Buck-passing disunity on Scalloway Pool

I can recall in my time as a council official, the late Edward Thomason, then convener, making a very profound observation.

Shetland was then beginning to feel the benefits accruing from the emerging oil industry and he said: “Shetland is not going to die poor, but I hope that in the future it will not die rich”.

I am sure that he was warning us to be very careful in managing our new-found riches. I wonder if he then foresaw that the reserves held by Shetland Islands Council and the Shetland Charitable Trust would make us the best endowed of all Scotland’s local authorities.

Are we in danger of his prophecy ringing true? I think we are. Take, for example, the unedifying saga of the closure of the Scalloway Swimming Pool. As a distant observer I could only shake my head in sorrow and disbelief at the buck-passing disunity among those charged with the management of our community’s resources.

And those resources are considerable – some £375.8 million has been disbursed by SCT over the past 50 years and generally in accordance with the wishes of the community.

It is my contention that that that consensus has now been violated. Why?

Perhaps over time we have all become complacent. Perhaps also those in charge of providing our services have resorted to compete for their allocations and have forgotten to co-operate for the wider good.

Also, unilateral decisions can have unforeseen consequences. It appears that the proposal to extend the district heating scheme to Scalloway may be put in jeopardy by the closure of the pool. Is Scalloway to be hit by a double whammy?

We as a community need to take a lesson from these negative events and demand a reassessment of our funding priorities. Service providers must emerge from their individual silos and entrenched positions and accept that they must work together for the common good.

Surely in a small community like Shetland this cannot be beyond the wit of man? Let’s not die rich.

Peter Malcolmson
Lerwick