Could bridge plans solve Kintyre’s economic issues?
Is a massive injection of infrastructure the answer to Kintyre’s current job woes and the future economic prosperity of Argyll and Bute?
A bridge spanning the North Channel between the Mull of Kintyre and Northern Ireland could be viable, a leading architect has said.
And so could a rail tunnel which could link Dublin and Belfast with Glasgow says the Cowal Fixed Link Group which formed after an economic summit was held in Argyll in 2013.
Internationally renowned Professor Alan Dunlop, a Fellow of the Royal Incorporation of Architects in Scotland, has long been a supporter of a Celtic crossing bridge. His vision has once again hit the headlines following the General Election campaign.
New prime minister Boris Johnson seems in favour and Ireland’s Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is on record as sayPeople ing the idea is worth looking into, but only if the UK is footing the bill.
The North Channel bridge idea has always put the Portpatrick route first as this gives the faster onward journey to the all-important central belt. But a Cowal connection with extra infrastructure would put the Mull of Kintyre bridge back in the game – and bring other opportunities for the rest of Argyll as it would open up the entire area.
Back in January 2018 Prof Dunlop believed the Portpatrick route would be about 21 miles, costing £15-20 billion, with the shorter Mull of Kintyre bridge put at £12 billion. To put this in perspective, ideas for an English Channel bridge have been costed at £120 billion.
The proposed Portpatrick bridge runs to the north of Beaufort’s Dyke, a huge sea trench which is the site of a major arms dump containing First and Second World War munitions; to this day it is not fully known exactly what
was dumped there or where. The Courier has carried reports over the decades of munitions washing ashore. The last major incident coincided with the laying of a pipeline across the area.
‘As a technical challenge it wouldn’t be insurmountable,’ Prof Douglas has said.
He points to the Hong Kong-Zhuhai Macau bridge which is more than 22.4 miles long and built to withstand typhoons, and the Øresund Bridge which has brought incredible economic and social benefit to both Sweden and Norway by linking the two countries.
Infrastructure across Argyll and Bute’s Cowal peninsula could help speed up the journey to the Central Belt and beyond. This has long been suggested by the Cowal Fixed
Link Working Group, formed as a response to the Argyll and Bute Economic Forum and its summit held in Dunoon.
David McKenzie from the forum said that a rail link, feeding into the national network at Garelochhead via Glen Lean and Loch Fyne, crossing the North Channel via Kintyre to feed into the Irish rail network near
Colraine, was just one of their proposals.
‘Eventually there could be spurs leading off to Dunoon, Lochgilphead and Kintyre,’ he said.
‘The idea for a rail link of this nature has been discussed since the 19th century.’
With the move away from road to rail prompted by climate change and the success of the reopening of the Borders Railway linking Edinburgh with Galashiels and Tweedbank the group believes the idea should be back on the agenda.
‘The economic expectations have far exceeded expectations in the Borders,’ Mr McKenzie said.