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Successful ferry fare scheme faces the axe 27/10/10
A crucial Western Isles commercial ferry fare scheme is being axed despite its huge success at creating vital jobs and stimulating business activity.
A number of local jobs rely on the subsidy which has created a trade boom across the Hebrides island chain
Barring any last minute intervention, Western Isles Council is to officially scrap the scheme, which has created new employment in fragile areas over the past four years, to save cash.
However, the initiative which has only cost £125,000 over four years, effectively stopped two months ago as some business have not received the subsidy since their August journeys.
If councillors agree, qualifying firms which have used the inter-
Users are hit with a dramatic 40% hike in fares for large vans and lorries on the sea routes between Harris and North Uist as well as from Barra to Eriskay.
Salmon farming, construction and shellfish firms heavily use the scheme while it has allowed Stag Bakeries in Stornoway and Macgillivray’s of Benbecula to expand.
Without the subsidy, an Uist haulage firm fears about 15 livelihoods are at risk
as the seaweed cutting squads in the Southern Isles strongly relied upon the scheme
to send cut weed to the Stornoway factory.
The ferry initiative helped businesses
like Hebridean Seaweed, Polybox, Macinnes Brothers, and Macaulay Askernish forge
long-
A council economic report reveals that the economically “significant and beneficial” advantages includes one business gaining a 50% increase in sales while another created 18 new jobs, mainly in remoter districts.
Despite the “ongoing need” and the “excellent justification” the council has run out of money to save the scheme, the report states.
Council development officials say it should fight for the Scottish Government to
include the inter-
RET is being tested on five Western Isles lifeline sea routes to the mainland and
offers cheap fares similar to the cost of travelling the same distance by road.
Western
Isles transport chief Donald Manford urged the council to have an urgent rethink.
He said: This is a retrograde step. This scheme is of enormous importance for the Western Isles.
“It is vitally important for the Council to have a rethink this and continue to subsidise
this route -
He maintained the council would lose credibility by dumping its own scheme but demanding the Scottish Government continues theirs.
“It is distressing the council cannot see it is arguing for one thing (in favour of RET) but doing the very reverse itself.”
Martin Macleod of Hebridean Seaweed said: “It is very disappointing. The scheme kept a lot of people in work. We have a phenomenal number of people in Uist who want to cut weed for use and we need a large amount of supply from there to keep our factory going.”
Calum Campbell’s Polybox factory on Lewis transports insulated packaging for salmon farms on Uist.
Mr Campbell said: “We use it about three times a week. It makes a big difference to our running costs.”
He is gravely worried how the firm will manage in the future: “We cannot take on all of the extra cost but will the customer sustain it?”