Also in the news / Also in the news 11 May 2026
- Brough Lodge meeting
- Gas cylinder response ‘poor’
- Record takings at Bressay plant sale
PEOPLE in the North Isles are invited to a public meeting in the Fetlar Hall this Thursday to hear the latest on plans to refurbish the 200 years old Brough Lodge.
The derelict mansion was bought by the European Heritage Project from the Brough Lodge Trust in August 2023 for £30,000.
Almost three years later, the project to initially restore the listed building is ready to go public.
The meeting in the Fetlar hall, starting at 6pm, will be hosted by Suzanne Malcomson of Malcolmson Architects.
Malcolmson described the project as “very much alive” and said the team planning the restoration has been engaging with Historic Environment Scotland and the council’s planning department for some time.
European Heritage Project is a Germany based organisation set up to preserve historically unique monuments and buildings.
Brough Lodge is the first British project in their portfolio.
THE RESPONSE to an appeal to find around 6,000 gas cylinders in Shetland “has been quite poor”.
Norgas Technical manager John Webster has again urged Shetlanders to get in touch if they have any Zetgas or Norgas cylinders, so they can be collected this summer.
A specialist team from the Merseyside area will travel to Shetland in July to collect and remove as many expired gas cylinders as they can.
“The majority of people who have made contact have been very supportive, and in some cases rallied around their friends and neighbours in an effort to assist,” Webster said.
But he added: “So far, we have only a few hundred cylinders reported for collection; this represents less than one per cent of the cylinders that we know were imported onto Shetland.
“I would urge Shetlanders to please go and have a look at what you have lying around and, report any Zet Gas cylinders for collection.”
He said there was no guarantee that recoveries would be repeated, with folk asked to report cylinders for collection by emailing zetgasrecoveries@norgas.co.uk or calling 017440753634.
People are asked to provide name, address and postcode, as well as a What3Words location and phone number if possible.
Webster added: “In the real world, by the time that the Zet Gas cylinders start to pose a significant danger I will probably be dead; but I will have left Shetland and this world with a clear conscience in the knowledge that I that I did my best.
“I feel that it’s time for Shetlanders to do theirs”.
A RECORD £1,500 was raised for the Red Cross Refugees’ Appeal at Bressay’s plant sale on Sunday.
In under two hours the annual event, held in conjunction with the famous Bressay Sunday Teas, grossed £1,421 from the sale of plants, bulbs, seedlings, cuttings and garden bric-a-brac.
With other donations already pledged, the total will be over £1,500, 50 per cent more than last year’s event.
Thanking all the Bressay folk who donated items for sale and helped in the hall and the kitchen, hall committee member Lesley Roberts said: “The support for this good cause is heart-warming.
“Our special thanks go to Bressay’s keen gardeners and the visitors from across the Sound who helped to make this such a memorable afternoon.
“It shows that even in a small island with only 360 inhabitants we can make a real contribution to helping refugees.
“Eighty years ago the Red Cross was helping ‘displaced persons’ and former PoWs all over Europe. It’s very sad that such work is still needed but as long as it is the people of Shetland will continue to support this admirable organisation.”
She added: “We often hear about Bressay’s problems with housing and the lack of a resident nurse. Those difficulties are real but once again this community event has shown what a resourceful, co-operative and kind island this is.”
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