on the route made little sense – unrestricted passenger/vehicle carriers would generate a great deal more revenue.
Turning to Europe, he said: “The answer you get depends upon the question you ask. The commission doesn’t determine strategy – they are the referees.
“We were told that if the tender process didn’t work there were other options on the table; the tender process should have been completed a year ago, so it’s reasonable to assume since it’s a year late the alternatives are ready.
“Where are they?
“Why not build and lease the ships? there’s nothing to stop you under EU rules from doing that.”
George Lyon said that the options open were a passenger only service; under pressure to explain what else was being considered he said that another was an unrestricted vehicle/passenger service.
However, Cllr Chennell said that this was not quite his understanding of the situation. He had also attended the meeting with Tavish Scott, and understood the position to be that the route could have an increased passenger-only service or the status quo; the option of an unrestricted vehicle/passenger service had not been discussed.
He added “How on earth are we supposed to decide on options if we don’t know what they are?”
Cllr Dick Walsh said that the meeting gave him an opportunity to express his personal frustration, and his views echoed both Alyn Smith and Professor Kay.
“This has dragged on since before devolution,” he said.
He remembered plans to consult on the future of the route being raised by a Scottish Office minister as far back as 1996. There had been meetings in Westminster, Brussels and Edinburgh and things were no further forward.
“Having supported our bid for cash to create a breakwater and ferry linkspan, they have created so much uncertainty as to its future use with the potential for large sums of public cash to be wasted if the issue is not appropriately resolved.”
Cllr Bruce Marshall said that his view would not be popular when he suggested that Western Ferries had provided an excellent service for 30 years and was capable of coping with vehicle traffic on its own.
He was right; his comments attracted a storm of disapproval from the body of the hall.
Captain Sandy Ferguson said that he had been working for Western Ferries as a ship’s master when they operated the Islay route. “They got a lucrative offer from Mexico for the Isle of Jura, which was operating the run at the time, and they sold her and left the people of Islay in the lurch.
“Don’t pretend they’re doing it for the community- they’re doing it for the money - that’s why they’re here and not on Islay.”
The meeting concluded with closing remarks from the platform party. All of them said that the message from the floor was the desire for an unrestricted vehicle/passenger service between Gourock and Dunoon town centre. Both Alan Reid and George Lyon gave a commitment to work closely with Alyn Smith in an attempt to come up with a solution.
Western Ferries’ Managing Director Gordon Ross said on Monday that he hadn’t attended the meeting because he hadn’t been invited.
“That’s perfectly true,” said Ronnie Smith. “In the past CalMac have always been invited to meetings of this sort and have always declined, and in fairness - given the number of people already on the platform, we decided to invite neither. However on previous occasions, latterly when Ken Cadenhead was managing director, he came as a member of the public and spoke from the body of the hall, and there was nothing to stop Mr Ross doing the same.”
In a joint letter to this week’s Safety Valve Alan Reid and George Lyon said that they would work with Argyll and Bute Council and Scotland’s representatives in the European Parliament to achieve the best service that European rules will allow.
“We have told Transport Minister Tavish Scott the views of the local community. We have urged him and Argyll and Bute Council to go back to Brussels and secure a far better deal than the restricted service that former Transport Minister Lewis Macdonald and local Councillors Walsh and Macaskill negotiated with the Commission in 2003.”


Couple’s miracle escape
A COUPLE had a mirac-ulous escape when tons of mud and debris poured down the hill on to their house.
Their house, in Broomfield Drive, Dunoon, was buried in the avalanche on Wednesday night.
Jeff and Marion Douglas were only able to exit their house out of the front window, since the entrance door is at the side of the property and was buried by debris.
The bungalow, Springfield, is one of two properties which sit across the top of the drive. The other, Rowandene, was unoccupied at the time.
Behind the houses is a steep slope leading up to Kilbride Road. The road itself collapsed, and a flood of earth and rubble thundered down the slope, burying the rear of both houses up to the top of the windows and pouring round the sides of the properties.
Mr and Mrs Douglas were watching TV when the avalanche struck, burying their kitchen, bathroom and utility room.
Mr Douglas said: “I dread to think what could have happened if we were elsewhere in the house. We’re lucky to get out alive.
“The garden just collapsed in on us and the whole back of the house is buried by soil.”
He went on: “There’s not a lot that can be done. Maybe the house will have to be demolished now.
“I just don’t know what’s going to happen.
“We’re staying with my stepdaughter for the time being, but I have no idea when we’ll get back into the house - if at all.”
Constant torrential rain over the last few weeks had undermined Kilbride Road.
Firefighters were alerted at 8.45pm, and helped the couple to escape the property via the front windows. Also quickly on the scene were police and utility workers.
Neighbouring houses were evacuated because the water supply pipe, which runs under Kilbride Road, was fractured. The gas main, which also runs along the road, was left exposed, but was apparently undamaged.
However, the fractured water main was causing concern, since the flow of water coming from it was adding to the instability of the ground under the remains of the road before Scottish Water operatives managed to isolate the pipe
There were also concerns about the surviving portion of the road, since it was cracking some distance to the rear of the collapsed area.
Ironically, there is a flood prevention scheme in hand for the Kilbride Road area, but it is currently awaiting approval from the Scottish Executive.
A council spokeswoman said that over 1,000 tons of rubble had gone down the hill, and a garage and greenhouse had been destroyed.
At this stage it was impossible to ascertain the scale of damage to the properties themselves.
Kilbride Road will be blocked for the foreseeable future, but this, said the spokeswoman, should not inconvenience anyone, since there were alternative routes. A survey would be carried out to establish the amount of damage. The gas main had been disconnected, but this would not affect anyone and the water main had been turned off.
Elsewhere in the area, there was some flooding on the Loch Eck Road, but it remained passable. The Hell’s Glen road, however, was blocked by an overflowing burn, and the fire brigade were called to Sandhaven where pumps were deployed to reduce the effects of flooding to properties on the estate.


