News / Emergency repairs completed on Fair Isle ferry slipway
SHETLAND Islands Council has completed emergency repairs to the Fair Isle ferry slipway after defects were found on its rails during an insurance inspection.
Port engineering team leader Andrew Inkster told Wednesday’s harbour board meeting that the work is expected to cost around £140,000.
The problem was found during an inspection in April and the repair work was completed by the end of September, with no disruption to the service.
Councillor Alastair Cooper questioned why the defects were only picked up by insurers and not by SIC staff.
Inkster said he had not been aware of any reports on the condition of the rails, with infrastructure director Maggie Sandison saying that the council is now doing “more planned maintenance than reactive maintenance”.
The harbour board also approved the draft full business case for rebuilding the Scalloway fish market, which was also discussed at Tuesday’s development committee meeting as concerns over its future capacity were raised.
Chairwoman Andrea Manson also agreed to bring forward an outline business case for the disposal, renovation or demolition of Toft pier to the harbour board’s meeting on 6 December.
It had previously been set to be presented to the board in February, with Cooper saying that a new Toft pier would be of benefit to the local shellfish industry.
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