public meeting about Bypass

Further to my last blog about the Blocked road bypass situation, Monday 16th January saw a public meeting in Lochcarron to discuss the matter.

There is traditionally a low turn out for events here over the last few years, theatre and concerts will only attract a handfull of people. Well this time there was standing room only, The council website says 250, i estimated 300+. I haven't seen anything like it in years! This was a measure of strength of feeling in the area.

This was when people where still filing in towards the back, many many more arrived.
Better photographs are on our local photographer, Alex Ingrams website here search for 17/10/2012 if that link doesn't take you to the right day.

 Councillor Biz Campbell speaking here.

The meeting was attended by a list of councillors, folks from the relevant departments, Trans Scotland on behalf of the railways, northern constabulary and two of our SNP MSP's Rob Gibson and Dave Thompson.

The meeting was Chaired by John Laing from the Council. First there was a presentation about the current situation, the background, short, medium and long term plans. Then questions. I jotted down some illegible notes, so may not have everything covered.

The ferries had started to run on that Monday, a passenger one for the school pupils and the Turntable from glenelg for up to 6 cars or 10 tonnes. The First ferry had had trouble starting with the hard frost, but new batteries were on order. The ferry operators were prepared to be flexible on running times, and as day light progresses extend them. Currently they are running a 6 day week from 7am until 6pm. details on Highland council website.

There will be an extra train service added to help commuters by running at a more convienient time, and to allow pupils to travel by train to school in case of bad weather affecting the ferry. Parents of pupils affected were invited to stay at the end of the meeting for a more private discussion with the school, transport representative and councillors as to how this was affecting the children, problems and potential solutions.

In the medium term steps are being taken to create a diversion for vehicular traffic via the railway, this will take a couple of weeks to put into place. This was used in 1990 ( or thereabouts ) to divert traffic on a traffic light system away from the rock faces while stabilisation work went ahead. While this diversion, and ferries and extra trains, are in place rock face stabilisation will be undertaken. Long term real solutions are currently being costed and investigated.

The planned time table for action is;
contractors have been invited to tender by 25th January
contractors to be on site 6th Feb
Road opened temporarily ( via railway ) 17th feb
stabilisation complete by 20th April 

long term possible solutions include;

1. Diverting the road 14K over the hill
2. a bridge/causeway? ( possibly funded by renewable tidal power scheme ) at Strome narrows.
3. Extending the current concrete 'avalanche' shelter.

work could cost between £35 and £70 million.

Questions then went to the floor. I started the ball rolling, despite HATING public speaking, someones got to !  I asked what provision had been made for emergency fire cover?  Chief inspector David Bushel explained that The fire service had been involved in talks and had assured that sufficient provision was in place via Dingwall fire station as back up. 

There were then many questions, from some angry and frustrated people. Some very sensible suggestions, points and enquiries, some less sensible. Mostly local people who have been here before, who have seen this debate come to naught repeatedly. They asked the questions myself and other locals have also been putting into letters to the officials prior to the meeting, why wasn't there a contingency plan ready to go from the outset? why was no long term solution found 22 / 15 years ago? What is it going to take to get an alternative in place? I think the council perhaps didn't realise how wide and devastating the impact of this has been on our communities south and north of the loch. How vulnerable work and housing and family life is here. I'd like to see an serious impact assessment study being done & will suggest it, but its all time & money. Although money doesn't seem to be the main issue here, there seems to be the political will to find a solution, and safety appears to be the main and number one priority.

Apparently when this kicked off 15 years ago and there was a referendum on preferred solutions, 160 voted for a bridge, 140 a hill road and 30 a shelter.

• Why can't we get a bigger more modern ferry? > the slipways are not standard design or angle, so  modern cal-mac boats could not land at them.
• many questions about specifics of timetabling , length of time for children to be travelling to school etc> the council will take on suggestions and try to improve. possible shuttle train between strath and kyle separate from main time tables?
• methods of getting information out, clear timetabling, clear road signage and information ? council again will try and improve things.
• why not use 10% oil revenue like Norway does for roads ? > John Laing pointedly replied ' we COULD use oil revenue yes...'  ...that's one for the Scottish independence referendum i think.

The MSP's and Biz Campbell all spoke about their desire to see a real long term solution in place. They have already been in talks with the Scottish Parliamentary cabinet on the issue. Rob Gibson also pointed out that long term thinking needs to take in climate change and more extreme weather events ( like the recent high rainfall which may well have contributed to the rockfall ) . Biz is all in favor of using turbine technology and renewable energy schemes to fund a bridge project, some members of the public seemed to feel this was a bit far fetched, but others are in favor ( as am I ...joined up thinking ! )

Some acknowledgement was made of the sterling work done my the local council employees, who ensured that the railway was shuttered off from further rockfall within an hour, who have worked tirelessly around the clock at risk to their own safety. I also know that they have been receiving a lot of pressure and harassment from some people who seem to think a mountain fault line is the council workers fault. This is not acceptable.

• questions raised about what happens in spring when the traffic increases and the ferries need to return to their own businesses?
• Why was Network rail not in attendance at the meeting?
• what weight limit would be on the railway diversion?> 44 tonne gross
• why couldn't the army get involved? it is not a manpower issue but a safety one, contractors will be used.
• Could the northern marshaling area be moved from the golf course, 9 minutes away from the slipway? > possibly.
• is there a date for a permenant solution?  the information is currently being gathered into the options.

next steps? the council will hold another public meeting in a months time. watch this space!

apologies for the delayed, long and disjointed blog post. Here are some pictures of me coming back from the dentists yesterday via the ferry, thanks very much to Morag & Ruiridh for the lift!

