In recent news articles about the Save Millport Pier campaign the response from North Ayrshire stating that ‘they have currently no plans to demolish the pier’ are resulting in a few people questioning the need for the campaign, campaigner Mari Wallace writes. Her letter is as follows...
These responses are misleading. Here are some facts which will clarify the situation and explain exactly why so many people are fighting to ensure that Millport retains a working pier.
On 24 February 2014, North Ayrshire Council (NAC) took the decision to not maintain the wooden section of the pier, to demolish it and to replace it with a 60m rock breakwater. Prior to this the pier had been neglected for several years and since then no maintenance has taken place.
The future of the pier was again discussed by NAC on 11 February 2016 when it was stated that the removal of the timber pier would be included as part of the Flood Protection Scheme and that in the meantime it's safety would be monitored and managed until the Flood Protection Scheme was put in place.
For the avoidance of doubt, no other option, apart from the demolition of the pier and the installation of rock breakwaters, has at any time been suggested as an option for Millport to date - and no proposals for a replacement working pier have ever been suggested or tabled.
Following this ongoing neglect of the pier and NAC's refusal to maintain it our council then closed it to all boats and to public access in January of this year and published a Notice to that effect.
Over 8000 people have now made their views known about this situation.
To make matters worse the existing pier is recognised by NAC as an essential flood defence and until offshore breakwaters are put in place it is the only flood defence that Millport has. With the likelihood that it will be several years until any offshore breakwaters are in place the situation is that, without urgent maintenance, the pier is at risk of catastrophic failure which would obviously have severe consequences for the residents of Millport.
Further, the lack of a working pier will continue to have a detrimental impact on the future of Millport’s economy as marine tourism is an area being developed across Clyde and West Coast. Why should Millport lose out? The ferry slip at the back of the island does not have the potential in either reliability of service or flexibility of use - it can only be used by flat bottom boats like the roll on / off ferries. The resilience of the island is therefore being severely compromised as there is no pier or other facility providing an alternative route to Millport, for lifeboats, coastguard or any other vessel required in the event of say a large-scale evacuation of the island - we are of course also directly opposite a nuclear power station!
The Save Millport Pier campaign would like NAC as a matter of urgency, to reinstate the pier to a safe and working condition. We would also like them to ensure that offshore breakwaters, with either the retention of the current pier or incorporating a new modern pier facility are selected as the preferred flood protection option as is being promoted by the Millport Pier and Harbour Users’ Group. It may be that, in the future, there is need for transparent consultation with the local community re the possibility of an asset transfer of the Pier and Harbour to a community group set up specifically for the purpose of developing and managing marine tourism facilities in Millport.
Hopefully the above information clarifies the current situation regarding the campaign to Save Millport Pier and that you will join us on Saturday 23 September at 12 noon, either on the water (equinoctial storms dependant !!) or on the Newton beach and prom.
Mari Wallace
Save Millport Pier campaign