Agenda reports pack
Argyll and Bute Council · 18 June 2024
Back to Cowal Transport Forum — 18 June 2024 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Argyll and Bute Council Comhairle Earra-Ghàidheal Agus Bhòid Executive Director: Douglas Hendry Kilmory, Lochgilphead, PA31 8RT Tel: 01546 602127 Fax: 01546 604435 DX 599700 LOCHGILPHEAD 11 June 2024 NOTICE OF MEETING A meeting of the COWAL TRANSPORT FORUM will be held BY MICROSOFT TEAMS on TUESDAY, 18 JUNE 2024 at 10:00 AM, which you are requested to attend. Douglas Hendry Executive Director BUSINESS 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST 3. MINUTES (Pages 3 - 8) Minutes of the meeting of the Cowal Transport Forum held on Monday 18 March 2024 4. POLICE SCOTLAND Update from Police Scotland 5. FERRIES UPDATE (a) Dunoon Community Council - Impact of Service Changes (Pages 9 - 12) Update from Dunoon Community Council (b) Opportunity for verbal updates by Cowal Transport Forum Members 6. PUBLIC TRANSPORT (a) Kilmun Community Council bus service survey (Pages 13 - 42) Update from Kilmun Community Council (b) Opportunity for verbal updates by Cowal Transport Forum Members 7. ROADS UPDATE Opportunity for verbal updates by Cowal Transport Forum Members 8. TRANSPORT SCOTLAND Update from Transport Scotland Public Document Pack
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9. TIMBER TRANSPORT GROUP 10. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS 11. DATE OF NEXT MEETING Cowal Transport Forum Councillor Daniel Hampsey (Chair) Contact: Julieann Small, Democratic Services Assistant - 01546 604043
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MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF THE COWAL TRANSPORT FORUM HELD BY MICROSOFT TEAMS ON MONDAY, 18 MARCH 2024 Present: Councillor Daniel Hampsey (Chair) Councillor William Sinclair Councillor Ross Moreland Councillor Audrey Forrest Stuart McLean, Committee Manager, Argyll and Bute Council Gordon Ross, Western Ferries Captain Alistair McLundie, Western Ferries Victoria Shaw, Calmac Jeff McCormick, West Coast Motors Inspector Bart Simonis, Police Scotland Frauke Thornton, Dunoon Community Council Kirstie Reid, Strachur Community Council Dave Cooper, Hunters Quay Communtity Council Tom Murray, Lochgoilhead Community Council Ronald McAlister, Bute Ferry Group Attending: Robert Trybis, Dunoon Gourock Ferry Action Group Chris Martin, Dunoon Observer 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies for absence were received from: Martin Arnold, Contract Officer, Argyll and Bute Council; Allan Comrie, Strathclyde Partnership for Transport (SPT); and Kerris Bone, Kilmun Community Council. 2. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST There were no declarations of interest. 3. MINUTES The minutes of the meeting of the Cowal Transport Forum held on Tuesday 12 December 2023 were approved as a correct record. The Chair highlighted his thanks to Inspector Simonis, who he had a very positive and productive meeting with in January. The Chair also advised that following the last meeting where it was agreed to hold a meeting to discuss improving connectivity between Dunoon Town Centre and Gourock Railway Station, that significant progress had been made and a meeting with the Cabinet Secretary for Transport would be held in the near future. Having noted the commitments of those in attendance, the Chair agreed to vary the order of business. This Minute reflects the order in which discussions took place. Page 3 Agenda Item 3
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4. POLICE SCOTLAND Inspector Bart Simonis provided the Forum with a verbal update on the ongoing work of the service. He advised that from April 2023 to January 2024 there had been 8 fatalities recorded on the road network, which was a decrease from the previous year where there had been 11 fatalities recorded. Inspector Simonis highlighted that the Police are aiming to promote road safety throughout the locality and are holding road safety events with one being held in Helensburgh on the 21 April and that they would be looking at holding similar events in Dunoon and Bute. Inspector Simonis highlighted that specialist road policing units continue to deploy marked and unmarked vehicles across Argyll and Bute and that there had been an increase in detecting drivers under the influence of drugs and alcohol across the area with an increase of 48.5% in comparison to the 5 year average. Inspector Simonis advised that the annual drink driving campaign ran from the 1 December 2023 to the 2 January 2024 and the number of roadside breath tests carried out by Police within the year increased by 21% from the previous year. Kirsty Reid advised that adults are continuing to cycle along the pavements on Argyll Street, Dunoon which is causing danger to elderly pedestrians. Inspector Simonis advised that he would look at promoting and educating people on cycling and the responsibility of keeping themselves safe whilst on the road. Councillor Sinclair highlighted that he had several members of the Communtity advising him of people driving at excessive speeds along the A815 during the early evening. Inspector Simonis advised that he would report this back to the roads policing team for them to add this road to their policing matrix. Outcome The Forum noted the information provided by Police Scotland. 