Chamber and committees

Subject to some modifications which will be carried out prior to delivery of the new vessel in 2011, it is expected that the new Islay ferry will be able to be accommodated at Kennacraig.

The new vessel will be larger and more manoeuvrable than the existing Islay vessels. This is expected to improve the reliability of the service to Port Askaig in bad weather. The second vessel that would be deployed would still be able to use the Port Ellen berth, so the impact of the new vessel not being able to be accommodated at Port Ellen should not be significant.

The new vessel to serve Islay is due for delivery in spring 2011 and is being financed by a £24.5 million loan from the Scottish Government to Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd. This new vessel was designed to serve Islay''s needs for many years into the future and as such will be longer, wider, more powerful, more manoeuvrable and have greater carrying capacity than either of the vessels that presently serve Islay. These significant changes in dimensions are the reasons why this new vessel cannot fit the existing berthing facilities at Port Ellen that were intended to accommodate smaller vessels.

As owners of the Port Ellen pier, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd is currently developing options for major improvements to the berthing and passenger facilities.

Considerable investment has already been made at Port Askaig and the new vessel will be able to berth there.

As the owners of the Port Ellen pier, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd is committed to keeping all interested parties informed about the future use of the Port Ellen pier and, in particular, its ability to accommodate the new vessel that is due to be introduced in 2011.

Although it was initially thought that the new vessel could use the facilities at Port Ellen, subsequent detailed work indicated that the vessel ramp would not be aligned with the existing ageing linkspan. Once that became apparent, Caledonian Maritime Assets Ltd made that information publicly available and has continued to consult local interested parties about the development of options for major improvements to berthing and passenger facilities at Port Ellen. Indeed, the company held further public meetings on Islay on 9 March 2009 and in Tarbert on 10 March 2009 as part of its commitment to keep interested parties informed.

Slating issues at Historic Scotland''s Properties in Care are limited in extent, as the majority of Properties in Care are monuments, with no roof structure. Where slate roofs exist, the approach is to minimise the requirement for replacement material by careful re-use of what is there. The shortfall is made up from existing stocks of varying types of indigenous slate.

Where there are significant areas of slating or roof covering required, new material is occasionally used, for example on the Great Hall at Stirling Castle carried out in 1993. As there was no existing material, a slate from the North of England was used, however, by contrast, the re-roofing of Elcho Castle in 2008 required only a modest addition of Scotch slates as the majority of the material was re-used. Other options are certain slates from Wales available in random lengths.

The policy is to use salvaged Scottish slate when availability and cost of such supply permits. When considering the use of new material, the key factor in what can be used is the ability of the quarry to supply slates in the random lengths and widths required for a traditional Scottish roof.

Historic Scotland, who act on behalf of Scottish ministers on these matters, are currently reviewing and reissuing their guidance on the treatment of roofs of listed buildings, to be published in the next financial year. Their guidance does, and will continue to, recognise that slate needs to be replaced over time. The policy is to use salvaged Scottish slate where possible, when supplies are available. When replacement is justified, the new slates should match the original in terms of size, colour, thickness and texture and that they are fixed in the traditional manner; this will usually mean random sized slates to match the characteristic of traditional Scottish roofs.

Historic Scotland are aware that an exact match is not always possible, and usually suggest that the planning authority requests a sample of the proposed new slate to be submitted for their approval. While Historic Scotland are not normally involved in the choice of slate beyond this point, the planning authority can ask their opinion on the submitted sample(s).

While preferring a native slate type, Historic Scotland would not usually specify that a particular type of slate is used, except where the building is of the highest calibre or the original slate is still available (for example, certain types of Welsh and Westmorland slate). The main exception to this would be where they are providing grant-aid for the replacement slate. In this instance a particular type of slate might be required as part of the conditions of the grant.

Should second hand Scottish slate not be available, the question of replacement slates is not strictly one of quality or origin “ all quarries have a range of slate of differing grades (which is reflected in their durability) but in what ranges of sizes the quarry can offer to achieve the diminishing courses. A recent example of this approach is the grant aided replacement roof of Castlemilk Stables in Glasgow, where a Westmoreland slate was supplied in random lengths and widths, laid in diminishing courses.

Scottish ministers are committed to supporting a strong and vibrant Harris tweed sector and will work jointly with the Harris Tweed Industry Liaison Group to assist its sustainable development and growth, including its international marketing strategies.

I will meet stakeholders in April in Stornoway to discuss further the way forward for the sector.

Highlands and Islands Enterprise, the Scottish Enterprise Textiles team and Scottish Development International are dedicating significant resources to help maintain and improve its international promotion. This includes funding for marketing activities of the Harris Tweed Authority and for a programme to promote the Harris tweed brand with international events.

Historic Scotland, acting on behalf of Scottish ministers, is aware of the need to obtain a wide range of appropriate traditional building materials for repairs to existing buildings and matching new work. There are a range of potential sources for slate production in Scotland and Historic Scotland has previously commissioned a number of research projects around this issue in general, including:

A report on the training issues involved with a revived quarrying operation in the West of Scotland (via Proskills 2007).

A report into the technical and physical properties of the material remaining at one of the Ballachulish Quarries, and at Hill of Foudland in Aberdeenshire will be launched in April 2009.

A pilot methodology, carried out in Stirling by the Scottish Stone Liaison Group, to assess the likely demand for Scottish Slate will be launched in April 2009.

It is not Historic Scotland''s intention to commission such a feasibility study in the near future, but it remains an area of interest for them.

The supply of traditional roofing materials is an area of policy concern for Officials at Historic Scotland, and while they do not have the remit or the resources to make financial judgments of a commercial activity such as quarrying, they remain keen to assist those who are in a position to do so.

To this end, Officials at Historic Scotland have commissioned reports on quality, training and ways to assess demand, that will allow commercial quarry operators to draw up costings for any potential extraction operation at Ballahulish based on an understanding of the material and the likely demand. It should be noted that Historic Scotland has no leverage, ownership or any other hold over the site, which will remain a matter for the owner of the site, the local authority and a potential operator. We are aware that the Scottish Stone Liaison Group has taken an active interest in this area.

Historic Scotland, who act on behalf of Scottish ministers on these matters, have been looking at potential sources of slate across Scotland starting with a national overview taken in 2000. The Scottish Stone Liaison Group (SSLG) which is funded by Historic Scotland has a remit to look at sustaining and developing supplies of indigenous stone, and have taken a specific interest in slate. Historic Scotland attended a meeting facilitated by SSLG in February 2008 with the mineral rights owner and a potential quarry operator. This was a concept level discussion where the Historic Scotland interest was based on skills required, material quality and demand.