Concerns raised over funding for new Craignure Pier
An Oban Councillor is to raise serious concerns over harbour project funding in Argyll and Bute, particularly for the Craignure Pier replacement.
Councillor Andrew Vennard will table a motion at Thursday’s full council meeting calling on the council leader to seek further government funding from the Cabinet Secretary for Transport.
To facilitate this, his motion, seconded by Councillor Maurice Corry, also calls for a pause on decision making for all harbour projects until November 2.
Vennard’s concerns mainly centre on the Craignure Pier replacement, which was initially costed in 2020 at £47.9 million, and was updated last year at a long-term cost of £100 million.
The Council’s Harbour Board has recommended its pier and harbour fees be increased by eight per cent for the next financial year to fund the project and others it is faced with.
But these projections are working with the original costing of Craignure Pier, and not the new £100 million estimate, which he calls a "clear contradiction".
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Councillor Vennard said: "I have lodged the motion for the upcoming council meeting this week, due to concerns about the costs of the harbour projects, in particular, the Craignure project, and the steep increases in harbour fees which would be required to fund the capital expenditure.
"I am hopeful that this will be supported by other councillors, as it clearly cause for concern that steep increases in harbour fees would have an adverse effect upon the harbour users and the wider marine economy here in Argyll and Bute."
Annual fee increases of ten per cent would be necessary to fund the full £100 million of the Craignure Pier, Vennard thinks.
There are currently talks between the council and Transport Scotland surround £4.9 million of funding to supplement necessary upgrades to ports at Iona, Fionnphort, Gigha and Tayinloan, which are required for the Government’s new small vessel ferries.
But Councillor Vennard says this would not even leave a dent in the funding gap for harbour projects.
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