Questions over community council’s continued funding of lights at Clickimin Broch
QUESTIONS were raised at a meeting of Lerwick Community Council (LCC) last night (Monday) over its continued funding of lights at the historic Clickimin Broch.
Figures show that the community council is committed to paying £3,500 this year for the lights.
This is taken from LCC’s core funding it receives each year from Shetland Islands Council, which for 2025/26 is nearly £21,500.
The community council has provided funding for the lights for many years, despite the site being run by Historic Environment Scotland (HES).
The matter was raised by new Lerwick Community Council member Duncan Swainston.
While he said he did not want the lights to stop, he asked why the cost is not covered by other bodies, such as HES.
Swainston described it as “low-hanging fruit” and suggested it could be worth exploring whether another body could take on the responsibility.
LCC chairman Jim Anderson explained that it was the community council that installed the floodlights in the first place, while it also upgraded them to LED.
He said LCC’s payment covers of the cost of electricity, but more so the general upkeep – with vandalism one element which often requires maintenance.
In relation to alternative funders, Anderson conceded there had not been “many folk knocking on the door to get the lights”.
One idea raised in the meeting was to contact Shetland Islands Council to see if the lights could potentially connect into the street lighting network.
However Lerwick North and Bressay councillor Gary Robinson suggested HES would be a more suitable first port of call.
Meanwhile community councillor Amanda Hawick welcomed the idea of looking into the situation.
“Three and a half thousand pounds is a substantial sum of money coming out of our budget every year that maybe could be better spent [elsewhere] so maybe it is worth exploring,” she said.
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The rest of LCC’s annual income is spent on grants and other projects, as well as employment and admin costs.
HES meanwhile describes the Clickmin site as an “outstanding example of a broch, a sophisticated type of stone-built round house found only in Scotland”.
It says the broch has evidence of settlement spanning over a thousand years.
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