Scottish Water plans for Dunoon sewage works
With the Scottish Government Reporter due to submit her findings to Scottish Ministers by the end of this month, Scottish Water is not hanging around for the verdict on the public inquiry into its plans to use the Bullwood Quarry site for a major sewage treatment works serving the Dunoon/Sandbank area.
This week, the utility company will continue work on investigating where the main overflow discharge from a new waste water treatment works for the town should be located off the West Bay/Bullwood area.
The investigation will involve the use of a pink-coloured dye in the waters of the Firth of Clyde to help assess the best location.
A new waste water treatment works for the area is required to meet the European Union’s Urban Waste Water Treatment Directive standards for water quality.
The survey work, which is due to re-start today (Friday, November 16) will help to create a computer model to predict the flow, dilution and tidal drift of the main outfall discharge from the new waste water treatment works, at a number of possible locations for the works, and help to ensure compliance with the water quality standards.
The investigative work using Rhodamine WT fluorescent dye will involve one dye test per day over three days, spread over a period of about two weeks dependent on tides. The work will be carried out by BLJV, working for Scottish Water Solutions, a subsidiary of Scottish Water.
BLJV will release the dye from a boat which will track up and down the dispersing plume measuring its concentration.
Bullwood resident, Roy Taylor commented: “Scottish Water has been carrying out similar work intermittently over the past few months. This type of investigation used to be done manually over a period of a year or so, during a range of tides and weather conditions, but nowadays they have computer models.
“My only concern is that these models are only as good as the information which goes into them.
“I have doubts about the reasoning behind all this,” Mr Taylor continued. “Scottish Water says that it estimates that the Bullwood site will experience overflows, such as during heavy rainstorms, on 26 occasions per year - I think this is an underestimate. The construction of the new breakwater has also created a lagoon effect, which may result in the effluent circulating around the West Bay rather than dispersing, and I don’t imagine the West Bay hoteliers being too happy as the smell wafts across the town in certain weather conditions.
“The proposed siting of effluent storm tanks right beside the West Bay play park is also open to debate.”
Scottish Water is advising people in the Dunoon area that there is a small possibility that they will see the dye washed up on the shore between West Bay and Bullwood Quarry.
Scottish Water has stated that Rhodamine WT dye is non-toxic at the dilutions used for the survey work; it is biodegradable and it is not harmful to humans, animal or aquatic flora and fauna.
Project manager Brian Martins, of Scottish Water Solutions, said: “This important modelling work will have to be conducted whether or not Scottish Water receives planning permission for the Bullwood site because a treatment works has to be built somewhere in the Dunoon area and we need to know where the discharge will go.
“The dye we are using is the industry standard for such modelling/survey work. If people do see any of it on the shore we would stress that the concentration levels will be very low and it will be of no danger whatsoever to humans or animals and will have no effect on the ecology or aquatic life in the Firth of Clyde.”
Mr Martins concluded: “We thank the people of the Dunoon area for their co-operation and again would stress that this work is absolutely necessary but completely harmless.”
If residents or businesses have any questions about the work of Scottish Water, they are advised to call its Customer Contact centre on 0845 601 8855.
See more on this issue in our Safety Valve Extra - Page 10.


Rest is opened – but are we thankful?
Rest and be Thankful is open.....or at least partly open with traffic lights for the moment.
This news was met with understandable relief by the people of the south Argyll mainland and islands served by the A83, but a feeling of dissatisfaction and frustration remains in a population which has been, to all intents and purposes, cut off from the east and south of the country for a fortnight.
The A83 trunk road was opened as a single track lane last Friday afternoon after 12 days of closure - aside from a brief opening period during the first week - resulting from a moderate-sized landslip on the slopes of Glen Croe which slid on to the road one Sunday evening.
Debris was quickly cleared from the road and the lower side of the carriageway shored up with stone following some undermining.
Engineers found, however, that some subsequent movement had occurred on the slopes above the road, meaning that further work would be necessary to make the site safe.
Work began at the beginning of last week to spray water from nearby watercourses into fissures in the remaining material on the hillside to bring down loose material, with some limited success prior to a planned site meeting at the site last Thursday. It was at this meeting that experts from Scotland TranServ hoped to be able to make a decision on a possible road opening. Heavy rain and high winds prevented access to the slopes to examine the site, and a decision was deferred until the following day.
News was released on Tuesday that the work on the would take place on Wednesday 14 and Thursday 15 November, resulting in a further period of closure. Better than expected progress by teams on the upper slopes meant however that the road re-opened at 4pm on Wednesday - ahead of schedule.
A spokesperson for Scotland TranServ said: “There are no further closures anticipated du to works on the upper slopes. Work will continue at road level and the traffic lights will remain for the foreseeable future.”
Road users have been forced into long detours, using inadequate routes and adding hours on to already long journeys. Many businesses on either side of Loch Fyne, Kintyre and Islay have suffered through increased costs and reduced income.
It’s not all been bad news though, as a small number of businesses have managed to take advantage of unexpected windfalls, including shops, cafes and filling stations on busy detour routes.
The overall feeling in the Argyll business community, as expressed at last Tuesday’s Cairndow meeting of local businesses, is nonetheless one of gloom, and there is a lingering sense of being neglected.
It is clear that the Rest and be Thankful will be a problem for some time yet before it is fully open for service.


