OPPOSITION to a proposal for a temporary bus service to replace the troubled Dunoon-Gourock CalMac ferry has widened, with Strachur and District Community Council now backing South Cowal’s calls to oppose the plan.
The intervention comes after Dunoon Community Council (DCC) agreed to continue exploring a bus-based alternative to the passenger ferry, with transport lead David Clough due to discuss the proposal with Transport Scotland’s director of ferries and ports, Chris Wilcock.
South Cowal Community Council has already unanimously opposed the idea, warning that replacing the ferry, even temporarily, could result in Dunoon permanently losing its town-centre to town-centre service.
Now Strachur and District Community Council has added its voice to the opposition.
In a letter to the Dunoon Observer (see page 10), secretary Kirstie Reid said the ferry service was an issue for the whole of Cowal rather than Dunoon alone.
She also raised questions over how a service would connect with the existing West Coast Motors network across Cowal and cope with congestion around the Western Ferries terminals, particularly during busy holiday changeover periods at Hunters Quay Holiday Village.
Strachur also questioned whether buses could realistically receive priority boarding on Western Ferries and what would happen when services were delayed.
Strachur’s central concerns mirror those previously expressed by South Cowal, that establishing an alternative bus connection could ultimately weaken the case for restoring a reliable passenger ferry between Dunoon and Gourock town centres.
DCC has defended its decision to investigate the bus proposal, pointing to the results of its recent ferry strategy consultation.
Almost 400 people responded to the survey, which asked participants to score six possible approaches to the future of the crossing.
Continuing to support efforts to secure a Community Asset Transfer of the Dunoon linkspan and find an alternative ferry operator emerged as the highest-scoring option, accounting for 26 per cent of the overall scores.
Replacing the existing CalMac service with a combined bus and ferry service was second on 19 per cent. Among the 219 respondents from Dunoon itself, the figures were similar, with the Community Asset Transfer option receiving 27 per cent and the bus/ferry proposal 19 per cent.
Responding to Strachur’s intervention, Mr Clough said all Cowal community councils had been informed of the options before the survey went live, when it was published and again as responses were received.
He said no community council had raised concerns or put forward alternative options during that process.
Mr Clough said DCC believed the bus proposal was, of the options considered, the one most likely to improve the reliability and predictability of the Dunoon-Gourock connection.
He stressed that DCC was currently investigating the proposal rather than committing to it.
Mr Clough said: “We believe that Dunoon Community Council is therefore right to investigate the second preferred option on behalf of the Dunoon community.
“Once further information is available, DCC intends to report back on both the Community Asset Transfer and bus options and seek the community’s preferences.”
Mr Clough added: “Other Community Councils are free to express the opinions of their own community.”
The proposed service previously outlined by DCC would see a bus run from Dunoon ferry terminal to Glasgow’s Buchanan Bus Station every two hours, supplemented by a smaller bus travelling directly between Dunoon and Gourock railway station every 20 minutes.
DCC has suggested such an arrangement could potentially be introduced within 12 weeks if Transport Scotland awarded the contract directly to West Coast Motors.
