NEW ferry berthing infrastructure at Kilcreggan and Dunoon could cost as much as £17 million combined, a report has revealed.

An outline business case is currently being prepared by Argyll and Bute Council for the redevelopment of the ferry infrastructure at the two terminals.

And it is estimated that improvements at Dunoon could carry a £7m cost, while proposals for Kilcreggan could cost anywhere between £6m and £10m.

A new passenger access system, designed to fit a new vessel and providing passengers with less steep gradients gradients, has also been revealed as the council’s preferred option for Dunoon.

Residents in Kilcreggan have formed a 'Save Kilcreggan Pier' group on Facebook, alarmed at what the proposals for the village - which involve the construction of a new pontoon to provide passenger access to the Gourock ferry - might mean for the Kilcreggan seafront in general and its Victorian pier, which would cease to be used by the regular ferry under the new proposals, in particular.

The group was formed on Monday, January 31 and had 585 members as this article was published.

The Gourock, Dunoon and Kilcreggan Infrastructure and Vessels Project is a collaborative one between the council, Transport Scotland, CMAL and CalMac Ferries Ltd.

The report will be discussed at the virtual meeting of the Cowal Transport Forum on Wednesday, February 9.

A public consultation is being run by the council seeking the public’s views.

Scott Reid, the authority’s marine operations manager, said in the report: “Argyll and Bute Council Marine Services has commissioned Mott MacDonald Ltd. (in partnership with StantecUK Ltd) to support the preparation of an Outline Business Case (OBC) for the redevelopment of the passenger only service infrastructure at Dunoon and Kilcreggan Ferry Terminals.

“The Dunoon and Kilcreggan OBC is one of three work streams under the overarching 'Gourock, Dunoon, Kilcreggan Infrastructure and Vessel Project’.

“The project is being completed in line with Transport Scotland's business case methodology and has now reached the stage of public and wider stakeholder consultation on the emerging preferred options for both Dunoon and Kilcreggan.

“Funding options will be explored when the plan’s costs can be narrowed to a single confirmed preferred option for each location but may be expected to be in the region of £7m for Dunoon and between £6m and £10m for Kilcreggan.”

A further statement by the council, announcing the consultation, said: “We have now developed a wide range of options for the infrastructure at Dunoon and Kilcreggan Ferry Terminals.

“These options have been created with the aim of meeting the agreed project requirements, whilst recognising the constraints imposed on the future development of the terminals to support the scheduled ferry services to Gourock.

“Each infrastructure option has been appraised against project specific transport planning objectives (TPOs) and Transport Scotland's STAG criteria and the preferred proposals have been discussed and agreed with the project working group.”

The public consultation has not yet been launched, but more details of the preferred options are available through the council’s website at argyll-bute.gov.uk