Published: Wednesday, 1st July, 2009 12:48pm
CalMac, CMal and the Waverley
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I read with dismay, but sadly with no sense of surprise, at your recently reported failure of CMAL, Caledonian MacBrayne"s associated company, to deliver on their promises to the Waverley Steam Navigation Company Ltd and its many disappointed passengers.
As part of a much publicised public relations exercise by Caledonian MacBrayne, firm assurances were given, throughout the planning of the Largs Pier works, that access for Waverley would be maintained at all times, and 'special arrangements' would be made for her calls at the pier in June and early July. These were announced in press releases by CMAL"s spokesperson Lorna Spencer, repeated by her at public consultation meetings, and reported in your columns. In view of all this I find it completely unacceptable that these firm pledges should now be so unthinkingly cast aside.
This will come as no surprise, however, to anyone who studies Caledonian MacBrayne"s modus operandi. This present debacle, plus the previous and ongoing debates about public access to the pier, reveal their much vaunted 'public consultation' exercise - 'Meet the Engineers' and the like - to be a complete sham, and mere tokenistic window dressing. That our Community Council chose to accept their verbal assurances of future public access to the pier is extremely regrettable, and is likely, when the time comes, to be similarly disregarded.
Can I suggest that any of your readers who find this situation as deplorable as I do, should write as soon as possible, as I have just done, to our MSP, Kenneth Gibson, inviting him to raise this with the Minister responsible (Stewart Stevenson, MSP, Minister for Transport, asking him to bring all pressure to bear on CMAL to deliver on their promises, and to ensure immediate access to the pier - OUR pier - for Waverely"s sailings throughout the entire months of July and August.
Alan Johnson.
19 Charles Street, Largs













Iris Fields
(Unregistered User)
Jul 3 09 18:55
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Yes Mr Johnson CMAL not Caledonian MacBrayne. You might want to take a look at this published in 2008. (By the way this often termed "research". )
Published: Tuesday, 11th March, 2008 12:00pm
Cal-Mac set record straight
Dear Sir
Please allow me to correct an impression given in one of your
correspondent's letters last week regarding the cost of various pier and
harbour projects on the west coast. It is extremely unfortunate that Mr
McLaughlin has claimed that the over-run in costs at Port Askaig,
difficulties at Dunoon, Rothesay and Largs are to be laid at the door of
CalMac. The company does not own any of these facilities; nor are we in any
way responsible for managing the particular projects Mr McLaughlin refers
to.
Mr McLaughlin can rest assured that the Parliamentary Committee he refers
to will be made perfectly aware of the position, so that they will not be
under the same misapprehension. With specific regard to Largs pier, the
development there is now in the hands of its owner Caledonian Maritime
Assets Ltd, the new asset-owning company formed to manage assets previously
owned by Caledonian MacBrayne. This company, whilst wholly-owned by the
Scottish Government, is a company in its own right, completely separate
from CalMac, with its own headquarters in Port Glasgow.
I am grateful to you for allowing me to set the record straight.
Hugh Dan MacLennan
Communications Director
Caledonian MacBrayne
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