Councillors settle into life at St Ringan’s

THE FIRST council meeting at the former St Ringan’s church got underway this morning (Wednesday).

The meeting of the full council – the last of its kind before the 5 May local government election – kicked off at 10am.

With dedicated seating for the public convener Malcolm Bell said prior to the meeting that it was an “ideal opportunity” for any prospective candidates to see how the council works.

The new chamber cost more than £200,000 to set up after the library vacated the building to move across the road.

Around half of this was spent on conference and broadcasting equipment, and the plan is to live stream meetings after the election.

Meetings previously took place at Lerwick Town Hall, where the chamber has called home since the 1880s.

Meetings were held at the museum auditorium for a while in 2016/17 while the Town Hall underwent repairs.

Wednesday’s meeting will the last full council session for many elected members, such as outgoing convener Bell and leader Steven Coutts.