The Kintyre Forum

I got the following via e-mail from DBAG but forgot to post is - sorry!

Davie

Latest word on the ferry is that there seems to be total confusion between
Holyrood and the Northern Ireland Office.
Attached is recent letter from DETI indicating that they have written to the
Transport Minister Nicol Stephen and are just about ready to make a joint
announcement. Needless to say Holyrood was denying there had been
any contact until we showed them the letter. Now they are officially
conducting a "fingertip document search of the department". We await with interest.

The point is that the ferry project is at a critical stage.
If they sit on it much longer the potential operators will get fed up waiting
and walk away. Then we're stuffed.

We are currently trying to embarass the civil servants behind the scenes
but we will soon be going very public on the delay.
However we are going to post the DETI letter on the DBAG web site
(www.dbag.org) and once that happens feel free to use it on your own if
you want.

The enclosed letter has not been posted yet so I'll leave it for now.
The first paragraph above doesn't surprise me!

The problem with the ferry can be found in the answer to Allan Reids Question in the Commons, you can read it in the theyworkforyou forum, check out this link and vote yes or no:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id ... 2.217089.h


Suits you Sir Humphrey or what?

Total tossers, the lot of them. Do they actually share the same world that we do? 'Official answers' like this just show how much contempt the general public are held in by the likes of these.

<rant over>

Cheers
Gary

Come on now Gary - stop sitting on the fence!

Seriously though, you are of course correct, but we should start harnessing our anger in a positive manner. Trouble is where to start?

Any thoughts on how we as a community can shine a big bright spotlight on the Civil Servants who are putting obstacles in the way of the ferry going out to tender without undermining the efforts which will have to continue on a political level? For the avoidance of doubt, petitions are thrown in the bin and public rallies ignored in relation to other local issues so all the usual tools of choice are not going to help. We need something visual which will attract the national media but I'm not sure what the most effective way would be?

Ideas folks?

<chuckle> I've rarely been accused of that. )

I'm a firm believer that people don't complain enough in this country, that's the UK as a whole. We're far to quick to just make do when we should be pointing out to this shower of sh*te just who pays their wages.

Cheers
Gary

The plot thickens, more intrigue and "intelligence" from the corridors of power - see:

http://www.theyworkforyou.com/wrans/?id ... g212388.r0

But also see the dbag site for a useful questionnaire on the ferry - to be up soon at www.dbag.org

From the Press and Journal:-

http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/displa ... ebarsearch

D-DAY BECKONS ON FUTURE OF KINTYRE TO BALLYCASTLE FERRY
An Announcement about the future of the Campbeltown-Ballycastle ferry route is due shortly, a Scottish Executive spokeswoman confirmed yesterday.

The Press and Journal understands that the long-awaited decision over whether the route will be put out to tender again should be made public next week after months of talks between the Scottish Executive and the
Northern Ireland Office.

Speculation over the future of the route heightened after
Northern Ireland's Department of Enterprise, Trade and Investment refused to release details of its recent response to the Scottish Executive over retendering proposals.

Les Oman, chairman of the Dalriada Business Action Group,
speaking during a visit to Northern Ireland yesterday, urged the civil servants and politicians to stop dragging their heels over the matter and to make a quick announcement of their intentions.

Mr Oman said: "There definitely appears to be dialogue between both sides and if they are still talking, there is still hope for the future.

"But it has been spelled out to us that if it doesn't go out to tender this time, it will be five to 10 years before the matter would be revisited, so it's crucial that we get some sort of positive closure on this at this time."

He added: "We have been waiting for a decision on this since
September and we know the executive has been looking for a commitment from the Northern Ireland Office."

Mr Oman said it was quite clear, having spoken to the people
of Northern Ireland, that there was great support over there for the ferry link, which ceased to operate several years ago after being deemed a loss-maker by previous operator Sea Containers.

But he said his group feared that time would literally run out for the project.

He pointed out that, even if a retendering exercise was
announced soon, it would take a long time to go through the procedures and to set up the necessary marketing to introduce a new ferry in time for the 2006 season.

He said: "We want them to tell us what is happening, because
every month that goes by makes it harder to prepare for this."

Mr Oman's group, which represents more than 300 businesses,
has spoken in the past with parties interested in operating the route, which
local people believe would play a vital part in reviving the Kintyre economy.

And Mr Oman said he hoped there would still be strong interest
from potential operators if retendering was announced.