5. FERRIES UPDATE Western Ferries Gordon Ross highlighted that Western Ferries are concluding their dry dock programme and that the summer programme would come into effect on the 29 March. Captain McLundie advised that they are monitoring traffic continually and have now made the decision, based on customer demand, to introduce a 4 boat service on Sundays from 10am to 5pm, removing the 4 boat service on Saturdays. Captain McLundie advised that the 4 boat service on Fridays would continue as normal and that they would consider putting on extra boats when they have staff available for busy days such as weekends or bank holidays. The Vice-Chair and Chair recorded their thanks to staff at Western Ferries for the great work they do. Outcome The Forum noted the update from Western Ferries. Page 4
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Calmac Victoria Shaw highlighted that Calmac are finishing their overhaul programme with the MV Chieftain hopefully being reintroduced at the end of the month and the MV Ali Cat is currently covering the run and the MV Argyll Flyer back covering the Gourock – Dunoon as a single vessel service. The Forum highlighted their disappointment at the summer timetable and the 26 minute wait between the ferry and connecting rail service. Kirstie Reid highlighted that she had been approached by a member of the public who was disabled and was nearly knocked over by a cyclist due to the new cycle route for Gourock. Victoria Shaw advised that she would look into appropriate signage for the area. In the absence of Michael Breslin from South Cowal Community Council, the Committee Manager read out the below question submitted prior to the meeting: ‘I understand that CalMac plans to make changes to the Dunoon ferry time timetable. Can I ask that these changes are on the agenda for the meeting please?’ Councillor Forrest highlighted that she had heard that with the new timetable changes it would mean the 20 minutes past the hour ferry service would be meeting trains but if they were to go to a one vessel service it would be the 10 to the hour ferry that would run. Victoria Shaw advised that she would look into this for the single vessel ferry service and confirm following the meeting. Outcome The Forum noted the update from Calmac. 6. PUBLIC TRANSPORT (a) Kilmun Community Council bus service survey It was noted that Kerris Bone had submitted her apologies and it was agreed to continue consideration of this item to the next meeting. Councillor Sinclair advised that Kilmun Community Council are hoping to have a later bus service to Kilmun and Ardentinny, which is vital for those who work late in Dunoon. Councillor Sinclair highlighted that the Community Council had conducted a bus service survey which had received a considerable amount of responses, with many wanting an 11pm bus service. Jeff McCormick on behalf of West Coast Motors advised that he was aware of this being discussed previously by the Forum and that any information available showing potential demand should be passed onto Neil Stewart. Outcome The Forum agreed to continue consideration of this item to the next meeting. Page 5
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(b) Opportunity for verbal updates by Cowal Transport Forum Members Strachur Community Council Kirsty Reid highlighted that she had reported in January that the roof of the bus stop at Strachur was loose and becoming dangerous. Ms Reid also advised that she had reported somebody using the bus stop as a toilet and had asked that Environmental Health clean it and advised that this had not been done either and a member of the public had ended up cleaning it. Ms Reid asked if West Coast Motors had any update on providing an additional Saturday bus to Dunoon, advising that there is no service from 0800 or 0900 nor return to Strachur after 1220. Ms Reid had asked previously if the Portavadie bus could travel via Strachur but had not been updated on this. Mr McCormick highlighted that discussions have taken place but that there is nothing to update at the moment. Kirsty added that it is becoming a big problem especially for young