Socio-economic Baseline Review for Offshore Renewables in Scottish Waters Volume 1: Main Text

4. West Region

4.1 Introduction

The regional overview for each marine use present within the West SORER is detailed within this section. These sub-sections, which are arranged in alpaetical order of activity, provide information in a uniformed manner under the following headings:

• Regional Activity;
• Regional Economic Value and Employment; and
• Future Trends.

The activities present within the West Region are given in Table 88 below.

Table 88. Activities present within the West SORER

Activity	Present in West SORER		Regional Trends Available		Future Trends Available
	Yes	No	Yes	No	Yes	No
Aquaculture	√			√		√
Aviation	√		√			√
Carbon Capture and Storage		√
Coast Protection and Flood Defence	√			√		√
Commercial Fisheries	√			√		√
Energy Generation	√			√		√
Military Interests	√			√		√
Oil and Gas		√
Ports and Harbours	√		√		√
Power Interconnectors	√		√		√
Recreational Boating	√			√		√
Shipping	√		√		√
Social and Community	√		√		√
Telecom Cables	√			√		√
Tourism	√			√	√
Waste Disposal	√		√		√
Water Sports	√			√		√

4.2 Aquaculture

4.2.1 Regional Activity

Marine aquaculture sites within the West Region are shown in Figure 61. There are 67 finfish and 72 shellfish sites. The figure reveals that aquaculture sites are widespread along the coastline within this region, with particular concentrations in Loch Fyne, the Firth of Lorn and around the Isle of Mull.

4.2.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Regional employment figures for activities relating to marine aquaculture in the West are listed below in Table 89. Employment figures within this sector have remained relatively stable between 2009 and 2010.

Table 89. West employment figures for activities relating to marine aquaculture

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employees		Part-time Employees
	2009	2010	2009	2009
Marine aquaculture ( SIC 03210)	222	230	11	39

(Source: ONS, 2011)

4.2.3 Future Trends

No regional detail on future trends were available, please refer to Section 2.2.3 for national projections.

4.3 Aviation

4.3.1 Regional Activity

Airports in this region include the major airports Glasgow and Glasgow Prestwick. In addition, there are minor airports at Campbeltown and on Coll, Colonsay, Tiree and Islay (Figure 3).

The principal airport on the West coast is Glasgow International that operates an extensive range of domestic flights as well as international flights to a wide range of Euro p.a. destinations with some long haul flights, in particular to the American Eastern seaboard and Caribbean ( ABPmer, RPA and SQW, 2011). Glasgow Prestwick airport international traffic is limited to Euro p.a. destinations and is Scotland's most significant scheduled freight airport (Glasgow Prestwick Airport, 2008). The Highlands and Islands Airports Ltd. ( HIAL) Campbeltown airport offers a twice daily scheduled service to Glasgow airport.

The number of air transport movements ( ATMs), passengers (terminal and transit) and freight movements through the airports in this region are shown in Table 90. No information was found relating to Coll and Colonsay airports.

Table 90. Summary of activity at Scottish airports in the West Region

Airport	ATMs	Terminal Passengers	Transit Passengers	Freight (tonnes)
Glasgow	77,874	7,213,397	11,624	2,334
Glasgow Prestwick	15,496	1,817,286	441	13,385
Campbeltown	1,359	9,389	147	1
Islay	1,677	26,285	40	229
Tiree	1,109	8,202	148	21

ATM Air Transport Movements. All totals include scheduled and chartered flights.

(Source: CAA, 2009)

NATS provides air traffic control services to aircraft flying in UK airspace, and over the Eastern part of the North Atlantic from two locations, one of which is Prestwick in Ayrshire ( SSE Renewables, 2010).

Tiree Airport is not serviced by on-site Air Traffic Control. The airspace above Tiree Airport is classified as 'uncontrolled airspace' (ScottishPower Renewables, 2010). The airspace around this airport is divided into airport avoidance surfaces with associated maximum height restrictions (Anderson, 2005 cited in ScottishPower Renewables, 2010). The NATS En Route ( NERL) Tiree Radar Site is located on Ben Hynish. The site is used to control the airspace in the East Atlantic (ScottishPower Renewables, 2010). Campbeltown does not have a civilian radar system (Anne Phillips, HIAL, pers.com. cited in ABPmer, RPA and SQW).

4.3.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

The Glasgow Airport 2011 Master Plan (Glasgow Airport, 2011) states that the airport directly supports nearly 4,500 jobs through 117 companies based on-site and over 7,300 jobs across Scotland. The airport is currently the largest private sector employer in Renfrewshire. Over 50% of the on-airport workforce comes from the Renfrewshire area. The Master Plan also states that Glasgow airport makes the largest contribution of any airport to Scotland's economy generating nearly £200 million in 2009, (it is not stated whether this is turnover or GVA).

These figures are backed up in a study of the economic impact of Glasgow Prestwick Airport, conducted in 2008, which estimated that the airport supported 1,733 jobs in Ayrshire and 2,941 in Scotland and generated about £48 million of GVA for Ayrshire and £79 million for Scotland ( SQW Consulting, 2008).

4.3.3 Future Trends

Forecasts within the Glasgow Airport Master Plan (Glasgow Airport, 2011) predict an underlying growth in passenger numbers of 2.6% per annum and passenger numbers of 10.04 mp.a.in 2020 and 16.39 mp.a.in 2040. Based on the current levels of employment and the predicted passenger growth forecasts, direct 'on-airport' employment is expected to increase to 5,600 jobs by 2020 and 7,200 jobs by 2040 (Glasgow Airport, 2011).

Passenger forecasts within Glasgow Prestwick Master Plan (Glasgow Prestwick Airport, 2008) predicts 4.6 mp.a.in 2018 (median growth scenario; range 3.4-5.7 mp.a.under low and high growth scenarios) and 9.1 mp.a.in 2033 (range 5.5-11.9 mp.a.. These 'median' forecasts represent an average growth of 6.4% per annum between 2008 and 2018 and then a slower average rate of growth of 4.6% up to 2033 (compared to an average growth rate of 10.8% between 2001 and 2008). Freight is predicted to increase to an annual tonnage of 49,190 by 2018 and to 100,813 by 2033.

An additional source of passenger forecasts is provided by the DfT UK Aviation Forecasts ( DfT, 2011). The constrained (maximum use) passenger capacity and ATM estimated for the major Scottish airports in this region are shown in Table 91.

Table 91. Constrained terminal passenger and ATM 'central' forecasts for major Scottish airports in the West Region

Numbers/Movements	Airport	2010	2020	2030	2040	2050
Terminal passengers ( mppa)	Glasgow	7	7	10	12	20
	Glasgow Prestwick	2	2	2	3	4
Air Transport Movements (000's)	Glasgow	70	55	75	90	140
	Glasgow Prestwick	15	20	25	25	30

(Source: DfT, 2011)

4.4 Coast Protection and Flood Defence

4.4.1 Regional Activity

In this region there are seven hard engineered flood prevention schemes, located at Ayr, Saltcoats, Largs, Clydesmill, Dalmarnock, Rothesay and North Renfrew (Figure 62). All of these schemes were undertaken under the Flood Prevention (Scotland) Act 1961.

4.4.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not possible to assign an economic value to flood and coastal defences, however, Table 92 shows the economic costs (where known) of the flood defences in this region.

Table 92. Costs of flood defence schemes in the West Region since 2000

Location	Cost (£million)
Ayr South Pier	-
Saltcoats	1.8
Largs	0.7
Clydesmill Stage 1 & 2	-
Dalmarnock	-
Rothesay	1.6
North Renfrew	6.6

(Source: Baxter et al, 2011)

4.4.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.5.3.

4.5 Commercial Fishing

4.5.1 Regional Activity

4.5.1.1 Fish catching activities

Landings caught by UK vessels within the West SORER had an average annual value of £44.2 million (11.6% of the Scottish total) and an average annual live weight of 44,100 tonnes (10.3% of the Scottish total) for the ten year period from 2001 to 2010.

Figures 63 to 66 show the annual average value (2001 to 2010) of the total landings taken from within this region, broken down for each ICES rectangle by species group, selected species, gear type and vessel length.