Previous plans to reintroduce the ferry service failed as there were no takers when the route was last put out to tender - despite the Scottish Executive offering a £1million subsidy.

The executive has allocated £700,000 in subsidy cash - which
would be available for a new operator - in its budget.

Additional cash to bring the subsidy offer to its original
£1million has still to be confirmed by the Irish government.

Pleased to say that the Executive and DETI have finally agreed that the ferry should go back out to tender one more time. Full Press Statement is below:

Wednesday, 30 March 2005

NEW TENDER EXERCISE FOR CAMPBELTOWN TO BALLYCASTLE ROUTE

Renewed effort to reinstate the Campbeltown to Ballycastle ferry service was announced today by Transport Minister, Nicol Stephen and Northern Ireland Enterprise Minister, Barry Gardiner.

Tenders will be invited for a service that links Argyll and Moyle through a fresh joint Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Administration initiative which offers a maximum £1m annual subsidy over a 5 year contract period.

The decision to re-tender the service again follows a joint SE and NI Office review of the service and work undertaken by the Kintyre and Moyle business communities. The Dalriada Business Action Group (DBAG) has presented work to demonstrate the case for a further tendering exercise, and raised the profile of the route for potential operators.

Mr Stephen said:

“There is strong local support for this service, especially from businesses in Kintyre, to ensure the future economic growth of the local community. A new ferry service would also create new opportunities in trade and tourism between Kintyre and Antrim. That is why we want to ensure every effort is made to restore this service.

“The Dalriada Business Action Group (DBAG) has played a key role in our review, helping to demonstrate the case for re-tendering. Their work has raised awareness of the potential for the route in both Scotland and in Northern Ireland. We very much hope that this tendering competiton will result in the ferry service operating in 2006.”

Barry Gardiner, Northern Ireland Office Minister for Regional Development said:

“I am pleased that we are in a position to retender this service. This is an important step forward and demonstrates very clearly the strenuous efforts being made by the Scottish Executive and the NI Office to secure the reinstatement of the route.”


Editors Notes:

1. A summer only ferry service operated between Campbeltown and Ballycastle in Northern Ireland for three years 1997-99. The service was operated on a commercial basis. The service was terminated just before the 2000 season on the grounds that it was making unsustainable losses. It was concluded that the service would only restart if a subsidy was paid to support operating costs.

2. A previous tendering exercise in 2002 did not produce interest from the market. Ministers agreed to review options for the future of the proposed passenger and freight ferry service between Campbeltown and Ballycastle. During the review the Minister agreed to a request from the Dalriada Business Action Group (DBAG) to review policy for future support of the service. This involved the group submitting further work to the Executive which supported the case for reinstating the ferry service. The reports provided explored the market for increasing potential tourism interest and freight traffic. DBAG considered that there was greater potential in these sectors which had not been fully developed in previous work. DBAG’s work has been useful in raising awareness of the potential for the route in Scotland and Northern Ireland.

3. The Scottish Executive and Northern Ireland Office have now agreed to pursue a further tendering exercise. Both parties agreed to proceed subject to the following conditions:

 The tender will be based on the same or very similar terms to the previous 2002-03 competition;
 That the maximum annual amount of subsidy to be made available for support of the service will be £1.0 million over the 5 year contract period.

4. The tendering exercise would be led by the Scottish Executive and would proceed on a similar process to the 2002 exercise under procurement and EC Maritime State aid rules. Potential bidders would be invited to express interest in a pre-qualification exercise and in passing this stage, would be invited to Tender.

Scottish Executive: Alison Shields 0131 244 2625
News Release: «NewsReleaseNo»
Internet: www.scotland.gsi.gov.uk

Well done those involved in getting the two sides to this point.

Have always wanted the ferry to run again but often wonder about the economical benefits etc

What do people think it brings to the town?

Just trying to get some discussion on this matter on the board.

The one thing I do belive is the power of the Internet has certainly risen in the last 4-5 years and this is one way we can make people aware of the ferry and Kintyre etc.

Did enjoy the golf and football trips we made the last time right enough...

Davie is right; any feedback contributors to this forum can give DBAG regarding the re-tendering of the service will be helpful to us. We will try and answer any questions or queries folk have.

http://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/content/n ... erry05?a=0

COUNCIL URGES EARLY TENDERING OF FERRY ROUTE
Wed, 30 Mar 2005 16:41:16
Argyll and Bute Council’s Transport spokesperson Councillor Duncan MacIntyre has welcomed the announcement today (Wednesday 30 March) that the Scottish Executive is to renew efforts to reinstate the Campbeltown – Ballycastle ferry service.


