Papa Stour set for new accessible ferry shelter

PAPA Stour is in line for a new accessible ferry waiting shelter, after plans to demolish the current one were approved.

Shetland Islands Council had applied for planning permission to pull down the existing shelter and to erect a single-storey replacement.

The new shelter will have an access ramp, as well as an accessible toilet and shower room.

The works are estimated to cost the SIC around £60,000.

It comes as the council looks to improve the accessibility of its waiting facilities at ferry terminals across the isles.

Planning permission was approved in 2024 for the installation of an accessible toilet at Grutness pier, in Virkie, which links Mainland to Fair Isle.

And work got under way in Foula last year to erect a single-storey waiting room with access ramp at its ferry terminal, with the island without a waiting room at that time.

The Papa Stour project comes as a major effort to turn its abandoned and disused kirk into a community centre and visitor hub also continues.

The island, which has a population of around 20, was restored to a normal electricity supply late last year after months of using mobile generators.