Transport / Tunnels to be taken forward for further exploration – but Fetlar fixed link ruled out for now
THE IDEA of tunnels to Yell, Unst, Bressay and Whalsay are to be taken forward by Shetland Islands Council (SIC) for further consideration.
However a push by North Isles councillor Robert Thomson for a Yell-Fetlar tunnel to be included in the appraisals was outvoted.
He said it was “unfair” to rule out a Yell-Fetlar tunnel at this stage, especially when there were no cost estimates.
A major report on Shetland’s future inter-island transport, presented to councillors for the first time on Wednesday, had recommended that a Fetlar tunnel should be discounted for now due to concerns over affordability and value for money.
The draft strategic outline case report recommended that the only other option not to be taken forward was to ‘do nothing’ on the Bluemull Sound ferry route.
Following the vote against Thomson’s Fetlar amendment, councillors approved all the recommendations regarding the options to take forward for further consideration.
The next stage for consultants Stantec is an outline business case, which will look at the options in greater detail. There would also a full business case later in the process.
Councillors also approved a spend of up to £990,000 from Crown Estate revenue which would go towards examining the tunnel possibilities included in the report. This work will include design work, “buildability” and financial models.
The long-awaited draft strategic outline case report explores all of Shetland’s inter-island transport routes, apart from Fair Isle, which has been covered by the island’s ongoing ferry replacement project. It also does not cover air services.
More details on the indicative tunnel proposals included in the report can be found here.
At a meeting of the full council on Wednesday Stantec’s Stephen Canning said it was vital to create a “robust case for change”.
He said there had been around 1,000 responses to a public consultation on the topic.
The report examined the issues the public face with day-to-day ferry services, and some of the potential options for change.
The options presented in the report, which also included enhanced ferry services, are only high level and do not come with any cost estimates.
But a key message from the SIC was that funding is the big uncertainty right now, particularly for tunnels – with private finance regarded as a possible avenue.
Thomson however spoke against the recommendation to discount a tunnel to Fetlar for now, adding that he received representation from the island’s community council on the matter.
There was a proposed tunnel route in the report, but Thomson questioned if it was the most suitable alignment.
Canning said it was Stantec’s view that a Fetlar tunnel should be “put to one side for the time being”.
In response chief executive Maggie Sandison said one factor was that the SIC needs to think about the “package of proposals” when it comes to engagement with potential investors and funders.
She said the SIC has to look “realistic and credible” as an organisation and said there was a risk around including an option that the local authority knew would be unaffordable.
“I think there’s a risk to the whole programme if we begin to weaken the strength of the other projects,” Sandison said.
The report also highlighted that the focus on Fetlar should be on the ferry service in the more immediate term.
Convener Andrea Manson also said if the SIC was going to ask consultants to look at everything it could add more delays to process.
She said there was a risk of being “yet another council that doesn’t get anything done”.
Other North Isles councillors Duncan Anderson and Ryan Thomson supported having a Fetlar fixed link in the project for now.
But a vote on Thomson’s amendment gained only four votes in favour, with 15 going with the recommendations in the report.
Meanwhile Shetland Central member Ian Scott said he believed the SIC was in “grave danger of raising expectations” regarding fixed links – “for these expectations to be dashed because there will be no money at the end of the day”.
He suggested government may not be interested in funding tunnels, while referring to financial difficulties with projects like the HS2 rail link and the A9.
Sandison said while funding is probably the “biggest challenge”, the benefits of tunnels would be felt not just in Shetland but in the wider economy too.
The report highlights the SaxaVord Spaceport in Unst for example, as well as the aquaculture and fishing exports which come from the North Isles.
Sandison also said the Scottish Government is supportive of the council exploring private sector investment.
During debate environment and transport committee chair Moraig Lyall said the report was “just a stepping stone on the way to our final destination”.
She said it has underlined a “real need” for connectivity to be improved and developed, with the report clearly pointing to fixed links being a feasible element of that.
Shetland Central member Davie Sandison also stressed a need to communicate with the community clearly about the process, saying that folk need to understand it is not a “straight forward easy fix”.
Meanwhile Stephen Leask said the majority of people in Bressay are in favour of looking at a fixed link, highlighting the lack of facilities on the island such as a care home or school.
He also said tunnels for Yell and Unst could also potentially reduce costs for the council and the NHS in terms of their estate.
SIC leader Emma Macdonald said she understood people’s frustrations in communities regarding ferry service reliability.
But she added that the council needs a “credible and evidenced case for change”.
Macdonald also said in her view the topic is about “people” – supporting folk to live on islands, and tackling depopulation.
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