Figures 67 to 69 show the value of all landings caught in the inshore and offshore waters of the West SORER waters by selected species, gear type and vessel length categories from 2001 to 2010.

The majority of the value and volume of landings from within the whole of the West SORER are shellfish, however, this differs markedly between inshore waters (within 12 nm from the coast) and offshore waters (greater than 12 nm from the coast). Nephrops accounted for 60% of the total catch value from inshore waters in 2010 whilst scallops and 'other shellfish' each accounted for 18% of the total catch value. Offshore, landings of mackerel accounted for 59% of the total catch value, 22% were whitefish and 13% were shellfish.

In 2010, nearly half the value of landings from inshore waters was taken by vessels 15m and over in length, whilst 25% was landed by vessels over 10m and under 15m and 27% was landed by vessels 10m and under. Offshore, 86% of the total value was taken by vessels 15m and over in length.

For inshore waters, 46% of the total catch value was caught by Nephrops trawl, 30% was caught by pots and 17% by dredges; whereas for offshore waters, 65% was caught by pelagic trawls and 13% by demersal trawls.

Figures 70 and 71 depict the overflight (surveillance) sightings by vessel type and nationality in the region from 2006 to 2010. Within the 12 NM limit all fishing is undertaken by British vessels and the area as a whole only accounts for 3% of the total national fishing effort. The gear type varies according to area fished i.e. demersal trawlers are found in the deeper waters while other gear types and dredges are used in the shallower inshore waters.

The main administrative fishing ports in this region are Ayr, Campbeltown and Oban and there are also 32 smaller ports throughout the region. All the ports are shown in Figure 72.

4.5.1.2 Fish processing activities

Fish processing facilities in the study region are few and mostly small scale.

4.5.1.3 Wild salmon and sea trout

There are three fixed engine netting sites in the North of the West SORER, but no net and coble sites (see Figure 72).

The main rod and line fishing rivers in this region are the Stinchar (one of the most productive salmon rivers in the South West of Scotland), Girvan, Doon (salmon), Ayr (salmon), Irvine, Clyde, Eachaig (sea trout), Add, Fyne, Awe (salmon), Orchy (salmon) and Aline. Reported catches in all of these rivers has seen a decline in recent years; for example, the River Fyne produced in the region of 250 salmon in a season in 1989, but recently there has been a dramatic decline in stocks of migratory fish and in the River Add a similar decline has been reported so that now a good year would see the salmon catch reach double figures (Gray J., 2009).

4.5.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

4.5.2.1 Fish catching activities

Administratively, the West SORER is divided into three districts: Ayr, Campbeltown and Oban. Ayr also covers the South West SORER. There are 524 fishermen employed on Scottish based vessels in the districts of Campbeltown and Oban and a further 559 in Ayr. 990 of these are employed full-time and 93 are part-time. Approximately 17% of the Scottish total of employment in the catching sector is in the West SORER (Marine Scotland, 2011d).

For much of this region, direct employment in the fishing sector accounts for between 2% and 5% of total employment (Baxter et al., 2011).

4.5.2.2 Fish processing activities

The Business Register and Employment Survey statistics for processing activities in the West SORER are shown in Table 93. Aquaculture farming is a bigger employer than fish processing in the West SORER.

Table 93. Employment in fish and shellfish processing and retail in the West SORER

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employment		Part-time Employment		Total Employment
	2009	2010	2009	2010	2009	2010
Processing and preserving of fish, crustaceans and molluscs ( SIC 10200)	329	329	69	68	398	401

(Source: ONS, 2011)

4.5.2.3 Wild salmon and sea trout

There is no specific information on economic value and employment for this region. For a national overview refer to Section 2.6.3.

4.5.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.6.3.

4.6 Energy Generation

4.6.1 Regional Activity

Hunterston B nuclear power station is located within this region, south of Largs in Ayrshire. The power station started generating in 1976, and is expected to be decommissioned in 2016 ^[39] . It has a net electrical output of 890MW. Also within the region is Cruachan pumped storage power station.

4.6.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Information on regional economic value for energy generation is not available. The connectivity of the electricity grid means that the region cannot be delineated. In addition, data availability on electricity generation and supply is very limited due to security issues.

Employment in the electricity sector in the West Region can be estimated through looking at statistics from the ONS (2011) Business Register and Employment Survey. Figures for 2009 and 2010 for full and part time work under several relevant codes are given in Table 94. Electrical installation has the greatest number of jobs out of the categories considered, whilst construction of utility projects for electricity and telecommunications has the least. It is likely that there are more jobs in the wider energy generation sector, for example, in relation to surveying, manufacture of components, etc. However, these codes are not included here to avoid overestimation of employment. Since both offshore wind and tidal generation are proposed (see Islay and Argyll Array in Figure 73), it is probable that this region will continue to see people employed in a range of roles in the energy sector. Indeed, employment may even increase.

Table 94. Employment in the electricity sector in West by SIC Code

SIC Code, 2007	Full-time		Part-time		Totals
	2009	2010	2009	2010	2009	2010
Production of electricity (3511)	879	1531	27	58	906	1589
Transmission of electricity (3512)	823	881	174	181	997	1062
Distribution of electricity (3513)	1841	1970	226	276	2067	2246
Trade of electricity (3514)	94	117	0	3	94	120
Construction of utility projects for electricity and telecommunications (4222)	2	6	0	0	2	6
Electrical installation (4321)	7395	5293	441	303	7836	5596
Totals (note that totals may not sum exactly due to rounding)	11,034	9,798	868	821	11,902	10,619

(Source: ONS, 2011)

4.6.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.7.3.

4.7 Military Interests

4.7.1 Regional Activity

The coastal military locations which occur within this region are shown in Figure 74. Military interests in this region include:

• HMNB Clyde located at Faslane;
• Loch Goil and Loch Fyne Noise Ranges, for measuring the radiated acoustic signatures of surface and subsurface vessels;
• Military fuel depots at Loch Striven (near Dunoon) and Campbeltown, which provide maritime fuelling facilities to visiting UK and NATO vessels;
• HMS Gannet, located at the North side of Glasgow Prestwick Airport which operates three Sea King helicopters in a Search and Rescue capacity. This is the only military air bases on the West coast ( ABPmer, RPA and SQW, 2011); and
• A Royal Navy SXA, which covers most of the inshore and offshore waters within this SORER.

4.7.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

The MOD Quarterly Manning Report (Defence Personnel by location) issued in August 2011, provides the number of MOD personnel (civilian and military) employed in each LA area at 1 July 2011 ( MOD, 2011a). Approximately fifteen of these LAs fall entirely or partially within the West Region and the number of MOD personnel which are employed within each of these LA areas is shown in Table 95. However, as the LA areas do not align with the SORER boundaries, the values should only be taken as indicative values for comparison between areas.

The LA of Argyll and Bute (which falls entirely within the West Region) has the highest MOD personnel within this Region.

Baxter et al (2011) stated that out of the total MOD and Armed Forces personnel employed in Scotland in 2010, 25% were employed in Argyll and Bute. In addition, a further 1690 civilians (29% of the total employed in Scotland in 2010) were employed in Argyll and Bute and 1,049 civilians (18% of the total employed in Scotland) were employed in Glasgow (Baxter et al, 2011).

UKMMAS (2010) reported that HMNB Clyde, located at Falslane, is the largest single site employer in Scotland with a workforce of 6,500 drawn from the Royal Navy, MOD civilians, Babcock Naval Services (the MOD's industrial partner at the base) and external contractors. It was also reported that a further 3,000 Scottish jobs are supported indirectly by HMNB Clyde and more than £250 million is spent in Scotland on wages and contracts awarded each year, directly to the base.

Table 95. MOD personnel by local authority areas which lie within the West Region

Local Authority ( LA) Area	SORER*	MOD Total	Civilian	Military
Argyll & Bute	W	5090	3480	1600
Inverclyde	W	30	0	30
North Ayrshire	W	300	0	300
Renfrewshire	W	10	0	10
West Dunbartonshire	W	120	0	120
South Ayrshire	W, SW	140	100	30
Glasgow City	W, E	1630	630	1000
Dumfries and Galloway	SW, E, W	20	0	20
Highland	NE & NW, W, N	680	600	80

* Note LAs may occur within more than one SORER. Where this is the case, the SORER containing the largest proportion of the LA (visually assessed) is listed first, and subsequent SORERs contain decreasing proportions of the LA; '&' indicates that the LA ap p.a.s to occupy roughly equal proportions of more than one SORER.

