Scalloway harbour redevelopment planning delayed
Any plans to rejuvenate Scalloway harbour will have to wait a little longer, after delays from an consultancy firm were shared at a harbour board meeting this afternoon (Tuesday).
A report considering different business options for the port was expected by March but — held up in part by the volume of responses to a consultation — will now not be ready until the summer.
After two years of loss-making it is hoped the report will eventually present a view of Scalloway harbour’s future — and what investments, if any, might return it to profitability.
Davie Sandison, councillor for Shetland central, said the delay was “a bit disappointing”.
“It’s really important that we’re able to get to a point where we’re able to make some decisions,” he added.
But with a combination of weather, international quota agreements and fishing accidents also depressing landings last year, others were less optimistic about the influence of local government decisions on the port.
“It’s not very clear that there’s much within our control,” said John Smith, the council’s director of infrastructure.
The council ran Scalloway at a £600,000 loss this financial year, according to the latest ports and harbours budget.
As well as a gradual decline in whitefish landings, Scalloway harbour suffered a dramatic setback last year when Scottish Sea Farms closed its salmon factory and started bringing well-boats into Lerwick instead.
“That basically bottomed out their income,” said the council’s finance manager, Paul Fraser, after today’s meeting. “It just dropped like a stone.”
Instead of discussing the consultancy report, councillor’s floated their own ideas — from “discounts” incentivising fishermen, to better advertising coaxing visiting cruise ships.
Each of these, officials said, had promise but also potential drawbacks.
The council are already gathering a “media portfolio” for advertising Scalloway to cruise ships, said the council’s harbour master Greg Maitland. But that risks crowding other boats out.
“These are multi-use ports, and if we fill up the cruise boats through the summer months we’ll be potentially losing business just by encouraging one sector,” said Mr Maitland.
Meanwhile changing the council’s fees to encourage more fish landings in Scalloway — as well as raising concerns about infringing competition law — might precipitate a “race to the bottom,” according to finance manager Mr Fraser.
“It’s definitely a lever that would be open to us,” he added. “But clearly we would have to be mindful of where that business is going now, and how will those organizations who are perhaps seeing that business coming through their doors might react.
“There’s something to be kind of picked through quite carefully there.”
The consultants commissioned for the report, Arch Henderson, did not respond to a request for comment about the delay; port engineer Andrew Inkster said it was “purely a timing issue”.
“The consultants are making good progress [but are] possibly a victim of circumstances. We received a great deal of feedback through the public consultation,” he added, “and this has entailed a little bit more work to capture all of that.”
• Read the full story in this week’s issue of The Shetland Times, out Friday 21st February
