Latest milestone as SIC lodges new AHS plans

PLANS for the new Anderson High School and halls of residence to be built at Clickimin have been submitted to Shetland Islands Council’s planning department.

The plans include a long environmental impact assessment (EIA) and details of a pre-application consultation exercise carried out due to the size of the development.

The plans were submitted on Thursday and were due to be uploaded to the council’s website on Monday afternoon having been validated.

SIC children’s services director Helen Budge said that they had already addressed all the issues that had been raised by the public and stakeholders during the two consultation meetings.

“Where we have not taken up an issue by a member of the public we have explained why,” she said.

Senior planning officer John Holden said there would be a period of consultation over the plans and the EIA.

If all goes well he said the plans should be presented to the planning committee in around three months.

“The fact that it has already gone through this pre-application process means that any issues this proposal should give rise to will not come as a surprise,” he said.

The fee for submitting an application of this size is £19,100, the maximum for a planning application.

The cost of the new school is estimated at £42 million, two thirds of which is to be paid for by the Scottish government.

SIC education and families committee chairwoman Vaila Wishart said: “I am delighted that the planning application has been submitted.

“I know that there has been a lot of work by officers of Shetland Islands Council, Natural Capital and Hubco to get the application lodged.

“This is an important milestone for this project.”