Council / Go-ahead for Cullivoe road construction after business case approval
COUNCILLORS have given their final approval for the new Cullivoe road project, which comes with a revised estimated cost of £13.3 million.
However around £2.4 million of this covers asphalt surfacing which will be carried out in-house by the SIC’s roads team, which comes from existing budgets.
A full business case (FBC) went front of councillors on Tuesday which now paves the way for construction to begin this summer.
A previous FBC was approved by councillors in 2021 but the latest version included revised costs, informed by a tendering process.
CW Johnston Plant Ltd is the preferred bidder for the civils works.
A report to councillors said around £700,000 of the total cost has already been spent on preparatory works such design and land purchase.
The spend outwith the council stands to come to around £10 million, with around £8.9 million of this attributed to the civil works.
It will be covered by both reserves and borrowing.
It is expected that construction in Yell could get underway in the summer, and that it could extend over a two-year period.
A new two-lane road from Gutcher to Cullivoe on a new alignment is the preferred option.
The project aims to address safety concerns on the existing single track road, and to support the local community and businesses – with the road an important link to the Cullivoe pier, where fish is landed.
At Tuesday’s meeting of the full council there was a warm welcome for progress on the project, with some saying it was an important piece of national infrastructure given the role the road plays in exporting landed and farmed fish.
Environment and transport committee chair Moraig Lyall also said the new road could potentially link to any future tunnels which may serve the North Isles.
The business case highlights how the piece of road was designed and constructed by the Highland Destitution Relief Board in 1851, the work being undertaken by the residents of North Yell.
“It was designed for use by horse and cart with the only improvements since being localised widening, passing places and a bitumen bound surface,” it added.
“Considering this it has coped remarkably well with the level of traffic loading to which it has been subjected.”
However, concern was raised in 2018 regarding the deterioration in the condition of the road and the implications this had for road safety.
At Tuesday’s meeting one of the first questions was raised by Shetland South member Allison Duncan, who asked why the project had to be tendered twice.
It was revealed earlier this year that the work had to be re-tendered after “certain seriously compromising anomalies” were identified in the process.
But Duncan was told his question would have to be answered in private.
The councillor also asked about the increase in the estimated cost of the project, which a number of years ago sat at around £5 million before rising more recently to £9.9 million.
“As with any project, once the tendering process begins we just have to accept the figures that come back,” assets, commissioning and procurement manager Robert Sinclair responded.
“We can make a robust estimate as we can…but the acid test is when it goes to market.”
Chief executive Maggie Sandison also highlighted that Shetland’s “saturated market” can affect costs too.
Lerwick North and Bressay councillor Stephen Leask also suggested the cost was always going to rise over the years, especially with international factors affecting prices of materials.
He said councillors need to get a “grasp on reality” and added that further delays would see costs rise again.
Shetland Central member Davie Sandison asked if all external funding avenues had been exhausted, with the chief executive saying the “availability of funds for doing large capital projects is significantly reduced”.
“There has been no replacement for European funds, other than the Levelling Up programme which has now ceased,” she added.
Concern was also raised from Shetland Central member Catherine Hughson over the knock-on effect the SIC doing road surfacing in-house would have on other scheduled work.
Roads manager Neil Hutcheson said it would effectively mean a “year’s delay” to some work.
During debate Lyall said the condition of the road has hampered the “go-ahead” of Cullivoe community’s aspirations for the future, adding it was “incumbent” on the SIC to provide suitable infrastructure.
Responding to concerns over the impact on other road maintenance, the councillor – who highlighted the SIC receives around £500,000 a year in income from the Cullivoe pier – also said the council has successfully carried out large resurfacing jobs in recent times while continuing with day-to-day jobs.
Hughson said she was “disappointed” that businesses operating in the North Isles did not wish to contribute financially to the project, but she acknowledged they might see a road development as a statutory function of the SIC.
The business case said the possibility of salmon farm company Cooke Aquaculture, which uses the Cullivoe pier, making a financial contribution to the project had been discussed.
But it was confirmed that the company would not be contributing.
Davie Sandison also said the road link to the Cullivoe pier was of importance beyond Shetland, describing it as a “critical part of not just Shetland’s infrastructure, but Scotland’s infrastructure”.
This view was backed by North Isles member Ryan Thomson, who also noted how income from the pier could potentially increase with a new road in place.
Meanwhile Robbie McGregor expressed frustration that “due process, governance and risk management seems to get in the road of progress” as he referred to delays with the project.
He questioned if savings could be made with reduced “bureaucracy” – but SIC convener Andrea Manson said with public money involved “we need to make sure we get it right”.
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