Argyll & Bute Council’s current position is that, as Loch Striven does not belong to the Council, no permission is required from it to lay up ships in the loch. It is only when ships wish to use the Council’s piers and harbours that permission would have to be sought.

As communicated to us, the Council therefore does not see itself as having any purview of Clydeport’s arrangements to lay up ships up in Clyde lochs unless they are using the Council’s infrastructure.

This statement should not be read as either any covert sympathy for Clydeport or as weakness on the Council’s behalf.

What it does, though, is speak to an established perception of itself as a peripheral player in major games. This has got to change. Argyll will never make its genuine weight felt until its Council assumes that weight and uses it.

Voters in Argyll and Bute need their Council to be their champion. That is, fundamentally, what it is elected to be. The obvious question is – if not the Council who else will assume that role?

Argyll & Bute Council’s responsibilities

The Council may not ‘own’ Loch Striven but it does ‘own’ the communities around it. It is responsible for those communities, for their environment, for their services, for their wellbeing, their prosperity, their sense of security and their protection.

Clydeport has, in anyone’s book, ridden roughshod over Loch Striven’s communities.

• It has not consulted them in any way.
• It has, in fact, deceived them and the local politician who represents them, Councillor Ron Simon – over the duration of the lay ups.
• It has not apologised to them for the profound and complex disruptions to their lives.
• It has not offered them any compensatory benefit from the huge revenues qualified industry opinion indicates it is earning from these four laid up ships.

Call for action from Argyll & Bute Council

For Argyll is here calling for Argyll & Bute Council to act and to be seen to act in confronting Clydeport in the clear interests of those it is elected to serve. It does have that responsibility as no other body has, and we expect it to act accordingly.

This is not an issue for individual ward Councillors to be left to deal with alone. This is one where the full might of the Council as a body requires to be brought to bear in defence of the powerless who are its constituents and who are in the right.

We suggest that, in pursuit of its statutory responsibiity to its constituents, Argyll & Bute should now establish:

• speedy consultation between Clydeport and the Council’s constituents in the Loch Striven and Cowal area;
• negotiations on due compensation to these communities for the disruptions, stress and distress, negative amenity impact, and negative impact on professioonal and business operation;
• a required consultative procedure to be observed in future by Clydeport in any operations – planned and actual – in its waters where they are contiguous with any part of the Council’s territory of responsibility;
• transparency, accuracy and honesty in Clydeport’s dealings with Argyll communities affected by any of its operations.

In the matter of consultations to be established without delay – there is no point in wasting time disputing the history of wrongs. Learn lessons, draw a line and focus on coming to an agreement on how to progress the situation as it stands.

Argyll has been encouraged by the growing capability and confidence of its council. This is not the time to disappoint. We are in the process of writing to every Councillor to draw their personal attention to this call.

Call for action from Argyll’s elected representatives

Elected representatives for Argyll at both Westminster and Holyrood have responsibilities here. The Harbours Act, which gives Clydeport its authority, is UK legislation.  Clydeport operates in Scotland and its impact is delivered here, bringing Holyrood into play.

For Argyll is not only calling upon Argyll and Bute Council to act in its constituents’ protection, it is calling upon Alan Reid MP, the constituency representative at Westminster – and upon each of those MSPs elected to Holyrood to take up the just causes of their constituents in Argyll & Bute.

We are in the process of drawing this call to the individual attention of:

• Jim Mather, MSP for Argyll and Bute
• Jamie McGrigor, MSP for Highlands & Islands
• Peter Peacock, MSP for Highlands & Islands
• Rhoda Grant, MSP for Highlands & Islands
• David Stewart, MSP for Highlands & Islands
• Mary Scanlon, MSP for Highlands & Islands
• Dave Thompson, MSP for Highlands & Islands
• Rob Gibson, MSP for Highlands & Islands

We regularly draw the attention of Argyll to the actions, arguments and successes of almost all of these MSPs. We are asking for a response from each of them; an account of what action they propose to take; and for communications on their progress that we will report.

If you don’t live around Loch Striven, does this matter to you?

Of course it does. It could be you. And if this specific invasion could not be you, other types of corporate abuse could be visited upon you. You too will need support from your peers and from your elected representatives as and when. You need to know whether those you elect to serve you will actually take action to do just that when you need it.

The test

This issue is a major one. The responses to our call for support for these communities will be an interesting litmus test and one whose results will be open to everyone.  Big issues affecting small communities present politicians with a dilemma. Do they bother? Do we want any who don’t?

Responses

17th July: Argyll’s MSP and Enterprise Minister, Jim Mather, resposded immediately - see separate news item.

18th July: Jim Mather, MSP, has sent a second response and Alan Reid, MP has also responded promptly - see news item.

19th July: Argyll and Bute Council Leader, Dick Walsh and Jim Mather, Argyll’s MSP, are moving matters towards discussions between all interested parties - see news item.

20th July: Dave Thompson, Highlands and Islands MSP, is to raise the matter with the Scottish Government.

Related Posts

• Loch Striven ship layups: rolling story (217)
• More responses to For Argylls call to action on Loch Striven ships (1)
• Jim Mather: over to us (20)
• Loch Striven’s dread comes true – in come the demobbed oil tankers (31)
• Maersk, Council and Alan Reid to attend South Cowal Public Meeting on Clydeport and Loch Striven (12)

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