SIC received more than £1m in property and land sales over last five years

SHETLAND Islands Council (SIC) has received more than £1 million in property and land sales over the last five years.

Figures show that the largest sale during this period – through to the end of 2025 – was the tourist office at the Market Cross in Lerwick, which went for £251,000 last year.

The second highest sale in the last five years was 9 Hill Lane in Lerwick, which the SIC sold for £197,500 in December.

Other high-value sales include Viewforth in Lerwick to Tingwall Livestock Ltd for £175,000, and the former Quarff school to Shetland Accommodation Ltd for £150,000.

The total the council received from July 2021 to December 2025 reached £1,167,084.

There were a number of nominal sales during the period, including the £1 community asset transfers of the science block at the old Anderson High School and the former Bressay school.

The Skeld Boating Club also bought the village’s toilets for £1 back in 2021.

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More recently the Sandness Community Group bought the Melby toilets for £1,000 in December.

The SIC sold the Brae toilets for £550 in November but they have since sold at auction for £5,000 – and are going back under the hammer soon with the opening bid set for £9,000.

The SIC has also sold a number of crofts and land during the five-year period.

One savings proposal within the SIC is to look to identify opportunities to rationalise the size of the estate and reduce maintenance and energy costs.

A proposal to reduce the number of SIC offices will “require the development of a hot desking policy, and a cultural shift to fully embrace remote working”, according to budget documents published by the council earlier this year.