SIC abandons Round Britain race

SHETLAND Islands Council has pulled the plug on sponsoring the Round Britain and Ireland Race, which it supported to the tune of almost £100,000 during 2006 and 2010.

Sponsoring the internationally recognised race cost just over £44,000 this year, resulting in a “tangible” benefit to the island economy of £58,000, according to the council’s economic development unit.

At the SIC’s development committee on Thursday, councillor Rick Nickerson argued for continuing the sponsorship at the next race in 2014 as this was a good way of marketing Shetland to an audience in the south of England.

But the clear majority of councillors at Thursday’s development committee meeting agreed with councillor Jonathan Wills who said times were hard, and the council could not afford to sponsor the event.