Shetland Islands Council Comhairle Shealtainn | |
---|---|
Full council election every 5 years | |
Type | |
Type | |
History | |
Founded | 1975 |
Leadership | |
Maggie Sandison since 28 February 2018 [1] | |
Structure | |
Seats | 23 councillors |
Political groups | Independent (20) |
Elections | |
Single transferable vote | |
Last election | 5 May 2022 |
Next election | 6 May 2027 |
Motto | |
Með lögum skal land byggja (Old Norse: "By law shall the land be built up") | |
Meeting place | |
Council Chamber, Lower Hillhead, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0EL | |
Website | |
www |
The Shetland Islands Council (Shetland Insular Scots : Shitlin Islant' Cooncil; Scottish Gaelic : Comhairle Shealtainn) is the local authority for Shetland, Scotland. It was established by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and is the successor to the former Lerwick Town Council and Zetland County Council. This council was established in 1975 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of the mid-1990s.
It provides services in the areas of Environmental Health, Roads, Social Work, Community Development, Organisational Development, Economic Development, Building Standards, Trading Standards, Housing, Waste, Education, Burial Grounds, Port and Harbours and others. The council is allowed to collect Council Tax. The Fire Service is part of the Highlands and Islands division of the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.
In 2011, structural reforms saw the creation of the Political Leader position, with the Convener becoming a civic leadership post. [3]
As of 2022 the council has the following councillors:
Party | Seats | |
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Independent | 20 | |
Scottish Green Party | 1 | |
Scottish National Party | 1 | |
Scottish Labour Party | 1 | |
No. | Political Leader | Party | Period in office | Election | Depute Leader | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Josie Simpson | Independent | 2011 - 2012 | 2007 | |||
2 | Gary Robinson | Independent | 2012 - 2017 | 2012 | Billy Fox (Independent) Michael Stout (Independent) | ||
3 | Cecil Smith | Independent | 2017 - 2018 | 2017 | Steven Coutts (Independent) | ||
4 | Steven Coutts | Independent | 2018–2022 | 2017 | Emma Macdonald (Independent) | ||
5 | Emma Macdonald | Independent | 2022–present | 2022 | Gary Robinson (Independent) | ||
No. | Convener | Party | Period in office | Election | Depute Convener | ||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | A.I. Tulloch | Independent | 1974 - 1986 | 1974 1978 1982 | John Jamieson (Independent) John Butler (Labour) Edward Thomason (Independent) | ||
2 | Edward Thomason | Shetland Movement | 1986 - 1994 | 1986 1990 | Willie Tait (Independent) William Anderson (Shetland Movement) | ||
3 | Lewis Shand Smith | Independent | 1994 - 1999 | 1994 | James Smith (Shetland Movement) | ||
4 | Tom Stove | Independent | 1999 - 2003 | 1999 | John Nicolson (Liberal Democrat) | ||
5 | Sandy Cluness | Liberal Democrat [lower-alpha 1] Independent | 2003 - 2012 | 2003 2007 | Florence Grains (Independent) Josie Simpson (Independent) | ||
6 | Malcolm Bell | Independent | 2012–2022 | 2012 2017 | Gary Robinson (Independent) Cecil Smith (Independent) Beatrice Wishart (Independent) Cecil Smith (Independent) | ||
7 | Andrea Manson | Independent | 2022–present | 2022 | Bryan Peterson (Independent) |
Council meetings are held at the Council Chamber on Lower Hillhead in Lerwick. The building was formerly St Ringan's Church and was built in 1886. [5] After the church closed the building was used as a library for some years, before being converted to become the council chamber in 2022. Council meetings were previously held at Lerwick Town Hall. [6]
The council's main offices are at 8 North Ness in Lerwick, overlooking the harbour. The building was completed in 2012 to bring together the council's departments in one building. [7]
Fair Isle, sometimes Fairisle, is the southernmost Shetland island, situated roughly 38 kilometres from the Shetland Mainland and about 43 kilometres from North Ronaldsay.
Shetland, also called the Shetland Islands, is an archipelago in Scotland lying between Orkney, the Faroe Islands, and Norway. It is the northernmost region of the United Kingdom.
