It seems that a larger than expected turnout at the Ferry Review meeting that was held at the Pavilion on Thursday 22nd July came as a bit of a surprise to the organisers! Apparently, people who attended the meeting were asked to share copies of the document as not enough had been bought along - this caused a little anger amongst the community and some embarrasment to the organisers, no doubt!

The consultation, which runs until the end of Sept 2010, will gather the views of everyone concerned; users and service operators alike,  and will help shape the future of the Scottish ferry service until 2022.

The consultation document poses 33 key questions across a wide range of areas; such as who should be responsible for providing services; how those services should be funded; fare structures; accessibility for disabled users; and many more.

There was some concern that a recent household survey caried out by the Scottish Government on Bute showed conflicting results to those carried out by Bute Community Council and CalMac.

As often happens here on Bute, the subject of a fixed link to the mainland, ie: a bridge, was bought up again! This led Councillor Isobel Strong to remind those present that a few years ago a consultation took place and 52% voted against the idea!

However, it is bound to be an idea that will continue to crop up in the future - and there will always be a split in opinion of those who live here.

Did you attend the meeting on Thursday? What did you think to what was said? Do you have any comments to make?

This consultation has serious and long term implications for Bute and its residents - we all need to know what could happen and must let the people in charge know what we want to happen!

Many thanks to Angela Haggerty who attended the meeting and supplied me with detailed notes - I was unable to attend myself.