Also in the news 24 June 2026
- New MSP supports campaign to reopen Scalloway pool
- Eurocar apologises
- SAT looks for new trustees
- Whale and dolphin monitoring project
- Funding for oil & gas transition training
SHETLAND MSP Hannah Mary Goodlad has reaffirmed her support for the campaign to reopen Scalloway Pool.
Shetland Recreational Trust closed the pool in March in an attempt to make the organisation more sustainable and to prevent further site closures elsewhere.
In a short statement issued earlier this week the newly elected SNP MSP said: “Access to local swimming pools is absolutely vital, especially in island communities where being a strong swimmer is such an important life skill.
“The fact that swimming is the most popular sport for women and for disabled adults to participate in gives further weight to the importance of investing in swimming facilities.
“I recognise the challenges of rising energy and maintenance costs, and we’ve seen swimming pool closures rise at an alarming rate nationally in recent years. But we must think holistically about swimming pools as protected community assets, given the far-reaching health and wellbeing benefits for the community.”
CAR RENTAL giant Europcar has apologised to isles MP Alistair Carmichael and some Shetland constituents after the company treated them as customers from overseas.
Carmichael had branded the requirement of customers living in British island communities such as Shetland and Orkney as “bizarre” after it emerged that they were required to show their passports to rent a vehicle within the UK.
The MP said he was delighted to have received an apology while his constituents had been offered a full refund of cost that incurred because of the error.
He added: “While this bizarre situation should never have been allowed to occur – and it really should not take the intervention of an MP to stop this sort of behaviour – if more companies could accept their mistakes with this sort of speed and good grace the world would be in a better place.”
SHETLAND Amenity Trust (SAT) is looking to appoint four new trustees to its board and is keen to hear from people with a wide range of backgrounds, experiences and perspectives.
Chair of the board Alison Moncrieff said: “We are looking for people who care about Shetland and want to play a part in shaping its future. Professional experience can be valuable, but lived experience matters too.
“What’s most important is a willingness to contribute, think constructively and bring your own perspective. We want a board that reflects the breadth and diversity of Shetland’s communities.”
Established more than 40 years ago, the amenity trust employs more than 50 folk who deliver a wide range of services including Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, Shetland Museum and Archives, the Crofthouse Museum, biological records, peatland restoration, woodlands management, rangers services and Shetland Wool Week.
This role is voluntary and unpaid. Anyone interested in finding out more is encouraged to visit the trust’s website for an information pack, or to get in touch for an informal conversation.
A TWO year whale and dolphin monitoring programme has been under way since spring after UHI Shetland received £95,000 in funding from the Shetland Community Benefit Fund.
The project sees researchers undertake two dedicated marine mammal photo-identification surveys every month, gathering information on the whales and dolphins that visit Shetland’s internationally important waters.
The surveys are designed to help improve understanding of the distribution, movements, and long-term population trends of local cetacean species.
Marine mammal researcher at UHI Shetland and project lead Dr Emily Hague, said: I’m especially excited about bringing out local volunteers with us to train and gain new skills and would warmly invite anybody to contact us if they’re interested in being involved or know a group that would benefit from coming out surveying with us”.
The SCBF funding, which distributes money from the Viking wind farm, provides for vessel time and associated survey equipment, whereas staff time is being paid for through the EU-funded BLUE CONNECT project. Anyone interested in getting involved is asked to find out more here.
THE SCOTTISH and UK governments are contributing £3 million each for the 2026-27 round of the oil and gas transition training fund, which opens today (Wednesday).
The fund will enable oil and gas workers to benefit from funded training and careers advice that will enable them to bring their skills and experience to other industries such as sustainable energy, the governments said.
Scottish energy minister Stephen Gethins said: “Scotland has the geography, we have the infrastructure, and above all, we have the people to make the most of the energy transition that is upon us.
“A just and managed transition means putting workers, and the communities that depend on them, at the heart of the economic benefits created by that transition.”
Further information who is eligible and how to apply can be found at: www.transitiontrainingfund.scot
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