From time to time conservation areas are reviewed with the aim of ensuring that the area justifies such status because of its special architectural or historic interest. A Conservation Area Appraisal is prepared which sets out the special qualities of the area which merit preserving and enhancing. The appraisal also aims to identify issues that may threaten the special qualities of these conservation areas, to provide guidance to enhance the areas, and to help inform planning practice and policy.
Shetland Islands Council adopted conservation area appraisals for all three conservation areas in Shetland (Lerwick Lanes, Lerwick New Town and Scalloway) in 2010. A review of those appraisals has been carried out in order to ensure they are up to date with changes in planning policy and guidance and to reflect any changes to the conservation areas.
Having carried out an initial period of public engagement we are now seeking further views on the revised character appraisal documents.
Lerwick Lanes Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Reviewed 2024)
Lerwick New Town Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Reviewed 2024)
Scalloway Conservation Area Character Appraisal (Reviewed 2024)
Please click on the following web link to view conservation area mapping layers online:
Conservation Area Analysis Mapping
The public consultation period will run from Tuesday 7th October to Tuesday 4th November 2025.
There will be public drop-in sessions with details of proposals at Scalloway Youth Centre on Thursday 9th October from 12-5pm and in the Islesburgh Centre on Friday 31st October from 2-6pm. Anyone who wishes to view and comment on the proposals is welcome to attend. Proposals, taking account of comments expressed, will later be presented in a report to Councillors at Planning Committee.
In the case of any difficulty accessing the consultation documents please contact Marianna Porter, Planning officer on 01595 744762 or at Marianna.Porter@Shetland.gov.uk
Important statement about your privacy
We do not require any personal information such as your name, address, postcode, phone number or email address. Any personal information that you do enter will be permanently deleted before processing and analysing responses to this survey and will therefore be ignored.
The online survey is being delivered by Shetland Islands Council using Microsoft Forms. Shetland Islands Council receives only the data that you enter and submit. Microsoft’s privacy statement can be found here: Microsoft's privacy statement
To maximise the impact of the data and to enable further use or comparison between future and past surveys, the anonymised data and analysis will be held indefinitely by Shetland Islands Council and may be published for public accessor shared with other local public and community organisations.
For privacy or data protection enquiries, you should contact the Data Protection Officer as follows:
- In writing to Data Protection Officer, Shetland Islands Council, Corporate Services Department, 8 North Ness, Lerwick, Shetland ZE1 0LZ
- By telephone on 01595 744 551
- By email at dataprotection@shetland.gov.uk.
We have prepared a survey which can be completed by following this link:
Conservation Area Review Survey
Alternatively, you can also complete the survey by scanning the QR code at the bottom of this page.
If you would prefer to submit comments by email they can be sent to:
Development.Management@shetland.gov.uk (please title the email ‘Conservation Areas Review’ and state which conservation area your comments relate to).
Or by post to: Shetland Islands Council, Planning, Development Services, 8 North Ness Business Park, Lerwick, Shetland, ZE1 0LZ.
Comments must be received by 5pm on Tuesday 4th November 2025.
