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/2021/2752
Date validated: 18 January 2022.
Site address: Schlumberger, Badentoy Drive, Badentoy Industrial Estate, Portlethen AB12 4ZD.
Applicant: Standard Life Investments Property Holdings Ltd c/o Syzygy Consulting, 18 Swan Court, 9 Tanner Street, London, SE1 3LE.
Application: Full planning permission for installation of roof mounted solar PV system including ancillary equipment.
Public comment expiry date: 9 February 2022.

APP/2022/0084
Date validated: 18 January 2022.Site address: Ruins south west of Kingcausie House, Kingcausie Estate, Maryculter, AB12 5FR.
Applicant: Mr Henry Irvine-Fortescue c/o Garry Adam Chartered Architect Ltd, 2A, Orange Lane, Montrose, DD10 8ND.
Application: Listed building consent for the erection of a private chapel.Public comment expiry date: 17 February 2022.

Aberdeenshire Council is giving careful consideration to all legal options for minimising gull issues which are likely to include potential controls on feeding gulls, waste storage, gull proofing buildings plus nest and egg removal.

Officers will present a completed review and costed action plan to the Infrastructure Services Committee in March setting out recommendations on how the council will tackle the urban gull issue.

From time to time I get complaints about nuisance caused by gulls in the vicinity of the retail complex at Portlethen, though nowhere near as serious as the issues in Stonehaven.

More here: https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/apps/news/release.aspx?newsID=8416

Aberdeenshire Council’s Roads Service will be carrying out drainage works at Netherley. Accordingly it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to close the C12K at Springfield from the B979 Netherley Road to C25K junction at Burnhead.

The road will be closed for five days from Monday 31 January.

Site notices will be erected in due course indicating the temporary restriction to traffic and the alternative route via C25K – C24K – C13K – B979 and vice versa.

Some local issues of note which came before today’s infrastructure services committee …

HILLSIDE SCHOOL – Bay markings at Hillside School, Portlethen, and Hanover Street, Fraserburgh, will be rectified by repainting the green bay markings with the correct black and white markings in early 2022.

CYCLE ROUTES – Design work is now almost complete for three integrated travel town cycle routes in Portlethen. Once completed the three routes will be tendered as a single package for construction this summer.

Design works for the Aberdeen South route from Portlethen to Wellington Road have been progressed as far as possible and title searches will commence early 2022 with a view to approaching landowners early spring 2022.

I have asked that the four North Kincardine ward councillors have sight of what is proposed. I would normally have asked that Portlethen Community Council be included, however it collapsed last year due to a lack of interest.

RAIL – The committee was updated on the Aberdeen to Laurencekirk multi-modal study – including case for new railway stations.

The first phase of the study, referred at as the “Case for Change” has now been completed and agreed by Transport Scotland (as funder through the Rail Development Fund). Nestrans is the lead partner with consultants AECOM commissioned to undertake the work.

The second phase of the study which will look at the potential options to address the issues raised is now underway with a public consultation recently completed with a high response of 1,104 online surveys received. Officers confirmed there is demand for additional rail infrastructure along the corridor, particularly. from Cove and Newtonhill.

I am told by Nestrans there are a number of stages that need to be completed to ensure that the correct option for the area is identified and that the option identified has a robust business case for it.

Today changes to waste collections in Aberdeenshire were unanimously approved by councillors.

The biggest change affecting residents will be the addition of a 180 litre bin in a three-weekly collection cycle. Where space for a third bin is an issue such as flats, the infrastructure services committee heard assurances that a case-by-case approach would be taken.

The new collection service will comprise of:

 Week 1: Food waste (existing caddy) and non-recyclable waste (existing 240L bin).
 Week 2: Food waste (existing caddy) and paper and card (existing blue lidded bin).
 Week 3: Food waste (existing caddy) and containers – food and drinks cans, cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays (new 180L bin).

