Also in the news / Co-op ‘hypocrisy’, Walls power cut, Loganair birthday, media shortlists and improvement notice served
THE MANAGER of a local wholesale company has accused the Co-op of “hypocrisy” after it emerged the national retailer objected to plans for a new Aldi supermarket in Macduff in Banffshire.
Carl Cross, of Hughson Brothers, said the Co-op was demonstrating “double standards” when arguing that a new Aldi new supermarket in Macduff would cause significant harm to its business in nearby Banff.
Last year, local retailers, wholesalers and small producers all objected to the Co-op’s plans to establish two new supermarkets in the villages of Scalloway and Sandwick.
A retail impact assessment commissioned by the Co-op found that the two new supermarkets would not have a significant impact on smaller shops – the exact opposite the retailer now claims for itself.
Both supermarkets were given planning permission at the end of last year.
ALMOST 300 households in the Walls area lost their electricity on Tuesday evening following a fault in a section of the overhead network.
A spokesperson for SSEN Distribution said that generally the utility’s network stood up well to the high winds over the past 48 hours.
“This fault (…) occurred at 19:20 [on Tuesday] and initially saw the power go off at 273 properties; our engineers were able to restore customers’ supplies in stages, with everyone’s power back on by 04:33 this morning,” he said.
“We would like to apologise to our customers in the Walls area who were affected by this power cut and assure them our engineers did all they could to restore their supplies as safely and as quickly as possible.”
LOGANAIR is celebrating its 60th anniversary next month and is calling upon local budding and established artists to record and submit a lyrical or instrumental song which encapsulates the ethos of the airline over 60 years.
The winning entry will feature in an anniversary video in addition to the creator winning a £1,000 cash prize.
Founded on 1 February 1962, Loganair’s first flight took off from Dundee Airport bound for Edinburgh in October 1963. In its 60 years, the airline has grown to become the largest regional airline in the UK.
Chief commercial officer Kay Ryan said: “We are in the business of connecting people so it’s fitting to call upon our network to create a soundtrack for our celebratory video. We can’t wait to listen to the talented submissions over the coming weeks.”
Deadline for entries is Wednesday 19 January 2022. More information can be found at: www.loganair.co.uk/campaign/loganair-60/
THE SHETLAND Times is one of three weekly local papers shortlisted for Newspaper of the Yearaward at this year’s Highlands and Islands media awards.
The other two newspapers shortlisted are the Orcadian and the Stornoway Gazette.
Shetland News did not apply this year after the organisers decided to do away with the Best Use of Digital Media category.
The paper’s reporter Ryan Nicolson has meanwhile been shortlisted in the Reporter of the Yearcategory.
The winners will be announced on 4 February.
OIL and gas company EnQuest has been served with an improvement notice by the Health and Safety Executive following an inspection of the company’s Magnus installation, 100 miles to the northeast of Shetland.
The company was found to have failed to have in place appropriate measures to ensure the safe handling and treatment of flammable substances when draining liquid hydrocarbons collected in the cold relief flare boot.
The company has until 31 October this year to comply with the notice.
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