Also in the news / Green funding for Da Barn, Roberts to retire and more…
A HILLSWICK based plant nursery has been awarded £4,500 from Loganair to help take its office “off the grid”.
The money for Da Barn is coming from the airline’s GreenSkies Community Fund.
It received nearly 250 applications for the latest round of funding, with seven environmentally friendly projects picked – one of which being Da Barn.
This funding will enable Da Barn to install solar panels on its office roof.
Owner James Titcomb said: “We are very thankful for this grant from Loganair that will allow us to power our office with the same energy that grows our plants.
“Having the solar panels will mean that our office will be entirely off-grid during the summer months.”
Luke Lovegrove, chief commercial officer at Loganair, said it was important to the airline to offer support to the communities it serves to see them achieve their own sustainability goals.
It comes as Da Barn prepares to open a garden centre on Lerwick’s Fort Road and revamp the former Cindy’s hairdressers on Harbour Street, ultimately integrating both together.
FORMER NHS Shetland chief executive Ralph Roberts is to retire this summer after 35 years in the health service.
He is currently chief executive of NHS Borders.
Roberts led NHS Shetland for around eight years in the 2010s.
He said this week that it was the “right time for me to explore new opportunities”.
LOCAL government associations from across the UK have united to write a letter to the chancellor outlining the “real and significant risks” facing councils if additional funding is not provided in the UK’s upcoming spring budget.
In a rare move, the united local government associations have written a letter highlighting the financial pressures on councils.
Resources spokesperson for Scotland’s local authority body COSLA Katie Magmann said: “Without further investment, all our communities and the people we represent will be at risk of not receiving the services they deserve and need.
“Councils are facing unsustainable workforce challenges with recruitment and retention issues impacting on all the services we can provide.”
The chancellor will present the UK’s spring budget on 6 March.
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