Also in the news / Support for Tall Ships, Sandveien house rebuilds, map relief and more…
THE SHETLAND salmon farming industry, including trades body Salmon Scotland, have clubbed together to become a major sponsor of next year’s Tall Ships Races, to be held in Lerwick between 26 and 29 July 2023.
Cooke Aquaculture Scotland, Scottish Sea Farms and Salmon Scotland have formed a consortium to become a host port associate.
The financial support for the community event has not been disclosed but is described as “generous”.
Welcoming the support package, chairman of Shetland Tall Ships Ltd, former council convener Malcolm Bell said: “The local aquaculture industry is important to our local community and economy and their involvement in this significant maritime event is very welcome.”
Salmon Scotland chief executive Tavish Scott added: “Previous Tall Ships events in Shetland have been a fantastic experience for all – we know 2023 will be even better.”
THE COUNCIL has lodged plans to rebuild a number of houses in Sandveien to bring them up to modern standards.
The homes in question are numbers 136 to 143, which are located opposite the junction to Westerloch Drive.
It comes amid concern from tenants over the state of some of the council owned houses.
The rebuilds will meet current standards in terms of access, manoeuvrability and facilities. There are also larger windows planned for the houses.
Documents lodged with the planning service adds: “The existing buildings are of cavity blockwork construction with dry dash render externally.
“For these re-built properties the new houses will be timber frame construction. Externally we propose a mixture of rendered blockwork to match the existing, fibre cement cladding panels and painted timber cladding to provide a contemporary appearance to the new houses.”
NORTHERN Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has welcomed the withdrawal of UK Government adverts which missed Shetland and Orkney off the map.
The government said the images – brought to attention again by Carmichael this week – were from a discontinued campaign which should have been removed from airports.
“We have spoken to our colleagues at airports across the country to make sure it is no longer in use,” it said.
Carmichael said in response: “The appearance of our isles on an advertisement may seem to them like a fairly small matter in the grand scheme of things – but we have as much of a right to a place on the map as anywhere else in the UK.
“If the government is trying to sell the UK to the world as a place to do business – something we can all support – then it helps to know exactly what the UK is.”
INSTALLATION of the 600-megawatt subsea cable between Shetland and Caithness is now under way.
Work on the laying the 260km cable commenced from Noss Head, north of Wick, on 23 June.
Scottish Hydro Electric Transmission awarded the £214 million contract to manufacture and install the HVDC cable to the Danish specialist company NTK A/S in July 2020.
Scheduled to be completed in 2024, the cable will for the first time connect Shetland to the national grid, and feed energy from the Viking Energy wind farm and other renewable energy projects to customers on the UK mainland.
AN EVENT for crofters is taking place at the Lerwick Hotel on Thursday (7 July) evening from 7pm.
The meeting will feature representatives from Quality Meat Scotland (QMS) and Scottish Crofting Federation.
The federation’s chair Donald MacKinnon will take questions and hear crofters’ views on the future of agricultural support, crofting law reform and any other issues attendees wish to raise.
QMS animal health and welfare manager Eilidh Corr will present the case for health planning for crofters, with practical tips on how to get the best out of the process.
There will also be the opportunity to ask questions about the QMS quality assurance scheme.
YOUNG businesses and social enterprises in the Highlands and Islands that are looking to increase productivity, innovation and employment can apply for funding from the region’s development agency.
The third round of the Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) Young Business Capital Investment Grant (YBCIG) is now open to companies with up to 250 full-time equivalent employees.
Through a previous round of the YBCIG scheme, Shetland Oysters was awarded £11,690.
The business is operated by Winston Brown and based on a family croft in Whiteness where oysters are cultivated and processed.
The fund enabled the company to purchase equipment to help get products to market by harvesting, grading and packaging all oysters on site. Through the project, one full-time member of staff has been recruited.
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