MSP Kenneth Gibson has lodged a motion at the Scottish Parliament in a bid to keep the Arran ferry service in Ardrossan

And he warned jobs could be lost, sailing prices would increase and the local economy would suffer if it were relocated to Troon.

The MSP for Cunninghame North submitted the motion to the Scottish Parliament on Monday, October 24.

Mr Gibson’s motion asks that the Scottish Parliament “notes with concern” the proposal that Associated British Ports (APB) at Troon has submitted to the Scottish Government to take over the Isle of Arran ferry service from Ardrossan Harbour.

It also asks that the Parliament considers that Ardrossan, rather than Troon, is “the most suitable port to service Arran, illustrated by the fact that Ardrossan has been the Ayrshire mainland port for the island for 182 years”.

It also notes that Gourock is the port of refuge for sailings from Arran to the mainland as Troon “is no more reliable than Ardrossan for berthing in bad weather and that Troon does not have its own harbour railway station”.

Mr Gibson requests that the Parliament recognises that Troon is 18 nautical miles from Arran, compared to Ardrossan which is only 12 miles, therefore he believes that sailing from Troon would increase both journey times and ferry prices for passengers, cars, buses and haulage, making it less attractive to visit the island while reducing the number of daily sailings.

This, he states, would impact on capacity and jeopardise growth in the Arran economy.

The motion then asks that the Parliament understands that, in January 2016, P&O ferries cancelled its sailings to Larne from Troon as sailing to Troon was not deemed economically viable.

It also asks that the Parliament acknowledges that ABP’s bid has come after the Scottish Government has demonstrated the importance that it attaches to Ardrossan Harbour by establishing the Ardrossan Harbour Taskforce in February 2016, which was aimed at improving the operation of the harbour through significant investment.

The motion continues that the Parliament considers that the Scottish Government has improved island ferry services through the introduction of the following: the road equivalent tariff, which led to a huge reduction in ferry fares to and from the Isle of Arran; increased summer sailings; the new £12.3 million MV Catriona, which entered service from Lochranza in September 2016; a new £47 million ferry being built at Port Glasgow, which will be better able to sail in severe weather conditions; and the £28 million upgrade of the pier, marshalling area and terminal building in Brodick.

Mr Gibson highlights that the benefits of the latter would be largely made undone if the ferry route was to be changed and asked that the Parliament understands that 165 jobs are directly dependent on the route remaining in Ardrossan and that these would be lost if it was to be moved to Troon. He said it would be “severely hitting local employment, which is already at a lower level in Ardrossan than it is in the much more affluent area of Troon”.

Finally, Mr Gibson’s motion urges the Ardrossan Harbour operator, Peel Ports, “to be more cooperative in its negotiations with the Scottish Government regarding potential investment, and welcomes the Minister for Transport and the Islands’ recently reiterated statement that Ardrossan

remains the Scottish Government’s priority and is confident that, based on the facts, the Arran ferry service will continue to be run to and from Ardrossan Harbour for many years to come”.

Ruth Macguire, MSP for Cunninghame South, lent her support to Mr Gibson’s motion. She announced that she believes that the loss of the ferry service would have “a detrimental impact not only on Ardrossan but also on neighbouring North Ayrshire communities”. She added that she would endeavour to do all she could to support the campaign to retain it.