The Liberal Democrats have said there could be no project “more worthy” for the Scottish government’s first tranche of infrastructure bonds than inter-island tunnels.
In a statement published this morning, Shetland’s current MSP Beatrice Wishart and her hopeful successor Emma Macdonald jointly set out plans to find the financing for tunnels from the government.
Bonds are a form of loan used to finance long-term investments. The Scottish government has committed to a £1.5 billion bond programme over the life of the next parliament, ostensibly to support infrastructure projects.
“The Scottish Government themselves have said that these new bonds are to raise money for infrastructure projects,” said Mrs Macdonald.
“I cannot think of any project that could be more worthy of that support than the campaign for tunnels in Shetland. This should be a no-brainer for Scottish ministers to agree to.”
Earlier this month the council appointed three companies to begin modelling a “test case” tunnel across Yell Sound. That followed the appointment of two other consultancies in the summer with experience in the latest Faroese inter-island tunnels.
“The development of tunnels in the Faroe Islands has brought about transformational change, reversed population decline and slashed travel times,” said Ms Wishart.
“We know that fixed links work, as we have seen what the bridges to Burra and Trondra have done to reverse depopulation, and we know that our communities in Shetland want to get them done.
“Officials and ministers based hundreds of miles away from Shetland cannot properly understand what is needed here – but by agreeing to back our plans with the new Scottish government bonds, they can play a positive role as we get on with achieving tunnels for our islands. We have a strong local team making the case here – all we are lacking is the full support of our government.”
Mrs Macdonald added: “Tunnels for Shetland should be seen as a ‘when’ rather than an ‘if’ – so there is no good reason for the Scottish Government to sit on its hands when it could back us fully now.”