Scrapyard wars

It is not without good reason we think it is time Arran took more interest in what is happening across the water at Hunterston.

Make no mistake, our old friends Peel Ports have every intention of trying to turn the old Hunterston Ore Terminal into one of the biggest oil and gas decommissioning sites in the UK.

And commercially it is easy to see why. They have a huge mothballed facility which can accommodate these huge structures and there is an ever-growing market for those needing to be scrapped.

It is also easy to see why the proposal has met with such fierce opposition.

Tourism is a mainstay industry on both sides of the Firth of Clyde and anything that could impact on that has to be a serious cause for concern.

Then there is the varied sealife for which the stretch of water is home. The seafront location is also immediately adjacent to a Site of Special Scientific Interest.

Planners have already given the proposals their blessing, but it is vital that before this goes any further that an environmental impact assessment is ordered to evaluate all the risks involved.

We await developments with interest.