Who’s a tube?
SAYING ‘you tube’ to somebody is not normally a very nice thing to say, saying it to somebody who has a chainsaw in their hand is normally plain crazy. Not so in the case of Andy MacLachlan of Chainsaw Craft. In fact, it actually brings a smile to his face!
When Andy’s pal Murdo Ross, from DesigningScotland.com, decided to make a website for him, he also thought that making a video of Andy in action might not do any harm either. Once he had made the five minute video of an owl being sculptured, he had a brainwave and entered it onto the You Tube website.
You Tube is a consumer media company that was founded in February 2005 for people to watch and share original videos worldwide, and has more than 70 million videos watched every day.
Earlier this month the video, which has been given a four-and-a-half out of five score, was the most watched on the website and had amassed (at the time of going to press) a staggering 340,000 visits. Within 24 hours, over 1000 comments had been left by people who were so impressed with his work that they felt obliged to let him know.
Andy, who was a forestry chainsaw operator for 20 years before starting carving professionally in 1999, said: “It’s unreal. My kids think it’s really cool seeing their dad on their computer.” Talking about his own website, Andy continued: “ When we checked how many hits my website was getting, it went from a few a day, to all of a sudden there was 40,000 on one day.”
Murdo added: “It’s amazing what you can do if you approach things properly. Through the internet, you are able to broaden peoples horizons and that is what I set out to do when I made the website and the video. When making the video we had to ensure it was done properly, so that Andy’s work looked as good as it is in real life. As a result, we have had interest from a TV show in America who want to buy some clips and internet radio stations have also picked up on it.”
Andy’s sculptures start from around £50, and he can make pretty much anything. Recently he has made a Bob the Builder for some lucky youngsters Christmas, and a Porsche for some not-such-a-youngsters Christmas present. “I can turn my hand to most things,” he said. “You name it and I should be able to make it.”
For more information, and to see some of his works of art, why not pop down to his premises at Rashfield, by Dunoon, or visit his website www.chainsawcraft.com. Alternatively, log onto www.youtube.com and go to ‘ChainsawCraft.com - making an owl sculpture’ to see what all the fuss is about.


Fiddlers, Food and Fun at Benmore
THE COURTYARD Gallery at Benmore Gardens was the venue for a night of ‘Fiddlers, Food and Fun’ last Saturday, hosted by Dr Sandy Smith and his wife Morag.
The event, which was organised by the National Botanic Gardens of Scotland, and run by ‘The Friends of Benmore Gardens’ saw the members and their guests enjoy a Christmas party, where they were kept topped up with mulled wine, and Christmas fayre which was provided by the hardworking members.
The audience, who participated throughout, were kept enthralled all evening by various acts including fiddlers, Gordon Blair, Anne McDonald and Moira Miller from the Cowal Fiddle Workshop, ably assisted by Margaret White on the accordion. Margaret Flanagan sang beautifully, and related a monologue about a fairy (whilst suitably attired!), Val Gillies read some poetry to the captive audience and Robin Reid, not only kept everybody refreshed with the mulled wine, but also recited a very entertaining Para Handy tale.
During the interval, Marion Morrison hosted the popular quiz, although when the winners were later announced, there was some light hearted heckling and booing. Why? It may have been due to Ken Barr winning his third prize of the evening, or possibly because his team answered all 31 questions correctly. Somewhat surprisingly, nobody asked for a stewards enquiry!
The evening was closed off by Marion Kinns, before the crowd made their way home through the cold night air. Without fail, everyone who had been at the evening left with a huge smile after what was, a fabulous night.
The Friends of Benmore welcome anyone who wish to join and take part in any of the events and activities that take place throughout the year, or purely to enjoy the splendour of the gardens themselves.