Comment posted Transport Scotland non ‘economic impact analysis’ of 2007 A83 landslide by newsroom.
Ah – a van delivery via Cowal would not have attracted the publicity the arrival of the seaplane at Inveraray did.
We’d hoped to make clear that The George was saying as loudly as possible ‘Look what the loss of this road access is doing to businesses here. We can’t fulfil our obligations to customers.’
The national media paid swift attention but not, apparently, Transport Scotland who conveniently ignored the impacts on businesses in this non-study.
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- Iain McCallum: the human bridge between Campbeltown and Heroes Challenge UK
Alan – we’ll try to get a message to the team for you – and will pass on your email to them for dir3ect contact.
The communications side of things is a weak link – not just with wifi and mobile signal problems but with accurate information on ETAs and even destinations.
We spent the afternoon today chasing around unsuccessfully to find them at their stated destination in Campbeltown – confirmed before we set off to drive – when in fact they finished at The Putechan Hotel, which is on the west coast of Kintyre and well short of Campbeltown. Very frustrating.
We did see the team doing the hard stuff though – passing them on the way south. They were cycling in two clusters, impressively easily and very disciplined in the way they were dealing with traffic streams behind them.
You should know that we now understand that they will row tomorrow from Campbeltown to Glenarm and not to Ballycastle; and that it looks as if they will row back not form Newcastle but from Bangor to Portpatrick.
They’ll be delighted to see you mi-channel. Great idea. - Argyll and Bute Council: Where are we now?
The difference is that the new ferry to Campbeltown had an arrival time and actually arrived.
A major part of what we work to do is to support initiatives at all levels that are focused on regeneration and are driven by positive, creative energies that make things happen.
Campbeltown wins hands down over Kilmory any minute of any day on these criteria – and we never spare ourselves travelling and hard work on a cause that has some hope of going somewhere.
And just in case you are implying that this was a jolly – which we never do: I myself drove to Campbeltown – 1 hr 30m – did the work and drove back again immediately. - Argyll and Bute Council: Where are we now?
This amusing spin disguises the fact that there was no political ‘speculation’.
There was formally recorded political realignment and manoeuvering by all councillors – which was done in some urgency before the council meeting, yet appears to have stalled – for some reason and for the time time being at least.
Councillors do not seem to realise that this adds to the alienation of voters rather than assuage concerns. - Big welcome at Campbeltown for new Ardrossan ferry
We understand she carried about 60 passengers and although, flying around to catch as much as possible, we didn’t have time to count the cars coming off, we did look out for this and there were a respectable number of them. - Argyll and Bute Council: Councillor McCuish leads again
We appreciate that it is inconvenient for a light to be shone on doings your party would prefer to keep hidden in shady places from those it asks to vote for it.
That is a dishonourable contract.
As the former Alliance of Independent Councillors [which had nothing at all do with Michael Russell ] knows very well, when it was damaging Argyll and Bute by its conduct during the 2010-11 schools closure wars, we were even more vigilant in keeping them under scrutiny and publishing on their manoeuvres.
We had to be even more vigilant because they were skilled at keeping things under wraps – where the SNP has conducted its acts of political genocide en plein air. All anyone has had to do is draw up a chair.
It should be obvious from our stance in recent weeks that we have no ‘vendetta’ against Councillor Dick Walsh, whom we dealt with arguably more harshly than we have done with Mr Russell.
A central function of our role is to contribute to the holding to account of those elected to serve the people. We do our best to fulfil this fairly – and hard. But we have no vendetta against anyone.
In Mr Russell’s case we simply feel he is a hot air balloon who has imploded over Argyll and done a great deal of harm – profoundly so to his own party, which we used to support. The evidence for our view is in the public domain.
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The inadequacies in this study surely mirror the historic government mindset.
The delay in improving the A82 between Balloch and Tarbet until the traffic overload had reached nonsensical proportions, and the long-term reluctance to face up to the engineering challenges of making the A82 fit for purpose between Tarbet and Ardlui, and the A83 between Ardrishaig and Tarbert, point to a political establishment that all too often has its eyes fixed firmly on the major areas of population – and has its back turned on us.
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“The A83 is the only route in and out of – and right through Argyll down to Campbeltown, from the central belt.”
No, it is possible to cross the Firth of Clyde by vehicle ferry though that has now been reduced by the Government and Transport Scotland to a single monopoly operator with no price/profit control.
“it notes but does not quantify that there will have been some additional traffic on the Cowal ferries during the closure at the Rest. Everyone’s proverbial granny could have told us that – and did.”
Of course Transport Scotland did not quantify it because it would have been embarrassing to highlight that an important part of the transport network had been made into a monopoly.
“Transport Scotland civil servants, on this evidence, don’t know what an economic impact study demands and have no reason to suspect that MSPs know any better?”
Probably both. Transport Scotland are imcompetent and they know our MSP Michael Russell daydreams about tunnels.
Are you suggesting Newsroom that the Government is underinvesting in the West of Scotland and going about things in an incompetent manner? Would that not be an exaggeration after all they are thinking about doing something, sometime and if the A83 is closed you have alternatives of the A82 and the monopoly ferry service. Many communities would give their eye teeth for such a selection surely?
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“The hotel hired Loch Lomond Seaplanes to deliver the champagne to Inveraray pier.”
Does that mean it was cheaper to fly things in than to take a van over on Western Ferries? WF don’t display their commercial rates on their website, perhaps they don’t want to make the natives restless by advertising the surcharge on goods moving in and out of Cowal.
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Ah – a van delivery via Cowal would not have attracted the publicity the arrival of the seaplane at Inveraray did.
We’d hoped to make clear that The George was saying as loudly as possible ‘Look what the loss of this road access is doing to businesses here. We can’t fulfil our obligations to customers.’
The national media paid swift attention but not, apparently, Transport Scotland who conveniently ignored the impacts on businesses in this non-study.
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See Lochgoilhead didnt get a mention AGAIN, when that road is closed we have no public transport to Glasgow as Helensburgh bus wont come long way, and it takes us an extra 60 miles to get to Glasgow, but we get no sympathy as especially for a small village who rely on tourism and people wont drive the detour as it too long and the ferry is too expensive !!!!!!
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There was a driver of a commercial van looking for a ferry at the CalMac pier this morning. I sent him along to Western. He was concerned about prices but I could not advise him as they don’t publish commercial rates on their website. It is a bit much that as people have to turn up before finding out how much it will cost.
I have heard the commercial rates are high and, if they are, we all end up paying through increased costs for goods and services.
I have every sympathy with Lochgoilhead. No doubt the newroom position is that you are spoilt for choice with roads and ferry services.
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This passed me by as I was at sea when it was published; a snow job of the first water, a report with no useful facts in it. Using data I’ve made up plus a cursory look at wikipedia, by my calculations the road closures have cost Argyll £3.1m per day and heightened landslide risk warnings have cost £250k per day. It’s fun doing this report writing thing; is there money in it?
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Yes db there is always money in the report writing business
and those without substance such as the above are really useful as a delaying tactic. Keep musing,and naval gazing for long enough and the problem might just quietly go away…its only Argyll after all, so why should we expect road safety and a thriving economy?
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