people getting to work and back. The Chair highlighted the need to return to the pre-covid bus services as it is affecting many young people who cannot get opportunities in the town due to lack of transportation. Ronald McAlister highlighted that connecting services are not being advertised as full routes online and that many visitors would not know how to get to places because of this. Jeff advised that he would look into putting something online to show all the options for the services. Tom Murray asked if the correct Helensburgh and Dunoon bus timetables could be placed in the Carrick bus shelter and asked for the Dunoon bus service to be simplified during the summer to assist tourists. Outcome The Forum noted that the Chair would raise the issues with the responsible Council Department and update Partners accordingly. Strathclyde Passenger Transport (SPT) In the absence of Allan Comrie, the Committee Manager provided the following update which was submitted before the meeting; • No change to supported bus services or fares; • No change in 2024 to Strathclyde Concession Card fares on rail and Strathclyde Ferry Card fares as per attached Committee Paper (see Para 3 (i)) ; https://www.spt.co.uk/media/2xwmq4pf/sctsjc150324_agenda6.pdf • Whilst not SPT services there are timetable changes to Glasgow – Gourock rail services and Dunoon ferry times from June 1 2024 as attached; Calmac will better inform on this. https://www.calmac.co.uk/summer-timetables/Gourock-Dunoon Outcome Page 6
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The Forum noted the update from Strathclyde Passenger Transport. Dunoon Community Council Frauke Thornton advised that she had been made aware of an incident with school children on the bus in Dunoon where the bus was stopped for 20 minutes and children being asked to leave the bus. Jeff advised that he was not aware of specific details however there has been repeated issues on this service with children’s behaviour and vaping on the bus. Jeff also advised that West Coast Motors are in dialogue with Dunoon Grammar School around this issue. 7. ROADS UPDATE The Committee Manager highlighted that the draft Bute and Cowal Roads Capital Programme for 2024/2025 had been presented to the Area Committee on the 5 March and that the Argyll and Bute wide programme would be considered at the Environment, Development and Infrastructure Committee on the 21 March. Kirstie Reid advised that the Loch Eck road from the Kilmun turn off to Glenbranta was in a terrible state, with ditches filling with water resulting in flooding. Ms Reid asked when the white lines would be reinstated on Hamilton Street/Victoria Road. Tom Murphy highlighted his thanks to Councillor Sinclair and the Councils Road Engineer for getting the Glenmore road open and advised that it has seen a big improvement, however due to the use of Hell’s Glen this road is now deteriorating. Mr Murphy highlighted that many trees had been cut back at Lock Eck and asked if this could happen at the junction at Hell’s Glen as vision at this junction is limited due to the overgrown trees. Mr Murphy also highlighted that the Dunoon Junction at Cairndow is very difficult to find, especially in the dark and asked if the visibility of this could be improved. Councillor Sinclair asked about the regular Timber Transport Group updates the forum used to receive and the Committee Manager advised that the last update from Iain Catterwell was that he was leaving the post and at that time they had not identified a suitable person to represent the Group. Outcome The Forum noted: 1. that the Chair would raise these issues with the responsible Council Department and update Partners accordingly; and 2. that the Committee Manager would contact the Timber Transport Group to find out when they would next be providing the Forum with an update. 8. TRANSPORT SCOTLAND Councillor Sinclair advised that public engagement events are being held on the long-term solution for the A83 Rest and be Thankful and that the events are being held in Lochgoilhead on the 20 March and Arrochar on the 21 March. Outcome Page 7
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The Forum noted that the Chair would look into why there was no engagement event being held in Dunoon. 9. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS There was no other competent business. 10. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The Chair thanked everyone in attendance at the meeting and the Forum noted that the Committee Manager would circulate a calendar invite for a meeting, week ending 10th or 17th June 2024 in due course. Page 8
