No takers for Dunoon -Gourock route
THE painfully slow process of finding an operator for an unsubsidised, unrestricted vehicle and passenger service between Gourock and Dunoon finally ground to a halt on Monday when both of the contenders indicated that they would not pursue the tendering process.
The process - which can fairly be described as a fiasco - is the third ill-starred such effort so far for the Scottish Executive, following those in the North Isles and the Campbeltown-Ballycastle routes, both of which proved - or should have proved - gravely embarrassing for the government.
The failure of the Dunoon-Gourock route to attract any interest came as no surprise, and had been predicted for months.
And the Executive, it seems, have come to the conclusion that they need to rethink their plan for the tendering of the next step - the tendering of the remaining CalMac routes on the Clyde and Western Isles, since sources are claiming that it has been put on hold.
Despite initial boasts from the Executive that ten companies were interested in the route, in the end it came down to ‘the usual suspects’ CalMac, the current operator, and Western Ferries.
Western Ferries said that their decision not to submit a bid was because of “prohibitive costs and an inflexible service specification which made a commercial service all but impossible”.
The company also criticised how the tender process was managed saying: “There are serious concerns about the way the Scottish Executive handled this tender and lessons must be learned if the commercial tender mechanism is to deliver in the future.”
Commenting on the withdrawal, Managing Director Gordon Ross said: “Western Ferries is disappointed that it had no option but to pull out of this tender.
“We believe that the commercial invitation as a concept is admirable and should be developed and improved on by the Executive as a mechanism to provide better ferry services to the island communities at no cost to the taxpayer.
“In this particular instance CalMac’s current £2.5m of subsidy was just too great to overcome. This may not always be the case on other routes where the current levels of subsidy are a fraction of this value, for example the current subsidy on the Mull route is only £182,000.
“The prevailing and future operating costs and revenues combined with an inflexible service specification meant that there was never a realistic possibility of a commercial service replacing the current subsidised service on the Dunoon route.
“Ironically the Executive has chosen to tender a commercial service on a route where Western Ferries has a majority of the traffic but they are reluctant to see competition where CalMac has a monopoly.”
He went on to say: “Western Ferries are deeply concerned by the way the Executive has conducted this particular tender. For instance, the Executive must have been aware of the financial realities before the process started - if any operator was to replicate the current service, the projected fares would have to treble just to break even. If all the information had been made available at the start of the tender process it would have been very possible that Western Ferries would have withdrawn earlier.
“The company is now discussing its next steps which may include submissions to Audit Scotland, as it believes that no other company should be exposed to this level of unfairness and bias as part of any future procurement process.
“We do not make such criticisms lightly. Western Ferries is now discussing with its legal advisers whether the critical information released as part of the commercial invitation can be made available on a general basis in the public interest to clearly demonstrate what we fear is unfairness and irregularities in the current funding arrangements on this route.
“The current situation is untenable; £11.4m of taxpayers’ money has been given to CalMac over the last five years to operate in direct competition to the company’s unsubsidised ferry service.”
CalMac’s Managing Director Lawrie Sinclair commented: “The company has carefully considered the terms of the Invitation to Tender, and particularly the requirement to offer the service with no subsidy from The Scottish Executive. We are unable to operate the specified service without a subsidy.
“Our recently published Annual Report and Accounts for 2005-6 clearly shows that we have incurred a loss of £2.5million on this route. The cost of operating the current Streaker vessels, the level of pier and harbour dues, and our assessment of the potential volume of traffic based on our years of experience, has led us to conclude that we cannot offer a bid without a subsidy.
“As to what happens now, this is a matter for the Scottish Executive. Whatever the outcome of this tender, we have already confirmed to our staff that there will be no redundancies. In the meantime, we will continue to operate the current hourly vehicular and passenger service, supplemented by MV AliCat at peak periods.”


