Proposal to bring Gourock terminal into community control

Representatives from a Dunoon community group outlined their proposal when they travelled across the water to attend a meeting of Gourock Community Council (GCC).

The move could see the terminal brought into public control (Image: George Munro) The group wants to see the communities in both Gourock and Dunoon take ownership of the terminals and then sub-let them to a ferry operator.

The idea's supporters say bringing the facilities under community control would open the door to better ferry services between the two towns.

The Gourock terminal is owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd (CMAL), while the Dunoon facility is under the ownership of Argyll and Bute Council.

Presenting their case to the meeting earlier this week, a group spokesperson said: “The Community Empowerment Act of 2015 allows communities to take over publicly-owned property by means of an asset transfer if they can demonstrate that the community can make better use of them.

“In this case, if the community did control the berths and brought in an external operator, there could be considerable benefit.

"Not just to the people of Cowal, but also to Gourock residents who face the fairly considerable volume of traffic currently travelling through the town centre to get to Western Ferries.”

CMAL is not currently listed as a 'public body' under the legislation, meaning politicians at Holyrood would have to be lobbied in order for it to be added to the list.

Cowal representatives have proposed bringing the ferry terminals in Gourock and Dunoon under community control. (Image: Tommy Bamford) Representatives of the group added: “Our argument is that, given CMAL is wholly owned by Transport Scotland, it should be considered as a public body under the terms of the act.

"To achieve this in practice, though, it would be necessary to convince the government to include CMAL on the list."

After presenting their case to the group, Cowal representatives Alan Stewart and Michael Breslin answered questions from the audience.

Asked why the proposal had been brought forward, Mr Stewart said: “If we were getting the level of service we deserve, with ferries that were efficient and don’t go off at the slightest breeze then we wouldn’t be standing here.”

Mr Breslin, a former Dunoon councillor, added: "We’ve been promised boats for 13 years.
I think at the moment the signs are ominous that there will not be any new boats.

GCC members queried the possibility of a permanent shuttle bus between the CalMac and Western Ferries terminals in the event of CalMac reducing their Gourock-Dunoon service to once per hour.

The Gourock representatives also suggested a 'triangle' service covering Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan, but this was dismissed by their Cowal counterparts.

The Gourock ferry terminal is owned by Caledonian Maritime Assets Limited Stuart McMillan, MSP for Greenock and Inverclyde, responded to the Cowal group, suggesting that it would be ‘wise’ for the group to contact CMAL.

GCC members said they would need to see data and statistics to back up the proposal before deciding whether to pledge their support for the idea.