Stonehaven bus services will be affected by a road closure which will have a knock-on impact on services through Portlethen and Newtonhill, including the X7.

David Street is to be closed from Monday 21 February to Friday 25 February. That is the street just south of the Cowie Bridge and leads into the town. Resurfacing works are being undertaken on David Street and repairs are undertaken on Belmont Brae as well.

The diversion route from Barclay Street terminus will be a turn right south to follow the road through Dunnottar woods to rejoin the A90 dual carriageway. Services will operate the same diversion in reverse.

Stagecoach services will operate later than scheduled but this is the only option being considered by the bus companies. Notices will be posted at the relevant bus stops and Stagecoach will advise passengers of the enforced changes via their website and social media.

Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council tonight with Tim Stephen, Aberdeenshire Council’s operations service manager with Live Life Aberdeenshire. This brought good news about the library and the tennis courts.

Mr Stephen was asked about developer obligation – there is £10,000 that can be used for sports and recreation in the Newtonhill area, though that will increase as new houses are built. That could be spent on the tennis courts or at the primary, but not on maintenance or repairs.

For maintenance or repairs, such as at the tennis courts, that would come via Landscape Services. Their priority currently is making sure such spaces are safe, he said. Quotes are in place for re-lining, repairing the fence and new posts, totalling about £10,000. He invited the community council to press for this.

There was also discussion about provision of a multi-use games area at the primary school. Sarah Chew, the new chair of Friends of Newtonhill, said they are keen to press ahead and fund-raise for this.

The existing library building is past its sell-by date, almost at the unsafe stage. It was a temporary building in 1996, when built. He said that in the short term they are working with the Bettridge Centre to deliver a basic service, possibly towards the end of next month. They have longer-term aims about the co-location of a library service in community buildings.

One comment was made that more hours would be better in order to attract more customers. Another comment was that access to books was being restricted which particularly impacts on children.

The meeting also discussed the state of the roads, and noted the repairs which were carried out today. Questions were asked about why there was no forewarning of the work.

At the next meeting a representative of Stonehaven Rugby Club will be invited to talk to the community council on their quest for a new pitch. Many youngsters from this area use the facility. The next meeting is on Wednesday 16 March at 7.30pm (hopefully in the Skateraw Hall), and will be open to the public.

Aberdeenshire Council’s Trading Standards service has received reports of cold callers attending at people’s homes in Peterhead, claiming to be contractors working for Aberdeenshire Council and that they are there to measure up the kitchen for a new kitchen suite. After measuring up these cold callers have then asked householders for payments towards the new kitchen. In one instance, a householder has handed over cash, believing it was genuine.

The truth is that these cold callers do not work for Aberdeenshire Council; they are scammers.

When Aberdeenshire Council Housing staff or their contractors are due to attend at people’s homes:
• Aberdeenshire Council Housing office will write to the householder in advance, advising when the staff member or contractor will be attending and who they are.
• Any staff member or contractor should have their official council identity badges with them, on open display. Contractors’ ID badges will bear the council logo and their own company’s logo.
• Aberdeenshire Council employees or contractors working on behalf of the council will never ask for money for this type of work. The finance side of things is handled by the council ‘behind the scenes’.

If anyone comes to your door claiming to be from the council or a contractor for the council and they are not wearing an official ID badge, ask to see it. If they cannot produce it, DO NOT let them in, DO NOT give them any money but report them to Police Scotland on the non-emergency number of 101 or 999 if it is an emergency.”

SCAMS
One resident in south Aberdeenshire recently saw a car for sale on a popular auction site. Noting that the price was just under £9000, well below what she expected for a car of that type, she made some enquiries with the seller, despite some misgivings, but also did some enquiries of her own. The seller advised that
he was now living abroad and the car sale was being managed by a company on his behalf.

The resident then made some enquiries with the company managing the sale.

She also noted that their website did not appear in her internet searches. The managing company gave the resident the company website address, which only then became traceable over the internet and advised that if she wished to buy the car she would have to pay the selling price to a different company, an escrow company, by direct bank transfer. The escrow company would then hold the funds until the car had been delivered. An invoice was sent to the resident to that effect.

