News / Promote Shetland petition

A PENSIONER from Lincolnshire has started an online petition urging Shetland Islands Council to reconsider its decision not to renew Shetland Amenity Trust’s £400,000 Promote Shetland contract.

The move means that the current contract will cease on 30 June and the amenity trust, which has operated the service for the last eight years, will have to make three staff redundant.

It has been promoting the isles via a number of unique projects and initiatives to showcase Shetland not only as a great place to visit for a holiday but also as a desirable location to move to and to invest in.

Shetland Islands Council said none of the bids received met the specifications set in the tendering documents.

The news has sparked a local outcry with plenty of strongly worded reactions on social media, and disappointment among many keen Shetland fans who have enjoyed the various webcams and programmes available on the www.shetland.org website.

An online petition, created by Gradon Forsyth from Stamford in Lincolnshire, is seeking a U-turn on the decision and has so far received just over 100 signatures.

Gradon Forsyth, and his brother Neil, have both been to Shetland on many occasions and are following life in the isles via the Promote Shetland webcams.

Gradon said on Thursday: “I am sure the large increase of cruise ships arriving in Shetland is based on the back of people viewing these all important webcams and watching not only the survival of the local wildlife but to be involved with the Wool Week, watching the Aurora and the Up Helly AA.

“I am sure that without the trust’s involvement Shetland’s all important tourist trade will suffer.”

Neil has even created a 46-page Shetland webcam calendar for 2017/18 with screenshots taken from the webcams.

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