Letters / Stopping the drift
I read with interest Vic Thomas’s letter (Social terrorism; SN 7/11/12) about the drift of people to Lerwick, but I’m not sure I understand what he is really trying to say.
Is it that people from the rural areas want to move here because their jobs are here and it’s costing a lot to get back and forth between home and work, or is it just the lack of work in rural areas that are driving them here?
Vic says that people can choose where they want to live, but I hope this is just some kind of joke as I have been on housing lists for over 20 years.
In fact back when Hjaltland used to send out letters to say sorry you were unsuccessful this time, I had enough letters that I could have papered a house with them.
It’s sad that it took a medical condition, which ended my career in a place that I had loved working for almost 34 years, and the company my wife worked for to close its doors before we were finally able to get our first foot on the ladder (so to speak) and get emergency accommodation in the form of a chalet – after living in a very nice three bedroom house in the centre of Lerwick, albeit private rented, but with fantastic landlords.
It has always amazed me the amount of traffic that floods into Lerwick in the morning and also the amount that heads out at the same time.
Now I know that there will be a percentage of these jobs which require certain skills, but surely there also has to be a percentage which is the same kind of work.
I think we all know that the SIC loves nothing better than to create new jobs and give big salaries with it, so here’s one for them.
Why not employ two people to do surveys of everyone who comes to Lerwick to work and another for people who travel to the country to work, and then see just how they match up.
Then hopefully we can change it around so that maybe (just maybe) people in the rural areas won’t have to leave these places or hound the council for houses.
If things continue the way they are going, as Vic suggests, Gulberwick, Quarff, Tingwall and maybe even Whiteness will be as far as anybody has to go to be home, with anything beyond that just barren land.
Then Viking Energy will be able to put up as many wind farms as they like as no one will see them (perish the thought).
Michael Mackay
Lerwick
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