Ferry availability delays Mull road repairs
A lack of ferry space is delaying million-pound road repairs on Mull.
According to island councillor Willie Hume, who is also depute policy lead for Roads, Transport and Amenities, CalMac made a "total shambles" of bookings by only reserving a fraction of what was needed for contractors Breedon to take over tar and crews to Mull.
The planned repairs were worth about £1 million and had been scheduled to be carried out at 15 different locations across the island, said Councillor Hume.
He posted on Mull Residents’ and Families Facebook page: "It’s going from bad to worse."
Argyll and Bute Council said it shared disappointment over the delays but the situation was out of its control.
"Planning work on our islands is a logistical challenge which relies on many factors, sometimes outwith the council’s control.
"We share the community’s disappointment that we were not able to start the work when originally planned.
“We are working in partnership with our contractor (Breedon) and CalMac to reschedule works as soon as logistically practical, and so have requested new bookings for August/September, subject to ferry availability.
"It is our intention that work will be carried out at the B8073 Calgary area; B8035 Gruline North; and B8035 Gruline South," said the spokesperson for Argyll and Bute Council.
Breedon is also disappointed the project is delayed, with a spokesperson for the contractor telling The Oban Times: "But we will continue to work collaboratively with both CalMac and Argyll and Bute Council to support the programme of work going ahead at the earliest opportunity."
Mull Community councillor Joe Reade, who is also on the Mull & Iona Ferry Committee, wanted to know from CalMac whether the situation with Breedon was a direct result of the current redeployment of the Isle of Mull, and therefore not enough space on MVs Coruisk or Frisa - or some kind of unrelated administrative error.
We asked the question and CalMac responded by saying it has been working with Breedon and Argyll and Bute Council to support the planned roadworks on Mull, which has "involved processing a substantial number of bookings for heavy goods vehicles".
"These bookings are currently being processed by our ports team," said its spokesperson.
Despite the delay in getting Breedon lorries and teams over from the mainland, it has emerged that CalMac did manage to arrange an extra sailing so a film shoot could go ahead.
"Quite a juxtaposition of events!" said Mr Reade.
The spokesperson for CalMac said: "We received a request for a large number of commercial vehicles to travel to Mull for a film shoot which it is not possible to accommodate during normal sailings. We identified a time when it would be possible to run an extra sailing and avoid any capacity challenges during timetabled services.”
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