Listed below are changes to Council Services during the Festive Period from December 2024 to January 2025, including closure dates and any planned changes to Services over Christmas and New Year. If you are uncertain about any changes to a specific service, please contact them directly.
NHS Shetland has details of Festive Opening Times for local health and care services, including pharmacies, dentists, opticians and patient travel. If you need urgent care or mental health support, please call NHS24 on 111. If you have a serious illness or injury, please call 999.
Local contact details and opening hours of Third Sector care and support organisations are available on the website of Voluntary Action Shetland
Council Offices
Most Council premises, including
- Lerwick Town Hall
- Hayfield House
- 8 North Ness
- Solarhus
- Gremista
- Grantfield
- Sella Ness
will be closed from 5pm on Tuesday 24th December 2024 and will reopen again on the morning of Friday 3rd January 2025.
Specific Council services are listed below.
Roads - Winter maintenance 2024/25
Holiday arrangements for treatment of Ice and Snow
The treatment of ice and snow is a daytime service only, starting at 6am. No routine treatment is provided in the evenings or overnight. Roads will be treated throughout the festive period as per the normal winter service.
A gritting service will be provided on Christmas Day and New Year’s day public holidays, with gritting of the Priority 1 roads in the morning only, and with increased application of salt so that this is retained on the road surface into the afternoon. There will be no treatment on days where the fitting of snow ploughs would be required to clear snow, as this requires double manning and could not be operationally delivered with the number of staff likely to be available
A gritter crew in each area will be on standby in the evenings and on Christmas and New Year’s Days to respond to “blue light” emergencies, Police call-outs and severe weather conditions.
If you must drive in snowy conditions and require a road condition report please contact:
- Roads - 01595 744866 - office hours, extended during bad snow conditions
- Visit our roads winter treatment pages for more information
Gremista Waste Management Facility and Recycling Centre
Opening hours for the Gremista Waste Management Facility in Lerwick can be found here (PDF)
Please note that the Gremista site will be CLOSED on
- Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th December 2024
- and Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd January 2025
The site will also close early on Tuesday 24th December and on Tuesday 31st December 2024.
The site will open as normal from Friday 3rd January 2025.
Refuse Collections
Household collection dates for the Christmas and New Year period can be found here (PDF)
- There will be NO collections on Wednesday 25th or Thursday 26th 2024; or on Wednesday 1st or Thursday 2nd January 2025.
- Please place your refuse or recycling bins out for collection at 7.30am on the appropriate day.
- Normal household collections will resume from Monday 6th January 2025
Ferries
- The Festive Period timetable for the Council's Inter-Island Ferries is available on our Ferries webpage (PDF)
- Current Ferry Status information is also available online and via the telephone Voicebanks
Ferry Bookings
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Ferry sailings on 25th & 26th December, and 1st & 2nd January must be booked in advance. Bookings can be made online up to 30 minutes before published sailing times at ferry.shetland.gov.uk/.
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The Ferries Booking Office at Ulsta (01595 745804) will close at 1500hrs on the 24th and 31st December 2024; and will reopen again at 0800hrs on 27th December and 3rd January respectively.
- Northlink Ferries have details of sailings between Aberdeen, Kirkwall and Lerwick over the Festive period on their website.
Buses and inter-island flights
There will be NO public bus services running in Shetland on Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th December 2024; and Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2nd January 2025.
Details of changes to Bus Services during the Festive period are available on the ZetTrans website.
In the event of service disruption, updates can be obtained by calling the Bus Service Voicebank on 01595 745744.
An interactive webpage with full details of bus, flight and ferry timetables on routes throughout Shetland is available at: https://travel.shetland.org/
Tingwall Airport will be CLOSED on:
- Wednesday 25th and Thursday 26th December 2024
- & Wednesday 1st and Thursday 2rd January 2025
Details of inter-island flight timetables can be found on the Airtask website.
Anchor for Families
The Anchor for Families service will be CLOSED from:
- Tues 24th December 2024 – Sun 29th December inclusive
- Tues 31st December – Sun 5th January 2025 inclusive
A limited service will be available on Monday 30th December.
Adult Services (Learning Disability and Autism)
- Day Services and Lunch Clubs – Individual service users will be informed of the arrangements at their day service.
- Supported Living and Outreach and ACT Service – Supported accommodation services will operate as normal. If tenants’ plans change they should contact their keyworker or care co-ordinator to discuss.
- Short Break and Respite Services (Newcraigielea) – Individual families will be informed of the arrangements.
- Supported Vocational Activity (Eric Gray@Seafield) – Individual service users will be informed of the arrangements.
Building Maintenance
Emergency repairs to schools, offices and public buildings - including public toilets and burial grounds - should be reported to the Out of Office Hours number - 01595 744150.
All other repairs can be reported by calling Buildings Helpdesk on 01595 744183 when the office re-opens on Friday 3rd January 2025 or repairs can be reported by e-mail to buildings.helpdesk@shetland.gov.uk.
Tenants in Council properties with requests for Emergency repairs should look under 'Housing' section.
Burial Services
There will be no interment bookings taken for Wednesday 25th December 2024 and Wednesday 1st January 2025.
For any urgent enquiries please contact Burial Services by email on burials@shetland.gov.uk or by telephone:
- between 26th and 27th December 2024 on 07552 287941
- between 30th December 2024 and 3rd January 2025 on 07796 276404
- or alternatively leave a message on 01595 744898.
Emergency repairs to burial grounds outwith normal working hours should be reported to 01595 744150.
