CONTROVERSIAL plans to relocate one of Scotland’s busiest ferry crossings will be challenged in the law courts if approved, it has been warned.

North Ayrshire Council chiefs have said they may seek a judicial review if the Scottish government switches the Brodick ferry service from Ardrossan to Troon.

It is the latest move in the determined campaign to keep the crossing in Ardrossan which is battling to retain the 180-year-old service amid attempts by Associated British Ports (ABP) to shift it to Troon, around 15 miles further south.

APB recently lost a service to Northern Ireland from the affluent South Ayrshire town and has promised to invest £8m if the Arran service is transferred to the mothballed Troon port.

It has continually said the port offers a more reliable service which would not be subjected to the same level of weather-related cancellations.

Interviewed for a Herald magazine feature today, Mr Joe Cullinane, leader of North Ayrshire council, said when asked about the options should Troon win: “The council would need to consider a judicial review.

"We certainly wouldn’t be accepting any removal of such a key economic driver. Ardrossan is one of the most deprived communities in North Ayrshire.

"If you look at the most recent SIMD [Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation] data, the most deprived data-zone within that is Ardrossan Central. So, absolutely, we will not just accept the ferry being removed to Troon.”

He added: “This thing started with ABP losing their Northern Irish ferry and having a harbour over in Troon that is basically not being used.

"They put in a speculative bid to the [transport] minister and Transport Scotland. Unfortunately, I think, the minister is taking that speculative bid forward and has commissioned a STAG [Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance] report. Obviously, there’s no open competitive tender as well … the fact we are now finding ourselves in this situation is maybe a bit disappointing.”

Asked if ABP’s bid rankled with him, he responded: “Of course it does. But, as I say, they’re not acting on any demand from anybody in Arran or anywhere else. This is a private port operator making what they see as a commercial bid. There’s no social or economic reason for them to deliver that speculative bid."

Arran’s influential Ferry Committee has already said that the Ardrossan link is the “best option for travellers’ convenience, cost effectiveness and the future development of our island”.

The group, which represents the island and its business and tourism interests on transportation issues, said it had met with both rival bidders for the service but had now written to ministers voicing support for the current route.

The move comes a fortnight after campaigners for the Ardrossan link claimed a relocation to Troon would cost the public purse almost £170million during the lifetime of the ferry contract.

The committee claimed the current Brodick to Ardrossan service, which operates 4,700 sailings per year, was only affected by a “weather related failure rate of 3.6 per cent.”

It also highlighted that, on days where no service at all was provided, CalMac’s entire network was impacted and “therefore the decision not to sail could be related to comfort and safety of passengers rather than the port.”

Sheila Gilmore, executive director of VisitArran, says, “The board of VisitArran are unanimously in favour of Ardrossan, but it is all pending improvements being done – we want to see the harbour area being improved.

“But we would certainly hope to retain the ferry service to Ardrossan, given that it’s a shorter, quicker crossing, so it will be a cheaper crossing. If the ferry goes down to Troon, we don’t have the same public transport links.

Last week Arran's influential Ferry Committee described the Ardrossan link as the "best option for travellers' convenience, cost effectiveness and the future development of our island."

A spokesman for ABP replied: "Troon is better value for the taxpayer. Troon is more reliable. Above all, Troon is better for Arran."

It comes as a new report shows that cheaper ferry fares have significantly boosted the number of visitors to Arran.

The evaluation found the introduction of the road equivalent tariff (RET) in 2014 has had a bigger impact on the island than any other that Clyde and Hebridean Ferry Services (CHFS) sail to.

The scheme, which bases fares on the cost of travelling the equivalent distance by road, cut tickets on the Ardrossan to Brodick and Claonaig to Lochranza routes by as much as 55pc for passengers and 65pc for cars.

The reduced fares have led to a "step change" in day-trip, short and long-stay tourism, with car journeys up 52pc between 2013/14 and 2015/16 to 222,640.

Passenger numbers across the two routes have also risen by 16pc, from 750,272 to 873,640, over the period.

The success of the venture has led to deck capacity issues at peak times, with about a quarter of visitors reporting difficulties securing a booking on their preferred sailing, but the report said the introduction of a new ferry in 2018 should largely address the problem.

Some retail businesses have also reported a decline in customers and turnover as a result of travelling off-island for shopping.

Transport and islands minister Humza Yousaf said the findings of the report were "very encouraging".

* Full story in today's magazine.

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