Licence extended for North Roe hall hop night

The procession at the Northmavine Up-Helly-A' in 2023. Photo: Sophie Whitehead.

Councillors have approved an extended licence for the North Roe hall during the Northmavine Up-Helly-A’ weekend – despite confusion of which date it is for.

An application from the hall asked for a one-hour extension to its licence for the hop night from 1am until 2am.

However, the date on the application appeared to be wrong.

A council official said he had noticed the mistake after the agenda was published.

The application said the extension would take place in the early hours of Saturday, 17th February but the hall already had approval of a licence for that date.

Licensing board chairman Neil Pearson said it appeared to be “an honest admin error”.

He confirmed that the applicant would be informed of the committee’s decision and clarify what night the extension was for.

Shetland North councillor Tom Morton had first asked if the council should grant the application despite the information being incorrect.

But he said it would be best to avoid any unwanted frustration.

“My life wouldn’t be worth living in Northmavine if it wasn’t granted,” he said. “For my own safety, I move to grant this.”

His motion was welcomed by all other councillors after a representative of the police said they had “no concerns of anti-social behavior” on the premises during a significant event.