The Council, the local community and business interests in Kintyre and in Moyle have lobbied for the reintroduction of the service since the previous operator on the route stopped in 1999.
Councillor MacIntyre said, “We welcome this news and would urge the Executive to put this route out to tender as soon as possible. That way it will be possible to put effective marketing in place in time for 2006.

“There have been tremendous efforts at every level to promote the reinstatement of this service. It offers the clear opportunity for economic generation both locally and within the wider Northern Ireland and West Highland areas.”

Making the announcement, Transport Minister Nicol Stephen praised the work of the Dalriada Business Action Group (DBAG) who demonstrated a case for a further tendering exercise which convinced both the Executive and the Northern Ireland Office.

Councillor MacIntyre continued, “DBAG received a grant of £5,000 from Argyll and Bute Council’s local Area Committee to help with the work they did, which included raising the profile of the route for potential operators and travelling to Northern Ireland to lobby politicians.”

The tender will be based on similar terms to the previous 2002-2003 competition which didn’t attract any bidders. The maximum amount of subsidy which will be available to support the service will be £1m per annum for five years.

Heres an email we had on the dbag web site www.dbag.org reproduced here with permission - if you have any other such thoughts please post them here.

Re: Recent moves to recommence Ballycastle/Campbelltown Ferry

I was very pleased that some movement has at last taken place.

I only used the service once in it's last summer of operation but was totally convinced that the route should be a winner. I was most disappointed when it was discontinued as I had intended to use it the following year.

I felt that there were two main failings in the provision of the last service.

Marketing & Booking Arrangements:
Promotion was extremely sparse and I spoke to a lot of people who didn't even know the service was operational. I myself had difficulty locating information on how or where to book. When I eventually did I telephoned for three weeks two or three times per day to find the line engaged. I eventually succeeded at 08.10 one Sunday morning! I then discovered that they would not take credit card bookings by phone and so I would either have had to go to Belfast or post a cheque to get my tickets - not what I would have expected in the twenty-first century! Incidentally I chose to go to Belfast for my tickets and found that the phone was ringing incessantly in the Seacat Office, and I overheard a member of staff say "I thought those phones were supposed to be switched off" - perhaps the reason I couldn't get through?

Vessel
Whilst the MV Claymore was comfortable enough and afforded viewing of the beautiful scenery en route it seemed a little prone to sideways pitching and as this happened as it turned into the harbour at Ballycastle in full view of the intending passengers it was a little worrying. En route we experienced the sensation when this was happening and it was most unpleasant - and the sea was very calm that day!

From contacts I had with the Councils in Moyle and Argyll I discovered that Calmag had not tendered in the last failed attempt to restart the service but obviously they are the company with the expertise in ferry transport in northern UK waters and must be included. I also suggested that Pentland Ferries of Orkney should be included as they started a new ferry service from Gills to Orkney against very established competition and were very successful.

I do hope that the service will be re-established successfully and that previous errors will be eliminated as I believe the service could be extremely beneficial to both Northern Ireland and the West of Scotland.

Roy Reynolds
Banbridge, Co.Down.

cheers for the reply John, some very valid points raised. Is it any wonder that it ran at a loss last time when it was so poorly advertised and then those who do know cant get any answer when trying to book.

All being well WHEN the ferry gets up and running the people in charge will have the foresight to overcome any problems the previous service had.

We have a considerable dossier of similar evidence relating to the previous service from both sides of the shuch. The Executive will be coming up with the details of the tender document in the next few weeks, we'll keep this thread posted. Interesting to note that from what we can gather, in the second year of opperation the last service broke even.

Greetings... Personally I believe the past is the past and should stay that way. A new ferry service with a quality service provider and a true forward thinking spirit will bring a service that everyone can be proud of and enjoy irrespective of previous providers.

Since the last service there has been much improved infrastructure on the Ireland side. There are a new fleet of buses and new trains are being rolled out as well as improvements to the rail network.

From crossing to Moyle and a very short drive there is a new ferry from Magilligan to Donegal. There is also a new plan for tourism from Islandmagee all the way up the Causeway coast. Irrespective of the challenges of the past there is a great opportunity for the successful tenderer.

Will this Tender be going into the EU Journal? Will this open up opportunities for other service providers trying to "break into" the UK market? There have been some more countries who have joined the EU since the previous service provider so in an open tender situation we may be surprised...someone may realise the potential of this opportunity...