Rising tide of discontent grows as Arran’s “voice ignored”

And then there is the group campaigning for basic protected step ashore facilities for boats, who have been battling council officials for improvements to Arran’s marine infrastructure for over 50 years. Conservationist, Howard Wood OBE, asserts that Arran’s marine infrastructure lags far behind other Scottish islands by 20 years – even when compared to other Scottish islands with a fraction of Arran’s population.

The fight for investment for a marina on Arran began in 1970 when Arran fell under the jurisdiction of Buteshire Council, before it became part of the Cunninghame district within the Strathclyde region. In 1971 the Travis Report recommended Lamlash as an ideal place to site a marina, owing to its natural shelter, strategic location and popularity. The recommendation was made as part of plans to develop fully protected marinas across the Firth of Clyde to bring economic benefit to Clyde communities.

Despite the recognition of early need and opportunity and the positive impetus, no marina was built on Arran throughout the 1970s and 1980s, while other islands, such as Islay and Barra, were able to reap the social and economic benefits of having marinas.

The disparity and inequality of marine infrastructure is apparent when compared to other island communities. South Uist, with a combined populations of 4,846 from South and North Uist has a 52-berth marina at Lochboisdale; Mull with a population of 2,667 has a 60-berth marina at Tobermory; Islay’s population of 3,200 has a 34-berth marina at Port Ellen; Isle of Kerrara’s 34 inhabitants have a 80 berth marina; Harris, Tarbert, with a population of 1,650 has a 50 berth marina and Scalloway, Shetland, with a population of 1,479 has a 120-berth marina. Arran with a population of 4,600 has no fully protected marina.

Remedying the situation has not been for a lack of effort, yacht and boat owners on Arran have been raising concerns about the lack of facilities for decades.

Hopes were raised in the 1990s, and after the millennium, and in the ensuing decades after a succession of council and government development studies made the case for developing Arran’s marine infrastructure. Sadly, the marina group faced disappointment after disappointment when dealing with Scottish Government and local authority bureaucracy.

Campaigners saw some light at the end of their 50 year tunnel when, in 2019, the Scottish and UK Governments announced the Ayrshire Growth Deal worth £251m with £23.5m allocated for marine tourism investment in North Ayrshire. In a pattern now familiar to islanders, the grandiose figure and scope of the project were eroded, and by January 2025 the amount available for Arran was less than £2m in practical terms. This could, at best, fund the creation of seasonal pontoons in Brodick and Lamlash, however, these would only be of use during certain months of the year, and in certain favourable weather conditions.

Assertions of unfair treatment and postcode inequality, by both the marina and health and social care campaigners, are backed by financial figures which, according to them, prove that Arran “pays more but gets less.”

According to Arran’s Tom Tracey, Arran households pay around 53 per cent more council tax than the average North Ayrshire ward. Arran generates approximately £2m above the average ward and this will increase to £2.5m next year with the increase in second home council tax. Yet, Arran has the lowest average household incomes, the poorest access to services, the weakest infrastructure, the highest social rents and the highest cost of living in the council area.

North Ayrshire consistently ranks at or near the very bottom of the league tables for healthy life expectancy in both Scotland and the UK. The region also has the lowest, or joint-lowest, healthy life expectancy in Scotland for both men and women.

The imbalance of funding applies to both the marina funding and that of the health and social care situation. Scottish Government funding for its 32 councils, in particular to support island health services, campaigners say, is worked out according to a National Resource Allocation Formula that does not adequately take into consideration healthy life expectancy in the region, population requirements, or the 400,000 visitors to Arran annually, or the above average contributions from Arran.

Equally, in the case of the marine lobbyists, Arran’s allocation of Ayrshire Growth Deal funding pales into insignificance when compared to other localities, like at Cumbrae where £4.4m has been allocated to a 80-100 berth marina - located behind the new £48m Millport breakwater, two kilometres away from the 600 berth marina at Largs.

Adding to the marine lobbyists’ frustrations is that Arran has, for over 50-years, been denied a huge economic opportunity despite being in the centre of the second busiest boating area in the UK. These missed opportunities could have provided compounded and exponential benefits for the whole island, as outlined in numerous studies which illustrate significantly increased economic opportunities and social benefits of well-developed marine infrastructure on islands with year round facilities.

Arran resident, Howard Wood OBE, voiced his frustration: “The centralisation of services and decision-making by both the Scottish Government and councils has been a disaster for Arran.

“Decisions are taken by distant bureaucrats with no understanding of island life. Too many of those decisions, from ferries to basic infrastructure, have proved financially disastrous for taxpayers and devastating for Arran’s already fragile economy. Islanders are no longer prepared to accept this situation.”

Allegations of Arran’s needs and voice being ignored have also been highlighted by the chair of Arran Community Council, Tom Young, who contacted North Ayrshire Integration Joint Board (IJB), appealing to open a line of communication between the respective bodies.

In a concerned letter regarding potential cuts to health and social services, Mr Young said: “There has been no consultation with Arran Community Council as part of this process which is somewhat surprising as we are the one statutory consultative body on the island; particularly regarding such a major change of service.”

Mr Wood expressed a similar sentiment and said that, after a decade of ferry disruption and failures which have eroded the Arran economy, Arran residents are increasingly being portrayed as habitual complainers and moaners by many on the mainland and within government.

Citing long-term governance failures, centralised decision-making and a lack of democratic control as valid reasons for the growing discontent, Howard lamented: “Arran is not seeking special treatment. It is seeking parity, accountability, transparency and the right to shape its own future.”