Oban harbour campaigners are demanding answers after a “bungling start” to the council’s formal public consultation.
The first day of consultation was officially November 30 but that was “marred” by the incorrect version of a key document on the council’s website, says OCHDA (Oban Community Harbour Association).
Once the mistake was pointed out, the council put it right by the following day but it means anyone who visited Argyll and Bute’s website in the first 24 hours would have read the wrong Statement of Support, a document that the Government advises is intended to help the public “understand the proposals and give informed responses.”
With the A816 south of Ardfern expected to stay shut until December 16, anybody currently wanting to look at the actual documents and plans on paper only have the option of travelling to Lochgilphead to do that.
Because of that, OCHDA says anyone travelling from Oban, by public transport, will lose 16 of the 42 days of the formal consultation unless they can manage to make the journey via Dalmally.
In addition to the road closure difficulties, council offices will be closed over Christmas and New Year, as well as at weekends naturally, thus reducing the number of days even
further.
Taking into account weekends and holidays there may be as few as five days
available in 2023 and as few as three working days in 2024 to see the documents, OCHDA has worked out.
Requests have been made, to the Council and to Transport Scotland, that paper copies of these documents should be made available on all of the directly affected islands and in Oban.
Ross Wilson, chair of OCHDA said: “It is essential that members of the community, including harbour users and other stakeholders, make their voices heard so that a vision of the future of Oban in 2040 and 2050 can develop.”
After The Oban Timescontacted the council, a council sppokesperson said: “We have fully complied with the Harbours Act 1964 and the information we have published on the council website goes above and beyond what we are required to make available in terms of the legislation. The Statement of Support has been available on our website since 9 November. Unfortunately, when the web page was being updated with the consultation details, a technical problem arose which resulted in the previous version being displayed rather than the updated one. We corrected this as soon as we became aware.
“With regards to the draft order, this is available on the council website and can be viewed at our headquarters in Kilmory Castle Lochgilphead, as per the requirements of the consultation. We can also post it to anyone wishing to receive a copy but there will be a cost for this service. In addition, we are also going beyond the terms of the legislation, and have made arrangements for people to view the document at the Oban harbour building during office hours.”
Caption: Argyll and Bute Council’s formal public consultation on how the Bay will be managed in the future is on now.