It’s good to talk. . . eventually!
A NEW Cowal housing development has been without a telephone service since being occupied at the end of July, despite being less than 50 yards from the nearest exchange.
People began to move into Montgomery Gardens, a Fyne Homes development in Strachur, nearly four months ago, and many were delighted to see telephone sockets on the walls of their new homes. They were not to realise, though, that although the telephone sockets were connected to an appropriate junction box by the developers, the box was not connected to the BT exchange across the road. BT advised the new residents not to worry as telephones would be connected within a couple of weeks.
Two weeks came and went and the now-familiar pattern began to develop as residents were told that connection would take another two weeks.
Montgomery Place resident Mandy Williams said: “The date has changed five or six times. BT were saying that the delay was due to over-capacity in the exchange but just today an engineer has said that work cannot commence because they need to order new equipment first. After nearly four months they have decided that new equipment is needed!
“For a national company, BT’s customer service is a disgrace. Calling them is a bit like trying to call the Prime Minister. The calls usually go like this: You get through to someone in a call-centre and explain everything to them. They then put you through to a supervisor and it all needs explained again. You are then put on hold and, as the music plays, you are cut off. Whether this is the fault of BT or local mobile reception I don’t know but you then have to start all over again.
“I have made at least 25 calls about this and I have spent at least £40 - £50 on mobile charges. Our biggest fear is that, because they have to dig up the road to connect to the exchange, they are trying to put the job off until after the winter.”
Montgomery Place residents are in no way critical of Fyne Homes on this issue, in fact many were full of praise for the way in which Fyne Homes have been trying to help with the situation.
Because they are without a working telephone connection, Montgomery Place residents are also being denied access to the Internet and to the e-mail communication which many of us have taken for granted. One resident said: “I really miss the internet, and being able to keep in touch with friends and family by e-mail. It is so frustrating to be so close to the exchange and yet to have no connection to it. I am also concerned that mobile reception in this part of the village is erratic, to say the least. If there were an emergency we would have to run to the telephone box, which might not always be practical.”
Contacted by our reporter this week, a BT spokesperson was quick to respond, coming back on our query in a matter of hours.
She said: “There are ten houses in the development, eight of whom had asked to be connected.
“The infrastucture was put in place by us, and the job of connecting it to the exchange was passed on to a contractor.
“The delay has been caused by the need to source a piece of specialised equipment. The contractor is laying the cable to the exchange today, and we would expect that the properties will be connected in the very near future.”
She concluded by saying: “We apologise for the delay and thank the Dunoon Observer for bringing the matter to our attention.”


Local success at BAFTAs
LAST Sunday turned out to be a fantastic night for two locals at the Scottish BAFTA Awards ceremony, which was held at Glasgow’s City Halls.
Sandbank writer, David Cosgrove, scored a notable win when his series “Uncle Dad” won Best Children’s Award in the TV category, and Karley Duffy was the producer of the short film Hikikomori, which won Best New Work in the New Talent section.
“Uncle Dad”, a seven part series made by SMG Productions for Citv, is David’s fifth network children’s series but the first to have been recognised with an award. Having aired on Citv’s new digital network, the series is now scheduled for terrestrial transmission in December, but has already notched up international sales in Ireland, Australia, and Scandinavia.
All of David’s output is produced from the purpose-built office in his back garden and includes work not only for television but also for theatre and stand-up comedy. His most recent theatre project, a musical adaptation of David Walker’s Scottish classic, “Geordie,” premiered in New York in April this year as part of the Tartan Week celebrations, and he has written comedy material for Fred MacAulay, Elaine C. Smith, Andy Gray, and Robbie Coltrane.
Karley was the producer of the short film Hikikomori, which won Best New Work in the New Talent section.
The film was also nominated for two other awards in the same category. They were Best New Screenplay and Best First Time Performance. Carol Smiley presented Karley with her award.
Karley said: “Having to get up in front of 900 people mainly from the industry was very daunting. All I could see were actors like Robbie Coltrane and Billy Boyd staring back at me as I made my speech.
“We didn’t think we had a chance and are over the moon with our award. It was a fantastic night and one I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Karley has also been helping out local band, The Hazy, with a music video promo. The band are making the video for the popular song ‘Take Her Wide’. The filming took place throughout Dunoon over two days last weekend.
Ian Colquhoun, the drummer of the band, said: “We are very privileged to have the help of a BAFTA winner in promoting our band. It’s been a great experience for all of the band.”
The Hazy would like to thank Martin and MacClure’s Bar for sponsoring the video. Also Castle Toward, Peter at Benmore Gardens and Meredith at The Crown Court Bar.
The Hazy’s next gig is on November 24 at Nice n Sleazy’s in Glasgow. The band has organised a bus to travel to and from the gig. If you are interested in going along to show your support contact a member of the band for details.


Renewables concordat signed
Argyll and Bute Council and Scottish and Southern Energy have signed an historic Renewable Energy Concordat at Argyll and Bute Council’s Headquarters at Kilmory, Lochgilphead.
This strategic concordat is one of a series of agreements with renewable energy companies operating within the area. The aim is to ensure the maximum benefit from sustainable energy development for communities in Argyll and Bute.
The council’s Development and Environment spokesperson, Councillor Robin Banks signed the concordat on behalf of the Council. He said,” There are many untapped renewable resources within some of our most remote and fragile areas and the Council is committed to using these resources in a way which can best support communities to secure their long term viability.
“There is a great deal to be gained from working with the renewable energy companies and in forging strong, long-term relationships to ensure maximum benefit is achieved for the communities of the area.”
Scottish and Southern Energy’s Public Affairs Manager, Jennifer McGregor said “Scottish and Southern Energy has been operating in Argyll and Bute for over fifty years, and signing the concordat today is another indication that we are in the area to stay; sustainable energy is our business.
“We are looking forward to working with Argyll and Bute Council and ALIenergy to help tackle fuel poverty; promote energy efficiency and to make the best possible use of microgeneration across the area.”