Owing to Diona Construction carrying out road crossings on behalf of BT, the C12K country road will be closed at South Cookney from Monday 9 April for five days.

Emergency and pedestrian access to be maintained. Vehicular access to affected properties to be maintained whenever possible.

Click on the map and it will become clearer.

Stagecoach has launched a contactless payment service at Aberdeen bus station, with the initiative allowing passengers to pay for their travel with a credit or debit card, as well as Apple Pay and Android Pay.

The machines are being installed in more than 350 buses and coaches in the Aberdeen and Inverness areas. It is part of a £12m UK investment by the firm in new technology.

By the way, if you have compliments, complaints, or suggestions about Stagecoach services, come along to the Kincardine and Mearns bus forum in Stonehaven Town Hall on Thursday. Senior managers will be there. It starts at 7.30pm and should finish at 9pm.

Some snippets of information from this week’s Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee. Rather long, but helpful I hope.

LANDSCAPE SERVICES

– The removal of a number of trees from Newtonhill Park should be completed by the end of 2017/2018, New play equipment is to be installed. Additional paths have been provided as a result of requests from residents. The wall on Park Place at the east end of the park is to be replaced with a fence, beech hedge and bollards.

– The football pitch in Muchalls has been realigned following a requests from residents.

– Recycled plastic seats, benches and planters have been supplied to schools and high profile sites such as cemeteries. Meanwhile memorial benches have been installed in various locations including in Newtonhill.

– In 2018/19 the gross expenditure by Landscape Services in Kincardine and Mearns is budgeted at £1,181,195.

– In Portlethen trees are to be planted in Viking Place and Alder Drive. New goalposts are to be provided in Nicol Park.

ROAD MAINTENANCE

– Roads damaged by Aberdeen bypass traffic will be made safe, with full depth repairs carried out in the future years. Preparatory patching will be carried out and at a later date there will be surface dressing to seal it. Temporary pothole repairs should last 12 months.

– Gritting/pre-salting and snow clearing is budgeted to cost £543,00 in Kincardine and Mearns in 2018/19.

– In Portlethen, the Asda roundabout on Muirend Road will be resurfaced, at an estimated cost of £40,000. High stress dressing on Thistle Drive (£32,000). Renewal of the high stress dressing at the pedestrian crossings on Cookston Road. (£11,500). A new footway on Schoolhill Lane (£16,000).

– In the rural area, a culvert south of Hairyhillock on the B979 will be resurfaced (£27,500). High stress dressing will be laid on the South Deeside Road near the Old Mill Inn and North Lodge, costing £100,500. Similar high stress dressing on the B979 Netherley Road near Mains of Altries and Craigie Cat (£85,000). Similarly on the C12K near Elrick Farm (£50,000). Conventional dressing on the U59K and the U60K in Banchory Devenick.

– Other works are also proposed, and on the reserve list (if funding becomes available, otherwise to be carried out in the following year) is edge-strengthening on the C13K from Lairhillock School to Berrytop Farm (£27,000), and street lighting improvement (including new columns) in Cliff View, Newtonhill, and in Mosside Drive, Aspen Way, and Claymore Avenue in Portlethen.

PORTLETHEN FUNDING

The committee granted £20,000 for a Participatory Budgeting event for Portlethen. This recognises the work that has gone into the Place Standard project. This event will look at inviting groups to apply for funding to promote projects arising from this engagement, including open spaces, community facilities, transportation and general community well-being.

Participatory Budgeting is about the community having the opportunity to debate and then decide on issues directly affecting local needs. They will have the chance to hear about the projects that being promoted and decide, through a voting day, which projects matter the most.

• Full details can be found in the committee reports by following this link: http://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=8&meetid=18844

Well, the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route might open in late summer. Or maybe autumn. Official.

Keith Brown MSP, the Cabinet Secretary for Economy, Jobs and Fair Work, wrote today to Aberdeenshire Council with an update.

He said there is “effectively a range of dates when the road is likely to be open. The earliest date is likely to be towards the end of the summer period, however it may be more prudent to anticipate a late autumn 2018 opening date for project opening.”

Almost a full house tonight in the Skateraw Hall to hear Stagecoach managing director Mark Whitelocks talk about local bus services.

He was invited by Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council. He asked the 30-plus audience he wanted to hear where and when residents would like services to run. The next revision of the timetable will have to take into account the impact of the Aberdeen bypass opening – whatever that may be.

Issues covered included the X7 coaches, the lengthy 7B journey, gaps in the timetable (especially in afternoons with one resident saying it was like facing a curfew), the service round the Saints, steep steps in buses, the drop in passenger numbers, etc.

Owing to Caledonia Water Alliance laying a new water main on behalf of Scottish Water it will be necessary to close the U88K country road at Fishermyre for five days commencing on 2 April.

Emergency and pedestrian access is to be maintained, as is vehicular access to affected properties, whenever possible.

The 30mph restriction on the B9077 South Deeside Road at Maryculter is being extended for nine months.

The previous speed restriction order in this location has now expired, however, due to ongoing Aberdeen bypass works in the area, a restriction is still required for safety reasons.

North Kincardine Rural Community Council has requested that this be made permanent after the AWPR works are completed.

A masterplan for housing south of Newtonhill was approved by Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee today. This was the third time the proposals from Barratt and Polmuir Properties had come before councillors.

The masterplan considers the broad principles of a development and will be one of many material considerations which would be assessed as part of a future planning application.

The area is already zoned for housing in the local development plan and would link Park Place with Cairnhill Drive.