Full administrative services will resume on Monday 6th January 2025. Please contact us by telephone on 01595 744853 or by email on burials@shetland.gov.uk to arrange an appointment in advance.
Childrens Services
- Short Breaks for Children - Families will be informed of individual arrangements over the Festive period.
- Residential childcare services will be open as usual.
- See also Schools below
Community Care Resources
Residential and care at home services will run as usual during the Festive Period. Service users and their families will be informed of any alternative arrangements.
Criminal Justice & Community Care Fieldwork
- The Out of Hours service will be available as normal 01595 695611 when the office is closed. This is the general out of hours service which covers Children and Families, Community Care and Criminal Justice - for emergencies only.
Finance
The Council's Finance section, including Payments, Payroll and Pensions, at 8 North Ness will be closed from 5pm on Tuesday 24th December 2024 and will reopen again at 9am on Friday 3rd January 2025. Payments for items such as Council tax, invoices, and non-domestic rates can still be paid online during this time.
An online service will be available for Crisis Grants on the following dates, 27th, 30th and 31st December. An application must be received before 2pm on the day in question to ensure a post office voucher payment can be made. For emergencies please contact 01595 744632.
Human Resources
The Council's HR Service at 8 North Ness will be closed from 5pm on Tuesday 24th December 2024 and will reopen again at 9am on Friday 3rd January 2025.
If you have any queries please contact HumanResources@shetland.gov.uk – e-mails will be responded to when staff return to work in January 2025
Please note that if you are having difficulties with your recruitment application form or account, you may find a solution on the myjobscotland support page
Housing
The Council's Housing Service at 8 North Ness will be closed from 5pm on Tuesday 24th December 2024 and will reopen again at 9am on Friday 3rd January 2025.
Repairs
- During this time, any Council tenants needing Emergency repairs to properties should contact the Out of Office Hours number - 01595 693972
- All other repairs can be reported by calling Housing Repairs on 01595 744399 when the office re-opens on Friday 3rd January 2025 or you can report your repair by e-mail – housingrepairs@shetland.gov.uk providing all relevant details.
Homeless
Anyone with nowhere to stay or is at risk of homelessness between these dates and times can call the Duty Housing Officer on 01595 695611 for assistance and advice on homelessness and temporary accommodation.
- All other housing application enquiries can be made when the office re-opens on on Friday 3rd January 2025. Housing information and advice can be found on our Housing Service webpage.
Islesburgh Community Centre & Hostel
Islesburgh Community Centre
- Closes at 1600 on Monday 23rd December 2024
- Re-opens at 0900 on Monday 6th January 2025
Islesburgh House Hostel
- Will be closed from Sunday 1st December 2024, and will reopen on Monday 20th January 2025
www.shetland.gov.uk/islesburgh/
Living Well Hubs
The Living Well Hubs will close for the Festive period. Details below
Brae
The last day open for the Living Well Hub in Brae will be Friday 20th December 2024; and it will re-open on Friday 10th January 2025
Scalloway
The last day open for the Living Well Hub in Scalloway will be on Wednesday 18th December 2024; and it will re-open on Wednesday 8th January 2025.
Bressay
The last day open for the Living Well Hub in Bressay will be on Wednesday 18th December 2024: and it will re-open on Wednesday 8th January 2025.
Occupational Therapy
The hours for the Community Occupational Therapy service over the Festive period will be:
- Tuesday 24th December 2024 - Open
- Wednesday 25th December - CLOSED
- Thursday 26th December - CLOSED
- Friday 27th December - Open
- Monday 30th December - Open
- Tuesday 31st December - Open
- Wednesday 1st January 2025 - CLOSED
- Thursday 2rd January - CLOSED
Open as normal from Friday 3rd January 2025.
Calls can be made to 01595 744319 and a message left, or by email to OT.Duty@shetland.gov.uk. Messages and emails will be answered on the next working day.
Registrar's Office - Lerwick
The Registrar's Office will be CLOSED from 2 pm on Tuesday 24th December 2024, and will reopen again on the morning of Friday 3rd January 2025.
The Registrar Office will be open for telephone enquiries and appointments ONLY on:
- Friday 27th December 2024 from 10am to 2pm
- Monday 30th December 2024 from 10am to 2pm
- and Tuesday 31st December 2024 from 10am to 2pm
Normal service will resume on Friday 3rd January 2025.
Telephone 01595 744562 or email registrar@shetland.gov.uk
Schools Information
All schools in Shetland will close for the Christmas holidays from the end of the school day on Friday 20th December 2024 and reopen to pupils on the morning of Tuesday 7th January 2025. Full details of the school calendar can be found on the Term Dates page
Please contact schools directly with any queries.
School and Community Games Halls
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The last bookings for Council managed games halls at Brae, Sandwick and Scalloway Schools, and the Gilbertson Park Hall, will be on Sunday 22nd December 2024. The first bookings in the New Year will be on Monday 6th January 2025.
- For details of Festive Opening Times for local pools and leisure centres, please contact Shetland Recreational Trust - www.srt.org.uk/
Shetland Library
Opening Hours can be found on our Shetland Library webpages
Normal opening hours will apply from Friday 3rd January 2025, when the libary will reopen from 10am.
Books can be returned anytime at the 24-hour returns point outside the Library door.
Library Van Information
There's also schedules for the Mobile Library Van
Social Work
Social Work will be closed on Wednesday 25th & Thursday 26th December 2024, and Wednesday 1st & Thursday 2nd January 2025. The Duty Social Worker can be contacted out of hours on 01595 695611. This out of hours service covers Social Work, Adult and Child Protection, Children and Families, Community Care and Criminal Justice.