Peninsula businesses assess cost of ferry troubles

Business owners in Sunart, Acharacle and Ardnamurchan have been assessing the cost of three months dominated by disruption to the Corran ferry.

 

With the MV Corran absent since going for an overhaul in October 2022, the crossing between Nether Lochaber and Ardgour has been reliant on the 47-year-old MV Maid of Glencoul throughout 2023.

 

However, technical issues resulted in the Maid being withdrawn from April 7 to June 5, and June 28 to July 7. Although contingency foot passenger services are now in place, it meant that across three months, the Corran Narrows only had a vehicle ferry for three and a half weeks.

 

When the ferry is not running, vehicles must take a 68km detour around Loch Linnhe.

 

"attachment_952006" "" "300"] The Maid of Glencoul ferry which services the Corran Narrows.

 

For Joanne Matheson, who has run the Artisan arts and crafts shop in Acharacle since it opened in September 2019, the ferry disruption has led to a noticeable decline in tourists venturing to the peninsula from Fort William. She said her business had fallen 30 per cent since the Maid's absence in April.

 

"The sorts of people we have lost have not come back. The people doing the circuit are not around," she said.

 

"I’m a one-man band, and you get to the point when you think ‘is it really worth it?’"

 

Ms Matheson is highly critical of the Highland Council's role in the situation, saying it 'sat on its hands' despite knowing the MV Corran's limited lifespan. She also notes that recent signage about a restricted ferry service has misled potential passengers.

 

"For the small ferry to be running on timetable but not being full is unheard of," she said.

 

Alasdair MacLean, owner of Strontian Stores, said the inability to get a vehicle across the Corran Narrows has been hugely detrimental.

 

"I have to drive round to the other side of the ferry seven days a week, two times a day on two or three days. That is an extra 1,300 miles a week. That is a lot of man hours as well."

 

"It beggars belief the amount of trade it has affected," he said.

 

Alasdair has noticed his wholesale orders decreasing, and describes the situation during the two month ferry cancellation as being akin to the Covid lockdown. He, too, believes the restricted service signs have been a problem, and describes meeting a couple in Glasgow who opted not to visit the area because they had presumed only emergency services could use the boat.

 

He is currently considering legal advice.

 

"attachment_980290" "" "300"] Strontian Stores owner Alasdair MacLean has needed to make a 68km detour to pick up goods each time the Corran Narrows ferry has been suspended.

 

Not all businesses on the peninsula have been equally hit. Glenborrodale Nursery in Ardnamurchan said that although it noticed less people visiting, sales were mostly unaffected as tourists tended not to purchase plants.

 

Similarly, Karyn Simpkinson, manager at Oakwood Tourism and Crafts in Strontian, said her business had been tracking customer numbers through the quarter and found them comparable to last year.

 

However Kate Campbell, who runs the Ariundle Centre, a restaurant and coffee shop also in Strontian, was angry at how matters have unfolded.

 

"I’m speechless. Nobody seems to care. I mean, I fully understand that there are problems, but we just do not have passing trade.

 

"Strontian is Strontian. We only get a quarter of what Lochaber gets in customers. And in the dead of winter there are no customers, so you have to have business now."

 

Business may be aided by the return of the Maid at the end of last week, which means that vehicles are once again able to cross the loch. The council also believes the MV Corran will return in mid-August. Yet Joanne says that faith in the service is low.

 

"The community has no confidence whatsoever in the ferries being efficient or reliable. Businesses will get to the end of this season and decide it’s just not worth it."

 

 

The Oban Times has launched a petition to ask for improved financial support in the west of Scotland. The petition can be found at: www.obantimes.co.uk/investinthewest