Also in the news / Also in the news – 27 March 2026
- Surface dressing programme
- Overnight road closure
- Eerie photos sought
- Funding for supporting victims of crime
- UHI hosts ‘TalEntEd Islands’ event
- Mid-market rent applications
- Recruitment for walk-in GP clinic
- Poll letters delivered
SHETLAND Islands Council will soon begin its summer programme of surface dressing on the roads network.
Over 80 locations have been identified across the isles for surface dressing, to improve the road surface and protect the road from winter frost damage.
The work at each location will involve sealing the road surface with a layer of bitumen before applying a fresh layer of stone chips, pressed into the road surface.
This essential maintenance helps prevent water penetration and freezing, which can over time lead to potholes.
Warning signs of ‘loose chippings’ will be in place at each location during and after work has been completed.
Among the locations with longer sections of road identified for surface dressing this summer are the A970 South Gulberwick junction, Sand Lodge to Sandwick and the A968 Firth junction.
The B9079 Eela Water junction, West Houlland and Westerwick in the West Mainland also require longer works.
THE COUNCIL has also warned of diversions which will be in place in Lerwick next weekend to allow for cabling work on the A970 Gremista road.
The road will be closed to all through traffic, including motor vehicles and pedal cycles, between the hours of 7pm until 7am the next morning, on the evenings of Friday 3, Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 April.
The alternative route for traffic during the period of closure is via Gremista Brae and Ladies Drive.
During the overnight closure period, public buses for Service 4 (Scalloway), Service 9 (Walls), and Service 23 (Mossbank/Toft) will not be able to stop by Lerwick Power Station. The nearest bus stops are at the Old North Road or at the Shetland Hotel.
SHETLAND Arts is looking for local people to submit photos featuring Shetland in an “eerie light” to complement its crime writing festival Shetland Noir this summer.
The organisation is looking to exhibit up to 10 local photographs in Mareel’s cafe bar, between May and September.
Shetland Arts said it is looking for photographers to capture the “haunting, mysterious, and atmospheric side of Shetland”.
Entrants across a range of ages and abilities are welcomed – from professional photographers to hobbyists, and of photographs from across Shetland.
Successful applicants will be paid £100, which will give Shetland Arts license to showcase the image.
Shetland Arts’ creative project manager Kathryn Gordon said: “We had a local photographer exhibition alongside Mayflies last year, which was really popular amongst exhibiting artists and the public alike.
“Shetland Noir felt like the perfect opportunity to replicate this, but with a different theme.”
More details on how to submit photos can be found here.
A PROJECT aimed at supporting victims and witnesses of crime will now be accessible to people across the Highlands and Islands thanks to new funding secured from the Scottish Government Victim Surcharge Fund (VSF).
Delivered by leading child and youth care charity Kibble, The Safe Service has secured £32,594 from the VSF allowing the service to provide therapeutic services for families in geographically harder to reach areas across Scotland.
Since its launch in 2021, the Safe Service has supported more than 400 children, young people and family members across 22 local authorities.
It provides trauma-informed therapeutic and advocacy support to young people who have experienced crime, whether as victims, witnesses, or those impacted by violence and abuse in the home.
Dan Johnson, forensic psychologist and executive director at Kibble, said: “This funding allows us to place victims and witnesses of crime at the centre of therapeutic care.
“By providing early intervention and rehabilitation, the Safe Service aims to break the trauma cycle that can follow exposure to crime.”
THE UNIVERSITY of the Highlands and Islands (UHI) held an event at Lerwick Town Hall on Wednesday for a TalEntEd Islands Programme engagement event focused on the future of skills, innovation and economic opportunity in Shetland.
TalEntEd is a six-year collaborative programme funded through the Islands Growth Deal with up to £4.4 million from the Scottish Government and £1.5 million from the UK Government.
The programme is jointly led by UHI, Heriot-Watt University and Robert Gordon University.
It aims to “accelerate the transition to net zero, address demographic challenges and support sustainable economic growth across the Outer Hebrides, Orkney and Shetland”.
TalEntEd programme manager at the UHI Claire Thomson said: “It was hugely valuable to bring together employers, educators, community organisations and innovation partners in Shetland.
“TalEntEd is about creating practical, locally relevant opportunities – from work-based learning and entrepreneurship support to innovation and commercialisation – that respond directly to the needs of island communities.”
APPLICATIONS are now open for Shetland Islands Council’s first ‘mid-market rent’ housing development in Lerwick.
Six new one-bedroom properties are available on North Road as part of Shetland Islands Council’s new mid-market rent scheme.
The rent will be £545 a month. A single applicant with no child must have a regular gross household income between £22,000 to £34,000 per year. For a couple with no children, this rises to £22,000 to £50,000 per year.
RECRUITMENT has begun for a new walk-in GP clinic at Grantfield in Lerwick, with two receptionists sought.
Given that the clinic is part of a national pilot scheme, the roles are for a fixed term of 12 months.
NHS Shetland said the clinic will open at the end of April, and that its vaccination team will continue to be based at the Grantfield building.
POLL letters have been delivered to voters in Shetland ahead of the Scottish Parliament Election to be held on Thursday 7 May.
Anyone who has not received their poll letter in recent days can contact the Electoral Registration Office to check that they are registered.
Anyone who has not registered to vote can apply to be added to the register of electors via this link.
Alternatively they can contact the Electoral Registration Office for an application form.
The deadline to register to vote is midnight on Monday 20 April. To be eligible to vote in this election, individuals must be resident in Scotland and be at least 16 years of age by 7 May.
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