Ros Baxter, the council’s waste manager, said that missed bin collections would not be acceptable in a three-week cycle and officers would look at how to address that.

The new kerbside collection service is expected to divert 1,249 to 6,434 tonnes of material into recycling, increasing the council’s recycling rate from 44% in 2019 to 45-49% by 2023. The Scottish Government target for recycling is 70% by 2025.

Waste analysis undertaken in 2016/17 showed that over half of materials put into non-recyclable waste bins in Aberdeenshire are recyclable through existing services.

It is anticipated that the roll-out will start in August and proceed one of the six waste depots at a time to ensure the Waste Service can deal with customer enquiries generated and give time to resolve any teething problems. There will be a break in the roll-out over winter and will restart in spring with a completion aim of June 2023.

The addition of the new bin is being financed by a grant of £3,439,328 from Zero Waste Scotland, with the council having to fund £145,345 for printing costs and £419,883 for temporary staffing costs to deliver the project.

FUTURE CHANGES

More changes might take place regarding glass recycling and garden waste.

Councillors also agreed that the Waste Service reviews the service provision for collecting containers, including glass, once the Scottish Deposit Return Scheme has been fully implemented for 12 months. It is due to go live in August 2023.

Secondly, officers will further explore a business case to provide an opt-in chargeable garden waste collection service, with a report to be taken to the committee.

A paid-for garden waste kerbside collection service would allow householders to recycle their garden waste more easily with the potential to capture more garden waste out of the non-recyclable waste bin. That would reduce waste requiring to be disposed of currently through landfill, which should increase the council’s recycling rate.

Currently, 26 out of 32 local authorities in Scotland provide a garden waste service, with 13 of these being an opt-in chargeable service.

I asked when the report on garden waste would come back to the committee, and was told officers are aiming for June. This would allow for an analysis of residual waste in May.

I also asked what the impact might be on the Saturday garden waste service in a dozen communities including Newtonhill. Ros Baxter said it would be taken into consideration and could be part of the savings to help pay for the new service. Interestingly she said that a kerbside garden waste collection could be financed through subscription or savings elsewhere.

The full report can be read here by scrolling to Item 11: https://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=495&meetid=19813

As BT requires access to renew cable and restore customer service it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to close a country road west of Portlethen for three days.

The closure will take place from Tuesday 8 March between 9:30am and 3:30pm daily on the U144K from its C5K junction to Swellhead farm.

Site notices will be erected in due course indicating the temporary restriction to traffic and the diversion route via C5K – C30K – School Brae – Cookston road – A92 – U144K and vice versa.

The Roads Service says pedestrian access is to be maintain, as should vehicular access to affected properties whenever possible.

A programme to increase digital connectivity – including broadband and mobile coverage – in Aberdeenshire has started in Portlethen and Newtonhill.

Aberdeenshire Council has established a team of three to support this roll-out, the infrastructure services committee heard today.

As part of this project a new page on the council website has been set up: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/business/support-and-advice/communities/Digital-Connectivity/

The team is working to advise the public on the options available, and best courses of action to improve their digital connectivity.

They support the national “Reaching 100%” programme (R100) which aims to provide superfast broadband to every premises in Scotland. An internet speed of 30Mbps or above is considered to be superfast broadband.
The Scottish Government has established the Scottish Broadband Voucher Schemes. There are two categories – Interim Voucher Scheme (IVS) and Main Voucher Scheme (MVS). Properties which are included in planned build-outs, can utilise a £400 IVS to obtain an interim broadband solution, to gain access to superfast broadband by the end of March 2022. Properties who are not included in planned build-outs, can utilise a £5,000 MVS to obtain a permanent broadband solution.

So far 487 vouchers have been issued locally.

The report before councillors says that “builds within Aberdeenshire commenced in November 2021, starting with the Portlethen and Newtonhill areas. At the time of writing this report, no properties have gone live on full-fibre within Aberdeenshire as part of the R100 build-outs.”

