The Skateraw Hall committee members were delighted to hear last night at their Christmas party that new signs for the hall have been erected in Newtonhill. Aberdeenshire Council put up the signs in Skateraw Road and at the railway bridge.
More and more use is being made of the village hall, and some folk had difficulty finding it. Glad I could help!
The local police service has now provided its monthly report for North Kincardine Rural Community Council. Here is what officers say.
Crime remains generally low in the Kincardine and Mearns beat area. Since the November community council meeting there have been 149 incidents reported to Police Scotland in the Portlethen and District area – and of these, 30 crime reports have been raised:
13 x Thefts (including attempted break-ins and shopliftings)
5 x Road Traffic Offences
5 x Vandalisms
2 x Drug related offences
2 x Assaults
1 x Domestic Related Incident
5 x Miscellaneous offences.
DETECTED – 11
ENQUIRY ONGOING – 19
OTHER WORK:
High visibility mobile patrols will continue to be carried out throughout the Kincardine and Mearns area, whenever possible, to reduce the likelihood of crimes and offences occurring.
POLICE SCOTLAND GUIDANCE FOLLOWING THE ATTACKS IN PARIS ON 13 NOVEMBER 2015.
This might seem like an unusual subject for a rural-based community council meeting, however I am sure that this is a subject playing on the minds of most at this current time…
Be Reassured
The threat from International Terrorism to the United Kingdom remains at SEVERE – an attack is highly likely; this has been the case since August 2014.
At this time there is no specific threat to Scotland.
Be Alert, Not Alarmed
Police have exercised plans to respond to multi seated firearms attacks and may increase their presence in some areas. Don’t become fearful or withdraw from the streets.
Businesses and priority Crowded Places have been working with police to protect sites and staff from a variety of terrorist attacks. This includes music, sport and entertainment venues, restaurants, hotels and shops.
North Kincardine Rural Community Council devoted most of the meeting tonight to two issues – the disruption caused by the building of the Aberdeen bypass and planning applications, in particular the Snoozebox proposals for 76 accommodation modules in the car park of the Old Mill Inn.
Representative of the bypass team are expected to attend the next meeting of the community council on 18 January. Officers from Aberdeenshire Council are also being asked to attend to discuss the impact on local roads. The meeting heard complaints about driving standards, “No Works Traffic” signs being ignored, and verges being destroyed.
The meeting also heard about the action being taken by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency to tackle mud and silt being washed off the construction site in into the Dee and its tributaries. Ponds are now being dug to intercept the wash-off. One of the concerns is for the rare fresh water mussels in the Dee.
The community council is to await the publication of a transport assessment if the Snoozebox plans were to go ahead. The were mixed views at the meeting.
The meeting also heard good news. The transfer of ownership of the Maryculter woods from the Forestry Commission to the local community should take place on 23 December. An official opening is planned for the last Saturday in March.
As the meeting came to a close one of the 11 members of the public told community councillors that broadband should be available in April 2016. However he was sceptical, having heard similar promises in the past.
As from today (14 December), buses on the Aberdeen and Newtonhill/Stonehaven corridor are being re-routed to serve the park and choose at the Newtonhill flyover. This means the two bus stops on the A90 at Newtonhill will no longer be used. Notices should be displayed on the bus stops informing passengers of the change.
I was asked to find out about any work being undertaken to address the flooding in the Bourtree Park between Portlethen swimming pool and Fishermoss primary school. Today I received a reply from council officers. Here is what I was told:
“Apologies for the delay responding to your request in relation to the flooding in Bourtree Park. As you are aware, Robertson Facilities Management undertook some works within the park in May of this year adding two field drains to the path. It appears that these works were not successful in dealing with the flooding issue and I received further complaints around the end of November. As a result I raised the issue further with RFM and the works detailed below have now been undertaken to deal with the flooding issues:
“FM arranged for a specialised contractor to attend site on Tuesday 1 December to investigate the drainage problems. The following works have now been undertaken:
“Contractors have been on site and dug channels at the side of paths and installed land drains wrapped with membrane and filled with drainage gravel that run into purpose built mini soak-aways.
“Hopefully this will resolve the drainage issues but I will ask RFM to monitor this over the coming weeks.”
A reminder that the deadline approaches for admissions for new primary school at Hillside. Parents have until Friday (December 11) to apply for their children to attend when it opens during the 2016/17 session. This will help ensure a smooth transition process.
Parents can get more information at http://bit.ly/hillmillapply and submit a completed admission form for new primary 1 pupils and older children who want to move to their newly zoned primary school.
I had asked Aberdeenshire Council officers if an application is being made to a Scottish Government scheme to build a new link alongside the A90 from Muchalls to Stonehaven for cyclists. The answer is disappointing.
The council’s transportation strategy manager Mark Skilling responded today to my enquiry to see if council is submitting a bid into the Community Links Plus Competition. He says: “The answer is no. The objectives that bids will be based on are as follows:
“The proposed footpath is unlikely to score highly against any of these criteria.
“Aberdeenshire Council is submitting a bid for a significant town centre improvement scheme in Huntly in partnership with Huntly and District Development Trust.”
I had hoped this might have been possible, but I guess there is no point in entering if it doesn’t tick the right boxes. Another opportunity will no doubt come along in due course.
Some 31 adults attended a workshop this afternoon about the new Hillside primary school. Three council officers and two councillors were present to pass on information about designing a school logo and uniform.
We were told that suggestions for the logo and uniform are being sought. The logo should not be complicated and in two colours. Entries should be returned returned by the first day back at school after the Christmas holidays. Council officers are also seeking ideas for school colours. So far red and turquoise were being put forward. Purple (Portlethen), green (Fishermoss) and blue (Banchory Devenick) might be best avoided. There will be an opportunity via surveymonkey to make your preference known.
So far three children have already enrolled for the new school, which is scheduled to open in 2016/17 and will have a capacity of 350. The precise date depends on how quickly it can be built. Forms should be returned by 11 December.
The next workshop will be after the festive holidays.
https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/…/admission-to-new-hillsid…
A poorly attended Kincardine and Mearns community council forum tonight, with Newtonhill, North Kincardine Rural, Portlethen, Stonehaven and Catterline being represented. Four council officers were present along with four Aberdeenshire councillors.
It was a most interesting evening though, talking about primary school class numbers, the impact of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route, the Community Empowerment Act, the community councils’ constitution (which sparked a lot of debate), defibrillators, a walks map for this area, Portlethen’s gala, the allotments and Men’s Shed, and other local issues.
I learned tonight that there are six children from Chapelton going to nursery, primary or secondary. Only 489 houses can be built in the new town before the first primary school is provided. It is proposed that the Chapelton schools will be zoned to Mackie Academy until the town is large enough to warrant its own secondary school.
I had asked council officers if signs could be put up directing visitors to the Skateraw Hall in Newtonhill as sometimes people have difficulty in finding it. I got good news today.
Two new ‘Skateraw Hall’ direction signs will be erected. The first sign will be erected on an existing pole at the junction of Old Mill Road and Newtonhill Road pointing north along Old Mill Road. The second sign is being erected on a new pole at the junction of Skateraw Road and Bettridge Road, also pointing north along Bettridge Road.
The hall was built when Newtonhill was a fishing village, and is ideal for meetings and parties. I’ve spent many a happy time there.https://www.facebook.com/Skateraw.Hall/