SHETLAND Islands Council has said that doing nothing ‘is not an option’ as it prepares to choose preferred options for its project to connect eight island communities.
The current inter-island ferry network is facing operational problems, including increased operating costs, an ageing fleet, difficulties in crew attraction and retention, and vehicle deck capacity issues.
To address these challenges, Shetland Islands Council commissioned the Inter-Island Transport Connectivity Programme (IITCP) in 2024, tasked with exploring a range of options.
In June last year, the council agreed to commission a fixed link model study from consultants Stantec and COWI – calling upon their experience in tunnelling across the world, including in comparable locations in Scandinavia and using Yell Sound as a ‘test tunnel’.
That study estimated that building a tunnel between mainland Shetland and Yell would take eight years to complete and come at a cost of £402 million.
Shetland Islands Council leader Emma Macdonald said, “When islands have fixed links like causeways, bridges and tunnels, they experience repopulation, economic growth and a reduction in average age. Doing nothing is not an option in Shetland. We have islands depending on old, unreliable, carbon-heavy ferries, which are depopulating and continually at risk of ferry breakdowns.”
The council will next month consider the inter-island transport connectivity programme’s outline business case and choose a preferred option for each route.
Andy Sloan, executive VP UK and international at COWI, added, “We know that the tunnels can be built. From an engineering perspective it is relatively straightforward. The real challenge is whether we as a nation take a short-term or long-term view.
“As our global experience tells us, people will be attracted to live in remote and rural places if they are easy to get to, easy to get around, digitally connected and with job opportunities and an affordable standard of living. Fixed links can change how people in Scotland live, work and travel. They can reverse depopulation, provide vital services and support economic growth. Once Scotland builds its first tunnel, it will never stop.”