I asked for further details of what is happening in Newtonhill and Portlethen, and this will follow shortly.

I also expressed concerns about the lack of publicity about this roll-out. I was assured that the new team are considering how best to ensure information is shared, including the possibility of a mail drop.

The full report can be found here by scrolling to Item 6 on the agenda: https://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=495&meetid=19813

Police have issued a warning regarding mobile phone courier fraud following an incident in Portlethen.

The resident received a parcel from a well-known courier company but was unaware of having ordered anything. A few moments later she had a knock on the door from a fraudster dressed in hi-vis and with false identification asking for the phone back claiming it had been delivered by mistake.

This is a scam – do not hand over the parcel.The resident contacted her mobile phone provider who confirmed three brand new iphones had been ordered from her account.

Police Scotland’s North East Division crime reduction officer PC Mike Urquhart warned: “Delivery scams are one of the sophisticated methods fraudsters are using to leave victims out of pocket.

“The scam involves criminals ordering and then attempting to intercept – or trick you into handing over – high-value packages. It normally happens when criminals manage to obtain your personal details to place the order. It can be one consequence of identity theft.”

The police advice is:
– If a courier unexpectedly comes to collect an item at your home, do not hand it over.
– Check their credentials and call the company they claim to be representing. If you have any fears, contact the police.

Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council held their monthly meeting by Teams tonight for the first time. A packed agenda.

LIBRARY – Tim Stephen from Live Life Aberdeenshire attend the next meeting to speak on a variety of issues including library provision and developer obligations.

POTHOLES – Contractors are working in Portlethen and are expected to turn their attention to repairs in Newtonhill in two or three weeks. I told the meeting that resurfacing of Old Mill Road should take place before the end of the financial year. The road surface on the approaches to the zebra crossing should be resurfaced and new markings, also in March.

PARKING – Concerns were expressed about inconsiderate parking by people attending Saturday’s football match in Newtonhill. Traffic jams were the result, and contact has been made with Aberdeenshire Council to expand the number of no-parking cones. The community council was asked to write to Police Scotland with a freedom of information request asking how many motorists had been fined for parking offences in the village in the last six months.

PLANNING – A replacement mobile phone mast south of the Bettridge Centre has been approved by council planners.

DRAINAGE WORK – This is due to take place in Monduff Road, Muchalls, from 24 January.

SCOTTISH WATER – Community councillors were concerned about the implications of the mains replacement when work starts at the top of Newtonhill Road at the junction with the A92 in Newtonhill. The access from the dual carriageway will have to close. Members are worried that the diversion will be via the Stonehaven junction. What will this mean for bus services, not only the service buses but the school buses too. The community council is to contact Aberdeenshire Council.

BROADBAND – Aberdeenshire Council is to be contacted to ask for an update on fibre roll-out in Newtonhill. A report before the local authority’s infrastructure services committee tomorrow says that “Builds within Aberdeenshire commenced in November 2021, starting with the Portlethen & Newtonhill areas. At the time of writing this report, no properties have gone live on full-fibre within Aberdeenshire as part of the R100 build-outs.” R100 is the Scottish Government’s “Reaching 100%” programme providing superfast broadband to every premises in Scotland.

FANS – Community councillors agreed that the police should be contacted after football fans heading to Pittodrie last night were seen to be alighting from supporters’ buses on the A92 at Newtonhill to relieve themselves. This was unacceptable.

WANT MORE? The next meeting is on Wednesday 16 February, but whether that is in person in the Skateraw Hall or via Teams will depend on covid-19 restrictions, among other factors. No members of the public asked to join tonight’s meeting.

Owing to Aberdeenshire Council’s Road Service carrying out drainage investigation works it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to close Monduff Road in Muchalls for five days from Monday 24 January.

Site notices will be erected in due course indicating the temporary restriction to traffic and the alternative route.
Vehicular access to affected properties is to be maintained whenever possible.