NOTHING has been decided on the future of Kilcreggan pier, Argyll and Bute’s Provost has reassured “distraught” residents.

Councillor Maurice Corry, who represents the area as a Conservative councillor for the Lomond North ward, delivered the pledge to Ali Mills, whose house is next to the proposed linkspan in the preferred option for the pier.

A consultation on the future of the pier has now been extended until Sunday, March 26, and is accessible through the council’s website.

But Ms Mills claimed that very few local residents knew about the consultation, which has previously been criticised by local councillors for its options on geographical locations for respondents.

Ms Mills raised the issue during public question time at a meeting of the council’s Helensburgh and Lomond area committee on Tuesday, March 14.

She said: “I happen to live on the waterfront and the new linkspan will go down the side of my garden and across all four houses. The residents of these houses are pretty distraught.

“The outline business case update which went out in December 2021 stated there would be a public consultation. That did not actually happen as far as I know.

“The people of Kilcreggan know nothing about this. We have written like made to all the councillors and MSPs we could think of to say that this is horrendous.

“I have since joined the community council, and a year later, in January or February, Mott MacDonald has presented exactly the same preferred option to the community council without a single change.

“There has now been a consultation for it, but nobody knew about that. Why has the same option continued with the same option without any public engagement?

“Also, why does nobody in the village know about the current survey? We got together as a group called Pier Pressure and got 70 people along to a meeting recently.

“I asked whether people at the meeting knew about it because of the posters we put up. Everybody put their hand up. I then asked whether people knew about the survey and only four put their hands up.

“My other question is on why the online survey has been changed, possibly up to three times, during the time it has run?”

Provost Corry responded: “I am fully aware of all this. I have come into it halfway through the battle and have met with the residents of the area on the issues raised.

“I attended the meeting on Saturday morning. Overall, it has to be suitable for a ferry service which is going to be sustainable.

“At the moment we have a survey which has now been extended to March 26, and hopefully that will bring in more replies.

“Nothing whatsoever has been decided. It is simply what we call preferred options and a lot of it is to do with tidal surveys.

“Let’s get the survey in, because nothing is set in stone and it is very much in the technical stage. I have raised concerns and discussed it with my colleagues on the ferry reference group.”

Helensburgh Central Labour councillor Fiona Howard, who lives in Cove, added: “It baffles me how these things happen with no consultation. It is a very strange online survey, and also a pretty bad one.

“I have been pretty disappointed with the whole thing, and something needs to be done to give the village a consultation to listen to their ideas.”

Provost Corry said: “I am seeing where some of the cracks are and am in discussion with the ferry reference group and the community council.”

Mott MacDonald has been contacted for comment.