Price agreed for Ardrossan harbour purchase

The development of Ardrossan Harbour has been stalled for years in a stand-off between the government and its private owner

Scotland's ferries and harbours agency says a price has been agreed in principle for the purchase of Ardrossan harbour from its private owner.

CMAL told campaigners that a "heads of terms" agreement had been reached with Peel Ports, and it hoped to bring it into public ownership by the end of the year.

The government has been forced to buy the harbour because new CalMac ferries ordered by CMAL for the Arran route are too big to berth safely at the existing facilities, and talks on how to split redevelopment costs have stalled.

The proposed purchase price has not been disclosed, but Peel Ports has told MSPs a further £170m will then need to be spent upgrading the port for the larger ships.

The agreement, although not legally binding at this stage, has been welcomed by campaigners both on Arran and in the mainland town of Ardrossan which was left without a ferry service for much of the year after Glen Sannox entered service.

The new ship is 102.4m (335.9ft) long, while the main Arran Berth at Ardrossan is only 97m (318ft) long, and computer simulations have suggested it would struggle to berth in high winds.

Since entering service in January, Glen Sannox has instead been forced to sail from Troon, about 15 miles further south.

The Save Ardrossan Harbour campaign has complained that the town has suffered economic damage due to a lack of footfall and fewer islanders travelling to use businesses such as dentists or garages.

CMAL, which is leading negotiations, sent an update to a public meeting held in the town on Wednesday evening which revealed "significant progress" had been made in talks with Peel Ports about taking the harbour into public ownership.

Chief executive Kevin Hobbs said: "Heads of terms have been exchanged and are being refined and both parties have appointed lawyers with a target of concluding negotiations over the purchase - the aim being a conclusion before the end of 2025."

Ardrossan offers the fastest and most direct route from the mainland to Arran, although the harbour's shallow depth and layout makes it tricky to navigate in high winds.

The improvements involve dredging to make it deeper and re-aligning the main Arran berth, making it easier for large ferries to make the sharp turn required upon passing the breakwaters.

Regular services between Ardrossan and Arran resumed earlier this month when MV Caledonian Isles, which is 8m (26ft) shorter than Glen Sannox, returned to service after 20 months of repairs.

While news of the preliminary agreement was welcomed by the campaign, the public meeting heard that Ardrossan could lose its ferry service entirely for between two and three years while redevelopment work is carried out.

Uncertainty also remains over what will happen when the identical sister ship to Glen Sannox - MV Glen Rosa - enters service next summer as MV Caledonian Isles is then expected to be redeployed elsewhere on the CalMac network.