Council / Council to explore Lerwick hockey pitch after narrow vote
AN OPTIONS appraisal which could lead to the construction of a new hockey pitch in Lerwick will be carried out by Shetland Islands Council (SIC).
However the move came up against strong opposition in the council chamber on Wednesday, with several elected members voting against the move to carry out the appraisal.
It comes as the SIC considers plans for a new Brae school, which is likely to be built on the existing Delting football pitch site.
The SIC is proposing to either build a new synthetic football pitch on the current school site once the buildings are demolished, or to potentially purchase the Brae hockey pitch from Shetland Recreational Trust and resurface it for football.
In that scenario, the council said it would look to construct a dedicated, all-weather hockey pitch next to the new North Loch 3G pitch in Lerwick.
Several councillors were against the idea of a new hockey pitch being built in the town though, with Liz Peterson saying it could have a detrimental effect on the North Mainland.
And Moraig Lyall questioned how it would look if the council acquired an “aging SRT asset” like the hockey pitch, having not done so with Scalloway Pool.
She called for the SIC to not carry out an options appraisal at all, and to instead to proceed with the Brae school project as planned.
Councillor Davie Sandison however said that the community thought that the Lerwick hockey pitch “was an idea worth pursuing”, urging his fellow members to at least explore the costs of the project.
After a vote in the chamber, Sandison’s motion to proceed with the appraisal was passed with 11 votes against Lyall’s eight.
More to follow…
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