Also in the news / Vaccination, planning, Foinaven, awards, ANZAC, Saltire, Northwards and marine plan
Also in the News is our regular round-up of news snippets that didn’t quite made the ‘frontpage’.
- Fair Isle has become perhaps the first fully vaccinated community in Scotland. Staff from NHS Shetland recently flew out to the island half way between Orkney and Shetland on Monday to administer the second doses. The health board plans similar trips to Foula, Papa Stour, Skerries and Fetlar.
Meanwhile, latest statistics from Public Health Scotland show that almost 27 per cent of the local population have had their second dose of Covid vaccine, twice the national average.
- Retrospective change of use planning permission has been granted for a community garden around Pitt Lane in Lerwick. The garden, which is was built on waste land and is near the already consented one at Park Lane, drew the attention of SIC solicitors last year because it had no approval in place.
- BP has suspended production from its Foinaven fields west of Shetland as preparations begin to remove the Petrojarl Foinaven floating, production, storage, offload (FPSO) vessel from operation.
- Local horse enthusiast and tireless road safety campaigner Susie Nicolson has been honoured for her outstanding contribution to equestrian safety at the annual British Horse Society (BHS) Sefton awards.
Three years ago, Nicolson, from Weisdale, set up the BHS Shetland committee focusing on road safety. In August 2019, she organised in collaboration with the BHS safety director Alan Hiscox a successful series of events and workshops to promote road safety for drivers and riders alike.
- The annual ANZAC Day commemorations at the Lerwick War Memorial will take place on 25 April to mark Australian and New Zealander’s contributions to the First World War.
Kiwi Martin Tregonning said the “historic ties between Shetland and Australia and New Zealand have always been strong, and the size of the expat population here is proof of that.” The ANZAC memorial will start at 8am and it usually lasts around 45 minutes.
- Tingwall, Whiteness and Weisdale Community Council has registered to become a Saltire organisation to help young people in the area clock up hours towards achieving Saltire awards for volunteering such as participating in the Voar Redd Up or other beach cleaning.
The scheme uses an app called Strava, commonly used by walkers and runners to record their routes and times. To register please contact community councillor Linda Tulloch at lindatulloch76@gmail.com
- Local haulier Northwards has been awarded a five year contract by Orkney Islands Council to move around 20 containers with general waste to Shetland for burning in the Lerwick incinerator every week. Starting this month, the contract will secure employment for the company’s employees based in Kirkwall and Lerwick.
Regional manager for Orkney Michael Foubister said: “It is an important win for us that demonstrates not only the quality and efficiency of our service but also the fact that we are compliant with the stringent local authority procurement process.”
- A regional marine plan for Shetland which will give guidance on the management of coastal waters was approved by elected members at a meeting of the full Shetland Islands Council on Wednesday. The plan, which is in line to become the first in Scotland, will now be submitted to Scottish ministers.
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