Community must be consulted on municipal harbour, says OCHDA
OCHDA hopes consultations will start immediately and that plans will mention an intention to manage the harbour as a trust port in the future.
Argyll and Bute Council plans to take control of Oban harbour as a municipal port are due to be unveiled next month.
The plans will be outlined on Thursday March 3 at a meeting of Argyll & Bute Harbour Board.
New chairperson of Oban Community Harbour Development Association (OCHDA) Ross Wilson says the community must be consulted if the plans are to be successful.
The focus is now on how the council will manage the town’s harbour, making the most of resources and keeping it safe for all users.
Mr Wilson said: ‘The people of Oban know what is needed – how to make the harbour safer and help it grow – and they understand how to do it.
‘Local businesses and harbour users are vital stakeholders, and their views and support are essential to the success of the council’s project.
‘We have written to Argyll and Bute Council offering our expertise and knowledge, and urging them to bear these issues in mind as they put their plans together. To date there has been no engagement with the community over this.’
Existing government guidance relating to municipal harbour authorities makes it clear local authority owned ports should be governed and operated wholly in the interests of the local community and that includes full and effective engagement with a range of stakeholders, says OCHDA.
The association says Argyll and Bute Council has a duty to make sure its proposals are given the widest possible scrutiny by stakeholders before being put to Scottish ministers and that also includes representation from visitors to the harbour and the many contractors who work at the harbour.
OCHDA hopes consultations will start immediately and that plans will mention an intention to manage the harbour as a trust port in the future.
Mr Wilson added: ‘After so many years of delay in establishing the new harbour authority in Oban, it is essential that all these issues are considered in the earliest stages of planning so that, when proposals are put forward for formal consultation, there is already broad agreement.
‘Along with the existing Oban Bay Management Group, the council should be involving the Business Improvement District (BID4Oban), Oban Tourism Group, OCHDA and Oban Community Council as they start to develop their plans which will affect the way the town develops in years to come.’