20th December 2024
By Bill Heaney
Scottish Greens MSP Ross Greer has written to Peel Ports to object to their proposals to introduce a ‘conservancy charge’ which will affect small leisure boats on the Clyde.
Peel, who run Clydeport, the authority covering ports on the Clyde and adjoining sea-lochs, are planning a £100 annual charge, or £75 for the summer only, on all boats from six to 24 metres. The charge is intended to commence in 2025.
Ross Greer, right, Scottish Green MSP for the West of Scotland, commented: “This charge won’t just hit the pockets of boat owners. It will hit the wider local economy from Helensburgh and Loch Long to the North Ayrshire coast.
“Peel don’t own the actual marinas or facilities used by boaters, so I can’t see how the money would go towards anything other than the profits of a massive corporation. It’s all just completely unnecessary and has more than a whiff of greed about it. They really should just scrap these plans.
“This is another reminder, as if one were needed, of the total disaster that was privatising the UK’s port authorities decades ago. These companies act in their own interests, not those of local communities or our environment.”