North Ayrshire Council patience wearing thin on Arran ferry fiasco

dailyrecord.co.uk:

Forceful North Ayrshire Council top brass have met the Cabinet Secretary to urge the importance of bringing an end to the uncertainty on Ardrossan remaining the main port for the Arran ferry.Ardrossan Labour councillor Amanda Kerr asked what progress was being made on resolving the issue at Wednesday’s full meeting of North Ayrshire Council.Council leader Marie Burns said an earlier meeting with then Transport Secretary, Neil Gray, former wellbeing economy, fair work and energy secretary, had helped secure financial support in the Scottish Budget for island businesses stricken by major hitches with the ferry service.She said: "Along with island representatives and the local MSP we met the cabinet secretary for Transport, Fiona Hyslop, about a month ago.“I am sure that the issues around the ferry concern and the delay on a business case for Ardrossan Harbour were put very forcefully by everyone round the table and the Cabinet Secretary recognised that.“We asked for a greater degree of urgency on the part of Transport Scotland and agreed to do whatever we could within the council to expedite this.

We also asked for a date to be arranged for the next taskforce meeting as improved communication is vital.“We haven’t had a response from Transport Scotland on these actions as yet but we are chasing this up and we are hopeful that completion of the business case for Ardrossan Harbour is imminent.

The Chief Executive and I met on Tuesday night with the AAcontinue to push the urgency of completing the business case and holding a meeting of the taskforce.” Read next: Don't miss the latest Ayrshire headlines – sign up to our free daily newsletter