This article appears as part of the Scotland's Ferries newsletter.
Ferry operators CalMac have come under fire for cutting a 'lifeline' ferry service to an "overlooked" town for a second successive year.
CalMac confirmed that the summer only service from Ardrossan to Campbeltown has been scrapped for a second year.
The summer service never started last year as it became a casualty when the 38-year-old MV Hebridean Isles was out of service.
This year the Campbeltown service has been the key victim again in the shifting of CalMac's ageing ferry fleet to cope with the loss of one of its oldest 31-year-old MV Caledonian Isles.
And there is concern that there was a lack of consultation over the move.
The 31-year-old vessel which serves on the Arran route, one of the busiest on the Scottish coast, and is due to be replaced, has been out of action since going for an overhaul at the start of January with repairs expected to cost £5m.
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Users were told at the end of last month that MV Caledonian Isles will be delayed in dry dock for repairs for a further estimated 16 weeks – taking the absence up to June 13.
The ferry operator warned of disruption across the Clyde and Hebrides network as a result of steelwork issues with the Caledonian Isles due to be replaced by one of the two wildly over budget and delayed ferries.
MV Caledonian Isles was sidelined for over three months with further steelwork and engine difficulties this time last year with repair work then estimated at £1m.
The vessel was found to have had major technical problems during overhaul again this year and was not initially expected back till at least the end of next month until the latest issues struck. Users have been told that the vessel needs "extensive steelwork" leading to concerns that it is suffering rust issues.
The Campbeltown service was one of the casualties in CalMac's redeployment exercise to cope with the loss.
Valerie Nimmo, convener of Campbeltown Community Council said folk were "very disappointed and angry".
She said: "When we consulted the community in 2021/22 to make our Community Action Plan, transport and connectivity issues were raised by many in the population.
"Since then, transport links have deteriorated with the loss of the ferry last year and now again this year.
"Campbeltown has all the drawbacks of an island but being on the mainland it is often overlooked."
She said they were also hit with difficulties with "constant closures" of the A83 – a crucial Highlands artery.
The A83 at the Rest and Be Thankful, Scotland's most notorious stretch of road, was put out of action for safety reasons for the third time in two months last month.
The stretch is vulnerable to landslides and campaigners say they were warned by Transport Scotland officials that there were 100,000 tonnes of unstable material on the hillside about the road.
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Ms Nimmo said: "Apart from the problems that this causes the local population inconvenience and missed hospital appointments, it also causes huge problems for our tourism sector. Few visitors want to take the 'long and winding road’ down to Campbeltown when they know that they will have to return by the same route and that there are other more convenient destinations.
"Golf and whisky are our top attractions, there are new distilleries planned for Campbeltown.
"The Herald has the headline, 'Distilleries now Scots Top Tourist Attraction', but will visitors come to Campbeltown?
"We are extremely disappointed at the loss of the ferry once again."
Just two weeks ago, John Armour, chairman of the Campbeltown ferry committee, said he was cautiously optimistic about the prospect of the service resuming this year.
The ferry crossing user group said it was angry that there was no prior consultation or warning that this was going to happen.
"We find this totally unacceptable as in the past Calmac have been good at flagging up issues in good time with us prior to going public but our [Campbeltown ferry committee] and the local community have been completely ignored and badly let down in this instance."
The Campbeltown crossing has been the biggest casualty since there was a rethink in prioritisation after South Uist became worst hit by the ferry reshuffles.
It drew the short straw because it is felt according to the way CalMac runs its lifeline service disruption management that the least number of people will be affected if their allocated vessel, MV Lord of the Isles, is withdrawn to help out elsewhere.
The catalyst for action came when an estimated 500 residents, 200 cars, 40 vans and 20 lorries converged on Lochboisdale – the port which links South Uist to the mainland – on June 4 last year to protest about their treatment.
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CalMac chief executive Robbie Drummond said: "Unfortunately, due to a lack of an available vessel, the Campbeltown to Ardrossan service will not operate during the 2024 summer season. I appreciate that this is not the news that the community had been hoping to hear and I am very sorry for the disruption that this will cause. Our services are completely stretched, and with MV Caledonian Isles being out of service for repairs, we are already having to move vessels around to ensure that islands maintain lifeline services.
"Resilience will greatly improve once we welcome our new vessels into the fleet but until then, we will have to make difficult decisions such as this."
A Transport Scotland spokesperson said: “The Cabinet Secretary spoke with CalMac’s chief executive [Robbie Drummond] last week and made clear that we expect them to apply the revised Route Prioritisation Matrix which includes more emphasis on the level of use by island residents and commercial vehicles along with higher prioritisation for routes with limited capacity or no alternative connections. Communities across the network need these assurances – particularly as we look towards the Easter break and beyond."
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