Argyll and Bute Council’s plans to establish a Municipal Harbour Authority in Oban are continuing to move forward.
The council is already the Harbour Authority for Oban North Pier, and while CMAL/CalMac and Northern Lighthouse all have responsibility for separate areas within the bay, the approaches into and out of the bay are currently unregulated.
Because of this, the Council wants to establish a Harbour Authority so that it can enforce positive safety measures and, on 22 December last year, it submitted a draft Harbour Revision Order (HRO) to Transport Scotland. Since then, positive discussions have taken place between the council and Transport Scotland, and the Scottish Government’s legal team will now review the draft HRO.
Following any comments from the Scottish Government, the Council will call a Special Meeting of the Harbour Board before the order goes out to public consultation.
Chair of the Argyll and Bute Harbour Board, Councillor Andrew Kain, said: “Oban Bay is very busy with marine traffic, particularly during the summer months, so is vital that we establish a Municipal Harbour Authority for this area so that people have safe and regulated access within the bay.
“Positive discussions have already taken place between the Council and Transport Scotland, and we are now awaiting approval of the draft HRO from the Scottish Government. Once this has been done, the HRO will need to be approved by the Argyll and Bute Harbour Board before we then begin the statutory 42 day public consultation.”