Condition of lifeline road causing concern
A collapsed stretch of the lifeline road serving Skipness and the Arran ferry will be reinstated – but not before the new financial year in April.
More than a year after the B8001 collapsed near Claonaig ferry terminal, it has not been repaired and there is real concern the single track carriageway will collapse completely, leaving the village of Skipness cut off by road.
This would mean no access for emergency vehicles, fuel supplies, agricultural deliveries, public and private transport, doctor and carer visits and Arran ferry traffic.
One Skipness man said last week it was ‘an impending disaster’ and called on Argyll and Bute Council to carry out ‘immediate repairs and reinstatement of the only access to the village’.
In January, the council said it had been ‘working hard to find a design solution to stabilise the B8001, which has been affected by landslips’, adding the Covid-19 pandemic delayed the project.
The council realigned the road, but no engineering work has taken place to repair the collapsed section.
Speaking in the wake of the 2021/22 budget being set, council leader Robin Currie, one of three councillors for Kintyre and Islands, said: ‘I have been pressing for work on this road and it features in the roads capital reconstruction budget for the Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands (MAKI) area for 2021/22, with an estimated allocation of £363,000 for embankment stabilisation.
‘In the meantime, officers are looking at the best engineering options for how best to progress the work at Skipness.’
Councillor Alastair Redman added: ‘I have been contacted by a large number of my justifiably concerned constituents about this matter. They are asking me if it will take residents getting hurt before action is taken.
‘At the council budget we, as a council, put huge additional resources into infrastructure, in particular roads spending, so now there should be no more excuses and delays.
‘Skipness residents must be listened to and fit-for-purpose long-term work must be done.’
‘The B8001 is in dire condition and is causing increasing concern for residents and delivery services,’ said Councillor Anne Horn.
‘I raised this issue again at MAKI area committee and the head of service advised the meeting that the repairs are prioritised for the next financial year.
‘He also advised that residents will be notified of plans and progress for the roadworks.
‘This repair requires urgency and I will be urging officers to expedite the work without delay.’