A meeting has been held in Portlethen Academy about setting up a sports hub in the town. We heard that Fraserburgh set up such a hub with four clubs and 18 months later they now have nearly 30 clubs. Hubs give a forum for clubs to work together and support each other, as well as aiming high to provide more facilities and increase participation. The clubs present tonight were enthusiastic, and the next meeting is on Wednesday 25 November at 7pm. If interested in finding out more contact andrew.watson@aberdeenshire.gov.uk

A number of local issues were discussed by Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee today.

Portlethen Community Allotment Association was awarded a grant of £4000 towards set-up costs after a presentation by Christine Lorimer. The one-acre site is to the east of the railway line off Thistle Drive. At present 18 people are signed up for an allotment.

The Men’s Shed is to receive further help. The council will meet the £1889.80 cost of removing asbestos from the Cookston Road premises. A further £3000 will be made available to pay for the removal of an internal wall.

Fewer people are using Aberdeenshire swimming pools. I have asked for the figures for Portlethen.

It was agreed to name the new primary as Hillside School. This is in line with the public consultation.

Councillors are to have a site visit to the EIS Waste Services premises to see where the company wishes to erect a stone cleaning plant. There were 41 objections to the planning application. Resident Andrew Smith put forward their concerns and agent Lesley Tierney put the case for approval to councillors. Both faced questions. The date for the site visit is still to be fixed.

The European Funding for Local Community Development – also known as Leader funding -has a start date. Here in Kincardine and Mearns we are part of the South Aberdeenshire Local Action Group who provide guidance and support to community groups. There is an event on Tuesday 17 November to meet the action team in Stonehaven’s Station Hotel from 7pm – 8.30pm. The funding pot is almost £3m to be shared between Marr, Garioch and the Kincardine and Mearns communities. 

It is available to community groups, rural businesses and farms. If you can’t attend the launch event have a look at the website and contact the development officers.

There are a number of local issues to be discussed on Tuesday by the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee:

– Portlethen and District Community Allotment Association has applied for a £4000 grant towards the costs of establishing allotments in the town. The report to councillors says there would be up to 40 individual plots, communal growing areas, an orchard and fruit growing areas, The funding is required to prepare a planning application, insurance and the first year’s rental. The land is not owned by the council, and the site is not identified in the report.

– Portlethen Men’s Shed has plans to convert the former toilet block in Cookston Road. The council plans to undertake asbestos work on the building at a cost of £1899.80. Other essential work requiring to be carried out is the removal of a non-load bearing wall, which will cost around £3000. Councillors are being asked to consider whether to make a contribution towards that cost.

– New tree preservation orders are being proposed, including amending one at Findon Road in Findon. The site has been resurveyed, and one tree would be relocated. 

– Aberdeenshire Council’s local review body has refused planning permission to convert the steading to the south west of Newtonhill flyover into a house, and build two further houses. There were concerns about safe access, noise, amenity and drainage.

– More than 96% of street faults in Kincardine and Mearns are fixed within seven days of being reported. More LED lighting is being installed which should reduce the number of lighting faults.

– Council officers are recommending that the new primary at Hillside is called Hillside School. In a public poll that name came out top with 70.22% of votes. Other suggestions included Schoolhill, Auchlee, Boswell, Causey Mounth, Bishopston, Clochandighter and Leathan Fields. A number of additional ideas were put forward including Blairs, School on the Hill, Balquharn, Badentoy and Portyhill. There were also comments that the full name should be Hillside Primary School, but apparently it is general practice that “primary” is only included where there is also a secondary school with the same name (e.g. Portlethen).

– A planning application for the formation of stone cleaning plant and wash pods north of Checkbar will be discussed. Planners have recommended that it be granted. Forty-one objections have been received. The site is currently used for storage.

Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council tonight. No members of the public there. Again. Which caused much debate among the community councillors. The consensus was that residents must be content and there are no issues of concern. It was highlighted that there are vacancies of community councillors to represent Newtonhill.

Other issues discussed included:

– There have been 191 incidents since the last meeting in the area covered from Portlethen police office, with only two from Crathes being classified as crimes. The incidents were either anti social behaviour or road incidents. This is an area of low crime.

