Shocking state of neglect (Kathy Greaves)

This government and our council have pledged to reduce Britain’s carbon footprint by a substantial amount by the year 2020, and the Shetland Charitable Trust has been asked to invest another interim £6.3 million in the Viking Energy windfarm project to help achieve this aim.

Even if the Viking windfarm was to go ahead, it would not save the world, would not help our own ordinary citizens as they struggle with fuel poverty, rising fuel costs, increasing food prices and no doubt eventually food shortages due to those increases.

Thus would it not be more sensible, seeing that we are just a tiny island, a dot in the ocean, to be seen to be “burning the light” here, by setting an example to other areas not just in the UK, but elsewhere throughout the world?

Those in power in the new council, Shetland Charitable Trust, Slap and other locally controlled organisations should take a long hard look at what is going on here in Shetland.

They should start by looking at the shocking state of neglect and dereliction of the huge expanse of the greenhouses at Tingwall. The wrecked car dump – which it now is – is shocking to see. How much fresh and easily available food could be grown here to feed Shetlanders, and how many other projects like this could they fund throughout these isles, for the benefit of us all?

There are many gardening and horticultural groups through Shetland; their expertise and management could all be combined, via our SIC department of the environment, to form a formidable body to produce a plan to achieve self-sufficiency as far as possible.

I’d like to see something done about this situation before the greenhouses totally collapse through neglect.

Kathy Greaves
3 Anderson Road,
Lerwick.