Good news for Campbeltown’s All Weather Pitch campaigners – but what are the council doing?

Campbeltown’s local Sports Council’s Campaign Group and its wider community were celebrating on Thursday 11th March 2011.

They had heard the announcement that Argyll & Bute Council had agreed to commit £480,000 of funding to the initiative from the CHORD project – the waterfront renewal schemes for Argyll’s five major towns, Campbeltown, Helensburgh, Oban, Rothesay and Dunoon.

The funding will go towards the delivery of a 3G (third generation) all weather pitch with floodlighting, meeting UEFA, FIFA and FA standards; and to refurbished changing rooms on Kinloch Green, central to the town.

Initial news last week that funding for the project would not be included in Argyll & Bute Council’s Capital Budget for 2011/12 had been met with concern by South Kintyre Sports Council members.

Further enquiries revealed that the Council proposed to allocate the necessary funding from the £1.2 million allocated to the marina development proposals as part of the Campbeltown elements of the  CHORD project, following Council Officers advice that the marina project was not viable.

The advice noted that whilst a marina is technically feasible within Campbeltown Harbour, the proposal would not be ‘self financing’ by virtue of high capital costs (£2.7million) and insufficient revenue generation over the term of the project.  It added the financial model for the marina proposal demonstrated that neither the capital costs nor an allowance for depreciation are fundable and recommended that Campbeltown CHORD Project Board members allocate £480,000 towards the All Weather Pitch to ‘match’ the funding application of £380,000 submitted to Sportscotland. The outcome of the funding bid to Sportscotland will be known in April.

It is very good news indeed that the all weather pitch and changing rooms are getting the go-ahead and we have no doubt that it will contribute strongly to community life, competition and pride in Campbeltown – all of which it needs.

A South Kintyre Sports’ Council spokesperson says: ‘The announcement of funding by the Council has come at the right time as we wait on news of the Stage 2 funding application to SportScotland.  This has sent a clear message of the Council’s aspirations to deliver this facility in Campbeltown’.

‘“We raised concerns about the initial proposed model of funding and are delighted with the news that our three elected councillors all worked together to ensure the remaining money would not be lost and there will be further investigations into marina provisions.  The last thing we wanted was to be in conflict with any other project in Campbeltown but the proposals rubber stamped on Thursday means Campbeltown could see the delivery of both projects when at one stage it was looking like we would get neither.  We strongly believe that the delivery of the All Weather Pitch will create a legacy for sport that the CHORD project will recognise in years to come as one of their main successes.

‘Its just great news and we thank everyone for their continued support over the years, especially Councillors Rory Colville, John Semple and Donald Kelly.  With the emergence of Rugby and Shinty in the area again added to the long established football community the proposed facility will give our community access to sports facilities all year round – at the weekend the three fixtures were all cancelled including the Pupils match versus HMS Campbeltown which should have been a celebration of the connection of sport to the town but like many other over the years is lost to foul weather’.

The Sports Council will provide a further update as soon as news on the stage 2 application is announced.  In the meantime it is, according to Campbeltown folk, ‘ fingers and toes crossed’ as the project reaches the final hurdle of what has been a marathon course.

The wider questions

For Argyll has concerns about what appears to be yet another example of poor research and practice – or a questionable change of mind – on the part of the council.

The five CHORD project packages coming forwards from the towns involved were trumpeted to have been very heavily scrutinised at many points during their evolution – and the business case was flagged as the key threshold each had, plausibly, to cross. It goes without saying that consultants were expensively employed throughout to advise,monitor and report.

Given that at the end of what set out as a competition for funding ended up with money thrown at all five entrants – with all said to be valuable developments following serious expert scrutiny – how come the Council is now advising that the marina project – of great importance to Campbeltown, is not fundable for the reason given above?

What were the well paid consultants doing in their approval of a business case now described as lacking feasibility?

Alternatively, why are the council now arguing against what was indeed a viable proposal for the development of the marina?

Either way, the smell of the fishmarket is high in the air.

The all weather pitch will crucially contribute to community life. It is intended to be the catalyst for a number of sports in the area including Rugby and Shinty – now starting again.

The marina project was, equally but differently crucially, designed to develop revenue generation through tourism industry development centrally appropriate to the area.

We have now seen the council – in both cases belatedly and after vigorous  initial support – rubbish and withdraw funding for two marina projects – Oban Bay Marine’s proposal for a transit marina at the town; and now the development of the embryonic Campbeltown marina.

We remain unconvinced by the arguments put forwards i the blocking of both of these developments and we remain confused and – frankly – suspicious of the underlying motive.

What is unarguable is the foundation for questioning the council’s economic development intelligence when the leisure and tourism industry – with Argyll’s unmatchable resources and particularly on the water – in these decisions.

There has been very substantial private investment, supported by public money through Highlands and Islands Enterprise and VisitScotland, in the breathtakingly beautiful. 5 star (and affordable) Portavadie marina and resort complex in south west Cowal.

There is already a great marina at Tarbert in Kintyre and there is the inspirationally successful marina at Tobermory on Sound of Mull.

These, with Portavadie, need to become part of a chain of strategically positioned marinas to support the high value leisure yachting aficionados, keen to see and experience much more of the best sailing grounds in Europe – here in Argyll and the Isles.

Campbeltown and Oban are central to this chain.

Campbeltown is needed to offer early safe haven to sailors from the south and from the north east coast of Ireland, traditional and enthusiastic visitors to these waters. It provides a great strategic base for leisure sailing inside the glorious Clyde waterway and outside to the west coast and islands – and it is and will be seen to be, a destination in its own right..

Oban is needed to provide an important stop, allowing sailors who prefer the convenience of marinas to hopscotch (or hopbilgewater gin) their way further into Argyll, over to Mull and on out to Tiree and Coll. And Oban is a popular destination for visitors.

It shows a lack of ambition and an absolute failure of judgment and courage in investment for the future by the council to have made both of these – very dubious – decisions.

If there is a secret agenda behind them, the taxpaying electorate of Argyll needs to know what it is – and then to scrutinise it carefully.

Business-savvy the council is not. The public sector as a whole, by role, function and disposition, can never be commercially smart – it’s not in the DNA – and it is a world they are best advised to leave to those who know and can.

If there is no secret agenda, then they are utterly inept and lacking in any strategic policy for economic development of this region which so badly needs good government.

Argyll deserves much better than this ragbag of a council  – and it needs to get some control of the officers who covertly drive the agendas but are accountable for nothing.

What is privately lined up for the capital they’ve should have spent on the all weather pitch?

And what is to happen to the rest of Campbeltown’s  CHORD funding set aside for the marina?