The Council's Planning Board gave TOTAL E&P Ltd planning permission to put up temporary accommodation to house the workers that will be coming to Shetland to construct their gas processing plant.

The settlement, which will be positioned on land owned by the Council in the Sella Ness Industrial Estate, has capacity to house up to 848 workers and will be two storeys in height. As well as the accommodation, the development will have an external football pitch, gymnasium, dining room, bar, recreation area, reading room, computer room, convenience shop, laundry and prayer room.

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Chair of the Planning Board, Cllr Frank Robertson said: "This is a major development for a small place like Shetland. Clearly with something this size, we must make sure that proper plans are in place to make sure there is no detrimental impact on the natural or built environment around the site. After discussing a number of issues such as the security of neighbouring sites and broadband, Members voted to grant the permission with a set of conditions. The good thing about this project is that it is so close to the TOTAL gas plant site and it will be on land that already has services. That's a big improvement from the sites at Firth and Toft in the 1970s where all the infrastructure had to be put in new."

(CD/KMcA)