Council / Legacy or ‘luxury’? Councillors narrowly pass 3G pitch project funding despite reservations
THE VOTE of one councillor has kept plans to build a 3G pitch in Lerwick narrowly on the council’s asset investment plan.
Shetland Islands Council (SIC) has been asked to put in an extra £210,000 towards the project, taking its total projected spend to £690,000 on the £1.46 million synthetic surface.
Debate about the pitch was heated at Monday’s policy and resources committee meeting, with members almost split down the middle on whether or not to approve the extra funding.
However the final decision rests with the full council, which meets next week.
External funders such as sportscotland, Scottish Football Association and Scottish Rugby have already agreed to provide more than half of the total costs of the project.
Lerwick South councillor John Fraser told members they “might never get an opportunity like this again”.
He urged them to make the 3G pitch – which can be used for both football and rugby – “one of many legacies of this council”.
But there was concern in the chamber about the rise in cost, with depute leader Gary Robinson pointing out the SIC was now being asked to increase its funding by 44 per cent.
North Isles councillor Robert Thomson was similarly unenthused by the price being quoted.
“I would be very surprised if it didn’t start pushing the £1 million we would have to put in to this,” he said. “The question is, is this money well spent?”
Arwed Wenger, councillor for Lerwick North, also opposed the 3G pitch, calling it a “luxury” that they could not afford.
He said the council’s sports and leisure team had claimed that teachers would use the pitch during the winter to teach pupils outside.
“I can’t believe this,” he added.
Wenger said a 3G pitch in Whalsay already helped the council support more rural areas, instead of the town, and Thomson added that pitch was “probably underused”.
Meanwhile, Robbie McGregor, Davie Sandison and Dennis Leask were all in favour of the pitch.
Sandison said this was a “long-term investment”, and he had no doubt that it would have “significant levels of usage”.
Despite the increase in council funding required, he said it “still represents good value” because of the amount of money coming in from external sources.
McGregor, councillor for Shetland South, urged his fellow members to “show some ambition”.
“This is some opportunity for young people in Shetland,” he added.
And Leask said the council was not going to be able to balance its books solely by dismissing this project.
“I think it will be an important asset for a lot of sports in Shetland,” he said.
Robinson made a motion for the council to refuse to pay the additional £210,000, while Fraser made an amendment for the SIC to approve that funding.
Thomson said there was “quite a bit of emotion” around the project, judging by comments on social media.
And council leader Emma Macdonald said she was struggling to make a decision on whether or not to approve, adding she could “see both sides of this”.
Summing up, Fraser urged his fellow councillors “not to look a gift horse in the mouth”.
“This is not just for the now, this is for the future generations,” he said.
“I hope that my grandchildren and my great-grandchildren will be making use of this.”
Robinson said that the council was in a difficult financial situation, something it could not ignore whenever “something shiny comes along”.
He said he felt councillors had “a gun to their head” when they were first asked for funding earlier this year, because of the time constraints, and added it felt like that again today.
It went to a vote, and the chamber was locked at four votes for each motion.
It came down to councillor McGregor – who was attending remotely, to make the deciding vote – and he gave his backing to Mr Fraser’s motion to pass through the extra £210,000 funding.
The 3G pitch project will again come before councillors next week for final approval, with the asset investment plan to go before the full council on 11 December.
Become a member of Shetland News
Shetland News is asking its many readers to consider paying for membership to get additional features and services: -
- Remove non-local ads;
- Bookmark posts to read later;
- Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
- Hide membership messages;
- Comments open for discussion.
If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.
Already a member? Sign in to hide this message.
