Introduction
Overview
Transport Scotland is currently developing the Islands Connectivity Plan (ICP), which will replace the Ferries Plan 2013-2022. The scope of the ICP will extend to those peninsular communities served by Scottish Government supported ferry services, including Cowal (Dunoon - Gourock) and Rosneath (Kilcreggan - Gourock). Central to the ICP will be a set of ‘Community Needs Assessments’ (CNA), which will provide a consistent means of identifying the current level of ferry service provision received by an island or peninsular community, any problems associated with this and, where relevant, options for service improvements or reductions
In parallel to the development of the ICP, Transport Scotland is preparing a programme level business case for investment in new vessels and supporting infrastructure to serve the Dunoon and Kilcreggan routes. The vessel replacement project is currently at Outline Business Case (OBC) stage and will be supplemented by separate business cases for the upgrade of ferry terminal infrastructure at Gourock (owned by CMAL) and Dunoon and Kilcreggan (both owned by Argyll & Bute Council).
Given the ongoing business case work for the Dunoon and Kilcreggan routes, Transport Scotland has commissioned Stantec UK Ltd to progress the ‘Community Needs Assessment’ for these communities in the short-term. This assessment will form the basis of a high-level appraisal consistent with the Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance (STAG) intended to inform the level of service required on these two routes. The outcome will be a set of shortlisted options for Transport Scotland to consider further in defining the route specification, although it should be noted that a preferred option will not be selected for either route at this stage.
The project outputs will provide sufficient content and supporting material to inform:
- Decision making by Transport Scotland/Ministers on future service design.
- The ongoing OBC work considering vessel and harbour replacement.
Community Needs Assessment
The Cowal and Rosneath ‘Community Needs Assessments’ (CNA) are the first of a set of such assessments that will be undertaken to inform the ICP. These will cover all island and peninsular communities across the Clyde and Hebrides Ferry Services (CHFS) network, as well as for Orkney and Shetland with respect to the Northern Isles Ferry Services (NIFS).
The CNA process is based on the Transport Scotland Routes and Services Methodology (RSM), which was adopted as part of the original Ferries Plan 2013-2022. The RSM is a six-step process that aims to identify whether gaps exist in the current level of ferry service provision and, where gaps are identified, generate, develop and appraise options to address them. The RSM, as applied in the Ferries Plan 2013-2022 has been extended by Transport Scotland to include consideration of reliability, resilience, capacity, connecting and onward travel and wider socio-economic needs, including alignment with policy. A summary of the updated RSM guidance is provided in Appendix A.
It should be noted that the RSM is currently being replaced with a new methodology for establishing community needs based more closely on business case approaches. This methodology was not however available in time to inform this first CNA.
Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan Infrastructure Programme
Transport Scotland, in partnership with CMAL and Argyll & Bute Council, is currently developing a programme of works intended to address the challenges currently being experienced on the Dunoon and Kilcreggan routes. Within this programme, there are four separate projects:
- Procurement of new passenger only vessels to serve the Dunoon and Kilcreggan routes (led by CMAL).
- Redevelopment of Gourock (led by CMAL), Dunoon and Kilcreggan (both led by Argyll & Bute Council) ferry terminals to accommodate the proposed new vessels and address the issue of infrastructure life expiry at Gourock.
These projects are currently at OBC stage. The Dunoon and Kilcreggan works are moving towards THE selection of a preferred option, whilst detailed design is underway at Gourock.
In developing the case for new infrastructure, the Strategic Business Case (SBC) for the overall programme (i.e., all four sub-projects together) should have demonstrated a clear rationale for investment and a set of transport planning / spending objectives setting out what the programme overall and each component therein is intended to deliver. On the Dunoon – Gourock route, a key strategic question is the continuing need for the CalMac Ferries Ltd (CFL) passenger-only service in light of the commercial vehicle and passenger operation run by Western Ferries between McInroy’s Point in Inverclyde and Hunters Quay in Cowal.
This CNA works on the basis that the need for both the Dunoon and Kilcreggan services has been established through the programme SBC, in particular reflecting the Scottish Government’s longstanding policy objective that there shall be a “safe, reliable and frequent commuter ferry service between Dunoon town centre and the rail head at Gourock”, which was also reiterated as part of the 2017/18 Programme for Government. The focus of the options appraisal will therefore specifically be on addressing any identified gaps between the current and RSM ‘model’ service and indeed gaps identified in the CNA more generally.
Next Steps
This report consists of five further chapters, as follows:
- Chapter 2 provides the baseline context for both the Gourock – Dunoon and Gourock – Kilcreggan routes.
- Chapters 3 and 4 set out the Community Needs Assessments for the Cowal and Rosneath communities respectively.
- Chapter 5 generates and develops options which could address the identified community needs.
- Chapter 6 appraises the options against the STAG criteria and discusses wider considerations around delivery.