We will build the principles of community wealth building into the way we support the local community.
Community wealth building is a ‘people-centred’ approach to local economic development, which aims to redirect wealth back into the local economy, and places control and benefits into the hands of local people. The Council has a long track record of supporting the establishment and development of community groups and organisations across Shetland, who provide local solutions to local issue, and encouraging economic participation in local communities. In particular, the Coastal Communities Fund, funded by the Council’s allocations of net revenues from Crown Estate assets, seeks to support the community and economic development of Shetland by investing in infrastructure, community capacity building, developing community assets and encouraging inclusive growth. Since the establishment of the scheme in 2020, the Council has committed over £3.5m in funds to local community projects across Shetland. Notable projects which have been supported include:
• Improvement of halls, clubs and community centres across Shetland, including in Sandwick, Lerwick, Fetlar, Unst, Voe, Cunningsburgh, Trondra and Burra;
• Supporting investment in significant community-owned assets, including the Cullivoe Industrial Estate and Marina, the Scalloway Caravan and Campsite, the Nesting Scrapstore, COPE Home Company, and the rebuild of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory;
• Investment in local training facilities to support the aquaculture and engineering sectors, and in locally owned industry facilities such as the Shetland abattoir.
In December 2022, Shetland Islands Council approved a set of ‘Shetland Energy Development Principles’. These principles are promoted to all existing and prospective energy developers, UK and Scottish Governments, their agencies, relevant regulators and others. The purpose of these principles is to ensure that Shetland achieves a “Just Transition” in the process of achieving national energy targets through renewable energy, specifically those developments which will have lasting implications for Shetland’s landscape, industry, environment, supply chain and infrastructure.
The Energy Development Principles set out a clear policy directive identifying Shetland as the ‘host community’ for “all projects on Shetland and in the waters around Shetland, i.e. where Shetland is the nearest landfall”, and establishes expectations for how energy development should engage with and deliver community benefits, including:
• Development of shared natural resources should include direct benefits to the host community.
• Developments should include the delivery of a fair share of seabed rental income and a suitable Community Benefits package. All proposed developments must demonstrate early engagement with the host community and its representatives to agree details of those.
• Proposed offshore development anywhere in the seas surrounding Shetland must include a Community Benefits package of the same relative value as now established for onshore projects.
• Developments should commit to supporting Shetland to campaign to ensure that regulations and arrangements allow Shetland-generated green energy to be made available to Shetland consumers and businesses at more affordable prices.
The Council has also utilised the Scottish Government’s Place Based Investment Programme to support community wealth building projects:
• 2021/22 - £135,000 to community projects in Fetlar, Unst, Whalsay and Voxter;
• 2022/23 - £108,000 towards the rebuild of the Fair Isle Bird Observatory;
• 2023/24 - £75,000 towards improvement of local play areas across Shetland.
The Council provides funding and support for local visitor facilities to act as information points, aiming to improve the visitor experience by provision of high quality information and increasing income to community museums and heritage centres. A network of 11 local information points is provided with annual funding to maintain this provision.
The Council’s Rural Retail Services Scheme aims to improve the sustainability of rural shops across Shetland, by providing funding for capital improvements, including energy efficiency measures. The purpose of the scheme is to help maintain locally-owned retail services and the contribution they make to healthy, viable communities throughout Shetland. The scheme offers grants of up to £10,000 towards improvement projects, and is funded from the UK Shared Prosperity Fund.