Also in the news / Cope progress, award win, flu vaccinations and more …
COPE is putting the finishing touches to its major expansion project in Lerwick, which is expected to open by the end of the year.
The social enterprise’s near-£1 million expansion of its Home Co. business unit is designed to meet the growing demand for its reuse and recycling services.
The expanded building will allow Home Co. to have dedicated workspaces, and has been supported by £266,000 in funding from Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE).
HIE said the refurb would also provide Cope with a new repair area to increase the volume of goods available through resale, better display areas to accommodate larger items and better insulation to reduce Cope’s carbon emissions.
HIE head of business growth Andrew Gear said it was great to see Cope bring its “vision to life”.
And Cope chief executive Steven Coutts added that the project will be “transformational for our participants, staff, volunteers and the wider community who donate and purchase goods”.
Around £21,000 was contributed to the project through Shetland Islands Council’s economic development grant scheme.
And more than £653,000 was also secured by the council through the Scottish Government’s Islands Programme.
A FORMER manager of Shetland Heat Energy and Power (SHEAP) has been highly commended at a national awards ceremony.
Neville Martin was given the commendation in the heat networks champion category at the UK District Energy Association Awards in London.
SHEAP said the award is seen as a lifetime achievement recognition, celebrating Martin’s contribution to “building a sustainable, community-focused energy network that benefits Shetland today and for the future”.
The company said Martin had played a pivotal role in creating and leading the Lerwick district heating scheme, establishing one of the UK’s earliest and most successful community-based energy networks.
During his tenure SHEAP won several awards – including the national engineering council environmental award and a top European “green” rating for energy efficiency.
SHEAP said the network continues to save the Shetland community millions of pounds each year, compared with electric heating, while cutting carbon emissions equivalent to around 2,500 cars annually.
It added Martin still regularly calls along the SHEAP office to share his knowledge and experience.
PLANNING is well underway at NHS Shetland for the flu and Covid vaccination programmes which are starting this autumn.
The first groups of people to be offered vaccinations will be those who are recommended to have flu only. This includes people aged 65-74 and people with underlying health conditions.
These clinics will start in September, and letters, emails and text messages inviting people to make an appointment are starting to arrive now for people who are registered with the Lerwick, Brae, Levenwick, Scalloway, Bixter and Walls health centres.
For those registered with the Hillswick, Unst, Yell and Whalsay practices, look out for local information and invites to clinics at their own practices.
School pupils will be offered flu vaccination at school, and appointments for pre-school children will be at their local GP practice.
There will also be an option for some children to have their vaccines at nursery, as we are piloting this at a couple of venues. All pregnant women will be offered the flu vaccine through maternity services.
As well as those groups above, all unpaid carers, people who live with someone who is immunosuppressed, poultry workers and bird handlers, people who are experiencing homelessness or substance use and all NHS workers and frontline social care workers are also recommended to be vaccinated against flu.
More details can be found here.
THE SCOTTISH Government has announced £4.5 million in funding for electric vehicle charging points in rural and island locations.
It said the programme, through the Rural and Island Infrastructure Fund, would deliver 24,000 additional charging points by 2030.
Funding will also be available for rural and islands businesses and landowners.
Shetland Islands Council said earlier this month, when asked by Shetland News, it did not know how much funding would be coming to Shetland.
Transport secretary Fiona Hyslop said the Scottish Government had made “incredible progress” in growing Scotland’s public charging network.
“However we do know that there are some rural and island areas where the commercial sector is less likely to invest,” she said.
SHETLAND Arts is looking forward to hosting two shows at Mareel next month as part of the ‘Splore’ tour.
Splore, the North Scotland Children’s Theatre and Dance Network, is a new consortium – led by Lyth Arts Centre – of venues and organisations who have come together to build relationships with families and young audiences in rural areas of North Scotland.
Ideas Jukebox and Maya and the Whale are a double bill from Hazel Darwin-Clements, and are described as perfect for young audiences.
Ideas Jukebox inspires all ages to express their wacky and wonderful ideas through crafting cardboard creations, with audiences told to expect puppetry, live music and the opportunity to get involved.
Maya and the Whale is the story of a young climate activist on the run who finds herself face-to-face with a dying whale.
Tickets are available to buy online from tickets.shetlandarts.org, in-person at the box office in Mareel, or by calling 01595 745 500.
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