THE LOSS of the Brodick ferry service from Ardrossan would hit the town and Arran hard, impacting on jobs and local businesses, according to the local MSP Kenneth Gibson.

As the Herald reported previously, Associated British Ports’s (ABP) has offered to invest £8 million in relocating the service from Ardrossan to a brand new a state-of-the-art passenger ferry terminal in Troon.

The company has pledged to redevelop the mothballed ferry dock in Troon, which recently lost a service to Northern Ireland.

According to ABP, the current service is dogged by weather conditions that frequently exceed the capabilities of the port and results in service cancellations.

But this week Mr Gibson, MSP for Cunninghame North, blasted the company’s claims that moving the service to Troon would make any difference to weather cancelled sailings.

He told the Herald: “Along with NAC and Patricia Gibson MP, I am completely opposed to changing from Ardrossan to Troon as the mainland harbour from Ayrshire serving Arran.

“Not only would it have a negative economic impact on Ardrossan, with job losses from the harbour possibly extending indirectly to other business that benefit from traffic to and from Arran, such as Asda, it makes no sense in serving Arran.

“Firstly, there is no difference in terms of weather cancelled sailings. If there was, Troon rather than Gourock would be the port of refuge. And with the sailing distance increased by 50 per cent from 12 to 18 nautical miles, the number of sailings to Arran would fall, hitting ferry capacity and tourist income. Arran’s economy grew by a thumping 10 per cent last year. Nothing should be done to jeopardise this.”

The Herald reported recently that North Ayrshire Council had branded the possible relocation of the service as “nothing short of cataclysmic”.

But Mr Gibson said that during a meeting of the Arran Economic Group (AEG) on September 26, Minister for Transport and the Islands Humza Yousaf MSP made it clear that Ardrossan remains his government’s priority.

Mr Gibson added: “Unlike Troon Harbour, which does not even have a train station, Ardrossan is best placed to continue the Arran ferry service.

“The SNP Government has of course actioned its commitment to improving island ferry services by the introduction of the Road Equivalent Tariff, which led to a huge reduction in ferry rates to and from the Isle of Arran, increased summer sailings, the new £12.3 million MV Catriona which entered service from Lochranza last month, a new £47 million ferry being built at Port Glasgow and of course the £28 million upgrade of the pier, marshalling area and terminal building in Brodick, with the jobs such solid investment provides. This would be largely undone if Ardrossan was no longer the connecting mainland harbour.

“In addition, the Ardrossan Harbour Taskforce was set up in February to improve the operation of the harbour through significant investment.

“It should be said that harbour operator Peel Ports, which is represented on the taskforce, has so far not been the most accommodating in terms of negotiating a multi-million pound investment from the SNP Government if an agreement is reached.

“I will continue to press this important matter with the Transport Minister, who has made it clear that although all proposals must be considered, Ardrossan Harbour remains the government’s primary focus as mentioned above.”

A Transport Scotland spokesman stressed that “no decisions had been made” whether or not to relocate the service.

He said: “We are committed to supporting our lifeline ferry services and providing the best possible service for the communities that rely on them.

“We are looking, in the first instance, at resolving the issues at Ardrossan Harbour and have set up a ministerial taskforce to address this. However, no options are off the table and we have received an approach from Associated British Ports (ABP) about the potential use of Troon Harbour for the Arran route. This was brought to the attention of the taskforce last month and was discussed by Mr Yousaf with Arran community representatives during his recent visit.

“To be clear, no decisions have been made and we will continue to engage closely through the taskforce and with all relevant stakeholders in analysing the various options for delivery of the Arran services as the process continues.”

ABP’s Port Director of Short Sea Ports, Andrew Harston, said: “Troon promises a transformation of the service for the people of Arran and tourists alike.

“As one of the most sheltered harbours on the west coast of Scotland, Troon not only offers reliability whatever the weather, we are also proposing to invest £8m to build a modern passenger terminal.

“Journey times would be comparable to the existing service but Troon offers Arran islanders a step-change in onward connections.

“ It is our intention that frequent shuttle buses would link with mainline rail services at Troon, where four services per hour connect with Glasgow and the wider network including Edinburgh and the rest of the UK.”

A spokesperson for CalMac added: “CalMac is just one of the players involved in the Ardrossan Harbour Taskforce and, while we would be consulted and involved with any discussion to change the service, any decision would be a matter for Transport Scotland.”

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