Planning round-up 24 July 2026

A REVAMP of the Lerwick Hotel is edging closer after plans were submitted for a new bedroom wing.

The proposal is to demolish an existing two-storey wing and replace it with a three storey one.

The planning documents said the aim is to provide upgraded rooms to “meet guests’ expectations for high quality, modern hotel facilities”.

The building – situated on South Road with a sea view – is owned by Brudolff Hotels, which also runs the Shetland Hotel opposite the NorthLink ferry terminal.

The mix of accommodation proposed in the new wing includes double and twin rooms, suites, accessible rooms and rooms suitable for families and young children.

Brudolff’s Robert Smith said the number of bedrooms in the application is 34, but “we are looking at ways of increasing the number” given the company no longer owns the Kveldsro Hotel in Lerwick.

A planning document said the blockwork construction is showing signs of deterioration.

It added that the proposed new wing utilities the sloping site, meaning that the overall height increased is “minimised”.

“The additional storey allows the hotel to provide larger bedrooms and shower rooms without significantly increasing the building footprint, preserving the surrounding green space.”

Brudolff recently sold its third hotel in Shetland – the Kveldsro, also in the Lerwick – to NHS Shetland.

It plans to use the dormant hotel to accommodate healthcare workers, with £1.2 million of government funding expected to go towards the purchase and refurbishment.

The plans to redevelop the Lerwick Hotel were first made public last year.

SHETLAND AEROGENERATORS has requested an environmental impact assessment (EIA) screening opinion for a proposed underground electrical cable.

The cable would facilitate the export of electricity from a planned second Luggie’s Knowe wind turbine near the Dales Voe base on the outskirts of Lerwick.

The proposed cable length is around 2.7km, with planning documents saying installation methods are designed to minimise disturbance to peat soils and underlying ground conditions.

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The proposed site boundary for the cable routing runs from the back of the landfill site at Gremista to the Ladies Drive junction with the A970.

The contented plans for Luggie’s Knowe include a single wind turbine, anticipated to have a 5MW generating capacity, and a battery energy storage system.

SSE Renewables has sought to tweak its plans for a car park in a former construction compound south of Voe.

It is seeing to reduce the number of parking bays from 21 to 20 to allow three disabled places to be slightly wider.

The aim of the development will be to offer people a place to park their vehicle before heading out onto the Viking wind farm tracks, which are now open to the public.