News / One month to decide on Whalsay tunnel
A SPECIAL meeting of the council’s infrastructure committee is to be held next month in an attempt to speed up a decision on whether a tunnel linking the island of Whalsay to the Shetland mainland is a viable option.
Following an unsuccessful attempt by north isles councillor Laura Baisley yesterday (Wednesday) to move ahead with building a new ferry terminal at Whalsay’s North Voe, councillors unanimously agreed to consult on the tunnel option.
However after a move by the local councillor, a final decision is to be made within the month rather than being delayed until August.
Last month, to the shock of many folk on Whalsay, the council voted to wait six months before deciding on the islands’ future transport links after new information came forward on the likely cost of building tunnels.
This followed lengthy and repeated consultation meetings on the island where a clear majority had spoken in favour of building a new terminal at North Voe.
North Isles councillor Baisley spoke of the sense of betrayal that the community would feel if the council did not listen to its wishes and went through yet another round of consultation.
Councillors had not just lost the trust of Whalsay folk, but that of the whole Shetland community, she said.
But Lerwick South member Jonathan Wills told fellow councillors that they were “duty bound” to check out any new information. He said he could understand the exasperation, but insisted that this was not a conspiracy.
Shetland North councillor Alastair Cooper said it was essential for the local authority to look at the wider picture.
“Can we afford and sustain the services we have. I am concerned that we cannot continue the transport service to Whalsay with ferries, and if we continue to use ferries, then that will have an impact on the whole of Shetland.
“I want a Scandinavian tunnel consultant here in the chamber addressing this,” he said.
After Mrs Baisley’s attempt to get a majority for the North Voe option was voted down 14 to six, North Isles councillor and Whalsay resident Josie Simpson proposed speeding up the process in an attempt to heal the wounds opened by the whole saga.
His proposal for a delegation of councillors to meet with Scandinavian tunnel experts in Glasgow on 1 and 2 March and have a special council meeting shortly thereafter to decide whether a tunnel to the island is an option worth further research was unanimously approved.
He also asked the council’s finance team to compare the long term cost of ferries and tunnels and establish at what point the tunnel option would be become the more cost effective.
Fifteen Whalsay residents attended the meeting, some of them witnessing events via a videolink to a separate room as the council chamber was so packed.
After yesterday’s decision, one of the men commented: “I was kind of disappointed. I feel the council is just holding up this tunnel idea to the people of Whalsay when it’s something they can’t deliver.
“I don’t think the money will ever be there for it, especially in the short term. They are proposing to get a price off a Norwegian tunnelling expert, but I can’t see that being anything like the final price as it seems such a complex thing.”
Discussions about the future transport link for Whalsay began six years ago with a detailed STAG (Scottish Transport Appraisal Guidance) consultation deciding against a tunnel.
Last year the community held two public meetings where the majority came down in favour of a terminal at North Voe, which is currently untouched by development.
However councillors have been subject to a determined campaign to find an alternative to North Voe from a group of islanders, who initially suggested an alternative design for a terminal at Symbister and then came forward with competitive prices from Norwegian tunnelling consultant Per Arne Moen, who suggested an underground link could be built for around £35 million.
UK tunnel consultant Andrew Sloan told the council’s infrastructure committee earlier this month that the final cost would probably be more than £110 million.
In December islanders were told by infrastructure director Gordon Greenhill that there would be no more consultation.
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