(Source: MOD, 2011a)

4.7.3 Future Trends

There is no specific information on future trends for this region. For national projections refer to Section 2.8.3.

4.8 Port and Harbours

4.8.1 Regional Activity

There are three major ports within the West Region, as measured by tonnages moved, these are namely Ayr, the Clyde (ports) and Glensanda (Figure 76).

Ayr is situated at the entrance to the Firth of Clyde, the Port has access to good road and rail networks and handles a range of cargoes including dry bulks (salt, aggregates, sand, and animal feed), forest products, general cargo, minerals and ores, passengers and cruise ships. The port of Ayr handles between 240,000 and 560,000 tonnes of cargo every year (see Table 96).

Clyde Port is the umbrella term for the ports located along the Forth of Clyde, which include four principal locations of Hunterston, Greenock, King George Vth Dock in Glasgow and Ardrossan. Cumulatively, these facilities handle a volume of 7.2 to 15.7 million tonnes of cargo a year (see Table 110). Hunterston is a dry bulk terminal discharging coal which is shipped by train to power stations across Scotland and the wider UK; Greenock Ocean Terminal is a deep water general cargo berth which also handles cruise and passenger vessels. The King George Vth Dock located close to the centre of the City of Glasgow handles general cargo from animal feed to forest products and scrap metal; and Ardrossan which operates a roll-on roll-off ferry port running services to the Scottish isles.

The Glensanda estate and port located in Argyll exports between 5 and 7 million tonnes of aggregate each year to various destinations all over the world. This port was established following a 1976 UK Government review of the shortage of aggregate. The resulting report led the established of a 'super-quarry' situated in a remote location from which stone could be exported by sea. Approximately 160 employees either live on site or commute by boat from Barcaldine near Oban, there is no road, rail or marked footway links to the quarry. The only p.a.tical access is by boat from the shores of Loch Linnhe.

In addition to these three major ports, there are a further 66 other ports and harbours owned and operated by a range of private and public bodies (see Table 97). Most prominent amongst these is the port of Troon which operates ferry services to both Belfast and Larne in Northern Ireland, providing an important freight and passenger link within this region. In addition the ports of Oban and Tarbert (Loch Fyne) which p.a. an integral part in linking island communities with the mainland and harbours. The wide range and number of ports in this region demonstrates the importance that island communities and local economies rely for lifeline service and economic sustainment, many communities themselves have grown u p.a.ound such connections ( BPA, 2008).

Table 96. West Region major port tonnages

Port		1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003
Ayr	Import	86,190	81,603	154,270	220,053	158,015	156,000
	Export	260,011	147,793	128,901	53,468	82,610	134,000
	Total	346,201	229,396	283,171	273,521	240,625	291,000
Clyde	Import	4,323,857	4,862,195	4,435,780	7,880,232	6,539,741	6,056,000
	Export	3,803,358	3,632,905	2,787,867	3,188,594	3,193,353	3,158,000
	Total	8,127,215	8,495,100	7,223,647	11,068,826	9,733,094	9,214,000
Glensanda	Import	0	0	0	2,613	3,618	3,000
	Export	5,140,122	5,216,894	5,898,967	5,468,241	5,841,968	5,319,000
	Total	5,140,122	5,216,894	5,898,967	5,470,854	5,845,586	5,322,000
Port		2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009
Ayr	Import	162,000	185,000	172,000	174,000	182,000	181,751
	Export	239,000	233,000	247,000	379,000	375,000	153,285
	Total	401,000	418,000	419,000	553,000	557,000	335,036
Clyde	Import	8,173,000	11,868,000	11,702,000	9,323,000	10,885,000	9,474,348
	Export	3,334,000	3,870,000	3,279,000	2,740,000	3,453,000	3,077,776
	Total	11,507,000	15,737,000	14,981,000	12,063,000	14,338,000	12,552,124
Glensanda	Import	1,000	0	0	0	0	0
	Export	5,188,000	5,439,000	6,004,000	7,050,000	6,336,000	5,590,653
	Total	5,189,000	5,439,000	6,004,000	7,050,000	6,336,000	5,590,653

Values shown are annualized import and export tonnages

(Source: DfT, 2010)

Table 97. West Regional ports

Port	Operator	Type
Ardentinny	Ardentinny Hotel - landing pontoon only	Private
Ardnamurchan		unknown
Ardrishaig	British Waterways Scotland	Other
Ardrossan	Clydeport	Private
Ardyne	Lighthouse Caledonia	Private
Ayr	Associated British Ports	Private
Ballantrae		Local Authority
Balvicar		unknown
Barcaldine	Marine Resource Centre Ltd	Private
Bowmore	Bowmore Harbour Association	Private
Brodick		Other
Bruichladdich		Local Authority
Bunessan		Local Authority
Campbeltown	Argyll and Bute Council	Local Authority
Carradale		Local Authority
Coll		Private
Colonsay		Private
Corran	Highland Harbours	Local Authority
Coulport		MOD
Craighouse		Local Authority
Crinan		Private
Cuan		Local Authority
Dunoon	Argyll and Bute Council	Local Authority
Dunure		Local Authority
Fairlie Quay	Holt Leisure Group	Private
Fionnphort	Caledonian MacBrayne	Local Authority
Furnace		unknown
Garelochhead	Ministry of Defence??	unknown
Gigha		Local Authority
Girvan	South Ayrshire Council	Local Authority
Glasgow	Clydeport	Private
Gourock	Caledonian MacBrayne	Private
Greenock	Clydeport	Private
Glensanda		Private
Helensburgh		Local Authority
HMNB Clyde	MOD	MOD
Hunterston	Clydeport	Private
Inveraray		Private
Irvine	Irvine Harbour Co	Private
Kames		unknown
Kinlochleven	Alcan	Private
Largs	Caledonian MacBrayne	Private
Loch Buie	Now a complete ruin	unknown
Luing		Local Authority
Machrihanish		unknown
Maidens		Local Authority
Millport	Caledonian MacBrayne	Other
Muasdale		unknown
Oban NLB Base	Northern Lighthouse Company	Private
Oban North Pier	Argyll and Bute Council	Local Authority
Oban Railway Pier	Caledonian MacBrayne	Other
Oskamull	The Howard family	Private
Port Appin	Argyll and Bute Council	Local Authority
Port Askaig	Argyll and Bute Council	Local Authority
Port Ellen	Caledonian MacBrayne	Other
Portincaple		unknown
Portnahaven		unknown
Rothesay	Argyll and Bute Council	Local Authority
Salen	Mark and Jan Drury	Private
Saltcoats		Private
Southend		unknown
Tarbert	Tarbert (Loch Fyne) Harbour Trust	Trust
Tayinloan		Local Authority
Tayvallich		Private
Tiree		Private
Tobermory		Private
Toberonochy		Private
Troon	Associated British Ports	Private
Wemyss Bay	Caledonian MacBrayne	Other
West Loch Tarbert		Local Authority

(Source: Marine Scotland, 2011a)

4.8.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Table 98 provides data from 2009 and 2010 from the business register and employment survey by the ONS (2011). This information identifies the employment in industries associated with ports and harbours, and should not be interpreted as direct employees of ports and harbours (although some may be working in this capacity) but as associated industries, often established on port estates. Table 102 shows that in 2009 there were 7,000 people in full time employment in these sectors, which had reduced to 6,500 people by 2010. There are also over 2,000 people who are in part-time employment. Over 53% of these are employed in building and repairing of ships or boats, this industry is focused on the Clyde ( EKOS, 2008). There is no available data on the value of this industry to the economy of the region.

