TREATMENT PLANT GETS THUMBS DOWN
Scottish Water’s planned improvements to the town’s sewage system suffered a shock setback last week when councillors voted against the planning application for a new treatment works at Bullwood Quarry.
Scottish Water’s Highland and Islands spokesman, Jason Rose, said that the company wanted to spend over £20m on a modern waste water treatment facility for Dunoon and they were disappointed that the planning application had been turned down.
He continued: “We will have to reflect on this outcome. An appeal is a possibility as we feel strongly that our proposal would benefit Dunoon by ending the current 20 discharges of raw sewage along the shore and provide modern treatment and extra capacity to enable the community to grow.
“The location, Bullwood Quarry, is a sensible site for a number of reasons. We will keep people informed of our next move.”
Ron Taylor, who lives close to the quarry, felt that an “equitable decision” had been reached. He and Gerry Ross - another nearby resident - gave presentations to the meeting. Mr Ross said he was pleased with the outcome of the meeting. “One of the main concerns of Bullwood residents,” he said, “was the amount of blasting required for the project. When the quarry was operating, serious damage was done to nearby properties. After all, the nearest house is only six metres away from the quarry.”
Mr Ross added that they would continue to monitor the situation closely and would decide on how to proceed when Scottish Water announced what action they would be taking next.
Jimmy MacQueen also expressed concerns about the level of blasting which would be required, It was stated that 25,000 tonnes of rock would be blasted, 16,000 tonnes of which would be removed from the site. In the first three months there would be 500 HGV movements a month and later this would rise to 1,000 vehicles a month. He also expressed serious concerns about the effects of blasting on neighbouring properties.
Councillor McKinven pointed out that Scottish Water did not own the site, and dropped a bombshell when he said that he understood a planning application was to be submitted for flats to be built on the quarry site.
When it came to the vote, Councillor Chennell proposed an amendment that the application be passed subject to safeguards. He was supported by Councillor Marshall.
However, the three other councillors on the committee, Cllrs Walsh, McQueen and McKinven, voted to turn the application down.
Speaking after the meeting, Mr Taylor said: “The current capital spending programme finishes at the end of this year. I would hope that when the new money comes on stream Scottish Water will use it to come up with a scheme for Dunoon which shows some breadth of vision.
“In Norway, for example, sewage treatment plants are put in forests. We’ve no shortage of forests, so why can’t we follow their example?”
A spokeswoman for Argyll and Bute Council said that although Scottish Water do not currently own the site at Bullwood, the company stated at the meeting that they were confident of acquiring the former quarry if permission for the new water treatment plant was granted by the council. She added that the refusal to pass the planning application would obviously delay the commissioning of the new sewerage system in Dunoon.


Former CalMac superintendent refutes “not fit for use” claim
“WHILE I appreciate concerns from councillors and members of the public about spending substantial sums on the old linkspan, unless a ferry can be provided by CalMac or another company to operate from the new linkspan then I feel personally that we have no option but to spend the money to serve the needs of the travelling public.”
That was the stark view of the situation from Councillor Brian Chennell on Monday.
The council believes that the new linkspan should be brought into operation as soon as possible, and that there’s no reason not to do so.
And that’s the crunch. There’s an obvious - and ongoing - problem with the linkspan at Dunoon Pier - so why the reluctance to use the new linkspan?
In a statement last week CalMac Chief Executive said that the linkspan was ‘not fit for purpose’.
Asked to elaborate on this, communications director Hugh Dan MacLennan said: “The lighting is inadequate and there’s no gangway.”
This view, however, was hotly contested by Sandy Ferguson, who speaks with some authority on the subject
Mr - or more properly - Captain Ferguson, was until 1998 CalMac’s Marine Superintendent, so any views that he might have on whether the linkspan is ‘fit for purpose’ are based on considerable experience, not least of which was his role as the company’s senior operational officer.
He said: “I went for a walk round the terminal on Monday and I’m at a loss to understand what Mr MacLennan means. The lighting is absolutely first class - I’ve also checked with the Pier Master and he assures me that it’s is fully functional.”
He went on: “Using a gangway is even easier than I envisaged. There is more than ample space to move the present gangway and operate it at the new berth.
“ If, as I expect, the present gangway will not reach the higher gangway doors of the Bute at high tides, then a standard gangway up to 20 metres in length can be utilised straight on to the ship which would only require a small lifting davit on the ship’s side above the gangway door with a one-man operated electric gangway lifting winch.”
He concluded: “CalMac can easily calculate the maximum length of gangway required, which I imagine would certainly be less than 20 metres, but the whole thing couldn’t be more straightforward.”
Asked if his company would be interested in running to the linkspan if approached by the council, Western Ferries’ Managing Director Gordon Ross said: “Our door has always been open in that respect; we believe that the reason no approach has been made is because of the Scottish Executive’s tendering activity.”
However, Western have always made it clear that they would not be interested in operating from the CalMac terminal at Gourock.


