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Case Study: Iain McDiarmid

Iain McDiarmid and his family have lived in Shetland since 1998 and he has been the Council’s Head of Planning since 2006. These are his impressions.

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I hadn’t visited Shetland before I came here for my job interview. It was a grey February morning and I must admit that, as I walked across the tarmac at Sumburgh Airport, it did rather feel as though I’d landed at some Siberian ore town. On the way into Lerwick, I was surprised to hear my taxi driver dismiss Mousa broch – an extraordinary iron age site - as just a ‘rickle o’ stanes’. I was baffled, too, by what I could see of the Council’s approach to housing developments. But things did get better: a lot better, in fact. The job in the Planning Department was a step up for me at that time.

Not many people get the chance to live and work in a place like Shetland. There are so many things to like about the islands: the people; the environment (seeing whales, otters or rare birds while out on site visits); the leisure facilities; the number of activities for both adults and children (particularly the wide range of sporting and musical activities); and the sense of being surrounded by history both ancient and modern from Mousa Broch to the war-time fortifications. I love wandering through the lanes and streets of Lerwick; it’s a fantastic wee town and it keeps on getting better, most recently with the addition of the new museum. The Folk Festival is another highlight: much more an eclectic mix of some of the best musicians from around the world than a bunch of guys in woolly jumpers singing with a finger in their ear. And I must mention the quiet roads, which provide lots of great cycling.

I feel very much accepted in the local community. As a planner, you occasionally have to tell people that their proposal, perhaps their dream, is not acceptable. I was involved in one such case but all the family involved have still continued to be as friendly to me and my family as the rest of the community. Whether it is help you need to move house, or just a lift to the bus stop, local people are always there when you need them.

I would have to say that the weather is the thing I like least, but it makes you appreciate the good days all the more.

Working in Shetland is an opportunity you should not miss.

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