Table 98. West Regional ports and harbour employment

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employees		Part-time Employees
	2009	2010	2009	2010
Construction of water projects ( SIC 42910)	44	63	1	0
Operation of warehousing and storage facilities for water transport activities of division 50 ( SIC 52101)	0	1	0	0
Service activities incidental to water transportation ( SIC 52220)	1,035	653	40	336
Cargo handling for water transport activities of division 50 ( SIC 52241)	15	4	1	0
Building of ships and floating structures ( SIC 30110)	3,760	3,697	30	40
Repair and maintenance of ships and boats ( SIC 33150)	172	169	10	9
Total	7,035	6,597	2,091	2,395

(Source: ONS, 2011)

4.8.3 Future Trends

The EKOS study 'Firth of Clyde Socio Economic Review' ( EKOS, 2008) concluded that development opportunities were evident, and included:

• Plans for a new deeplansr container facility at Hunterston;
• Growth in cruise activity at Greenock's Ocean Terminal;
• Investment in bulk handling facilities in King George V dock in Glasgow;
• Lots of potential property development on Brownfield land along the Clyde Waterfront.

However, the report also noted that there was a decline of shipbuilding, with a reduced reliance on warship building. This leads to a need to diversify and maintain ship building skills base.

The prospects for Glensanda are good with an estimated reserve of granite expected to last at least until the year 2100.

4.9 Power Interconnectors

4.9.1 Regional Activity

Numerous domestic subsea power cables exist within inshore waters in this region, connecting areas of the mainland on the West coast and connecting the mainland to islands off the West coast (Figure 77).

4.9.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not currently possible to assign an economic value to power interconnectors in this region.

Information on employment within this sector is provided by the ONS however the proportion of these employees associated with subsea power cables is unknown.

4.9.3 Future Trends

There are a number of proposed marine power interconnector developments in the UK at various stages of maturity in the planning process. One development that may be relevant to this region (e.g. which may pass through this SORER and/or make landfall in this region) is the Western HVDC Link (Saunders et al, 2011; and Refabrica website: www.refabrica.com/einter/ ?page_id=157). This would have a potential temporary impact on employment numbers and local revenue (through supply chain activities) within the region during the construction stage and on maintenance during the cable lifetime.

4.10 Recreational Boating

4.10.1 Regional Activity

The West of Scotland is an internationally important yachting destination ( RYA Scotland consultation response). Baxter et al (2011) describes the distribution of sailing as being concentrated along the West coast (comprising parts of the West and North West Region) where the RYA Atlas of recreational boating indicates there are heavy recreational cruising routes ^[40] and several 200+ berth marinas.

Sailing activity in the West Region is shown in Figure 78. The figure highlights that recreational use is most concentrated near the West coast within the sounds of the Inner Hebrides. Heavy recreational use is made of the Sound of Mull, the Firth of Lorne, the North of the Sound of Jura and the Crinan Canal. Heavy use is also made of cruising routes in the Sound of Luing, Seil Sound, Shuna Sound and Loch Melfort and of a route from the Crinan Canal, South through Loch Fyne and the Firth of Clyde via the Kyles of Bute and South of the Isle of Bute. Heavy usage cruising routes also exist between Arran and the mainland (Baxter et al., 2011). Light and medium usage cruising routes connect these heavy routes with the Inner and Outer Hebrides (note the latter falls within the North West Region).

Light usage cruising routes are present off Tiree and a 'light' route from the Firth of Lorne to the coast of Tiree North of Hynish (Figure 78). Another 'light' route exists from near Kintra on Mull through the Gunna Sound (Scottish Power Renewables, 2010). A light usage route passes off

Islay and medium usage routes exist off the Kintyre coast and around the Mull of Kintyre. It should be noted that the RYA UK Recreational Boating Atlas highlights the fact that many lightly used routes are the only routes available and therefore have considerable local importance.

4.10.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

An indicative estimate of the economic impact of sailing is provided by the Scottish Enterprise (2010) and shown in Table 99 below. It must be noted that these values are only indicative as the sailing tourism study regions reported, which are considered to reflect the geography of the main 'sub-national' sailing economies in Scotland, do not align with the SORERs and tend to span various parts of several of the SORERs.

Table 99. Sailing area values and berth numbers for Clyde and the West

Sailing Tourism Study Region	Scottish Sea Areas Included	Relevant Offshore Wind Energy Plan Region	Value (£million) GVA	Number of Pontoons	Number of Moorings
Clyde (Clyde Estuary & Solway)	Clyde Irish Sea	Mainly South-West but part of West Region	44	3333	2038
West (Argyll, Ardnamurchan-Gairloch & Outer Hebrides)	Minches & Malin sea Hebrides	Part of West and North West Regions	39	1030	2637

(Source: Scottish Enterprise 2010, Summarised in Baxter et al, 2011)

There are no regional employment figures for activities directly related to recreational boating.

4.10.3 Future Trends

No regional detail on future trends were available, please refer to Section 2.12.3 for national projections.

4.11 Shipping

4.11.1 Regional Activity

The Firth of Clyde is a deep water route, which is generally unobstructed from a navigation perspective as it is a high and rocky coast with some sandy beaches on its Eastern shore. The Firth has a number of rocky islands rising steeply from deep waters which include: Arran, Sanda and Pladda on its North and West edge and Ailsa Craig in the middle of an otherwise clear channel. Traffic of all size and types (passenger, cargo, leisure and Government) navigate this area in significant quantity, either departing or arriving at local ports or as through traffic transiting to Ireland. Fishing occurs throughout the area. There are a substantial number of leisure users who sail in the Firth of Clyde, and further North into the Western Isles ( GLA, 2010).

The Western Isles presents an almost uninterrupted succession of deep indentations, fronted by bold rocky cliffs and headlands forming islands, narrows and sea lochs. From a shipping perspective drying rocks and reefs are frequent, often with deep navigable waters immediately adjacent. The Mull of Kintyre to Ardnamurchan coast line is no exception exposed directly to the Atlantic Ocean and the full force of winter gales the coast is frequently obscured by low cloud and driving rain. Strong tidal streams, and eddies can be experienced in narrows and inshore making navigation difficult and unpredictable ( GLA, 2010).

Further offshore, larger vessels (which remain within the Traffic Separation Scheme) transit to and from the North Channel and keep to the South West of Skerryvore before turning North to the Minch or heading Northwest for the deep water route. Smaller coastal vessels often choose to pass through the sound of Islay and to the East of Coll and Tiree. ( GLA, 2010)

Major ports in the area are Clyde, Ayr and Glensanda. The Clyde provides the most significant volume of shipping in this region, with an average of 1,100 vessel arrival counts in the last 7 years. Ayr has an average of 170 vessels arrivals in the same period (2002-2008) (Table 100).

Table 100. West Regional vessel arrival counts at major ports

Port	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999	2000	2001
Ayr	265	263	218	144	103	178	186
Clyde	1,468	1,528	1,373	1,245	1,380	1,269	1,107
Glensanda	130	135	134	150	154	153	237
Port	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008
Ayr	139	131	166	177	208	160	223
Clyde	1,027	1,084	1,084	1,111	1,099	1,147	1,134
Glensanda	192	143	173	229	192	273	153

(Source: DfT, 2010)

In addition, other ports provide important inter-island connectivity supporting both economic activity and jobs, such as Oban which is a hub for ferry traffic and supports fishing, a small numbers of general bulk cargo transhipments, fish farm support (feed and smolt) and frequent seasonal cruise vessel traffic along with a substantial number of leisure craft. Corpach handles bulk timber and quarry products while Fort William at the South end of the Caledonian Canal which sees significant leisure traffic. Throughout the area, particularly on the islands, there are a number of smaller ferry and coaster berths, fishing harbours and leisure craft moorings and marinas ( GLA, 2010). A quarry terminal at Glensanda operates large bulk carriers with 130 to 270 arrivals per year (see Table 105).

Local life line ferries operate Kennacraig to Port Ellen and Port Askaig; Oban to Colonsay, Port Askaig, Craignure, Lismore, Coll, Tiree, Barra & South Uist; across the Sound of Mull and to Iona and Gigha. There are further council operated ferries at Corran, Lismore, Luing, Easdale, Fort William and Jura. Table 101 and Figure 79 demonstrate the complex interconnection between islands in this region, with 33 separate routes.

