Questions Raised for Tain and Easter Ross Ward Forum on Thursday 31 January 2008
1. Portmahomack Harbour Charges
A question has been raised with the General Manager Harbours with the Highland Council TEC Services in relation to the proposed increase in harbour dues for Portmahomack Harbour from Group C to Group B.
This question has been raised following a letter from the General Manager Harbours dated 8 January sent to all persons with a boat already berthed or registered on the waiting list for Portmahomack Harbour (copy available).
The question from the Harbour User is that although work has been completed which includes for double the number of available berths, increasing to the annual revenue of the harbour there has been no added criteria which could be seen as a reason for reclassification. The reasons listed are:
• The post of Harbour Master remains unfilled
• The harbour is tidal and dries out at low tide
• It is not able to accommodate single keel yachts
• There are no toilets, showers or washing facilities
• There is no car parking or trailer parking
• There is no water or electricity supply to the pontoon
• General repairs to the harbour have been neglected form some considerable times
• In no way can Portmahomack Harbour be compared to Class B harbours such as Gairloch, Kyle of Lochalsh, Kyleakin, Portree, Uig and Helmsdale
In addition the scale of the charges from group C to group B is considered to be significant with a 53% increase for vessels up to 5 meters to 249% for vessels 8.01m to 9meters.
Response:
The response from the Highland Council confirms that the current income from the Harbour Dues amounts to approximately £2,500 per annum which unfortunately does not cover the costs of operation and maintenance.
As dues, other commercial sales and occasional grants are the only source of revenue for Highland Council Harbours, the result is that there is insufficient funding to cover maintenance items at the Port, such as the outstanding Harbour Wall repairs.
Summer users will only pay 67% of the proposed rates.
For the vast majority of boats the charges equate to approximately £30 per metre/annum (or £20 for summer users).
Although we do not employ a local Harbourmaster, the function is performed by Highland Council Staff and we do employ a local person as a contractor to undertake the necessary day to day operations on an hourly rate.
The increase will enable the Highland Council to find the funding to undertake the necessary maintenance works at the harbour, thereby making it sustainable and preserve the facility for future users.
2. Transport Issues Raised by Fearn Community Council
As a weekday user of the 25/25X Services at 9.05am from Hill of Fearn to Inverness I am always dismayed to find that there is no corresponding return service. In fact, passengers for Hill of Fearn and the Seaboard villages must travel onwards to Tain, and then change to the next available bus back to their area. I also note that Milton village enjoys a half hourly service from Inverness.
Please explore the possibility of extending one of the 25X services to Milton to encompass the Seaboard Villages and Hill of Fearn. I suggest the 1325 25X service from Inverness to Milton may prove a suitable time to be extended to the Seaboard Villages and Fearn.
I look forward to your sympathetic consideration of this proposal.
Response
The council has no direct responsibility for or influence on the provision of bus services this is a commercial decision for bus operators. We are able contract for additional services where we see a gap in the commercial provision and there is a social need.
The 25 and 25X are run as commercial services by Stagecoach they take the revenue risk of providing them. If they do not take sufficient revenue on the bus the service would be removed. There are a few journeys on the service 25 supported by a council contract details of which are attached.
The route was recently improved with the receipt of a Bus Route Development Grant of 4.2 million pounds over 3 years from the Scottish Government, new vehicles were provided and an improved timetable implemented. It is difficult to see how a direct service from Fearn would be provided on a commercial basis when the 25 and 25X are designed to meet in Invergordon or Tain to provide such a link.
In view of the tight scheduling of the services there is little scope for extending journeys terminating at Milton as they form a return journey to Inverness some 8 minutes later.
Stagecoach, the supplier of the bus service, has been asked if they wish to comment on the question raised.