Heather Woodbridge to give evidence on Shetland fixed links May 20
Heather Woodbridge, the leader of Orkney Islands Council, is due to give evidence to the UK Government's Scottish Affairs Committee on May 20 as it examines bridges, tunnels and other connections. The hearing on shetland-related fixed links comes after local councils, transport planners and island residents have already set out competing ideas for how islands might be connected.
The committee is looking at which communities, if any, would benefit from bridges and tunnels and what role the UK Government could have in supporting them. Some locals have already written to the inquiry in support of fixed links, and the council testimony is set to add an official view to a debate that has moved from speculation to named proposals and costed studies.
Orkney Islands Council
Orkney Islands Council has been focusing on replacing its ageing ferry network, while its marine services department spent almost £20,000 on early-stage fixed link studies without informing councillors or senior officials. That spending has already pushed fixed links from an abstract idea into a question about how island transport plans are being tested and who inside the council knew what.
The inquiry itself was first announced in October last year. By the time Woodbridge appears, the committee will already have evidence on routes and costs, including a 2021 report on a connection between Rousay and Egilsay and a 2022 study on a bridge network linking Eday, Faray and Westray.
Rousay, Egilsay and Westray
The 2021 report put the Rousay-Egilsay connection at £26.6 million, with the figure potentially rising to £40 million. The 2022 study priced the Eday-Faray-Westray bridge network at between £175 million and £200 million, giving the committee two very different scales to weigh when it asks which projects could be delivered and supported.
Highlands and Islands Transport Partnership has backed "targeted fixed links" in written evidence, saying they should focus on places where they can relieve pressure on ferry services, offer "transformational benefits" and have community support. It gives the Rousay-Egilsay connection as one example, setting out a narrower approach than a blanket commitment to connect every island.
Neil Kermode
Neil Kermode, a chartered civil engineer who has studied the history and impact of the Churchill Barriers for over 30 years, has argued that low bridges are "Generally an under-considered option." He said, "Such structures do not need to be grandiose but could provide interconnection comparatively cheaply."
Kermode also says Burray and South Ronaldsay are the two notable exceptions to population decline experienced by Orkney's outer isles, and he has discussed the possible role of tidal energy devices if they are incorporated into fixed links such as bridges or causeways. For readers in Orkney and Shetland, the practical test now is whether the committee turns those ideas into support for a particular route, or leaves councils to keep studying them on their own.
