‘With your help, we can restore it’ – fundraiser launched to redevelop tourist centre

A FUNDRAISER has been launched by Shetland Tourism Association (STA) to help the new owners of Lerwick’s tourist centre restore and redevelop the building.

Netta Simpson and Elaine Nicolson completed their purchase of the building from Shetland Islands Council for £251,000 earlier this week, ending a long-running saga after the closure of the popular tourist office last November.

However the building is currently empty, with all the furniture gone and shelves stripped from the walls, the STA said.

It is aiming to raise £4,000 to furnish the ground floor as a tourist information and shop, with the first floor hoped to be used as offices, a conference room and event space for rental.

The money would also go towards the operating costs – such as water and electricity – and would allow the STA to “advertise the reopening of the office across Shetland and beyond”.

“Every penny donated to this fundraiser will go directly to the redevelopment and reopening of the tourist office,” the Shetland Tourism Association said.

“The STA intends to develop the location into a self-sustaining tourist information centre that can secure the future of the Shetland tourism industry for many years to come.”

VisitScotland shut the office last year as part of a nationwide closure of iCentres.

The move to close its office in Shetland was met with great disappointment locally, with a petition gaining thousands of signatures.

You can donate to the fundraiser here.