Kirkwall is the largest town in Orkney, an archipelago to the north of mainland Scotland.
Local government in Scotland comprises thirty-two local authorities, commonly referred to as councils. Each council provides public services, including education, social care, waste management, libraries and planning. Councils receive the majority of their funding from the Scottish Government, but operate independently and are accountable to their local electorates. Councils raise additional income via the Council Tax, a locally variable domestic property tax, and Business rates, a non-domestic property tax.
Lerwick is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010.
Tavish Hamilton Scott is a former Scottish politician. He was the Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) for Shetland from 1999 to 2019, and Leader of the Scottish Liberal Democrats from 2008 to 2011. He stepped down as Leader after the 2011 Scottish Parliament election, in which the Liberal Democrats were reduced to five seats, down from 16 in the previous parliament.
Up Helly Aa is a type of fire festival held annually from January to March in various communities in Shetland, Scotland, to mark the end of the Yule season. Each festival involves a torchlit procession by squads of costumed participants that culminates in the burning of an imitation Viking galley. The largest festival held in Lerwick, Shetland's capital, involves a procession of up to a thousand guizers who march through the streets of Lerwick on the last Tuesday in January. The other rural festivals see lower numbers of participants in accordance with their lower populations.
Aith,, is a village on the Northern coast of the West Shetland Mainland, Scotland at the southern end of Aith Voe, some 21 miles west of Lerwick.
Scalloway is the largest settlement on the west coast of the Mainland, the largest island of the Shetland Islands, Scotland. The village had a population of roughly 900, at the 2011 census. Now a fishing port, until 1708 it was the capital of the Shetland Islands.
The Shetland Museum and Archives is a museum in Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. The new Shetland Museum at Hay's Dock was officially opened on 31 May 2007 by Queen Sonja of Norway and the Duke & Duchess of Rothesay.
Lerwick and Bressay Parish Church is the largest Church of Scotland congregation in Shetland, serving the islands' capital Lerwick and the surrounding area.
The Orkney Islands Council, is the local authority for Orkney, Scotland. It was established in 1975 by the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 and was largely unaffected by the Scottish local government changes of the mid-1990s.
Mareel is a multi-purpose entertainment venue located on the waterfront of Lerwick, the capital of Shetland. Opening in 2012, the facility includes a music venue, cinema, conference rooms and educational facilities.
Lerwick Town Hall is a municipal building located on Hillhead in Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. It is used as an events venue and registrar's office. The building, which was also the meeting place of Shetland Islands Council until 2022, is a Category A listed building.
Quarff is a small village on Mainland in the Shetland Islands in Scotland. It is located on the main A970 road, 5 miles (8.0 km) south of Shetland's only town, Lerwick. The village is spread along a classic glacial valley that runs east–west across the island between high hills to north and south, with centres of population at Easter Quarff which is near the main road and the east coast, and Wester Quarff which is 11⁄2 miles (2.4 km) west and faces the Atlantic Ocean. A narrow road runs along the valley between the two.
Elections to Shetland Islands Council were held on 4 May 2017 on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. The election was the third using seven wards created as a result of the Local Governance (Scotland) Act 2004, each ward electing three or four Councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 22 Councillors elected.
Shetland Library is the public library service of Shetland, with its main branch based in Lerwick. Membership is open to both residents of and visitors to the islands. The library has a range of digital, online and physical material and collections that support the literary traditions of the Northern Isles.
County Buildings is a municipal structure in King Erik Street, Lerwick, Shetland, Scotland. The structure, which is used as a judicial complex, is a Category B listed building.
Elections to the Shetland Islands Council took place on 5 May 2022 on the same day as the other Scottish local government elections. Seven wards will be contested, each ward electing two to four Councillors using the single transferable vote system form of proportional representation, with 23 Councillors elected.
Elections to the Zetland County Council were held on 8 May 1973 as part of Scottish local elections. This was the last election for the County Council before its incorporation along with the Lerwick Town Council into the Shetland Islands Council in 1975. Elections were held in every part of Shetland except Lerwick to elect 24 landward members to the County Council, who would be joined by six nominated members from the Lerwick Town Council.