Also in the news / Also in the news: farming debate, junior rangers, fire call-out and more…
NORTHERN Isles MP Alistair Carmichael has secured a debate on the future of farming at the House of Commons in mid-March.
The backbench debate on Thursday 13 March will cover a wide range of farming issues across the United Kingdom, including the government’s planned increase to inheritance tax on agricultural land, international trade and changes to land management schemes.
Carmichael secured the debate with the backing of 67 MPs across Parliament, and with support from nine different parties.
The Orkney and Shetland political representative is the chairman of the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs select committee, which has launched a separate inquiry into farming’s future.
Carmichael said: “The challenges facing farmers, crofters and rural communities in general have been a topic of immense interest to the public and to parliament in recent months.
“Quite apart from the controversy over new taxes on agricultural land, there is a myriad of policy areas worth of discussion in a parliamentary debate on the future of farming.
“With a new government and many new MPs representing rural and agricultural communities in all parties it is an ideal time to bring this topic to the House for debate.
“I am enormously grateful to the dozens of MPs from all parties who backed the debate application. We all recognise the many challenges facing farmers, crofters and other food producers and we all want them to succeed.”
EMERGENCY services were called to a house fire in Hillswick on Tuesday evening, with one person taken into the care of the ambulance service.
A Scottish Fire and Rescue Service spokesperson said: “We were alerted at 8.10pm on Tuesday, 25 February, to reports of a dwelling fire in Hillswick, Shetland.
“Operations Control mobilised three appliances to the scene where firefighters extinguished the fire affecting one property.
“One casualty was taken into the care of the Scottish Ambulance Service and crews left the scene after ensuring the area was safe.”
SHETLAND Amenity Trust (SAT) has been announced as one of 12 organisations to partner with the Natural History Museum in London for a new project.
The amenity trust will run events and activities focused on creating advocates for the planet in the Fixing Our Broken Planet: Interconnected programme.
The Shetland project will focus on inspiring young Shetlanders to take pride in their heritage and encourage future generations to protect it through the creation of the Shetland Junior Rangers.
Active engagement with Shetland’s landscape will be at the heart of the initiative, the amenity trust said, fostering a sense of responsibility for the environment and its ongoing conservation.
SAT natural heritage manager Mhari McLeman said they were “delighted to have been selected to be part of this exciting Natural History Museum initiative”.
“Nature in Shetland is special, but much of our natural heritage is at risk,” she said.
“The Shetland Junior Rangers project is part of our commitment to expanding learning opportunities for young people, ensuring they can connect with and engage in the conservation of our natural and cultural heritage.”
In collaboration with partners including NatureScot, PeatlandACTION, Historic Environment Scotland, Shetland Islands Council, RSPB and Species on the Edge, the project will consist of two phases.
The first phase will engage young people through week-long programmes of events, focused on Shetland’s natural and cultural heritage.
Activities include practical tasks such as biosecurity measures and native species planting.
The ultimate aspiration is to create a monthly Junior Ranger engagement programme outside of school hours, equipping members with the knowledge and experience needed to inspire a future career in conservation.
MAREEL in Lerwick has been named as one of the world’s most beautiful cinemas in a list of the 50 top “heavenly picture palaces”.
Placed in 24th spot on Time Out magazine’s list, it was just one of seven UK cinemas to feature.
It was placed above acclaimed cinemas in London, Paris, New York, Los Angeles and Barcelona.
The magazine described Mareel as a “swish two-screen cinema and arts centre”, and said: “This movie outpost in the small Shetland town of Lerwick somehow combines the buzz of cultural vibrancy with a haunting sensation of being right at the end of the world.”
ORKNEY Islands Council’s head of legal Gavin Mitchell has been appointed as the new clerk of the Orkney and Shetland Valuation Joint Board (JVB).
It comes as the current postholder Karen Greaves prepares to become chief executive of Moray Council.
The VJB looks after the valuation roll and the council tax valuation lists for the two council areas. It is also responsible for the maintenance of the register of electors.
Mitchell’s appointment was made at a meeting of the board on Friday.
The VJB is made up of councillors from both isles’ local authorities but remains a separate body.
Board convener, Shetland councillor Stephen Leask, said the VJB was now in a good place after hitting the headlines for the wrong reasons a few years ago – with external auditors releasing a critical report.
He said the board has now “implemented quite a number of acts of governance that should have been done in the past”.
“We are in a better place than we were in previously,” Leask said.
APPLICATIONS are now open for the Zetland Educational Trust for 2025/26, which is disbursed by Shetland Islands Council.
The trust aims to support a wide a range of beneficiaries with smaller sums of money, potentially ranging from £200 to £2,000, to go towards projects that would not otherwise happen.
It will also consider larger projects where it is thought the overall educational benefits would make a real difference to the enhancement of education in Shetland.
A grant of up to 75 per cent of total project costs can be provided, with the remainder of costs needing to be met by fundraising or in-kind support.
Shetland Islands Council said applications were particularly welcomed in the categories of special equipment, promotion of knowledge of Shetland or education experiments and research.
The closing date for applications for 2025/26 is Monday 31 March.
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