I wonder what the ferry collie-dog is called? he seems to be having the time of his life! The Ferry operators also deserve a round of applause for managing those difficult currents and working so hard to get folks back and forth.

Strome Ferry - No Ferry

Today was a clear day, so we went for a walk and to do some beachcombing. We found ourselves rummaging around one of the old Strome Ferries which was beached on the North of the Loch in 1970's. This is a wee bit of a co-oincidence when tomorrow the Strome Ferries will temporarily be starting up again.

The communities South and North of the Loch Carron are connected by the A890, a stretch of this road running on the south side of the Loch along side the railway line ( Inverness to Kyle ) is known locally as the 'Bypass'. It was opened in 1970. Previously two ferries provided the transport links, but the volume of traffic, the queuing and lack of night time crossing required a road to be built. However  from the outset the current route of the road was advised against by surveyors geologists and engineers. Across the loch is a massive geological fault line. The mountains on the North of the loch are made of older rock and the South is part of the 'Moine Thrust' which is younger rock forcing its way up and over the older rocks, by millimeters? every year. While this makes spectacular local geology, it does not make for a stable road underneath crumbling cliffs. Every year there are landslides, rock falls and road closures. Millions of public money goes into maintaining this road every year. There have been many near misses. Our secondary school pupils travel that route, and every local parent has feared for their children's safety travelling that route. We all have anecdotes of getting stuck or of driving that way when rocks and waterfalls have been spilling out onto the road. From a Fire service point of view, i've already been to two train derailments when trees have slid onto the line west of the bypass, its always in the back of my head ...what if..? the loch is very deep there. It doesn't bare thinking about. We often say locally, 'it's going to take someone getting killed before anything is done' well lets hope not.

On the 8th December The road was closed due to rockfalls. This is from the Highland Council website;

"The road is inspected daily and also undergoes a major monthly inspection. On 8 December the road was closed overnight due to a rock fall which was cleared and the road re-opened. On 22 December there was a rock fall of about 100 tonnes around 09:30 and the road was closed – it has not reopened.

Work continued to clear the rock on 22 and 23 December and a specialist contractor was brought in to dislodge any rock above the road deemed to be in imminent danger of collapse.  By midday it became apparent that there was at least 3 days more work needed to make the road safe.  The contractor stood down at dusk on the 23 December.

De-scaling work recommenced on 28 December and was completed by dusk on the 30 December.

It was intended to reopen the road the following morning, however there was another overnight fall of about 100 tonnes on the 30/31, so it was not safe to reopen the road.

Also on the 28 December a consulting engineer was mobilised to assess the stability of the rock face.  He advised on the 31 December that more extensive survey was necessary to establish what needed to be done to make the area safe.

A full survey is being undertaken this week. The debris from the fall on the 30/31 December has been removed but the face above remains dangerously unstable, and the road remains closed on grounds of safety."

So local people trying to get to and from work have been stuck since the 22nd December. Thankfully the trains are still running, but the service is only 4 times a day each way, the times do not fit in with office or school times, and the tickets are expensive. People are having to take taxi's ( if available ) onwards to their workplaces. It also limits the ambulances as they can't reach broadford hospital, and emergency service fire provision is now very limited as a back up primary sized appliance would now have to come from Dingwall ( 50 - 60 minutes away ).

Folks are frustrated and angry. The highland council was on holiday until the 9th January, so it felt like nothing was happening for ages. The first week back to school the pupils used the trains and the school day was extended to fit the train time table. A ferry service has now been organised, it will start tomorrow. Full details and timetables are on the Highland Council website. It is not ideal and will no doubt have teething problems. But I'm certainly excited to see a ferry up and running again, albeit temporary.
There will be a public meeting tomorrow to discuss the options and service provision. I have no doubt it will be a stormy one.

 Every few years after a prolonged closure this issue comes up again. It always boils down to money of course, and local politics. This time I have been writing to our local Councillors and MSP Rob Gibson ( SNP ), and have been impressed with their replies. Councillor Biz Campbell shares local concerns that the road needs a long term replacement before someone gets hurt. Over the years options such as a tunnel, a hill road over the top, a concrete shelter, a bridge, a ferry have all been discussed. It is now clear that the status quo is not viable or cost effective. A lack of capital funding will as usual be an issue. Various factions have objections to one proposal or another, all of which slows down or stops a solution.

I enjoy seeing the railway being used and the stations busy, the ferry will likewise be a sociable community based way of travelling. With the pressure of modern life however we need more joined up and affordable transport solutions. I'd ideally like to see a bridge integrating tidal power turbines, but will accept any solution that joins our communities safely. Any solution requires forward thinking and planning, our current economic and political systems do not tend to allow for that. Hopefully people will press forwards and create enough momentum to overcome political inertia and negative self interest from blocking certain options.

( prints available ! )

Here is a painting I did of the 'Pride of Strome' one of the previous Ferries beached up in the 70's. It was built in 1962 by Forbes of Sandhaven. The smaller boat was called 'Strome Castle' and was built in 1958 by Nobles of Fraserburgh.This was it today.

 Of course Iain Banks fans will also know 'Strome Ferry - No ferry', from the book Complicity. The Hotel at Stromeferry ( no Ferry ) is accurately described in the book, and < spoilers > burns down as part of the plot- which of course the real hotel also did. When I met Iain Banks I asked him if he'd been to the same parties as I had been to at the hotel and used this as inspiration. He said he had no idea that there had been a hotel there, and simply liked the road sign 'Strome ferry- No ferry' anything else was ';coincidence' !

meanwhile here is a leaflet i found, produced as part of the heritage centre project back in the 90's. It contains some more strome history and some really ropey illustrations by me;