Table 101. West Regional ferry routes

ID	Port 1	Port 2	Statistics	Regions
0	Oban	Barra (Castlebay)	Yes	West
1	Kennacraig	Islay (Port Ellen)	Yes	West
2	Oban	Coll	Yes	West
3	Ardrossan	Arran (Brodick)	Yes	West
4	Oban	Mull (Craignure)	Yes	West
5	Tarbert	Arran (Lochranza)	Yes	West
6	Wemyss Bay	Bute (Rothesay)	Yes	West
7	Dunoon	Gourock	Yes	West
8	Tarbert	Portavadie	Yes	West
9	Tayinloan	Gigha	Yes	West
10	Lochaline	Mull (Fishnish)	Yes	West
11	Largs	Great Cumbrae (Cumbrae Slip)	Yes	West
12	Colintraive	Bute (Rhubodach)	Yes	West
13	Fionnphort	Iona (Baile Mor)	Yes	West
15	Islay (Port Askaig)	Jura (Feolin)	Yes	West
16	Siel (Cuan)	Luing	Yes	West
17	Nether Lochaber	Ardgour	Yes	West
18	Gourock	Kilcreggan	Yes	West
19	Lismore (Point)	Port Appin	Yes	West
20	Ellenabeich	Easdale	Yes	West
21	Renfrew	Yoker	Yes	West
22	Ardrossan	Larne	Yes	West - South West
23	Campbeltown	Ballycastle	Yes	West (Ireland)
24	Troon	Belfast	Yes	West - South West
25	Troon	Larne	Yes	West - South West
26	Tiree	Castlebay	No	West - North West
27	Coll	Tiree	No	West
28	Kilchoan	Lochboisdale	No	West - North West
29	Oban	Lismore	No	West
30	Oban	Colonsay	No	West
31	Kennacraig	Colonsay	No	West
32	Claonaig	Arran	No	West

(Source: Marine Scotland, 2011a)

4.11.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

There is no published information on the specific economic value of shipping to this region. Employment extracted from Office for National Statistics shows that employment in the shipping sector has a spread of jobs across all aspects of water transport, with the majority of jobs in the category 'Sea and Coastal Passenger Water Transport', with around 540 people employed full time in 2010 (see Table 102). This demonstrates the local aspect of water transportation which is short ferry journeys between islands and the mainland, with crews and support services established in local communities. This is in contrast to other regions where shipping has a more international or National reflection, with crews and support services derived from outside of the local region.

Table 102. West Regional shipping employment

SIC, 2007	Full-time Employees		Part-time Employees
	2009	2010	2009	2010
Sea and coastal passenger water transport ( SIC 50100)	566	537	29	46
Sea and coastal freight water transport ( SIC 50200)	88	49	2	8
Renting and leasing of passenger water transport equipment ( SIC 77341)	26	11	0	2
Renting and leasing of freight water transport equipment ( SIC 77342)	5	6	0	0
Total	685	603	31	56

(Source: ONS, 2011)

4.11.3 Future Trends

Traffic patterns have not substantially changed since 2005 other than a significant increase in cruise vessels visiting the area. Traffic of all types: passenger ferry, cargo, leisure and Government in small but significant quantity operate throughout this area either departing or arriving at local ports providing essential transport for the economy of the area ( GLA, 2010). Future developments are driven by global economics, ship design and the availability of port services.

4.12 Social and Community

4.12.1 Regional Activity

4.12.1.1 Demographics

The population of the West Region is summarised in Image 32 (in orange). The Image shows that the population of the West is slightly greater in the 10-14 to 20-24 age bands, but is lower than the national average for ages greater than 45 to 59, before increasing to greater than then national average again between 60 and 89. The overall average age in the West Region is 39 years old (the same as the national average). The total population in West Region is 1.67 million.

Image 32. Comparison of the Population of West Region with National Average

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

Image 33 shows the change in number of people of working age, pensionable age and children from 1996 to 2010. The chart shows a continual decline in the number of children over this period (by 14.4%, from 265,000 in 1996 to 227,000 in 2010) and a continual increase in the number of people of pensionable age (by 5.8%, from 251,000 in 1996 to 266,000 in 2010). The number of people of working age has changed only slightly over the total period (increasing by 0.6%, from 821,000 in 1996 to 826,000 in 2010). However, Image 33 shows that the working age population has fluctuated over the period, decreasing between 1996 and 2000 and 2004 and 2008, and increasing between 2000 to 2004, and 2008 to 2010.

Image 33. Change in Population 1996-2010 in West Region

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

4.12.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Median weekly gross income for full-time employees in the West region was £348.00 in 2001. By 2010, this had risen to £487.59, an increase of £139.59. Taking account of average inflation of 3.1% per year, this is an increase of 3.2% between 2001 and 2010. This is slightly higher than the national average (£478.39).

Table 103 shows employment data by industry sector for the West. The table shows that the greatest number of jobs are associated with Sectors Q (human health and social work activities) (17% of the total for 2010) and Sector G (wholesale and retail trade) at 15%. Other industry sectors accounting for more than 10% of jobs are in administrative and support service activities (N) at 10%. Less significant in the West are mining and quarrying (0.2%), water supply, sewerage, waste management and remediation activities (E) at 0.6%, and electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply (0.8%). Agriculture, forestry and fishing makes up 0.2% of all jobs, while accommodation and food service activities (I) account for around 7%. Jobs in arts, entertainment and recreation (R) make u p.a.most 3% of all jobs in the West.

Table 103. Employment data by industry sector in the West

Industry Sector	Full-time		Part-time		Total
	2009	2010	2009	2010	2009	2010
A. Agriculture, forestry and fishing	1,005	1,008	94	322	1,102	1,321
B. Mining and quarrying	1,028	1,282	30	34	1,055	1,320
C. Manufacturing	53,075	47,914	3,612	3,398	56,709	51,326
D. Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning supply	4,418	5,321	472	555	4,891	5,864
E. Water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities	5,356	4,246	175	93	5,533	4,345
F. Construction	39,683	34,778	2,464	1,972	42,151	36,767
G. Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles	63,447	61,711	51,034	51,704	114,483	113,418
H. Transportation and storage	30,625	27,526	5,259	4,486	35,879	32,030
I. Accommodation and food service activities	24,027	25,239	33,992	30,242	58,015	55,458
J. Information and communication	17,132	16,702	3,560	3,384	20,727	20,096
K. Financial and insurance activities	23,477	22,849	5,841	4,429	29,326	27,300
L. Real estate activities	9,781	7,919	2,234	1,931	12,029	9,871
M. Professional, scientific and technical activities	44,750	36,375	7,924	6,848	52,656	43,216
N. Administrative and support service activities	50,935	47,747	33,113	32,279	84,074	80,041
O. Public administration and defence; compulsory social security	47,418	48,265	10,273	10,848	57,689	59,115
P. Education	39,734	38,214	21,517	23,168	61,212	61,368
Q. Human health and social work activities	74,417	78,099	54,361	51,518	128,778	129,640
R. Arts, entertainment and recreation	9,992	9,468	10,194	11,021	20,196	20,500
S. Other service activities	9,240	9,582	5,578	5,295	14,823	14,882
Total	549,540	524,245	251,727	243,527	801,328	767,878

Notes: NOMIS statistics show 0 jobs for sectors T and U

(Source: ONS, 2011)

4.12.2.1 Crofting

Crofting can be defined as small-scale subsistence farming, a croft being a small unit of land which is often located on a larger estate ^[41] . Crofting land is often poor quality and holdings are small. Crofting is an important part of some communities in the West Region, with crofting taking part in Argyll, Bute and Tiree. There are 534 crofts in Argyll and Bute with 18,425 households in crofting communities. Tiree contains 275 crofts with 399 households (George Street Research, 2007). Despite the lower number of crofts in Tiree, crofting makes up similar proportions of overall income and income from crofting activities; 34.5% and £7,110 in Argyll and Bute, 34.83% and £7,500 in Tiree (Hilliam, 2007).

4.12.2.2 Health

The local authority with the highest population that rated their health as good or very good was Argyll & Bute (89.4% in 2001/2002 increasing to 90.4% in 2007/2008). The lowest proportion of the population rating their health as good or very good was in Glasgow City (80.2% in 2001/2002 and 83.6% in 2007/2008).

