Alcatraz on the Clyde may be curtailed

We’ve been following develpments along the pier at Rothesay, following the announcement that it would be taking on the appearance of the Clyde’s own little Alcatraz, complete with a 3 metre steel plated fence with three strands of barbed wire along the top. Just the sort of welcome to bring the tourists (and their wallets rolling in).

There’s more news this week, to the effect that the fence is not only on hold to allow a review to take place, but that the whole thing might just be the insane dream of some demented little Jobsworth, bent on applying the rules come hell or high water.

Bute councillor Robert Macintyre perhaps summed things up more tactfully, “I think the regulations have been somewhat misinterpreted by our officials”, when quote in this week’s Buteman.

The issue, which arose recently, appears to stem from the International Ship and Port Facility Security (ISPS) Code, which applies to ships larger than five hundred gross tonnes in weight, and making voyages in international waters.Clearly neither of these criteria apply to the ferries making the half hour crossing from the Scottish mainland to the Isle of Bute, a Scottish island, so hardly an international destination.

Councillor Macintyre was further quoted as saying, “At this stage I would say there is some dubiety about the height of, and maybe even the need for, a fence”.

Rothesay harbour renovation, May 2008 © wfmillar

We can only echo the councillor’s further words, where he said he failed to understand the need for this vast array of change, especially since the Bute ferries had berthed overnight at Rothesay pier for many years.

All the developments (and ongoing works), of recent years have changed what used to be a nice place to stand and enjoy the view, together with being able to stand reasonably close to the various vessels were arriving and departing, into a rather unwelcoming place anyway, and it would be nice to have the ending of the works and restrictions as something to look forward to. The attached pics of the current renovation works might make those unfamiliar with the spot wonder what there is to look at, as the place resembles something of a building site, and has since the see wall was built a few years ago, marking the start of most of the civil engineering works (which included a new end-loading linkspan for the ferries), but these are transient, and will be gone in a few years. When that happens, a view across the harbour and bay would be nice, not a slab of metal and some barbed wire.

Back in the days when the biggest upset was the building of the sea wall referred to above, the bringers of doom warned that the new sea wall would block all views of the bay, and ruin the outlook forever. While this was never going to happen – the wall just wasn’t high enough – 3 metres plus wire topping would be enough to spoil things on the front, and not just for those on shore, those arriving would have little to applaud in the new view.