Still waiting for Ardrossan harbour upgrade - six years on

Since that edition on Wednesday, April 11, 2018, the UK has suffered a pandemic and a cost of living crisis, watched four Prime Ministers and two First Ministers take power - and we're still waiting for the harbour work to even begin.

As we reported earlier this week, the Scottish Government and harbour owners Peel Ports remain massively at odds over who should stump up the cash for the work.

So where did it all go wrong? Let's look back to the announcement made in 2018...

Our front page six years ago (Image: Newsquest)

The upgrade was approved around one year after Ardrossan convincingly saw off a predatory bid from Troon Harbour to become the Arran ferry's main port.

The Herald led a campaign which poured, ahem, cold water on Troon's claims that it had better transport links and would be much a much better landing site for Arran residents and tourists.

Given an extra 25 minute journey time on the ferry, the 15-minute walk between Troon's railway station and the harbour and, well, you know the rest, the Scottish Government concluded that Ardrossan should remain Arran's primary port.

But everyone agreed that the harbour needed a massive upgrade. And six years ago today, the then Scottish Transport Minister Humza Yousaf confirmed the improvement works would begin once the plans were drawn up.

Plans for the new harbour (Image: NAC)

He said at the time: “This is excellent news and I thank all the organisations that make up the Taskforce for their efforts.

“The Scottish Government is committed to ensuring that the Arran ferry service is fit for the future. These plans will help bring greater resilience and reliability to the link."

The plans would see the current berth at the harbour realigned, a new linkspan installed, a new terminal building and a number of other enhancements. 

Reacting to the news, the then North Ayrshire Council leader Joe Cullinane said: “We fully expect that once the improvement works have been carried out at the harbour, it can be the catalyst for the wider regeneration of the Ardrossan area.”

The 'maritime hub' plan for Ardrossan (Image: NAC)

The plans were indeed drawn up. And they sat there. And have continued to sit there. Since then, the harbour's problems have only got worse.

It became apparent that the design of the new Arran ferries, MVs Glen Sannox and Glen Rosa, meant they wouldn't be able to use Ardrossan in its current form. That should have made the harbour upgrade a higher priority. And the costs rose.

The pandemic and the cost of living and energy crisis followed. And the costs rose again.

Then last year, the Scottish Government, now led by Humza Yousaf, called in the harbour plan for a re-examination of the costings. Almost seven months on, we're still waiting for the results of that review to be made public.

Meanwhile Peel Ports, who acquired the harbour when the Conservative Government privatised it in the early 90s, closed Ardrossan's second berth - the so-called 'Irish berth' - permanently in February of this year due to major structural damage which they said meant it was no longer safe to use.

Since then, problems with the harbour's one remaining berth have forced CalMac to divert to Troon on several occasions because the MV Isle of Arran, providing cover while the route's usual vessel, MV Caledonian Isles, receives major repairs, can't get into Ardrossan harbour if the winds are too strong.

And the lack of a second berth in Ardrossan means that the Arran route's second ferry, MV Alfred, is having to sail between Troon and Brodick all summer.

All of that is leading to mounting concern that despite the Scottish Government's repeated assurances that Ardrossan will remain the Arran ferry's mainland port, Troon could increasingly come to be seen as the more viable alternative.

The Glen Rosa launched this week (Image: Newsquest)

While the Glen Sannox began sea trials in February, and sister ship the Glen Rosa finally hit the waters on Tuesday, there's still no chance they can use Ardrossan harbour without the upgrades.

And as the Herald revealed yesterday, harbour owners Peel Ports and the Scottish Government seems as far apart as ever as to who should stump up most of the cash.

Could the answer be to ditch the new terminal building and transport links proposed, and simply fix the harbour itself?

There have been repeated calls from politicians, in particular from Labour's Katy Clark, for Ardrossan Harbour to be taken under Scottish Government control.

First Minister Humza Yousaf said at the weekend that the cost of that step, given budgetary constraints at Holyrood, made it unlikely.

MSP Kenneth Gibson and MP Patricia Gibson played key roles in the fight to retain the ferry (Image: Newsquest)

Yet the economic effect of the loss of the Arran ferry service to Ardrossan could be catastrophic.

Thousands of travellers to and from the island spend their money in takeaways and supermarkets. 

Arran residents, facing longer journeys and a potentially a bus transfer, have been vocal in supporting Ardrossan as their mainland port.

And their frustration led to the Arran Ferry Action Group disbanding in February - though the Isle of Arran Ferry Committee, which long precedes AFAG and includes membership from North Ayrshire Council, the NHS, tourism groups and others, is still going strong, albeit increasingly frustrated, like many in Ardrossan, at the lack of progress.

So where do we stand today? Some might say we're perched precariously on the edge of a rotting old pier during a gale force storm.

On Arran, and in Ardrossan, we await the latest developments with our fingers crossed...and with some trepidation.