Highland Council has agreed to bid for £50m of UK government funding for a electric ferry to operate across the Corran Narrows.
The move comes at a time when both the authority’s other vessels in use over the Corran Narrows are out of service.
Many residents believed a fixed link was the way forward, but Highland Council has said it believes while a long-term aspiration might be a fixed link, it wants to provide a electric ferry on the route.
Members were updated on progress on delivering the Corran Ferry replacement project at a meeting of the full council today.
The council had planned to delivered tw0 new Ro-Ro electric ferries capable of transporting 32 cars.
Alongside this they planned to create larger marshalling areas, a new berthing structure and slipways, EV charging points, expanded car parking, new toilet facilities, a renovated ferry office and storage building.
The total cost for ferries and works was expected to be around £70.5m.
The council has today agreed to focus on the delivery of one new electric ferry and associated infrastructure totalling £52m.
Resilience
The existing ferries would provide “service resilience”, until such time that the council can undertake to deliver a second electric ferry.
Chairman of the economy and infrastructure committee, Ken Gowans said: “The loss of service due to the ageing vessels has brought into focus the need to look to the future and have a sustainable solution for the Corran Ferry crossing.
“I’m pleased that members have agreed we can press ahead with preparing an application to the Levelling Up Fund and in the meantime, we will continue to work closely with the local communities to provide support and the current contingency measures will remain in place until the ferry is back in operation.”
A further report will be brought to the council providing further details of the process for Round 3 of the Levelling Up Fund.
When will the MV Corran return?
While the MV Corran and her replacement the MV Maid of Glencoul are out of service waiting for parts to be fitted and repairs completed, Highland Council has put in place a range of ways to get over and around the loch.
The authority published a route for motorists who want to drive round.
The repairs to MV Corran are expected to be completed by the start of June. Having both vessels out of action has highlighted the importance to purchase new reliable vessels to provide a resilient service.
A range of alternative options have been explored, including the purchase of second-hand ferries and the rebuilding of a modern version of the existing MV Corran.
In respect of the first of these, after searching on the worldwide market, it has not been possible to source any alternative ferries that would meet the operational needs of this particular route.
The very specific tidal challenges of the Corran Narrows coupled with the unique shoreside infrastructure mean that compatibility is extremely difficult to achieve.
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