Councillors have agreed to give Perth Harbour a “final chance” after a local businessman made a plea to keep it open.
The Courier reported last week that officers deemed the port non-viable amid an operational deficit of more than £280,000.
They urged Perth and Kinross councillors not to renew its five-year contract with operator CalMac when it ends on July 2 2023.
On Wednesday’s full council meeting members conceded that the harbour, which was established in Friarton Road in the late 1840s, should close.
But only after officers test the market for a potential long lease opportunity.
If a new operator comes forward with a plan to revive the ailing harbour it can stay open.
It has a future, says businessman
The decision was made after Perthshire butcher Simon Howie argued that the harbour has a future.
Mr Howie is well-known for running a 110,000 square-foot food production factory just outside Dunning that employs 110 staff.
Since June 2008 he has also co-owned Calport, a stevedoring and shipping service that operates out of Perth Harbour.
“We bring ships into the harbour, store them and deliver to customers,” he told the full council meeting.
At its peak, in 1990, Perth Harbour managed more than 300 vessels per year.
This number has since plummeted to five ships since April 2022, with officers estimating that 120 would be needed just to break even.
However, Mr Howie believes the harbour can be a success under “dynamic ownership”.
“It has been run on a care and maintenance basis by the council,” he said.
“Ports are good news not bad news. Across the country if you went out to buy a port you would struggle to find any for sale.
“People who own ports and have invested in them have very good assets and they work well.
“There will be people out there interested in buying the port.
“Don’t close it until you know someone doesn’t want to buy it.
“Let’s test that properly and if there are no serious takers then that becomes Hobson’s choice and we understand that.”
Dredging issues ‘can be solved’
Mr Howie said the port could be run differently under a private company.
And he argued that silting at the basin entrance, which has been triggering cargo load restrictions, can be solved.
“An owner such as Forth Ports doesn’t necessarily need to make money from ships travelling up the waterway,” he said.
“This is because they have income from buildings, stevedoring, handling and dealing with customer goods so they have three to four irons in the fire.
“Perth [Harbour] is constrained as it is a narrow stretch of water.
“It has challenges with dredging but that’s not unique.
“There are lots of ports around the country that need to be dredged and have wildlife by the side of them and have all the environmental concerns.”
Leisure park idea ‘fanciful’
The report by Barbara Renton, executive director for communities, suggested the harbour could be replaced by water-based leisure facilities such as sailing, boating and water sports.
But Mr Howie dismissed this notion as “fanciful” due to fragmented ownership of the land and its status outside the flood defence area.
The businessman’s intervention was welcomed by many in the chamber who shared his views.
These included Bailie Chris Ahern (Conservative), who vented his frustration at the lack of dredging since becoming chair of the Perth Harbour Board in 2017.
He said that since last week’s story in The Courier about the possible closure of the harbour, “I and others have been inundated by requests from individuals and companies to keep the harbour open.”
He added: “I have had companies contact me saying they would use the harbour and bring ships in providing the dredging takes place – and they have been waiting a long time for this happen.”
£76k loss per ship
Not everyone agreed though.
Bailie Alasdair Bailey (Labour) said: “This harbour was already given a second, or third chance to prove its worth when the management contract was awarded to Calmac in 2018.
“It’s time to call it a day on the harbour and invest our limited finances elsewhere.
“This is running at a loss of £76,000 per ship that visits it.
“Neither the council nor taxpayer can support that loss any longer.”
Perth’s Beeching moment?
But the majority were sympathetic to arguments made by the likes of Cllr Neil Freshwater (Conservative), who harked back to Richard Beeching’s railways review in the 1960s.
“This led to the closure of many of Britain’s smaller rural railways – only to realise a few decades later that having a railway was a rather good thing,” Cllr Freshwater said.
“Could we be saying the same thing about Perth Harbour in 30 years?
“I don’t know.
“But in the absence of having a crystal ball to see into the future of the seafreight industry and associated maritime technology I do believe the harbour could be given a final chance.”
Council leader’s motion
A motion was made by PKC leader, Cllr Grant Laing (SNP), to close the harbour as recommended by officers.
But given this will be subject to a lengthy legal process and formal consultation period the motion called on officers to test the market for interest in a potential long-term lease.
If there is a formal expression of interest a further paper can be brought back to the council for consideration.
But if no one comes forward the harbour will cease to operate as a commercial port.
It was passed by 22 votes to 14 with two abstentions.
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