Sunday 21 June 2015

Corran Ferry Consultation

The following is the essence of a circular from Dot Ferguson, Senior Ward Manager at The Highland Council, and will interest all of us who use the Corran Ferry whether we live on Ardnamurchan, Morvern and Sunart or are visitors.

"A recent Ward Forum held in Strontian on 18th May considered how the Corran Ferry could be operated at reduced cost. The meeting discussed options which had been put forward previously by community representatives as well as putting forward new ideas. The agreed options are as follows:

 to consider charging pedestrians and cyclists
 to continue pursuing smart ticketing
 to pursue sponsorship and advertising
 to consider review of charges for coaches and lorries, with reductions for local companies
 to consider producing differing ticket book sizes, eg 45 / 20 tickets
 to consider charges for disabled concessions, but with the subsidy being set against other Council budgets rather than the Corran Ferry budget
 to consider further options to reduce maintenance costs

"In addition it was agreed that the Council should pursue wider strategic changes including investigation of a Public Service Obligation and lobbying for changes to the Road Equivalent Tariff.

"In order to ensure as inclusive a consultation as possible we are now circulating these options for the widest community to prioritise. We would also welcome any new ideas which may come forward. The consultation paper is available to download from the Highland Council website http://www.highland.gov.uk/downloads/file/13559/survey. The closing date is 17th July 2015.

"Council officers are currently working on the viability of each of the options raised. The combination of their work plus the prioritisation from the community should offer a strong way forward and it is anticipated that the outcome of this consultation will be reported to the August Community Services Committee".

2 comments:

  1. Barbara MacLennan21 June 2015 at 16:30

    Do you know if there has been any further consideration of the proposal for a causeway with tidal turbine?

    ReplyDelete
  2. Hi Barbara

    My apologies that it's taken a bit of time to get back to you, but I understand that Highland Council will be completing a strategic plan for the ferry by the end of the year which apparently will cover all options.

    Jon

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