Councillors back Lerwick hockey pitch proposal in close vote
COUNCILLORS have voted in favour of incorporating a Lerwick hockey pitch into the full business case for a new Brae High School.
The vote at today’s (Wednesday) full council meeting went 10-9 in favour of exploring the so-called ‘option two’, which would see the SIC take on the existing Brae hockey pitch and resurface it for football.
The deciding vote went down to convener Bryan Peterson, who supported option two.
Option one was to build a new synthetic football pitch on the current school site once the old buildings are demolished. This is because the new school is proposed to be built on the existing grass pitch nearby, which is used by Delting FC.
This would mean the existing Brae astroturf pitch, owned by Shetland Recreational Trust (SRT), would remain for hockey.
Councillors were asked which option to include in a full business case for the new Brae school, which is expected to come up for decision in January.
However there were last minute changes to the projected 25-year cost of the two options, with elected members given a briefing yesterday afternoon.
Option two was previously said to be around £1.3 million greater in cost over the 25-year period.
But finance manager Paul Fraser said the figures had incorrectly included the cost of building a new pitch entirely, and not just replacing the playing surface.
Under updated figures option two is said to be £76,000 cheaper than option one over 25 years.
A decision on the full business case for a new Brae High School is expected to be taken in January.
However North Isles member Robert Thomson highlighted that due to a challenging financial climate a new school was “far from certain” – and said if a new build did not happen, then the pitch proposals would not come to fruition.
More to follow…
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