By making some enquiries about both companies on the government website, Companies House (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/) she was able to establish that the managing company was not registered at all with Companies House and the escrow company had only been registered for a matter of weeks. The resident’s misgivings grew to the point where she abandoned any further enquiries but not before noting that the sales advert had disappeared from the auction website, the managing company had changed their business address according to their website (both old and new addresses were poorly covered by street mapping services), and that the website was later suspended.

This situation highlights the importance of doing your own homework when considering large purchases from unknown sellers. This resident was also contacted by a young couple who had paid the price for the car and had heard nothing since.

FIRE SAFETY
New regulations covering smoke detectors, carbon monoxide detectors and heat sensors in the home came into force on 1 February.

Trading Standards was recently advised by a partner agency about a householder who had been quoted £2000 to have detectors fitted within her home according to these regulations. This was considered to be far in excess of what it should have cost.

In an effort to try to avoid this, when arranging to have detectors etc. fitted, Trading Standards suggest that you should consider getting at least three quotes from reputable fire safety companies, according to your needs and your budget, then fine tune the results until you are satisfied that you have the right products you need to keep your home safe.

A good place to start the process of searching for reputable companies is with the National Security Inspectorate (https://www.nsi.org.uk/), which is the national certification body in the security and fire safety sector. The NSI have a searchable national database for accredited traders on their home page

CONTACT INFORMATION
For urgent Trading Standards matters, contact Aberdeenshire Council’s Trading Standards at 01467 537222. For non-urgent enquiries, contact Consumer Advice Scotland at https://www.consumeradvice.scot/ or on 0808 164 6000.

Contact Police Scotland on 999 if you need urgent police assistance or 101 for non-urgent matters.

This afternoon the North East Transport Partnership (Nestrans) met and included in the discussions was the impact of the Scottish Government’s strategic transport projects review (STPR2).

Not such great news for those of us who would like to see more local stations, especially at Newtonhill, however there is still hope.

Here is what the Nestrans board heard about the draft recommendations which are of particular note for the North East:

a) There is clear support for Aberdeen Rapid Transit proposals and bus priority measures, which are being developed following the Bus Partnership Fund award.

b) There is strong commitment to active travel development, including Active Cycle Freeways within the Aberdeen City area connecting to a wider regional network, aligning with the approach set out in the regional transport strategy.

c) The support for improving physical accessibility at rail stations links to our recent work at Insch Station, although no specific schemes are detailed within the recommendation.

d) A project to improve rail infrastructure to the south of Aberdeen to improve inter-city links to Dundee, Perth and the Central Belt is also included, alongside rail decarbonisation. It is understood this encompasses the currently committed £200m improvement scheme, but also longer-term aspirations for the route.

e) Improvements to ferry services (ferry upgrades, ferry terminal upgrades, access to ferry terminals) supported by Transport Scotland are also highlighted, which includes the Northern Isles services operating from Aberdeen.

f) Many of the other “nation-wide” interventions also have implications for the North East and correspond with actions in the regional transport strategy, including school active travel plans, 20mph zones, demand responsive transport / mobility as a service, behaviour change to support road safety, a national framework for mobility hubs, integrated public transport ticketing, technology to support operation of the trunk road network, and freight interventions.

Elsewhere in the publication, commitment is given to progressing a STAG-based review for future options on A96 dualling. Ongoing support to committed schemes has also been confirmed, including junction upgrades at Laurencekirk, external links to Aberdeen South Harbour, and the £200m Aberdeen to Central Belt rail journey time improvement project.

Strategic interventions which were identified in the region’s Strategic Transport Appraisal as being appropriate for consideration with STPR2, but which do not explicitly appear in the STPR2 recommendations are:

a) Enhancements to the local rail service between Montrose and Inverurie, including additional local rail stations;

b) Inter-city rail improvements between Aberdeen and Inverness;

c) Improvements on the A90(N)/A952 between Ellon and Fraserburgh/Peterhead;

d) Improvements on A92/A90(S) – Aberdeen to Perth (although an integrated transport plan on the A90 through Dundee is mentioned); and

e) Strategic park and ride facilities.

In the instance of the rail projects, it is understood that enhancements will continue to be sought via the Decarbonisation Project and any associated works. Park and ride proposals form an integral part of the Aberdeen Rapid Transit proposals. The road elements could be linked to reliability improvements could be achieved under the recommendation for trunk road safety, reliability and resilience.

