JustMe Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 So according to today's Shetland Times Jonathan Wills has been laughed at for proposing a chain ferry for Bressay. Now I am not saying it would work and I certainly am not saying it would never suffer from weather disruption but surely when a councillor with some experience of marine matters proposes something it should at least be given serious consideration. Been working for a long time on the Torpoint Ferry between Plymouth and Cornwall. Yes the Torpoint ferry gets cancelled due to weather once in a while.....as does the Tamar Bridge upstream.....and once in a while the ferries have to stop to let something like a nuclear submarine go past but it works so why not give Councillor Wills a chance!. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlos Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Past consideration of chain ferries in the STAG appraisal.http://www.zettrans.org.uk/consultation/documents/ExecSummary.pdfAccurate information?"the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) code of practice will only consider issue of a certificate allowing a chain ferry to operate in Category A-C waters; Bressay Sound is categorised as a Category D water;" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Notwithstanding MCA regs it could probably be made to work, but with location, climate, tides etc its difficult to see that it could be a "better" service however you look at it, than the present one. Not inclined to laugh at Wills for this one, unlike some of his previous suggestions, it was worthy of consideration, but I'm inclined to the opinion that either the status quo or a tunnel are the only all round reasonably viable options for Bressay. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JustMe Posted August 29, 2014 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 Past consideration of chain ferries in the STAG appraisal.http://www.zettrans.org.uk/consultation/documents/ExecSummary.pdf Accurate information? "the Maritime and Coastguard Agency (MCA) code of practice will only consider issue of a certificate allowing a chain ferry to operate in Category A-C waters; Bressay Sound is categorised as a Category D water;" But come the 19th September the MCA may be irrelevant. Meanwhile some of the points raised in the report may be inaccurate and anyway it seems to be an old document judging by the fares quoted. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavi Ugl Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 I wouldn't say I'd laugh at him for the idea but I did, and still do, feel it was a non-starter, even a bad idea. Tunnels are the answer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fionajohn Posted August 29, 2014 Report Share Posted August 29, 2014 if jonathan wills wishes to contact me i can offer him an alternative plan but similar to his that i have been working on Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver-lining Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 tunnel,tunnel,tunnel stop spending public money on divvy useless projects and do something useful with it that will benefit the public and the tourists and before anybody pipes up and says there is no money,well firstly there is money believe me there is and secondly if the S.I.C stopped wasting huge sums of public money on utter crap then there would be even more money and then maybe they could build another tunnel to link yell and unst CrunchieSquirrel and lilackirsty 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorrie Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 Nah. Stick the tunnels somewhere the sun don't shine. Like in a tunnel, maybe. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver-lining Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 yes yes quite correct,a tunnel is a crap idea lets keep doing things the mongy way wasting money and time is fab, great,brilliant,wonderful,look at what you could of won ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scorrie Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 This is far too easy........... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CrunchieSquirrel Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 What about the bridge idea or was it too complicated and expensive to do it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silver-lining Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 Na not too expensive or complicated its just that the council are very,very stupid,put it this way if by magic a bridge miraculously appeared over night they would complain that its in the way of the ferry route and have to have a really long expensive meeting lasting many months discussing how best to sail round it ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kavi Ugl Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 (edited) Yeh, legal disputes etc, etc...... I'm not in favour of bridges though due to Shetland's stormy winters. I remember coming over the Burra and Trondra bridges in a dark, stormy, seriously windy night a couple of years ago and it wasn't nice!. I was down to 20mph and my car was still being swapped about.... Edited August 30, 2014 by Kavi Ugl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ghostrider Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 The bridge fell at the first hurdle due to the stupidity of the builders managing to piss off the owners of the ground it was going to be built on right from the start. That sort of scenario isn't usually thought to be condusive to a favourable outcome, but our great leaders of the day apparently believed differently, if wrongly, as the bill we had to foot on their behalf evidenced. A bridge probably could have come, had the ground owners been very nicely sweet talked to by the builders, co-operation established on identifying the best location and site design, and a mutually acceptable bridge design jointly developed - probably some kind of lower level opening one would have been most practical and sensible. It may well still materialise though - the SIC just need to keep on hiking up the ferry fares until the the LPA judge the level of tolls they'd need to charge to use a bridge would be less than the fare, and they'll probably build it themselves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tirvaluk Posted August 30, 2014 Report Share Posted August 30, 2014 The bridge was going to be built with legs in the main navigation channel for the harbour. The LPA told the council this at an early stage but were ignored. If I remember correctly the LPA had a tunnel to Bressay priced to show the council it could be built as cheap.Agree with Kavi Ugis comments about bridges in bad weather. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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