Islay Summer Ferry Bookings and Port Askaig Terminal

Calmac reservation system: Ferry operator Caledonian MacBrayne announced that it has opened its summer 2008 reservations system. Confirming the opening of the system, Operations Director Phil Preston said: 'I am delighted to announce that we are opening our summer 2008 reservations system. Customers can now make bookings for their travel arrangements next year, and I would encourage people to make their bookings as early as possible to avoid disappointment. By doing that and making the payment at the time of booking, it gives everyone a better chance to plan ahead and secure the bookings wanted.'

Port Askaig reconstruction: In the meanwhile the Ileach Newspaper wrote about the rising costs and delays at the Port Askaig Reconstruction and today the Herald reported that Argyll and Bute Council announced that the costs have doubled for these works and are months overdue. A council spokeswoman yesterday acknowledged that the Port Askaig redevelopment would now cost £12.775m, up from an original estimate of £6.5m. The whole project, which was supposed to take just three years when it was begin in 2004, will not be completed until November next year.

Caledonian MacBrayne yesterday said it was "seriously concerned" by delays in this project, which is frustrating efforts to improve ferry services to Islay. Hugh Dan MacLennan, CalMac's spokesman, said: "We appreciate the challenges of building and maintaining these facilities but we are concerned about anything which would jeopardise the quality and reliability of lifeline services." The delays and cost overruns are just the latest problems to hit Argyll's often controversial programme of transport improvements.

The "second phase" of the development - a new ramp for ro-ro ferries - should have been ready months ago but is now not expected to be operational until well into next year. The current stumbling block is that the ferry from Islay to Jura is berthed in the space reserved for the bigger CalMac ferry to the mainland. "Last Saturday, a ferry had to bob around in 15-knot gales for an hour-and-a-half because it couldn't get landed," Dr MacLennan said. Robin Currie, a Liberal Democrat councillor based on Islay, said: "It seems to be taking forever and costs seem to be spiralling all the time."