Letters / Much to gain
Jonathan Wills knows a fair bit more than most about the history of the oil industry in Shetland and his long held position on Shetland not getting enough in rent from Sullom Voe (Peppercorn rent; SN, 30/11/2018) serves further attention.
There was a time when the industry played Shetland off against Orkney. They have no interest in playing fair and have had too easy a ride for far too long.
There have indeed been those inside the council who take the oil industry perspective as gospel. Another matter too easily neglected is that the monies set aside for social disturbance were meant to be able to address the inevitable social harms that were bound to result from a small number of people playing host to a huge development like Sullom Voe, which would inevitably see some prosper with others left far behind.
That widening gap causes problems still, yet there appears to be little ambition to make sure the oil industry makes a proper contribution or indeed that a fair share of the money provided gets to those in greatest need.
In comparison to many other issues that command public attention Shetland has much to gain from properly addressing this situation.
Peter Hamilton
Scalloway
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