Shetland Islands Council has revealed new plans which will implement a new alternative engineering solution for the Ulsta and Toft ferry piers.

The Council’s Ferries Service has been in discussions with contractors and has developed the news plans to allow work to go ahead while minimising disruption to services.

The Council has said there were "significant concerns" among business and private users regarding the disruption which would have been caused by cancelled sailings later this month.

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Contractors and Ferries staff have agreed to a solution to ease the worries of those involved.

Off-site engineering will now be carried out, which will limit the impact on the Yell Sound service, while some of the work will also be deferred till early next year.

Although this will amount to an additional cost of around £6,000 for Shetland Islands Council, Phil Crossland, Director of Infrastructure Services, says he believes this is the most appropriate way to go forward.

"We’re pleased that a solution has been found which will satisfy both the requirement for this important maintenance to go ahead, and the needs of the community, and I’d like to thank both our own staff and the contractors for coming up with an alternative approach," he said.

(IT)