Survey on air and ferry services for outer north isles residents

Residents of Orkney’s outer north isles communities are being asked for their experiences of air and ferry services to and from the isles as part of work by Orkney Islands Council to build a case for future investment in the county’s internal ferries and harbours.

A survey has been launched for residents of isles with both an air and ferry service - Eday, North Ronaldsay, Sanday, Stronsay or Westray.

The survey is being run by Peter Brett Associates (PBA), who’ve been commissioned by Orkney Islands Council to develop the ‘Outline Business Case’ for new ferries and supporting infrastructure for the Outer North Isles (ONI).

Transport Manager, Naomi Bremner, said: “We’re really wanting to hear from people how the air and ferry services are currently used, and any problems or issues residents have with them.

"This is the next stage of work that is required to establish the preferred package of vessels, services and infrastructure across the network, building on the Strategic Business Case (SBC) work, which was presented to communities in June 2016."

Chair of the Council’s Development and Infrastructure Committee, Graham Sinclair, said: “It’s vital that we understand fully for each community the problems and challenges that they experience with the present ferry and air services so we can build a robust case for future investment in the network. I’d urge everyone eligible to complete the survey to take the time to help us build this case.”

The survey has been developed which should take no more than 20-25 minutes to complete and should be completed once only by any Eday, North Ronaldsay, Sanday, Stronsay or Westray resident aged 16 or over. The survey can be found online or hard copies are available from:

• Eday (Coop Shop)
• North Ronaldsay (Airfield)
• Sanday (Link Office)
• Stronsay (Link Office)
• Westray (Development Trust Office)

The information gathered from this survey will only be used by Orkney Islands Council, or PBA on its behalf, for the purposes of this research and will not be shared with any other parties.

The survey closes on 4 April 2019.

Anyone with queries relating to the study can contact Fiona Duncan at PBA  or email the Council's Transport team.