Marina Expansion
BOTH SIDES SPEAK OUT
Residents along the Sandbank shoreline have protested after work began last week on expanding the Holy Loch Marina.
One local woman, Mrs Sandra Wilson, took the protest to the site itself last Thursday, obstructing working plant to highlight the issue. Police were called, and Mrs Wilson received a police warning for her actions.
This work is taking place to the rear of Clyde Cottages and neighbouring buildings on the shore side of the A815 through Sandbank.
Matt Downs, owner and developer of the marina complex, maintains that all works are being carried out legally and in line with planning requirements.
We have interviewed both sides of this dispute, and their views are given below.
THE DEVELOPER’S VIEW
Glasgow - born Matt Downs comes from a civil engineering background. Before coming to Cowal, he ran a manufacturing business - making bus shelters, walkways, and other public canopies.
Under the trading title ‘Seavision (Scotland) Ltd’, Mr Downs purchased the original marina site in 1999. The previous owner had undertaken initial development work on a marina, going as far as having an application for a 94-berth facility approved before the sale went through.
Subsequent planning applications have increased the number of berths allowed by Argyll and Bute Council’s planning department to 400.
With associated commercial developments on the site such as a new ‘timber pier’ at the old Robertson’s yard site and restaurant/bar plus shop units, this is a substantial development for the area.
“This will provide jobs and prospects for local people, and bring money into the area”, said Mr Downs.
On the current expansion work, Mr Downs said: “The problem was caused by residents’ belief that they had right of access to the foreshore. Legal opinion provided to me before undertaking all this is that I am acting entirely correctly. I also have ownership of the foreshore, and there is no doubt about this.
“When I received planning consent for the development in December, the council thought it would be a good idea to try to resolve some of the residents’ objections by offering a rear service road to 11 neighbouring property owners. I sent written offers in January, and to date I have received some replies rejecting my offer, but most have not replied.
“Once everyone has replied, I will get back to the council; then it is up to them to decide what happens next.
“I have had people standing behind dump trucks this week on the site, and police have been down as a result. In addition, I have been visited twice by environmental protection officers, with no problems found.
“There are some people who say that what I am doing is illegal, but I am within my rights here.”
There is little doubt that the development, which Mr Downs reckons will take up to nine years to complete, will have economic benefits for the area. The protestors themselves acknowledge this.
The approved plans also include an increased timber shipping capacity, which is in line with the Timber Transport Group’s aim of reducing road timber transport across Argyll.
All in all, it seems that the marina complex should provide great benefit to Sandbank and Cowal, once completed.
THE RESIDENTS’ VIEW
Local residents meanwhile have presented several points of objection to the marina development during the planning process.
These include their rights of access to the foreshore; anticipated drainage problems on land adjoining the reclaimed areas, and pollution concerns through dredged seabed materials, plus noise pollution.
Various issues concerning increased vehicular traffic were also raised.
Sandra Wilson is at pains to point out that her actions in obstructing a working dump truck were born of desperation. “There is no way that I would normally undertake to do anything like I did on Thursday. These were the actions of a mum desperate to protect her family. When my son Kevin (who lives at Clyde Cottages) told me that he was being intimidated, I had to do something,” she says.
Residents claim that Mr Downs has acted in a cavalier manner in carrying out the reclamation works in a rushed fashion, with little regard to certain aspects of the approved plans.
Kevin Wilson takes up the story: “When I asked Mr Downs where the planned drainage was, from properties on the shore front - necessary to avoid backing up of drains into gardens etc - he pointed to a stinking mass of flooded spoil, and said ‘There it is’.”
Mr Wilson continued: “Mr Downs promised to negotiate with residents on a service road (as he calls it) and on access rights to the foreshore. He has not done this, but we did get a letter with an offer of a road, which will be mainly for his use, not ours.”
The residents feel that they have been let down by Mr Downs, as local man Greg Devine confirms: “All we are asking is for someone to talk to us.”
Cecilia Colquhoun, also of Clyde Cottages, added: “I sent a written reply rejecting the offer, and asking for an enhanced offer which would protect access rights to the shore. I haven’t even had a reply.”
The residents have formed themselves into a campaign group, but are keen to stress that they support the marina in principle. They do nonetheless object to the methods being used by the developer, as they see it.
Aside from access rights, residents feel that their property values have been destroyed at a stroke by an intrusive development.
Related to property values, they also object to the removal of the views from their back gardens. Resident Bill Cairns takes up the story: “Most of the people along here purchased their houses because of the view. This has now been ruined.”
The Sandbank residents affected by these works feel frustrated. With noise, smell and unwanted activity right behind their homes, they believe their case has not been heard properly throughout the planning process.
Meanwhile, the built-up area grows on the foreshore, gardens are said to be saturated by drainage problems caused by the works, and the shoreline once enjoyed has gone.
As Kevin Wilson says: “My human right to enjoy my property has been destroyed.
“Mr Downs is riding roughshod over us and the council.”


