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Meeting the Minister

Cllr Margie Currie and Alison Prince, Secretary of the Community Council, went to Dalry last week to meet Stuart Stevenson, the Minister of Transport and the Environment, at the office of MSP Kenneth Gibson.

Written by Alison Prince
Friday, 31 August 2007

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Last Wednesday Cllr Margie Currie and Alison Prince, Secretary of the Arran Community Council, went to Dalry to meet Kenneth Gibson MSP and Stuart Stevenson, Minister of Transport and the Environment.

The Minister, looking relaxed in a pink shirt, said he was there to listen. Margie outlined Arran’s history of connection with Argyll and Bute through HiTrans, and pointed out that we have much in common with other west-coast island communities – perhaps more so than with the essentially urban administration of North Ayrshire. She went on to tell Mr Stevenson of the need for a radical upgrade of Arran’s roads. Built as they are on ancient cart-tracks, they lack proper foundation, and are unable to cope with the size and weight of traffic now using them. Margie stressed that the push to secure external capital funds for roads is not in any sense a ‘breakaway’ movement, but seeks to work through the existing NAC channels.

On the ferry question, Margie said the best solution for Arran would be two slightly smaller boats, better able to cope with the narrow entrance into Ardrossan harbour, working a crossover system that could effectively double the number of sailings per day. She pointed out that the early time of the last boat caused problems, and put in a plea for a later sailing from the mainland to Brodick. The question of Road Equivalent Tariff came up, but the Minister said there was no budget yet for RET. The tendering process for provision of a ferry service was discussed, and both Margie and Alison mentioned the dubious legality of the tendering for waste disposal that had preceded the current council-run arrangement. Mr Stevenson agreed that total transparency in such matters was essential.

Alison outlined the proposal to establish a biomass clean combustion plant near the Heights. This could use waste forestry timber to heat a nearby development of affordable housing, the lack of which threatened a severe crisis to the island community. She drew attention to the current expensive system of shipping Arran’s waste off the island, and said the combustion plant could take all paper and cardboard out of the waste-stream, reducing the total bulk by a third.

She also mentioned the absence of bus provision from Ardrossan harbour to Crosshouse Hospital, Kilmarnock and East Kilbride, and said Stagecoach had given negative replies to requests from the Arran public for a service from the harbour. The withdrawal of the X16 service that had used the cross-country route to Edinburgh, stopping at Crosshouse, was very regrettable. The Red Cross patient-transport bus was shunned by pensioners embarrassed to admit that they could not afford the £10 asked for as a minimum ‘donation’, and Alison felt that human needs were being ignored in the relentless push for more profitability.

The Minister gave no promises on any of these questions, but said it was valuable to be in touch with members of the community.

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