News / Willie Shannon joins recreational trust
SHETLAND Islands Council’s assistant chief executive Willie Shannon is leaving the authority this week to take up a year long secondment with Shetland Recreational Trust, which runs the islands’ leisure centres.
Mr Shannon joined the council 20 years ago as a legal officer and has since fulfilled many roles, gaining a reputation as something of a troubleshooter.
He returned to the SIC as corporate solicitor in 1997 after a spell working on the Scottish mainland as a children’s reporter.
Since then the 49 year old has been seconded within the authority to serve as coastal zone manager, to sort out the islands’ two colleges and their training programmes and to run the economic development unit.
Under former chief executive Morgan Goodlad, he was promoted to become assistant chief executive in 1996, a post that was controversially ‘deleted’ by Mr Goodlad’s successor David Clark.
As a result Mr Shannon spent four months on paid leave before being reinstated in January last year by councillors, shortly before Mr Clark left his post that same month and was given a £285,000 package by the council.
Mr Shannon was one of the witnesses at the hearing into the difficulties at Shetland Islands Council conducted by local government watchdog The Accounts Commission in June last year.
During that hearing Mr Shannon said that he requested a secondment from the council in February that year, saying: “This is not a decision that was taken lightly, given the upheaval for the family, but I have had to recognise that there has been an inevitable and detrimental career impact despite the fact that there have never at any point in this process been any allegations or accusations of wrongdoing on my part.”
The council formally accepted Mr Shannon’s request for a secondment in July last year, however he was kept on to support new chief executive Alistair Buchan as he introduced an improvement plan to change management culture within the authority.
Most recently he has been heavily involved in the campaign to retain the coastguard station in Lerwick and the coastguard’s emergency towing vessels in Scottish waters.
On Thursday the council issued a statement saying that Mr Shannon was leaving the council to take up a one year secondment as strategic development manager with Shetland Recreational Trust and would be retiring from his council post at the end of that year.
Mr Buchan said: “I believe this represents a very good outcome for all parties, retaining as it does Willie’s services within Shetland. I wish Willie all the best for his secondment.”
Recreational trust chairman Joe Irvine added: “His knowledge and experience will be beneficial in this role. He will be responsible for reviewing the direction of the trust, both as regards to its activities and policies that support staff in the delivery of services.”
Mr Shannon is married with five children and was a key figure in the Clan123 campaign to raise money for a new accommodation centre for cancer patients and their families in Aberdeen.
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