Reader’s letter

Ferry committee and Arran Community Council

When the Arran Community Council enlisted the help of MSP Kenneth Gibson regarding the difficulty of getting information from the Ferry Committee, he was not aware of the longstanding dissatisfaction felt about the lack of publicly available minutes. Mike Lunan’s football coach analogy, “Coach’s team talk is not made public” is fine for a private organisation but the Ferry committee is an important instrument of local government and vital to Arran. When “transparency” has become a watchword for national and local government it is extraordinary that the Ferry Committee proceedings should remain under cover.

It may be that the ferry service is one that “30 years ago islanders could only dream of having” but with the increase in wealth and prosperity until recently is that surprising? The Community Council has not criticised the Ferry Committee actions since we don’t know what they are, but we feel justified in expecting to see the minutes and we’d like to decide for ourselves whether the committee is truly representative of the wider Arran community. This is vital, of course, in discussing the issue of what type of RET will best serve Arran. Let’s have this out in the open.

John Inglis
Chair of Arran Community Council