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1 of 3 d:\moderngov\data\agendaitemdocs\3\5\2\ai00174253\$1dxwovrw.docx June 2024 CTF meeting – DRC CalMac Disruption – Dunoon – Gourock There have been recent changes to the 489 bus service and foot ferry timetables, introduced without as far as I’m aware without pre-consultation with Community Councils. This has had a knock on effect to those travelling to/from Dunoon/Glasgow. I’ve done some analysis on the impact of these changes on certain services see page 3. You can see where travelling time has been improved, and in some cases made worse. Of concern is the amount of time for some of the transfers which are rather tight, and for some mobility impaired individuals may be impossible. As ABC are ultimately responsible for the bus service I’ve made the Dunoon ABC Councillors plus William Sinclair aware as presumably ABC sanctioned these changes to the bus service. Turning now to the disruption. At 17:52 a week last Friday our Secretary was advised by CalMac of cancellations to the CalMac service from Monday 3rd June; “Due to crew hours of rest impact with the service vessels using an alternative overnight berth from the 3rd June to 30 June** Monday to Saturday the following sailings are cancelled Departing Gourock 1005, 1135, 1835, 2010 Departing Dunoon 1035, 1205,1905,2040 ** We will give an update to sailings after 30th June week commencing 24th June, so will be able to give you a position by 28th June latest. Additionally, to allow for the weekly change of core crew at an alternative overnight berth, for the remainder of the summer timetable the 2235 ex Gourock and 2305 ex-Dunoon are cancelled.” The cancellations which affect the services I did the bus analysis on are highlighted in red on page 4. I’ve made enquiries of CalMac (Finlay MacRae, Head of Operations) and have been advised; “……unfortunately, four return sailings between Gourock and Dunoon have been cancelled Monday-Saturday throughout June due to a combination of overnight berthing and crew hours of rest. This is the result of one of the Bute service vessels having to berth in Gourock due to the Rothesay pier settlement works being carried out by Argyll and Bute Council. Additionally, the change to the service was necessary to improve the safe access for the vessel’s crew(s) The requirement to berth the Dunoon service vessels at James Watt dock has resulted in an increase in the working hours for the vessel’s crew and therefore the crew being non-compliant with the legally required crew hours of rest. We did try to cover the required breaks with additional crew but that has not been possible in the short term, a review of the crew requirements is underway and will be completed as soon as possible, which we`ll confirm as soon as we can. Once it became evident that there was a regulatory compliance issue, we had to act swiftly to correct that, and the only option was to remove sailings from the timetable. A review was completed to assess the impact of these changes Page 9 Agenda Item 5a
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2 of 3 d:\moderngov\data\agendaitemdocs\3\5\2\ai00174253\$1dxwovrw.docx and the sailings removed from the timetable were the ones that resulted in the least impact on passengers using this route, with lowest demand and avoiding missing key connections to rail. We totally appreciate this is unwelcome and further erodes trust and choice on the service but hope this helps explain the requirement for the changes we had to make at short notice.” Upon further investigation I then discovered that as a result of work ABC is carrying out to Rothesay Harbour, it’s the Rothesay ferry that is berthing overnight at Gourock, displacing both of the Dunoon Ferries to James Watt Marina. I’ve queried whether ABC were aware of this at the time the work on Rothesay Pier was authorised and have yet to receive a satisfactory answer. So, for how long has this disruption been known about? As the owners of both Rothesay and Dunoon harbours, was any account taken of the already shocking state of the Dunoon / Gourock service? For ABC to then be pro-actively involved in a further degradation of the service seems unthinkable It does indicate to me that the Dunoon Gourock Service not seen as a priority service by ABC in its decision making processes. Kirstie Reid (Vice Convenor, Strachur CC) was attending the Clyde Kintyre and islands ferry group on Thursday last as was due to bring it up there too. David Clough Dunoon Community Council (Transport lead) 8th June 2024. Page 10