Councillors to meet minister over pier issue
COUNCILLORS are to meet with Transport Minister Tavish Scott next Thursday in a last-ditch attempt to resolve the growing crisis over Dunoon Pier.
Councillors are hoping that the minister can be shifted from the stance he adopted back in July that he would be ‘content’ for CalMac to operate a passenger-only service until the new Dunoon-Gourock contract starts.
Councillors demanded an ‘urgent’ meeting following this disclosure, and next week’s date was apparently the first free hour in Mr Scott’s diary,
Councillor Brian Chennell said that he hoped that George Lyon, as the local MSP, would also be present.
The news of the meeting follows an exchange of views last Wednesday between council officials and CalMac representatives which showed just how far apart the two sides are.
The meeting was to discuss the implications of the weight restrictions to be imposed on the old pier’s linkspan while strengthening work is to be carried out. The remedial works will take around four months to complete and will be finished by the end of February in a “worst-case scenario”. The meeting ended with an unseemly ‘who said what’ row over its content. Argyll and Bute Council has emphatically denied asking CalMac to switch vessels currently serving the Isle of Bute to service the new linkspan in Dunoon, as claimed by the ferry operator. A spokesperson for the council said, “This is simply not true. Argyll and Bute Council’s overriding objective is to ensure the continuation of a passenger and vehicle town centre to town centre service.
“This can best be done by using the new linkspan. We are disappointed to arrive at this stage and note that with only days of the tendering process left, we have had no approaches from prospective tenderers in relation to a harbour access agreement.”
However, CalMac’s recollection of the meeting is different. Communication Director Hugh Dan MacLennan said that “It became clear as the meeting progressed that the underlying agenda is to enable the council to make the case for having MV Bute brought from Rothesay to use the linkspan at Dunoon.
Councillor Brian Chennell, Chairman of Bute and Cowal Area Committee, said that the scale of proposed repairs would not offer a permanent solution. Six companies had been asked to tender for the work, and after these tenders had been submitted the council would then look at a way forward.
Asked why the restrictions were being imposed on November 1 and not immediately, he said that this was because the consultant engineers were assuming the beginning of winter weather after this date.
A further attempt to resolve the situation was taking place as we went to press. A meeting between CalMac Chief Executive Lawrie Sinclair and Argyll and Bute Council Leader Allan Macaskill had been arranged for yesterday afternoon (Thursday).


More woes for gas customers
A DUNOON woman says she is at her wit’s end trying to cope with massive increases in her electricity bills since British Gas changed her meter to the new keycard system.
Mother of four Carol-Anne Shearer claims that her bills have gone through the roof since the meter was installed.
“When I had the old meter my bills were a maximum of £20 a week,” she said. “I’ve worked out that over the last 17 weeks I’ve paid out £947 - and that’s just for electricity.
“I’ve got to find another £20 on top of that for gas.”
Ms Shearer said that she could not understand how it was possible for her bills to go up to such an extent. “We have an electric cooker, but it’s only used to cook the evening meal.
“On top of that I’ve had two bills, one on the meter for £48, and another through the post for £55, and I’ve no idea how they’ve been generated.
“I’ve called their helpline, but all I’ve managed to do is empty my mobile phone, because I spent so long on hold listening to music that by the time someone actually answered my phone had run out.”
Ms Shearer said that there was concern about the new key meters. “People are saying that they are not going to let the engineers in to change their meters over, since they’re afraid their bills are going to go through the roof.”
Ms Shearer was not alone in voicing her anger about the leap in prices since the new meters were installed.
Another Dunoon resident - who did not want to be named - said that she had received a bill on October 12 which was dated nearly a month previously, telling her she owed Scottish Gas £154.
“I have no idea how I came to owe them this money,” she said. “My meter was read regularly, and there was never any indication that I was getting into debt.
“I’ve asked them to invoice me so that I can pay monthly, but instead they are taking £5 per week off me.
“I’m not against paying the bill if I owe the money, but I would like to know how I managed to get into debt in the first place.”