Two signposts at the Portlethen Woodland Park have fallen victim to the recent high winds and the passage of time, with the wood unable to withstand gusts.

I have been in touch with the local group which looks after the park and suggested a possible source of funding with could help pay for repairs.

Sadly over the years signs in the park have also been the victims of vandalism with finger pointers (the right words?) needing to be replaced.

At last! A start has been made on filling the potholes in Newtonhill today.

Early this morning a road sweeper did a sterling job on the potholed Old Mill Road, removing the debris from the road. Back and forward umpteen times.

Then late this morning a squad from Aberdeenshire Council’s Roads Service arrived in the village to carry out temporary repairs.

The potholes between the pharmacy and the pub was filled, then the stonkers between the railway bridge and the junction at Quoiters.

I spoke to the chaps, and they planned to fill more potholes around the village. They later went on to tackle potholes in Chapel Road, Skateraw Road near the junction with Murray Road, and in Murray Road before the corner with Newton Road.

These are temporary repairs, but they will make a big difference until permanent patching can be undertaken. Officers told me last week that it will be May at the earliest before that can be done. I had asked that in the interim temporary repairs were carried out.

It has taken a while but that’s the worst of the potholes in Portlethen, Muchalls and now Newtonhill filled in. There is still more work to do.

From tomorrow the morning and afternoon bus service from Newtonhill to Portlethen Academy will be open to anyone to use, not just school pupils. And that also means that pupils can travel for free, if they produce the correct under-22 bus pass.

The national Under-22 Concession Scheme for free bus travel was implemented on 31 January.
Council officers decided to reinstate combined school transport/local bus operation of the Portlethen Academy services, from 17 February, after the mid-term break.

I am told that the pupils won’t need to show the new pass until after Easter holidays.

Local authority planning fees are to rise from 1 April, the first time they have been lifted in eight years.

Planning minister Tom Arthur MSP said the change will help improve the planning application process and the service received by applicants. Local authorities will be able to decide how best to use any additional fee income to help improve locally delivered planning services.

Planning permission for new houses will cost £600 per house for the first 10, with reducing rates for larger developments. Extensions and alterations to a house will incur a £300 fee, and a change of use other than for the creation housing £600 per 100 sq m of floor space, up to 4,000 sq m.

Nowadays there are not so many planning applications, with a downturn across Aberdeenshire.

Police Scotland is asking restaurants and takeaway food outlets to be vigilant following reports of used cooking oil thefts in the Deeside area.

Three males and a female have been attending at various locations in the area and are falsely claiming to be from a legitimate company. The female is described as white with a pale complexion, aged in her 40s to early 50s and about 5ft 3in tall with a European accent.

North East Division crime reduction officer PC Mike Urquhart said: “I would advise restaurant and fast food outlet owners to be particularly vigilant and report any suspicious activity to the police via 101.

“This appears to be a very sophisticated and organised group of criminals whom have the ability to travel throughout the country committing these crimes.

“Used cooking oils are being stolen across the country and being taken south to be processed. Keep rear gardens or yards securely locked and consider CCTV and security lighting.”

The following new applications in the North Kincardine ward can be viewed on the Aberdeenshire Council planning register: https://upa.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/online-applications/.

APP/2022/0158
Date validated: 4 February 2022.
Site address: Woodburn Cottage, Bridge of Muchalls, AB39 3RR.
Applicant: Mr Toms Cesbergs c/o John Aitken Architectural Services, 2 Cameron Court, Stonehaven, AB39 2FH.
Application: Listed building consent for internal alterations and replacement door.
Public comment expiry date: 10 March 2022.

APP/2022/0272
Date validated: 10 February 2022.
Site address: The Old Mill Inn, Maryculter, AB12 5FX.
Applicant: Mr Victor Sang c/o Ross Aitken, McLaren, Murdoch & Hamilton, 229 Balgreen Road, Edinburgh, EH11 2RZ.
Application: Planning permission in principle for the demolition of existing hotel, restoration of old mill building to form retail unit/cafe, erection of garden centre and erection of five dwellinghouses and associated parking and road improvements (part retrospective).
Public comment expiry date: 17 March 2022.