The Fetlar community was extensively consulted during 2008 on their views as to a way forward for the island. From these consultations, a Community Development Plan was put together. Now in 2011 several key targets have been achieved or will be by year end, so the original plan is currently undergoing a major revision and we will again be consulting the community on this draft revision to the plan in the autumn.

Our plans and goals

The vision for the future was set out in the main aims of the Development Plan, implemented in early 2009. These were to: 

• Create a resilient and sustainable community
• Grow the population to 70 within 5 years and 100+ within 10 years
• Ensure the ongoing availability of housing
• Safeguard provision of local services and food supplies
• Create jobs
• Reduce carbon emissions meeting or exceeding those targets called for within the Shetland Islands Council's Corporate plan.

Where Are We Now?

Population Increase

Since the launch of the Development Plans we have increased the population to 70, hitting that target in early 2010 meeting our five year population target over 3 years early. We have attracted several families with young children into the island and while the school is just providing nursery education at present it will go back to providing primary education by August 2011 at the latest. The children in the community at present will ensure the provision of the school for the next 10 years. We anticipate the population to be over 70 by the end of 2011

Housing

We are working with owners of property on the island to bring some vacant housing stock onto the market and are also working on a project to provide "gateway housing". This will allow someone moving in, somewhere to stay while they refurbish a property, or have a new house built. There will also be opportunities for people to access these houses to try island life before committing to a move.

Land

Another project under development is to make available both outdoor and plots plots to allow people to grow food all year round. Especially those who may not have access to a suitable area of land.

Breakwater

Zoom imageFetlar Ferry Terminal. A new breakwater and pier is under construction. The contractors should be finished around the end of 2011 or at the latest early 2012.. This new facility will have a significant effect on the way ferry services can potentially be delivered. It should also secure ferry jobs on the island.  The berthing facility which is also part of the development has the potential to allow for the first time ever Fetlar residents to have a modern creel or scallop boat based in the isle. By offering easy access to undeveloped sites on Fetlars North coast it offers real possibilities in the Aquaculture industry. To keep up with construction visit our gallery.

Broadband

The broadband pilot project has for the first time allowed everyone on the island access to decent quality broadband which makes it useable with e.g. VPN's as used commonly by companies for remote workers. The improved service due to be piloted from Autumn 2011 will offer a basic 10mb symetric connection, with a 25mb option. Businesses interested in higher speeds should contact either Fetlar Developments or Shetland Telecom. BT has also upgraded their service to an up to 8mb service, but due to the location of the exchange, most users would get significantly ower speeds.

Carbon Reduction

Zoom imageAll Electric Vehicle. The reductions in carbon emissions are to be targeted on several fronts. Firstly the growing project will ensure that as much food as possible is grown locally, drastically reducing food miles. The Development company will be working closely with the Energy Saving Trust (EST) to help householders reduce their home energy usage by undertaking home energy checks and offering advice on better insulation and heating systems.

The Development Company is also developing a project to link an electric minibus to a wind turbine. This would provide carbon free on island transport and the turbines excess output would be used to provide heating for the school.

Next Steps

There are exciting and challenging times ahead for the island and no doubt there will be setbacks on the way, but we feel we have made a really good start which we aim to build significantly upon our early success.