The North Isles is a group of three islands to the North East of the mainland of Shetland: Yell, Unst and Fetlar.  They are connected to each other through a triangular ferry service route on Bluemull Sound and are connected to the mainland of Shetland by a ferry service across Yell Sound.  There are numerous small communities within the island group each with their own identity.  However, historical and current links give these communities and the three islands a common identity that stands them apart in the Shetland context.  The North Isles community is recognised as having a desire and a need to be self-sufficient and there is general confidence in its ability to do so.  However, decline in the area is persistent and has been worsened in recent years by inadequate transport links and economic shocks.

The North Isles presents clear evidence of rapid and serious decline, primarily in the form of population decline.  It has suffered from this to a much greater degree than any other area in Shetland.  Many industries in the area also face greater problems than mainland based industry because of the increased time and cost of transportation.

The North Isles is already ahead of many other areas in Shetland in putting effort into its regeneration.  If area regeneration can be considered as a series of steps the North Isles have already taken the first few.  The community has shown its capacity to identify the issues and has begun to put in place initiatives to address some of them.  However, the momentum within the community has slowed significantly and there is now a need to address some of the ‘harder to fix’ issues and this requires a more strategic and coordinated approach.  This will require a new focus and new skills. 

The Local Development Officer(LDO) for this area is as follows: 

Michelle Morris
Unit 2
Sellafirth Business Park
Shellafirth
Yell
ZE2 9DG

Telephone: 01957-744-394
E-Mail: michelle.iateni@yahoo.co.uk

All documents and projects for Unst, Yell and Fetlar are listed below:

North Isles Documents
North Isles Projects

Local Website Addresses
Fetlar Community Website
Shetland Communities