4.12.2.3 Equality

Table 104 presents the results from the index of deprivation for the West, for all datazones and coastal datazones. There are 241 coastal datazones in the West Region (14% of all datazones). The table shows that coastal zones are less likely to be in the 10% most deprived for education, skills and training (7% compared with 11%), employment (11% compared with 14%), income (11% compared with 15%) and housing (9% compared with 16%). Coastal datazones are also less likely to be in the 10% most affluent datazones for these key indicators, and for health. The average ranking for coastal datazones is higher for four of the five indicators suggesting coastal datazones are more affluent overall, but is slightly lower for housing. The data show that coastal datazones are more likely to be deprived than affluent overall, and across the individual indicators in the West. Overall, though the average ranking of coastal datazones suggests that they are less deprived than non-coastal datazones. This indicates that there are some coastal datazones that are much more deprived; investment into these datazones could have significant benefits.

Table 104. Index of deprivation for West

W	All Datazones
	Overall	Skills, Training and Education	Employ-ment	Income	Housing	Health
Min (most deprived)	34	1	4	1	2	1
Max (most affluent)	6180	6503	6494	6496	6500	6486
Average	2939	3187	2952	2892	2886	2846
10% most deprived (total)	27	183	240	254	261	255
10% most deprived (as % of all)	11%	11%	14%	15%	16%	15%
10% most affluent (total)	3	200	124	130	167	131
10% most affluent (as % of all)	1%	12%	7%	8%	10%	8%
W	Coastal Datazones
	Overall	Skills, Training and Education	Employ-ment	Income	Housing	Health
Min (most deprived)	34	66	8	68	54	59
Max (most affluent)	6180	6338	6480	6348	6489	6476
Average	2939	3552	3158	3200	2853	3059
10% most deprived (total)	27	17	27	26	22	37
10% most deprived (as % of all)	11%	7%	11%	11%	9%	15%
10% most affluent (total)	3	15	10	12	17	8
10% most affluent (as % of all)	1%	6%	4%	5%	7%	3%

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

4.12.2.4 Skills, training and education

There are 10 local authorities allocated to the West Region. Table 109 summarises data on the percentage of the population with a degree, with no qualification and receiving job-related training. The table shows the difference between the minimum and maximum result by local authority across the region.

The range of results given in Table 105 is greatest for the percentage with a degree, with minimum of 8% in 2004 (West Dunbartonshire) increasing to 12.5% in 2010 (North Ayrshire, with West Dunbartonshire increasing to 14.1%). The maximum values are held by local authorities who do not have coastal frontages.

Table 105. Summary of education and skills in the West

West	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010
Percentage with a degree (minimum)	8%	9.5%	9.7%	11%	12%	12%	13%
Percentage with a degree (maximum)	28%	29%	29%	33%	32%	32%	32%
Percentage with no qualifications (minimum)	8.1%	7.4%	7.9%	8.4%	8.2%	7.4%	7.6%
Percentage with no qualifications (maximum)	22%	24%	21%	22%	20%	20%	21%
Percentage receiving job-related training (minimum)	28%	27%	27%	25%	26%	25%	23%
Percentage receiving job-related training (maximum)	36%	34%	34%	31%	35%	33%	34%

(Source: Scottish Neighbourhood Statistics, 2011)

In terms of the population with no qualifications, the range is between 8.1% and 22% in 2004, and between 7.6% and 21% in 2010, showing very little overall change. The area with the highest proportion of the population with no qualifications is Glasgow City in both 2004 and 2010.

The areas offering the greatest proportion of job-related training in 2004 were inland local authorities such as East Dunbartonshire and East Ayrshire in 2010. The area offering the lowest rates of job-related training in 2010 was Argyll & Bute.

The minimum drive time to a college of Further or Higher Education in the West Region is an average of 13.4 minutes (Argyll and Bute). This is considerably shorter than the average for the West as a whole (88 minutes) and significantly less than the maximum of 100 minutes in Glasgow City, Inverclyde, and Renfrewshire amongst other local authority areas). All of these factors affect quality of life.

4.12.2.5 Access to services

Of the 10 local authorities in the West, the highest occupancy is in an inland authority East Dunbartonshire (at 99%), whilst the lowest occupancy rate is in Argyll & Bute (84%). This local authority also has the highest vacant spaces at 5.3%.

House prices vary considerably between local authorities in the West Region. Two coastal local authorities have mean house sale prices that are greater than the national average (Argyll & Bute and South Ayrshire). Figure 80 shows the difference between the local authorities with the three highest (and lowest) mean prices and the national average. North Ayrshire has some of the lowest mean house sale prices. Prices are also lower than the national average in Renfrewshire, Inverclyde and Glasgow City. The variation in mean house prices makes it difficult to compare house prices and average earnings, although North Ayrshire was recorded as having the second lowest percentage of disposable income spent on mortgage payments in the UK in 2011 at 17.8%. Of the ten most affordable local areas in Scotland, six are in the West Region, including the coastal local authorities of North Ayrshire, Inverclyde and South Ayrshire. Only one local authority in West Region falls into the least affordable areas, and this is not on the coast (East Renfrewshire) (Bank of Scotland, 2011). For first-time buyers, the West Region is one of the areas with the lowest average age and lowest house price to earnings ratio. The lowest house price to earnings ratios in Bank of Scotland (2011a) were in North Ayrshire (2.8) and South Ayrshire and Inverclyde (2.9).

Council house debt in the West Region averaged £8,054 per house in 2011, with a range from £5,880 (East Ayrshire) to £9,889 (Renfrewshire). The social sector in the West Region has failure levels of the SHQS around the national average (67% compared with the national average of 66%). Mean failure levels are higher for private sector dwellings (72% compared with the national average of 69%).

Table 106 shows the mean and median drive time to different services in the West Region, and the datazones with the shortest and longest drive times, by service type. These factors give an indication of the quality of life in the West Region. The data show considerable variation across the region between the shortest and longest drive times, although both the mean and median are towards the shortest times, suggesting that there are a few communities that are more isolated.

Table 106. Drive time to services in West Region

Service	Drive Time in Minutes
	Mean	Median	Shortest	Longest
GP	3.5	2.8	0.4	32
Petrol station	4.4	3.3	0.8	52
Post office	2.7	2.2	0.6	23
Primary school	2.8	2.3	0.8	25
Supermarket	4.5	3	0.7	253

(Source: Scottish National Statistics, 2011)

4.12.2.6 Community empowerment - Case Studies

Renton (West Dunbartonshire)

Together with local partners, Cordale community helped create more than 150 local jobs between 2001 and 2006, and its Employment Ladder initiative also provides skills and opportunities for school leavers who struggle to get jobs.

Isle of Gigha

The islanders set up the Isle of Gigha Heritage Trust in order to buy-out the island when the local laird put it up for sale. The trust managed to raise the £4million asking price through the help of the Scottish Land Fund and the Highlands and Islands Enterprise. Community development has been on-going, with the establishment of three wind turbines, which bring in revenues by selling energy back to the grid. The population is increasing, with more young people in the community and improvements to accommodation and establishment of new affordable homes (Scottish Government & COSLA, 2009).

4.12.2.7 Quality of life

When asked to rate the perception of their neighbourhood, the highest proportion rating it as good or very good in 2007/2008 was in Argyll & Bute (72.5%) and the lowest in Glasgow City (35.9%). In Argyll & Bute, the percentage of people ranking their neighbourhood as good or very good has increased from 55.8% in 1999/2000. In Glasgow City, the percentage has also increased but by a smaller amount (1.7%) from 34.2% (1999/2000). The percentage in Glasgow City did decrease to 32% (2001/2002) before increasing to 35.2% (2003/2004) and then decreasing again to 33.6% (2005/2006). The change across nine of the eleven local authorities in the West Region has been an increase. The largest overall increase is in Argyll & Bute (+16.7% between 1999/2000 and 2007/2008). Considering other coastal authorities, smaller increases have been seen in Renfrewshire (+4.1%), Inverclyde (+3.5%) and Glasgow City (1.7%). East Ayrshire showed a reduction (-0.4%) in the perception of neighbourhood as being very good or good between 1999/2000 and 2007/2008.

4.12.2.8 Energy and resource consumption

Table 107 shows the average and range of electricity consumption across domestic customers for 2009, and then the change between 2005 and 2009. The table shows that average consumption (per household) in the West Region was 5.0 MWh in 2009 (compared with an overall estimated average per household for Scotland of 5.7 MWh). A reduction in MWh consumed per household was seen in all local authorities, although the change is small.

