Scottish Government 'committed' to buying Ardrossan Harbour

The Scottish Government is “fully committed” to the future of Ardrossan Harbour, the transport secretary has said.

Fiona Hyslop said it is “still the government’s intention” to purchase the privately-owned harbour in North Ayrshire, which requires upgrades in order to allow the new Glen Sannox ferry, which serves the Isle of Arran, the berth there.

The long-delayed and over-budget ferry was rerouted to Troon to serve the island due to the size of Ardrossan’s harbour, which has impacted businesses in the town.

On Thursday afternoon, Hyslop convened the Ardrossan harbour taskforce and other stakeholders on the Isle of Arran to hear in-person feedback on the port purchase option.

“This Government remains fully committed to the future of Ardrossan Harbour and as discussions progress it is still our intention to utilise the funding for a potential purchase from our 2025/26 budget,” Hyslop confirmed.

However, she was not able to give the community the timeline for the purchase, which is something campaigners have been asking for.

“If it is going to be years before we have a full service to Ardrossan, folk need time to plan, businesses need time to plan. We’re talking about folks livelihoods,” Matthew McGovan from the Save Ardrossan Harbour campaign group told STV News.

Fellow campaigner Christine Cowie agreed that the lack of clarity and communication has been “very frustrating”.

“Eight years ago we were told Ardrossan was the port for Arran and we’re still waiting on the work to be done. It’s very very frustrating,” she said.

Hyslop recognised the desire from the local community to understand when works on Ardrossan Harbour will begin, but she said what those works will be and how they will be scheduled “can only be reasonably established and published on actual purchase and transfer of control of the port”.

“There is a requirement for due diligence and agreement of terms between Peel Ports Group and CMAL before any change of ownership could be confirmed,” Hyslop said.

“These negotiations are still ongoing, and all parties continue to act in good faith.”

‘It needs to be sorted‘

Arran residents and campaigners have been long been calling for “urgent and required refurbishment” of the Harbour.

The issue has become more urgent in recent months since CalMac’s MV Caledonian Isles was temporarily taken out of service for repairs in January.

The two new ferries currently serving CalMac’s Arran route – including the new Glen Sannox ferry – are too big to berth at Ardrossan safely.

As a result, CalMac begun sailing to Arran from Troon in South Ayrshire instead of Ardrossan harbour, which is about 15 miles away.

Ardrossan harbour has lain vacant ever since.

CalMac also restricted the route from Arran to Troon to three daily return crossings because of the extra journey time.

The smaller MV Caledonian Isles ferry was originally expected to return to service in March, but is now expected to be back in the water towards the end of May, which CalMac said is “later than previously planned”.

Mr McGovan and Ms Cowie were adamant that the service must return to Ardrossan.

“Everyone is saying Ardrossan is the only options – Peer Ports have said it, Transport Scotland have said it, the Scottish Government have said it – everyone is saying the same thing,” Mr McGovan said.

“If everyone’s in agreement then why are we not there yet? There’s no other option: It has to be Ardrossan. Everyone is saying that so it’s time for them to follow through on it.”

If the service was to be permanently removed, Mr McGovan said it would be a “devastating blow to the area”.

It’s the reason why campaigners are calling on the Scottish Government to provide the long-term “necessary financial backing to safeguard Ardrossan Harbour and its ferry service”.

It’s an issue that stretches back to at least 2018 when the Ardrossan Harbour Project was given the go-ahead in 2018 by then-transport minister Humza Yousaf who promised the North Ayrshire town would remain the main gateway to Arran.

Transport Scotland paused the project in 2023 following concerns about rising costs, and said a new business case would be developed.

After years of stalling, it was finally confirmed in February that Holyrood is currently in talks with Ardrossan Harbour owners at Peel Ports Group regarding a possible buyout by the Scottish Government.

The cash for the potential purchase of the site has been earmarked in the Scottish Government’s Budget for 2025-26.

Hyslop told MSPs talks over purchasing the harbour are taking place in a bid to “ensure we make progress on finding a solution at Ardrossan that can be delivered in a cost-effective way”.