Shetland Wool Week 28 Sep - 4 Oct 2025
Thursday 2 October 2025
 13.6°C   S Gentle Breeze
Ocean Kinetics - The Engineering Experts

Council / Council planning to hold community engagement drop-in events

THE COUNCIL is set to hold a series of engagement exercises across Shetland to ask the public what they want to see prioritised over the next five years.

Chief executive Maggie Sandison and ward councillors are set to hold the drop-in events in locations around the isles later this year.

No dates or venues have been confirmed yet, but Sandison told Shetland News this would be after the October school holidays.

It comes as the council’s current corporate plan, entitled Our Ambition, comes to an end next year.

SIC chief executive Maggie Sandison. Photo: Shetland News

The document, which had run from 2021-2026, is currently being developed by councillors for the next five years to set out the SIC’s vision and priorities for this period.

Sandison said that while the strategy is “for the council”, it was “important that it is shaped by the views and priorities of our community”.

Speaking at last Wednesday’s full Shetland Islands Council meeting, Shetland Central councillor Moraig Lyall said she would like to see an engagement event where the public could tell the SIC their views on the specific topic of energy.

That comes as the council continues to work on its draft energy strategy, which elected members decided not to approve last week.

Lyall said the council had heard the public’s views on specific energy projects – but never their “general views on this whole area”.

Sandison said the SIC had committed to a series of community engagement events before the end of the year, which would take place in each council ward.

These exercises would ask people “what helps their community to thrive”, and how the SIC could “support that to be a reality”.

Ward councillors, political leader Emma Macdonald, depute leader Gary Robinson and Sandison will attend the events, she told the meeting.

Become a member of Shetland News

 

However Lyall expressed concern that energy “could possibly be lost” at a big event where topics like education, health, care and roads were also on people’s minds.

The councillor said that, with a limited amount of time before the energy strategy comes back to councillors in December, she felt it was a big enough area to “justify an event on its own”.

Become a member of Shetland News

Shetland News is asking its readers to consider paying for membership to get additional perks:

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.

If you appreciate what we do and feel strongly about impartial local journalism, then please become a member of Shetland News by either making a single payment, or setting up a monthly, quarterly or yearly subscription.

 

Sign up
for our Newsletters

Stay in the loop with newsletters tailored to your interests. Whether you're looking for daily updates, weekly highlights, or updates on jobs or property, you can choose exactly what you want to receive.

Advertisement 
Advertisement 
Advertisement 

JavaScript Required

We're sorry, but Shetland News isn't fully functional without JavaScript enabled.
Head over to the help page for instructions on how to enable JavaScript on your browser.

Interested in Notifications?

Get notifications from Shetland News for important and breaking news.
You can unsubscribe at any time.

Have you considered becoming a member of Shetland News?

  • Removal of third-party ads;
  • Bookmark posts to read later;
  • Exclusive curated weekly newsletter;
  • Hide membership messages;
  • Comments open for discussion.