Highland councillors agree to £2 charge on Corran ferry foot passengers

A Highland community will lose it’s 500-year-old “causeway” after councillors agreed to fully implement a £2 charge on ferry foot passengers.

The ferry is the “busiest single vessel car ferry in Europe” transporting 270,000 vehicles per year.

Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillors were united in dropping the charge, which they say could cost regular commuters over £900 a year.

However, those who first tabled the proposal just 14 days ago said they don’t think “the world is going to collapse” if a £2 charge was fully implemented.

The council hope the new charge will generate £20,000 a year towards the new Corran ferry, which is in the final stages of planning.

Loss of 500-year-old ‘pedestrian causeway’

Fort William and Ardnamurchan Councillor Sarah Fanet told councillors the crossing had been used as a local “causeway” for around 500 years.

She said: “That pedestrian crossing has always been protected. Ardgour and Nether Lochaber are the same community, and you can just walk across because of that pedestrian element.

“Life in the last few hundred years has been organised around that. Businesses for example, are interlinked.

“There is one at the moment providing a bed on one side and you have breakfast on the other side.

“If we suddenly pull the plug, that will have an impact.”

Despite not supporting a foot passenger fare, she thanked those same councillors for putting together the funds for a new electric Corran ferry.

The project includes improvement works to the slipways are due to be completed by 2027.

How much money will it bring in?

Although being disputed by several councillors, council figures estimate the Corran ferry carries 10,258 foot passengers (including cyclists) every year.

They estimated this will generate £20,516 for the council at the current £2 fare.

This does not include those who are disabled, under 23 or over 59, who are all exempt from the new charge.

The proposals were first approved two weeks ago at an economy committee, but were brought to a Full Council debate after a petition and protests from local councillors.

Chair of the economic and infrastructure committee Ken Gowans said “this is no Armageddon” and the fare is about “fairness and equality” to other Highland areas despite councillors trying to create a “moral panic.”

He said: “This is about a simple £2 charge to help fund the ferry that we have funded by £70 million, so we are absolutely committed to supporting the community in Ardgour.”

“I don’t think the world is going to collapse if we introduce a £2 charge,” councillor Gowans added.

Cost of £960 some local residents

Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillor Andrew Baxter said there was a “lack of clarity” on the figures for pedestrian users of the ferry, as officers were unable to answer where the numbers came from.

He added: “For someone that crosses as a foot passenger from Ardgour to Corran to catch a bus to Fort William each day for work, it will cost them £960 a year which they were not paying before.”

Councillor Baxter had previously supported a £1 charge on the Corran ferry in 2019, but admitted “times were different then.”

He changed his mind on a fare after the impact of Covid and an agreement to raise current ferry prices by 10% during budget talks this year.

Despite the concerns of the Fort William and Ardnamurchan councillors, a vote to keep the charge passed by 34 to 27.

Councillor Gowans said the foot passenger charge will be continue to be reviewed.