I’m scunnered, admits Souter, after planners torpedo Forth ferry service

Published on Saturday 10 December 2011 00:17

TRANSPORT firm Stagecoach has accused Edinburgh City Council of “killing off” plans for a cross-Forth hovercraft service between the capital and Fife.

Brian Souter, the company’s chief executive, said a decision by the council’s planning committee not to allow for landing and passenger facilities in Portobello had left him “scunnered”.

The decision was also criticised by councillors in Fife, as well as SEStran, the regional transport body for south-east Scotland.

Stagecoach said councillors in Edinburgh had taken two years to vote on the firm’s proposals after it had submitted a planning application for a pedestrian ramp and waiting room in Portobello in December 2009.

Council officials had recommended the plans be approved, but councillors rejected them, citing the visual impact of the ramp and associated traffic problems.

A spokesman for the transport firm said: “Stagecoach and many of the supporters of the cross-Forth hovercraft have invested a huge amount of time and money in developing plans for a service. Securing planning permission was central to the future of the hovercraft.

“After taking two years to vote on the facilities needed to make the service a reality, the council has killed off the hovercraft with this short-sighted decision.

“The hovercraft would have given the east of Scotland a high-quality transport link that people could be proud of, and one that had the potential to boost the economy and local communities.

“Instead, the council has stifled innovation, and again sent the wrong signal over public transport on the back of the Edinburgh trams fiasco.”

Mr Souter added: “This has been a long and painful process. We are completely scunnered and have no intention of appealing against the planning decision.”

Stagecoach held a successful two-week-long pilot of the scheme in July 2007, when some 32,000 passengers used the service between Kirkcaldy and Portobello, which was seen as a way of reducing congestion on the Forth Road Bridge.

The inaugural passenger run to Portobello took just 12 minutes – nearly half the scheduled 20 minutes for the ten-mile crossing.

Stagecoach used a 130-seat craft for the £300,000 trial, which it said could operate in 99.4 per cent of weather conditions experienced in the Forth.

Stagecoach estimates up to 870,000 passengers would use the service every year. However, the company admitted the route would initially require public subsidy.

Russell Imrie, chairman of SEStran, said: “SEStran regrets the demise of the project, which we believe would have been a valuable addition to the options available to commuters travelling between Fife and Edinburgh.

“SEStran provided significant financial backing for the hovercraft trial project in 2007 and this was an unqualified success.”

Fife councillor George Kay, who represents Burntisland, Kinghorn and western Kirkcaldy, said he was “absolutely devastated” that the project had been cancelled just weeks after Fife council had given its backing to similar construction work on its side of the Forth.

A spokesman for Edinburgh city council said: “At the planning committee on Wednesday, councillors rejected the application for the Forth hovercraft crossing.”

Stagecoach said it continued to support a separate proposal to introduce a passenger ferry between Burntisland and Granton.

Comments

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29

Incandescent

Tuesday, December 13, 2011 at 06:31 PM

#1 The Answer - of you go now, there's a good lad. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------#2 Chuck - Interesting to note that you don't support this public transport venture, which is emminently sensible compared to your beloved tram. I can only surmise that hovercraft don't "bring you revenue. Your comment that the Forth crossing systems that we have in place is (sic) sufficient for us all is perhaps the most bizarre you have ever made, which is reallt saying something.

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28

Lawfield

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 10:57 AM

Pending Moderation

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27

brianwci

Sunday, December 11, 2011 at 01:30 AM

Without question Edinburgh City Council has let itself, Edinburgh and Scotland down again. The Hovercraft link between Fife and Edinburgh is an excellent idea. Sane councillors of any and all persuasions need to re-open this and pronto.

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26

Leith Heights

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 12:32 PM

Once again the Edinburgh Councillors take the planning system into their own hands. An idea that links Fife to the Lothians, an ideal tourist opportunity and a sustainable idea......but no the idiots running our City fail us. Mr Souter please go to a PLANNING APPEAL and have this overturned.

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25

Velv

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 12:28 PM

I'm so angry by the hipocracy I didn't even finish the sentence properly. That should have been TRAM poles and wires! (for those that hadn't guessed)

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24

Velv

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 12:26 PM

Visual impact? VISUAL IMPACT!!! What about the visual impact the poles and wires are going to have on the Edinburgh World Heritage site!!!! Hypocritical muppets!

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23

The Ayrshire Bard

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 11:28 AM

I really don't believe that the number of cars using the Forth Road Bridge would be reduced. The vast majority of those using the hovercraft would be doing it for the novelty value and would not normally consider Kirkcaldy as a venue for a day out. On top of this it was permissible to use bus passes which means that the cost of these trippers would land on Edinburgh and Fife councils. I also noticed recently that the cross-channel hovercraft has ceased to operate.

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22

Cats Lockhart

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 11:14 AM

I'm no fan of Souter, but his ferry is a good idea for reasons given by previous posters. Do Edin council have a secret plan to run trams to Fife? Is that why they have scuppered the ferry plan? Before the Forth Road bridge was built there were ferries from Burntisland to Granton. Reviving that, or the Portobello plan, seems only sensible in these days of acute congestion. SCRAP THE TRAMS AND BUILD FERRY FACILITIES INSTEAD.

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21

David Ban

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 11:13 AM

* 5TW Scotland needs hard working people like Souter with vision.A Hovercraft Service should have been up and running years ago. By now we would be making our own,weather proven, fast,efficient gorgeous Hover Craft. The reason why Scotland is poor within a country filled with riches are people like Edinburgh Council.

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20

vistaero

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 11:07 AM

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19

vistaero

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 11:06 AM

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18

Niebiosa tam sa naprawde nieskrzydlowe ludzie tam

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 10:59 AM

I don't really see the problems with subsidy. It's not as though this is'nt done elsewhere. I mean all the train operators in the UK are in receipt of subsidy. Not one of these operators, private companies remember, is without state subsidy, hardly "free economy" in action is it ?

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17

Niebiosa tam sa naprawde nieskrzydlowe ludzie tam

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 10:56 AM

Why not a hover tram ?

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16

trenchchat

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 10:54 AM

Nae problem for Souter. Time to call on his pal Alex to sort this out.

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15

Star o' Rabbie Burns

Saturday, December 10, 2011 at 10:09 AM

Pending Moderation

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