An island community’s decade long campaign for a ferry service, which could cut in half some sailing times to the mainland, is set to achieve its goal.
The people on South Uist can now look forward to a daily direct return service between Lochboisdale-Mallaig being introduced next summer with a ferry dedicated to the route. Local residents believe it could herald an enormous economic boost to their remote island.
There was a connection to Mallaig which was withdrawn in the 1990s. Since then South Uist and Barra have been served by the same ferry which sails to Oban. The trip can take almost seven hours if it goes to Barra first, and more than five if it doesn’t. But it only takes three-and-a-half hour service to get to Mallaig which now has a greatly improved road to Fort William as well as a rail service.
A three year winter trial on the Mallaig route was launched in 2013, but in the first year almost half the sailings were cancelled because of bad weather. Islanders always argued they needed to have the service during the crucial tourist season.
Now they will as Derek Mackay, Minister for Transport and Islands, confirmed when he announced the enhanced timetable being proposed for CalMac’s services. It will mean that Barra will also have a dedicated ferry, likely to the Isle of Lewis, while the Lord of the Isles will ply between Lochboisdale and Mallaig.
Technically this is part of a public consultation. But few doubt the changes will be introduced next spring, and crucially it is highly likely they will also feature in the new contract to operate the Clyde and Hebrides routes. This will start in October 2016, with CalMac and Serco both currently bidding.
The community landowner Stòras Uibhist which manages 93,000 acres on the islands of Benbecula, Eriskay and South Uist, was one of the leading voices in the campaign for the ferry.
Its chairman Angus MacMillan said he was delighted by the news “This is a highly important step towards us getting the year round service we have been desperately seeking."
He said it followed the opening earlier this month of the £10 million Lochboisdale harbour development project with its new marine and leisure facilities. “We are now planning, in conjunction with the Scottish Government, a new ferry terminal that will be suitable for the next generation of ferries to be built.”
Western Isles Council’s transport convener John Mackay, said the authority had lobbied for a permanent Lochboisdale/Mallaig service for a long time. “ I am pleased that this is now in place."
It is also proposed there be an additional 50 weekly sailings on the Oban-Craignure (Mull) route, with additional vessels supplementing the main ferry Isle of Mull. The move would make Oban "a commutable destination from Mull for the first time", say transport chiefs.
Other proposed changes include 10 per cent more sailings on the Mallaig-Armadale (Skye) route and a more than 30 per cent increase in capacity on services to Coll, Tiree and Colonsay.
Transport Minister Derek Mackay said: “This enhanced timetable offers a number of improvements: proposals include increasing capacity on certain services, offering more sailings and reorganising vessel deployment to get the most from our ferry fleet."
CalMac's, director of operations, Drew Collier added: "This enhanced timetable answers many of the questions we have been getting asked about how we could better tailor our services to suit the needs of the communities we serve."
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