When it was published earlier this month the new schedule had no Sunday sailings and sailings on alternate Wednesdays only.
The outcry culminated in the shipping company holding an emergency general meeting, which was attended by more than 100 people. Among the concerns raised were from parents worried about how the timetable would affect children attending school in Guernsey, who would normally come home at weekends. With no Sunday sailing from Sark the children would have had to leave the island on Saturday afternoon to ensure being back for Monday morning lessons.
A member of Sark’s Education Committee bemoaned the lack of consultation ahead of the new timetable being announced. And yesterday Sark Shipping issued a new schedule, saying that it had ‘carefully reviewed the valuable feedback'.
‘A revised timetable has been prepared that seeks to provide a greater balance between the needs of the Sark community with the operational and maintenance requirements of the fleet,’ it said.
The new timetable has reinstated weekly sailings on Wednesdays and Sundays.
‘The updated schedule reflects key points raised during consultation, including improved connectivity for school children, consideration of regular midweek appointments, and support for local business activity throughout the winter months.’
Sark’s Harbours, Shipping & Pilotage Committee has approved the revised schedule after consulting with other committees with an interest in the timetable.
It will be made available as soon as possible and Sark Shipping said it is updating its website and booking system.
‘We greatly appreciate the constructive feedback received from across the community,’ said a company spokesman.
‘The company also recognises the ongoing need to regularly assess and adapt its schedules to ensure that operational decisions take account of both community expectations and the financial realities of running a year-round lifeline service.’
A balanced approach was essential, he said, not only to help stave off winter losses but to ensure that the business remained in a strong position to meet future investment and fleet renewal requirements.
You need to be logged in to comment. If you had an account on our previous site, you can migrate your old account and comment profile to this site by visiting this page and entering the email address for your old account. We'll then send you an email with a link to follow to complete the process.