Table 107. Electricity consumption in West Region

Statistic	Domestic Customer ( MWh per household)
Average consumption ( GWh, 2009)	5.0
Lowest Consumption	4.2
Local Authority area	East Ayrshire; West Dunbartonshire
Highest consumption ( GWh, 2009)	7.8
Local Authority area	Argyll & Bute
Largest reduction in consumption ( GWh, 2005-2009)	-0.7
Local Authority area	Glasgow City; Inverclyde
Smallest reduction in consumption ( GWh, 2005-2009)	-0.3
Local Authority area	East Ayrshire

(Source: based on Scottish National Statistics, using total electricity consumption by domestic
customers by local authority divided by occupied household spaces per local authority)

Table 108 shows the population considered to be in fuel poverty between 2004/2007 and 2007/2009 for the whole of the West Region. The table shows that those households where the highest income ( HIH) earner is 60+ are more likely to be in fuel poverty than the whole population in 2007/2009. At 41.1%, this is lower than the national average of 45.9% for this group. The percentage of HIH 60+ in fuel poverty has also increased over time. There is considerable variation across the region, with the highest percentage of HIH 60+ being in fuel poverty at 56% (Argyll & Bute) and the lowest being 31.8% (West Dunbartonshire). However Argyll & Bute does show an overall decrease of 1.6%.

Table 108. Population considered to be in fuel poverty in West Region

Population	% of Population in Fuel Poverty
	2004/2007	2005/2008	2007/2009
All	22.2%	23.3%	25.4%
Any disability or long term sick	19.5%	20.5%	19.0%
No disability or long term sick	25.4%	27.9%	31.7%
HIH 60+	38.9%	40.9%	41.1%
HIH under 60	12.6%	13.2%	13.2%
Female HIH	26.0%	28.1%	28.3%
Male HIH	19.6%	20.5%	20.6%

(Source: Scottish National Statistics, 2011)

4.12.3 Future Trends

Table 109 summarises the statistics and trends discussed above to give an indication of the likely future changes by indicator, comparing national with local trends (where data are available). There is much greater uncertainty over trends for the time period of 30 to 50 years and, in both cases, it is assumed that future trends follow recent and historic trends. The table only includes rows for which there are data at the regional level. For national projections where regional data are not available refer to Section 2.14.3.

Table 109. Summary of future trends in West Region

4.13 Telecomm Cables

4.13.1 Regional Activity

Three telecommunications cables connect the Scottish mainland to N. Ireland (Figure 81). A fourth cable (Hibernia A) passes through the West SORER, connecting UK, Ireland, USA and Canada, but does make a landfall in Scotland (Figure 81). The approximate landfall locations (note, not necessarily within this region) and capacity of these cables are shown in Table 110.

Table 110. Subsea telecommunication cables in the West Region

Cable	To/From	Capacity	Length of Cable in Region ( km)
Hibernia 'A'	Southport ( UK), Coleraine ( NI), Nova Scotia (Canada), Lynn Massachusetts ( USA)	1.92Tbps	92.8
Lanis 3	N.Ireland To Troon	6x565Mbps*	79.4
Scotland-N.Ireland 2	Larne To Girvan	565 Mb/s	47.4
Sirius North	Ardrossan To Carrickfergus	480Gbps	85.1

*= generic information for Lanis from http://www.iscpc.org/cabledb/North_Sea_Cable_db.htm, assumed applies to each branch)

(Sources: http://www.iscpc.org/cabledb/North_Sea_Cable_db.htm; http://www.cablemap.info/default.aspx; and http://www.submarinecablemap.com/)

4.13.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

There is currently no agreed method for valuing the services provided by cables as they form part of a wider infrastructure. Similarly although data exists for the telecoms industry as a whole the proportion of these employees associated with subsea telecommunication cables is unknown.

4.13.3 Future Trends

No specific information on future trends for this region was found. For national projections refer to Section 2.15.3.

4.14 Tourism

4.14.1 Regional Activity

West Scotland has a range of tourism sites, with historic/heritage attractions scattered throughout the region, as illustrated by Figure 82. The Island of Coll in the Inner Hebrides has been established as a basking shark hotspot (Speedie et al, 2009), whilst the Isle of Mull was the first to establish cetacean watching in 1989 and is the location of the Hebridean Whale and Dolphin Trust Visitors Centre ^[42] . It is of note that wildlife tourism has increased, even in times of recession (Scottish Government, 2010).

Marine and coastal tourism in particular is very important for Argyll and the Islets and this region has valuable marine and coastal resources. There are 6 Marine Special Areas of Conservation ^[43] , which are protected under the EU Habitats Directive. These areas cover reefs, saltmarsh and mudflats and seal hotspots (Benfield and McConnell, 2007). A survey found that the main reasons for visiting the area were scenery (89%) and wildlife (56%), with 73% of people expressing that the marine and coastal environment had been a very important factor when choosing to visit the area (Benfield and McConnell, 2007). The most popular marine and coastal activity in this area was coastal walks, followed by beach visits and wildlife watching boast trips ( Table 111); all three of these activities have the potential to be affected by offshore renewables projects. The most popular areas visited were Oban, followed by Mull, Tiree, Coll and Staffa (Benfield and McConnell, 2007).

Table 111. Percentage of visitor respondents taking part in different marine and coastal activities

Activity	% Visitor Participation
Coastal Walks	26
Beach Visit	24
Wildlife Watching Boat Trip	18
Boat Trip to Scenic Site	15
Cycling Around Coast	9
Visit to Viewpoint	8

(Source: Benfield and McConnell, 2007)

Many tourism sites are located in coastal areas, for example, around the coastline of the Isle of Arran. There are also a considerable number of historic/heritage attractions along the coast near Oban. Indeed, Figure 83 indicates that the region has many coastal listed buildings, as well as several historic ships and locations designated under the Protection of Military Remains Act and the Protection of Wrecks Act.

West Scotland also has a number of designated bathing waters along the West coast of the Firth of Clyde (see Figure 84). Other locations with this designation include Machrihanish and Ganavan Sands (both Argyll and Bute), which additionally have seaside awards.

Estimates of the numbers visiting the region can be based on information from Visit Scotland. Data from VisitScotland for 2009 indicate that:

• UK residents made 2.13 million trips to Greater Glasgow and Clyde, staying for 6.06 million nights and spending £4689 million. For the same year, overseas visitors made approximately 0.78 million trips, stayed for 5.08 million nights and spent around £222 million;
• UK residents made around 0.89 million trips, stayed 3.1 million nights and spent around £155 million in Ayrshire and Arran. In the same year, overseas visitors made approximately 0.13 million trips, stayed for 0.78 million nights and spent £46 million (VisitScotland, 2010); and
• UK residents made around 1.57 million trips, stayed for 6.0 million nights and spent around £325 million in Argyll, Loch Lomond, Stirling and Forth Valley. Overseas visitors made 0.29 trips, stayed for 1.26 million nights and spent around £325 million ^[44] .

The West Region is therefore important for both UK and international tourism. Given the number of attractions along the coast, much of this tourism is likely to be related to marine and coastal areas.

4.14.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

No information on regional economic value has been identified, with the exception of the tourist expenditure information highlighted above.

For employment, Benfield and McConnell (2007) give figures of 17,902 people employed in tourism related jobs in the Argyll and Islets region, whilst 334 people had jobs specifically related to the marine and coastal sector (figures from 2001, so must be taken as indicative). Given u p.a.ds trends, these figures may now be higher.

4.14.3 Future Trends

Wildlife tourism in the Argyll and Islets region, which includes cetaceans, seals, seabirds, sea eagles and basking sharks, is considered to be growing (Benfield and McConnell, 2007). Indeed a more recent study by the Scottish Government (2010) agrees with this trend.

For further discussion on general trends in tourism, see Section 2.16.3 (National Overview).

4.15 Waste Disposal

4.15.1 Regional Activity

The location of open, disused and closed dredge disposal sites in this region are shown in Figure 85. The total area of seabed used for dredge spoil disposal in this region, calculated from open disposal sites, is about 4.1 km ² ( Table 112).

