Lerwick Town Hall in Shetland to close for three months due to plumbing works

Shetland Islands Council (SIC) has confirmed that Lerwick Town Hall will be closed to visitors and events for much of this summer as the historic building gets connected to the town’s district heating system.

The town hall will be closed off in July, August and September.

Work due to be undertaken during this period includes replacing radiators and installing pipework.

In the summer months the building is usually open to visitors, including tourists, while it also often plays host to weddings.

As the large A-listed building prepares to connect to the district heating, a spokesperson for the SIC said the town hall uses around 14,000 litres of heating oil on average a year.

Once it is connected to the system, it is expected there will be more than 30 tonnes of carbon emissions saved every year.

The upcoming work will see the existing single pipe heating system removed and replaced with a modern two pipe system to improve the return temperatures to the district heating network and the efficiency of the units.

A planning statement said the replacement radiators have been selected to match the existing radiators’ aesthetic, with “heritage style valves, rosettes and radiator fixings” also aiming to replicate the current set-up.

The SIC spokesperson said: “Connecting the town hall to the Lerwick district heating forms part of the council’s local heat and energy efficiency strategy.

“The work over the last few months has seen the replacement of the oil boilers as well as new loft insulation and a new hot water system.

“The final phase of upgrade works to the internal radiators in the building will take place over the summer months. This will mean that Lerwick Town Hall is closed to visitors and for events during July, August and September.”

They added that “connecting to the district heating scheme means a 100% reduction in fossil fuel use, equating to about 32 tonnes of carbon emissions every year”.

“The council has secured external grant funding to decarbonise the heat from a historic listed building, and to change to a local heat source that is much less exposed to volatile international markets,” the spokesperson added.

Last year the Scottish Government awarded the SIC nearly £170,000 through its heat decarbonisation fund for the project.

At the end of last year underground pipe work took place near to the Town Hall as part the plans to connect the building to district heating.

Lerwick’s district heating scheme – which has been up and running for more than 20 years – uses heat generated from burning rubbish, which would otherwise go to landfill, in the town’s energy recovery plant to provide hot water to homes and businesses in the area via pipes.

At the moment around 1,300 properties in Lerwick are connected, which is about one third of the town. It is operated by Shetland Heat Energy & Power (SHEAP), which is subsidiary of Shetland Charitable Trust.

The town hall was formally opened by George Thoms, Sheriff of Caithness, Orkney and Shetland, in 1883.

Until recently, it hosted both council meetings as well as offering space for functions and events. In 2022, SIC meetings moved to the former St Ringans church at Lower Hillhead.

The town hall also hosts the local registrar office.