Issue - meetings

Verbal Update by Caledonian MacBrayne

Don McKillop, Caledonian MacBrayne (CalMac), provided a verbal update to the Group advising that CalMac had returned to providing a full Summer timetable for the first time since 2019. He confirmed that all restrictions, with the exception of face coverings, had been removed on the 9^th of August and this had allowed vessels to move from reduced capacity to the seasonal norm. It was noted that there was a particular demand across all routes, and this could cause challenges, particularly for island communities. Don confirmed that CalMac were in conversation with Transport Scotland about how to address these concerns, noting that one example of this was the recent decision not to allow campervans into the standby lane.

Don provided information around the effects of increased staff absence caused by a high number of positive Covid-19 cases and the resulting safety measures in place, outlining a number of recent examples. It was noted that vessel reliability issues had been challenging in recent months, and resulting impacts across the whole network had been well documented. Don advised that dry dock season was approaching, and work was ongoing with Transport Scotland, the Scottish Government and CMAL to access additional tonnage. It was noted that the existing fleet was aging and as a result, the service status could be impacted at times, advising that attempts were underway to access additional used tonnage to increase resilience but availability was limited. Don also provided information around the delays in a number of new build boats being available, also noting that a new Islay vessel was scheduled to go to tender and a project of works was underway for a new Mull vessel. It was noted that a small vessel replacement programme had also commenced.

Councillor Armour raised concerns around issues with the Campbeltown ferry route. Don confirmed that he was aware of this and the disappointment caused, noting that he had previously been in close dialogue with Councillor Armour.

Valerie Nimmo suggested that CalMac should review the ferry and service provided to Campbeltown, due to frequent cancellations and an unsuitable timetable causing regular issues, and Don agreed to note these concerns.

Councillor Horn reiterated concerns around the CalMac service in Kintyre and Don advised that he did understand concerns and apologised for the inconvenience, noting that island routes did have to be prioritised in line with Transport Scotland guidance and as the service was a mainland-to-mainland route it did, at times, suffer when resilience issues were experienced.

Councillor Horn advised that traffic queues for ferries at Tarbert and Claonaig had resulted in traffic being backed up and causing blockages of the road at times. Don confirmed that he would investigate this with the relevant port managers and provide a response to the Group in due course.

Decision

The Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Community Planning Group considered and noted the information provided.