Table 112. Area of seabed covered by open disposal sites in the West Region

Name of Disposal Site	Area of Seabed (Km²)
Campbeltown	0.157
Cloch Point	0.243
Port Ellen	0.103
Rothesay Bay	0.119
Brodick	0.382
Birch Point	0.382
Hunterston	0.381
Girvan	0.386
Ayr Bay	0.384
Garroch Head	1.528
Total	4.067

(Source: Based on Cefas data, 2011)

The licensed and actual tonnage of dredge spoil disposed of at open sites in this region in 2009/10 and 2010/11 are shown in Table 113.

Table 113. Licensed and actual dredge disposal tonnage at sites in the West Region

Origin of Dredge Spoil	Dredge Disposal Site	License Dates	Licensed Tonnage	Actual Tonnage
Ayr & Troon	Ayr Bay	15/04/09-14/04/10	100000	0
Ayr and Troon	Ayr Bay	14/04/10-13/04/11	100000	48110
Girvan	Girvan	15/09/10-14/09/11	20000	20000
Glasgow, Greenock & Hunterston	Cloch Point	01/06/09-31/05/10	783992	0
Glasgow, Greenock & Hunterston	Cloch Point	25/01/10-31/05/10	783992	0
Glasgow, Greenock & Hunterston	Cloch Point	01/02/10-31/08/10	783992	517040
Glasgow, Greenock & Hunterston	Cloch Point	08/09/10-07/09/13	2383485	0
River Kelvin	Cloch Point	06/12/11-05/12/12	18375	25667
Scotstoun, Govan & Inchgreeen	Cloch Point	22/03/10-21/03/11	99000	31628

(Source: Marine Scotland data, 2011a)

4.15.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

It is not possible to calculate the GVA associated with dredge spoil disposal (Baxter et al, 2011).

4.15.3 Future Trends

The Scottish National Planning Framework 2 (Scottish Government, 2009b) identified future port developments, which may require dredging, including at Hunterston, where there is the capacity to develo p.a.deeplansr container transhipment hub and maritime construction and decommissioning yard.

In addition, the NRIP identified several locations in this region which could potentially support the offshore wind and wave and tidal industries: Hunterston, Campbeltown, Inverclyde, Ayr and Troon. Of these sites, Hunterston, and Campbeltown/Machrihanish are 'first plans' sites identified for development in the immediate future to support the offshore wind industry. At Hunterston, the formation of a marine/renewables site would involve the construction of a new deep water quay. Campbeltown Harbour, which could be used for both assembly and operations and maintenance of offshore wind turbines, is undergoing improvements including the construction of a new deep water quay/new open piled pier, requiring increasing the dredge level from 5 to 9m, due for completion in December 2011 (Scottish Enterprise and Highlands and Islands Enterprise, 2010b).

4.16 Water Sports

4.16.1 Regional Activity

4.16.1.1 Surfing and windsurfing

The West coast of Scotland and the Hebrides are exposed to swell waves generated in the Atlantic Ocean and offer a range of West to North facing beach and reef breaks along the coasts of the Mull of Kintyre, Isles of Islay and Tiree ( SAS, 2009). Some of these spots are considered to be of very high quality, although the remoteness of the locations means that they are uncrowded most of the time ( SAS, 2009). A large number of windsurfing locations are also present in this region. The SAS (2009) report maps 17 surfing locations on Tiree, Islay and Kintyre and the Windsurf magazine 'beach guide' maps 21 locations along the Ayrshire coast and on Tiree, Islay and Kintyre. These locations are listed in Table 114 and Figure 86.

Table 114. Surfing and windsurfing locations in the West Region

West Coast Location	Surf Location	Windsurf Locations
Ayrshire coast		Girvan
		Turnberry
		Maidens
		Prestwick
		Troon beach (North and South)
		Ardrossan
		Helensburgh
		Largs
		Sailcoats
Tiree	Balephetrish	Crossapol
	Balevullin Bay	Gott Bay
	The Hough	Balevullin Bay
	The Maze	The Maze
	Port Bharrapol	The Green
	Balephuil	The loch
Islay	Ardnave Bay	Loch Indaal
	Saligo Bay	Tragh baile aonghais
	Machir Bay	Machir Bay
	Laggan Bay	Laggan Bay
	Lossit Bay
Kintyre	Caravans	Southend
	Macrihanish	Macrihanish
	Middle Beach
	Westport
	Graveyards
	Dunaverty

(Source: Based on SAS, 2009 and the Windsurf Magazine 'beach guide' 2011)

4.16.1.2 Angling

The SSACN's Offshore Wind SEA consultation response stated that Loch Etive and Sunart and Clyde are regions that are used extensively for sea angling. Although the Firth of Clyde has relatively poor fish stocks and is not capable of supporting regular sea angling charter activity, the local population size means there are reasonable numbers of local shore anglers who rely heavily on seasonal fish stocks such as mackerel. Own boat and charter boat angling is popular at other locations on the West coast of Scotland where there are a number of excellent sheltered lochs enabling safe comfortable fishing (Radford et al, 2009).

4.16.1.3 Scuba diving

The West Region is a popular scuba diving area. Dive spots are widespread through this region with a particularly high numbers of sites through the Firth of Clyde, Sound of Mull and Loch Linnhe ( Table 115), see Figure 87.

Table 115. The number of dive centres, charter boats and diving clubs found in the West Region

Facilities	Number
Dive Centres	12
Charter Boats	9
ScotSAC Branches	21
BSAC Branches	9

(Source: BSAC: http://www.bsac.com/; ScotSAC: http://www.scotsac.com; and http://finstrokes.com)

4.16.1.4 Small sail boat activities and sea kayaking.

Dinghy sailing is a popular activity in the sheltered lochs and bays of the West Region with a high density of coastal dinghy sailing clubs found in the Firth of Clyde and Clyde River (Figure 88). Sea kayaking in undertaken throughout the West Region with popular locations including the Firth of Lorn, Gulf of Corryvreckan, Sound of Jura and upper Firth of Clyde (Land Use Consultants, 2007) (Figure 89).

4.16.2 Regional Economic Value and Employment

Economic data was only available for windsurfing and recreational angling within this region.

4.16.2.1 Windsurfing

Tiree has a niche in outdoor activities. The Scottish Government's analysis of the responses to its Offshore Wind Draft Plan and SEA stated that 60 to 70% of the islands tourism is based on water sports such as surfing and kite surfing. In particular the island is a very important area for windsurfing. The UK's national windsurfing championship, the Tiree International Wave Classic, which is held annually in October, is of significance both for the sport and the local economy ( UKMMAS, 2010).

4.16.2.2 Angling

Radford et al (2009) estimated the sea angling activity and economic value in eight regions of Scotland. Two of these regions, Argyll and Lochaber and Glasgow and West, fall roughly within the West Region, but also incorporates the Southern part of the North West Region, hence the values may result in a slight overestimate of economic contribution.

The total estimated regional sea angling activity and expenditure within these two regions is shown in Table 116. Compared to other regions in the Radford et al (2009) study, Glasgow and the West had the greatest number of adult resident sea anglers (23,548) and the greatest number of angler days (269,783).

Table 116. Estimated regional sea angling activity and expenditure in West Region

Region	No. Resident Sea Anglers	Annual Sea Angler Days Spent in Region	% of total Activity Undertaken on the Shore	Total Annual Sea Angler Expenditure (£M)	% of total Expenditure Spent on Shore Angling	Number of Jobs Supported
Argyll and Lochaber	5825	252615	47%	22.6	40%	524
Glasgow and West	23548	269783	38%	24.1	36%	523

(Source: Radford et al, 2009)

The Firth of Lorne and the Sound of Mull has become the centre for common skate angling contributing over £15 million per year to the local economy. Lochs Sunart and Etive attract vast numbers of shore and boat anglers seeking spurdog, and this fishery is estimated to be worth £15 million per year (Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, 2008). The SSACN hold a spurdog tagging event in this area and estimate that the event held in November 2010 was worth £28,000 to the local economy (Scottish Sea Angling Conservation Network, 2010b).

As previously mentioned it is not possible to obtain employment figures for numbers directly involved in water sports or associated activities.

4.16.3 Future Trends

No regional detail on future trends were available, please refer to Section 2.18.3 for national projections.