We will deliver strong leadership of place, enabling, facilitating and stimulating opportunities for Shetland.
The Council agreed Shetland’s latest ‘Islands with Small Populations Locality Plan’ in December 2023 having developed this in collaboration with the communities. This is the second plan and builds on the promising impacts from the first one, agreed in 2020. For example, the median income in the five islands covered is still considerably lower than the Shetland average, but the gap has reduced, and satisfaction with services and community confidence has increased. With the Second Locality Plan, greater emphasis is on the individual plans for each island, and ensuring they have the potential to address the population challenges they face.
The Nort Natters project began in August 2022 to better understand how people who live, work and study in the north mainland of Shetland experience the place where they live. This aimed to understand the current and future needs of local communities, with the aim of improving the quality of life and services in the area. The project was led by the Council with contributions and engagement from partners across public services, voluntary organisations, and over 500 members of the community. The Nort Natters report was published on 1 March 2023.
The Council, as part of the Shetland Partnership, recently agreed Locality Profiles, which help to aid understanding of local level demographics, economy, education, environment, health and housing. The profiles are valuable data sources and can be useful in any service redesign, local plans and maximising opportunities to seek external funding to support community development.