Press Release
Island Eco-Tourism Project Approved
A HALF-MILLION pound project to build an ‘unplugged’ eco-tourism development on the uninhabited Shetland island of Linga has been approved by Shetland Islands council’s planning board.
The application, by Texas-based businessman Robert Thomson, who owns the 50-acre island in Vaila Sound, 200 metres off the village of Walls, had previously been rejected by planners as contravening local planning guidance relating to the repopulation of uninhabited islands.
But acting as the Local Review Body, beyond which there is no further route of appeal for a decision taken by a council planner under delegated authority, the planning board voted to approve in principle the development, which will see two disused cottages on the island restored, the land used for crofting once more, and a new jetty built. Electricity will be generated using renewable sources, and sewage disposal will be handled by a reed bed. Future plans include a shore station and visitor centre in Walls.
Gary Robinson moved approval of the plan, and accepted a move from Bill Manson and Caroline Miller to stipulate that the council’s responsibility for services to the island should end at Walls. An amendment by Josie Simpson, seconded by Iris Hawkins, that the approval should be specified for holiday use of the accommodation, was defeated by seven votes to three.
Councillor Robinson said the development offered a great opportunity and considerable economic and social benefits for the Walls area.