Dunoon and Cowal Gateway Initiative
Last week we promised you some further details on the direction of the Dunoon Gateway Project.
A brief and abridged summary of current ideas is set out below. Get down to the Queen’s Hall next Thursday to find out more.
Tourism, Assets, Marketing and Events (T.A.M.E) Working Group
One of the key aspirations is to build a tourism product that inextricably links Dunoon and Cowal with the environmental hinterland of the area and with Loch Lomond and the Trossachs National Park.
To date the TAME working group has:
Supported the development of an interim area logo which positions the area firmly as the “Marine Gateway to Scotland’s First National Park
Supported a process of developing a brand identity for the Cowal area, as one of the four key destinations linked to the National Park.
Adopted the principles of Destination Development and began a process of data collection and benchmarking.
Taken an overview of existing projects, ensuring every opportunity is taken to optimise the benefits each of these can offer to the wider area. These include; the annual CowalFest arts and walking festival, the Cowal Way which links Kintyre to Loch Lomond, Benmore Botanic Garden and the proposed Benmore Hub project, the Argyll Forest Park Landscape Partnership project and the Cowal Gathering.
Pontoons in the National Park
The Park Plan identifies Dunoon as a Major Gateway community, key tourist service centre and a primary corridor into the National Park. The framework identifies an exciting opportunity to provide a network of coastal access points connected with land based routes, and the Marine Environment/Access group is taking forward this project.
The facilities provided through this project would enable new ferry services giving sustainable transport links across the Clyde into the park and an increased opportunity for leisure craft. The project thus contributes to a number of agendas including climate change, sustainable communities, and economic development.
The pier at Blairmore has already been modernised and accepts visits from the Waverley and Clyde Marine Ferry services.
Early consideration has identified two sites that could, subject to funding, be developed fairly quickly - at Lochgoilhead and Arrochar. The pontoons would also be used by visiting leisure craft and outdoor groups for kayaking etc.
Dunoon Waterfront and Town Centre
The pier is of traditional timber piled construction and has received ongoing repairs to many individual timbers and joints over the years. It is anticipated that ferry traffic will move to the new terminal in the future and currently the pleasure steamer PS Waverley uses the new facility on a regular basis.
The Dunoon Pier Project Board was formed earlier this year and has been considering what should happen to the timber Victorian pier once it is no longer required for ferry traffic.
The Waterfront project extends from the West Bay area to Kirn, with component parts being the Play Park development being led by CLANN, the pier and breakwater area as detailed above, and importantly, the potential for upgrade or replacement of the Queen’s Hall, aiming to provide Dunoon with a state of the art leisure/theatre/conference type facility.
Also included in the work of the sub group is the potential for partial pedestrianisation and covering of Argyll Street to provide a quality shopping environment free from the effects of bad weather, and improvements to town centre car parking and associated environmental improvements. The group is also working on the upgrade of the Riverside toilets, and is looking at improving lighting on the East Bay promenade.


Strachur GP withdraws from out of hours service
As of last Wednesday (November 14) Dr Robbie Coull from the Strachur GP surgery has opted out of providing an Out of Hours Service. This decision means that NHS Highland is now responsible for providing this service via NHS 24.
On Tuesday Viv Smith, Locality Manager for Cowal and Bute, said: “Dr Robbie Coull has notified NHS Highland that he is opting out of providing an out of hours service for patients served by his Strachur Practice from Wednesday 14th November.
“As a result of this decision by Dr Coull NHS Highland has a statutory obligation to provide alternative out of hours arrangements for those patients affected.
“During the hours of 6pm-8am if patients have an urgent need they should call the surgery as normal and their call will be automatically forwarded to NHS 24 who will deal with the call appropriately. If they require a doctor the locum on call doctor, who is based in Strachur, will be contacted.
“If a patient wishes to ring NHS 24 directly they can also do so by calling 08454 24 24 24 and if they need an ambulance urgently they should call 999 as normal.
“We are very keen to put in place permanent alternative out of hours service provision as soon as possible and we feel that it is important that this is discussed with the public.
“We will therefore be holding a public event for the Strachur Community, hosted by Strachur Community Council, on Wednesday 28th November 2007 at Strachur Village Hall from 7pm which everyone is welcome to attend.
“If a member of the public has mobility and transport problems but would like to attend the meeting please call Dunoon Hospital on 01369 708345 before Monday 26th November and transport arrangements will be made.”