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3 of 3 d:\moderngov\data\agendaitemdocs\3\5\2\ai00174253\$1dxwovrw.docx 489 - old v new timetable June 2nd 2024 V2.3 with June cancelled services.xlsx 489 - old v new timetable June 2nd 2024 V2.3 with June cancelled services.xlsx 489 Bus Service / CalMac Ferry / Scotrail - example morning Monday to Friday Current Timetable Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time Transfer time 489 Blairmore - Farm Road End 08:00 09:00 09:55 11:00 11:55 13:00 Scotrail Glasgow Central Depart 15:35 16:25 16:55 17:27 17:36 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal arrive 08:39 09:41 10:42 11:41 12:41 13:41 Scotrail Gourock Arrive 16:26 17:08 17:36 18:07 18:27 CalMac Dunoon Ferry depart 08:45 00:06 09:50 00:09 10:50 00:08 11:50 00:09 12:50 00:09 13:50 00:09 CalMac Gourock Ferry Depart 16:50 00:24 17:20 00:12 17:50 00:14 18:20 00:13 18:50 00:23 CalMac Dunoon Ferry arrives Gourock 09:10 10:15 11:15 12:15 13:15 14:15 CalMac Gourock Ferry arrives Dunoon 17:15 17:45 18:15 18:45 19:15 Scotrail Gourock Depart 09:42 00:32 10:42 00:27 11:42 00:27 12:42 00:27 13:42 00:27 14:42 00:27 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal depart 17:50 00:35 17:50 00:05 18:50 00:35 18:50 00:05 19:58 00:43 Scotrail Glasgow Central Arrive 10:33 11:32 12:32 13:32 14:34 15:33 489 Blairmore - Farm Road End 18:25 18:25 19:25 19:25 20:27 Elapsed time 02:33 02:32 02:37 02:32 02:39 02:33 02:50 02:00 02:30 01:58 02:51 489 Toward Lighthouse 08:22 09:22 10:22 11:22 12:22 13:22 Scotrail Glasgow Central Depart 15:35 16:25 16:55 17:27 17:36 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal arrive 08:43 09:43 10:43 11:43 12:43 13:43 Scotrail Gourock Arrive 16:26 17:08 17:36 18:07 18:27 CalMac Dunoon Ferry depart 08:45 00:02 09:50 00:07 10:50 00:07 11:50 00:07 12:50 00:07 13:50 00:07 CalMac Gourock Ferry Depart 16:50 00:24 17:20 00:12 17:50 00:14 18:20 00:13 18:50 00:23 CalMac Dunoon Ferry arrives Gourock 09:10 10:15 11:15 12:15 13:15 14:15 CalMac Gourock Ferry arrives Dunoon 17:15 17:45 18:15 18:45 19:15 Scotrail Gourock Depart 09:42 00:32 10:42 00:27 11:42 00:27 12:42 00:27 13:42 00:27 14:42 00:27 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal depart 17:50 00:35 17:50 00:05 19:21 01:06 19:21 00:36 19:58 00:43 Scotrail Glasgow Central Arrive 10:33 11:32 12:32 13:32 14:34 15:33 489 Toward Lighthouse 18:09 18:09 19:39 19:39 20:27 Elapsed time 02:11 02:10 02:10 02:10 02:12 02:11 02:34 01:44 02:44 02:12 02:51 New timetable from 2nd June 489 Blairmore - Farm Road End 08:00 09:40 10:45 11:40 12:45 13:40 Scotrail Glasgow Central Depart 15:35 16:06 16:32 17:19 17:36 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal arrive 08:39 10:26 11:26 12:26 13:26 14:26 Scotrail Gourock Arrive 16:15 16:45 17:13 18:00 18:16 CalMac Dunoon Ferry depart 09:05 00:26 10:35 00:09 11:35 00:09 12:35 00:09 13:35 00:09 14:35 00:09 CalMac Gourock Ferry Depart 16:35 00:20 17:05 00:20 17:35 00:22 18:10 00:10 18:35 00:19 CalMac Dunoon Ferry arrives Gourock 09:30 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 15:00 CalMac Gourock Ferry arrives Dunoon 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:35 19:00 Scotrail Gourock Depart 09:56 00:26 11:26 00:26 12:26 00:26 13:26 00:26 14:26 00:26 15:26 00:26 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal depart 17:35 00:35 17:35 00:05 18:35 00:35 19:58 01:23 19:58 00:58 Scotrail Glasgow Central Arrive 10:37 12:07 13:07 14:07 15:09 16:07 489 Blairmore - Farm Road End 18:10 18:10 19:10 20:27 20:27 Elapsed time 02:37 02:27 02:22 02:27 02:24 02:27 02:35 02:04 02:38 03:08 02:51 Extra time (+) Quicker (-) 00:04 -00:05 -00:15 -00:05 -00:15 -00:06 Extra time (+) Quicker (-) -00:15 00:04 00:08 01:10 00:00 489 Toward Lighthouse 08:05 09:07 10:07 11:07 12:07 13:07 Scotrail Glasgow Central Depart 15:35 16:06 16:32 17:19 17:36 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal arrive 08:27 09:28 10:28 11:28 12:28 13:28 Scotrail Gourock Arrive 16:15 16:45 17:13 18:00 18:16 CalMac Dunoon Ferry depart 08:35 00:08 09:35 00:07 10:35 00:07 11:35 00:07 12:35 00:07 13:35 00:07 CalMac Gourock Ferry Depart 16:35 00:20 17:05 00:20 17:35 00:22 18:10 00:10 18:35 00:19 CalMac Dunoon Ferry arrives Gourock 09:00 10:00 11:00 12:00 13:00 14:00 CalMac Gourock Ferry arrives Dunoon 17:00 17:30 18:00 18:35 19:00 Scotrail Gourock Depart 09:26 00:26 10:26 00:26 11:26 00:26 12:26 00:26 13:26 00:26 14:26 00:26 489 Dunoon Ferry Terminal depart 17:35 00:35 17:35 00:05 19:21 01:21 19:21 00:46 19:21 00:21 Scotrail Glasgow Central Arrive 10:09 11:07 12:07 13:07 14:07 15:09 489 Toward Lighthouse 17:54 17:54 19:39 19:39 19:39 Elapsed time 02:04 02:00 02:00 02:00 02:00 02:02 02:19 01:48 03:07 02:20 02:03 Extra time (+) Quicker (-) -00:11 -00:10 -00:10 -00:10 -00:12 -00:09 Extra time (+) Quicker (-) -00:15 00:04 00:23 00:08 -00:48 Source Data - 489 Timetable as provided by Argyll and Bute Council, CalMac/ Scotrail as per CalMac Web site Page 11
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Page 13 Agenda Item 6a
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