TRAGEDY AT STRACHUR BAY
THE body of well-known Strachur man Walter Harrison was recovered from an open culvert at Strachur Bay at around 8.15 on Sunday morning.
Strachur residents were woken at 6.15am, first light, as a Royal Navy search and rescue helicopter buzzed over the village as part of a combined search operation involving police, coastguard and Royal Navy personnel after the 76 year old was reported missing in the early hours of the morning.
Mr Harrison’s body was discovered by a local man.
Reports suggest that Mr Harrison was escorting a lost tourist to her holiday home when the tragic accident happened on a very dark night.
On Monday morning, the police returned to conduct a fingertip search of the area whilst enquiries were ongoing. After the postmortem examination, however, it was confirmed by police that Mr Harrison’s death is not being treated as suspicious.
Since the weekend police have revisited the area several times, although it has been confirmed that this is purely procedural.
Many locals, however, are incensed over this accident and feel that it could have been avoided.
Mr Harrison’s body was found in an area which Scottish Water and their partners Biwater Leslie worked on last year as they installed the village’s new sewerage system.
Prior to the work being carried out the steep slope, which falls 20 feet to the burn below, was covered in tall, dense vegetation making access to the hazard almost impossible. This vegetation was not replanted after the work was completed, and no barrier was erected to what is basically a hole open on two sides.
As the sewerage works neared completion there was a meeting between Scottish Water, Biwater Leslie, Argyll and Bute Council and local residents at which the danger was raised.
Alan Thomson, Scottish Water’s head of strategic liaison, said: “We were saddened to hear of this tragic accident and our sympathies go out to family and friends. It is important to stress that the facts surrounding the accident have not yet been fully established and therefore we believe that it would be inappropriate to speculate.
“However, I can confirm that the culvert referred to isn’t Scottish Water’s responsibility. Contractors working for us laid a new sewer pipe a short distance away last year and have still to carry out final landscaping as agreed with the community.
“We treat health and safety issues very importantly and believe at this stage that our work is unrelated to this tragic accident.”
Strachur residents were also angry as Mr Harrison’s body lay in a body-bag at the side of the road from 8.30am until 2.30pm before being taken to the mortuary. Regarding this, the police issued the following statement: “This was for ‘sound operational reasons’ whilst investigations were being carried out. The police protected the locus during this time.”
Local councillor Douglas Currie said of the tragedy: “I have known Walter for 50 years and always found him to be of a quiet and kindly nature. He was well liked and respected in the community.
“He was a member of a well known family and worked locally for a number of years. The thoughts of everybody in the village during this very sad time are with his brother Douglas.”


Single Status – the saga continues
As in previous weeks, the Observer has been contacted by numerous angry and upset council workers regarding job evaluations and Single Status.
One female admin officer who has been employed by Argyll and Bute Council for several years stands to lose approximately £1,600 if the Single Status agreements come into force.
Some of her colleagues, however, stand to lose as much as £3,000. One such colleague stated that if the plan goes ahead, she will be earning the same as she did 14 years ago.
She claims that the council proposals are an “Insult to people who are already working well beyond the bounds of their job descriptions.”
She also claims that her job evaluation was based on wrong information.
She added: “Everyone is having to appeal against their pay ‘awards’, and Unison are encouraging members to prepare appeals in working hours - which is fair enough, but staff are already overstretched and would not get their jobs done properly by doing this.”
The employee also heard that some of the councillors who turned up for the vote on Single Status felt it wasn’t properly explained to them beforehand: “If this is the case, why did they vote at all?”
Another council employee, this time a part time worker, also feels aggrieved at not being given time to complete the appeal document.
She said: “I am part time for a reason; I have kids and when I am not working I have to look after them. I ended up staying up till 1am, over the course of about ten days completing the form.
“I have now got to hand it to my own line manager who also has to complete it. I have no idea how they are going to get time to complete forms for everyone that appeals.”
We have also had several letters from people in receipt of the ‘Local authority comparative pay scales for clerical assistants’ document, which highlights the differences across the country for those doing the same job.
The pay scale for Clerical Assistants in Argyll and Bute ranges from £11,314 to £12,008. However, in North Lanarkshire for example, the maximum pay scale is £15,099 and in the Western Isles it rises to £16,236.
This has raised the question of why Argyll and Bute is so low, especially as this is seen as a national agreement.
Several of the concerned workers that we have spoken to have urged the unions to act immediately, rather than wait until June.
One person said: “The unions need to get on top of this now. June is too late - we want action now.”
Another has urged the unions to “Follow the lead of other council staff, like those in Glasgow and Sunderland for example: reject it and go back to get a genuinely fair deal backdated for all staff that raises all wages to equality so that no one gets a pay cut. Equal pay should be about lifting people up, not about reducing wages of others.”
Another council employee who feels very strongly about the whole situation said: “There are a lot of things wrong about the whole way this has been handled.
“Councillors don’t know the true nature of what they have agreed to, packs have not been sent out to some people whilst others have received wrong ones. People that have requested help have not received adequate, clear or consistent answers from personnel and some managers have been giving out wrong information.”


Argyll pharmacist makes history
Argyll-based pharmacist Sandra Melville has been elected to sit on the first ever Scottish Pharmacy Board of the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. This new committee replaced the Scottish Executive of the Society with effect from January 21 this year.
The Board will provide leadership and policy direction for the 4,300 pharmacists working in Scotland.
The establishment of a Scottish Board is a new direction for the Royal Pharmaceutical Society of Great Britain. It was formed after consultation with pharmacists throughout Scotland revealed a desire for a more devolved structure, in order to better communicate the developing role of pharmacy to the public and politicians alike.
Sandra, who lives on Easdale Island, south of Oban, is the Clinical Pharmacy Manager for Lorn and Islands District General Hospital and is also a member of the Highland Area Pharmaceutical Committee. In 2006, Sandra won the national Pharmaceutical Care Award for her work in prescribing for cancer patients in Argyll.
Speaking at the inaugural meeting of the Scottish Pharmacy Board, Sandra said: “This is a historic event for pharmacists in Scotland. The Scottish Pharmacy Board is an exciting new chapter in the representation of pharmacy, and I intend to work hard to ensure we continue to grow as a profession and help contribute to a healthier Scotland.
“Pharmacy is changing and it’s important everyone understands our role as part of the healthcare team. We are experts in the use of medicines and we need to encourage people to make use of our knowledge and expertise.”