– Clumps of Japanese knotweed in the Elsick valley have been regularly treated by community councillor Rob Peaker and villager Scott Annand. Rob said they are getting there but it will take another three years to kill off the invasive plant.

– New road markings around Newtonhill were welcomed, with chairman Michael Morgan saying they have altered driver behaviour and local roads safer.

– Community justice have ruled out helping with repairs to the steps on the right of way from the beach at Newtonhill up to Cran Hill. They do not undertake such work. The community council will continue to press the council for action.

– Someone has been burning flotsam – including plastic – on Newtonhill beach. The smoke has blackened part of the cliff. Council officers are appealing for information so that they can take action.

– On planning, chairman Michael Morgan reported that plans for housing beside the park and choose at the flyover have been turned down on appeal. Plans to convert the former Cammies hotel at Cammachmore into flats have been approved.

A lively meeting tonight when seven key figures from the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route team gave a presentation to North Kincardine Rural Community Council. About 50 members of the public were present – including a reporter from the Evening Express.

A common theme from residents as that there had been a lack of communication from the AWPR team about the day-to-day works, including the impact of seven-day working. One resident said: “We have no idea what you are doing – and we live right next to it.” The AWPR team promised to take that on board, particularly after a show of hands proved that no-one had received information flyers.

The meeting heard from director Graham Christie that they will need to extend the seven day working in the new year. However he could not say whether that would be in January or later. Seven-day working has to be approved by local council environmental health officers.

Mr Christie said that seven-day working would start shortly, with work on-going from 8am to 4pm on Sundays. 

Other points included:

– All work will stop over the festive period.

– Any examples of unsafe working or driving should be reported with as many details as possible.

– A Bailey bridge will be built over the B979 at the Stonehaven junction in May or June next year while the existing A90 overbridge is demolished and replaced by a wider flyover.

– Blasting will start at Kincausie in a few weeks. That is where the hardest rock is in the construction area south of the Dee.

– All material excavated in the southern leg or fastlink is to be reused in the North Kincardine area.

– in one area work had to wait for three months until a goshawk flew away.

– Engineers have been recruited from Greece, Portugal, Romania and Poland as well as from within the UK.

– The contact details for the community liaison team is 0800 058 8350 or enquiries@awpr.co.uk

In other business, the community council dealt with policing, planning, and the Maryculter woods project. 

Community councillors heard that crime remains generally low, with 191 incidents reported to the police based at Portlethen, mostly traffic related or anti-social behaviour. This resulted in only two crimes, from the Crathes area.

Turning to planning, discussion centred round a new planning application for 76 one-person modular accommodation units in the western car park of the Old Mill Inn, for five years. The plans have been lodged by a company called Snoozebox Holdings Ltd. There would two rows of doubled stacked units, with nine parking spaces.The community council agreed to send a letter to Aberdeenshire Council expressing concerns but adding there is insufficient detail to put forward an informed opinion. 

The meeting heard there had been a delay in the legal steps to purchase the Maryculter woods from the Forestry Commission. It will now be November before they can complete the missives. The AGM will be held on 25 November at 7.3-pm in the Scout Hut at Kirkton of Maryculter.

Good news. The 103 bus service from Cookney to Bridge of Dee which currently leaves Cookney at 7.35am will be advanced to commence at Cookney at 7.20am as from Monday 30 November. The council has asked Central Coaches to display a notice on the vehicle informing passengers of the change to the morning peak journey. This will allow for better connections at Bridge of Dee.

The North East is facing great difficulties in recruiting teachers. This morning Aberdeenshire Council gave the following statement to the press: Head of education Craig Clement said: “We are doing all we can to attract new teachers to Aberdeenshire, from support to find housing, to a generous relocation package that includes an up-front payment of £5,000 to help with relocation costs. It’s a changing situation and one that neighbouring authorities face too and that is why I look forward to discussing all of the issues of teacher recruitment at the forthcoming summit, which Scottish Government will be a part of.”

Yesterday the council’s policy and resources committee agreed on funding for recruitment agencies.

Local authorities face fines from the Scottish Government if there is a teachers shortfall.

A most interesting annual general meeting tonight of Portlethen Academy Parent Association. There were 17 parents there to hear head teacher Neil Morrison review the year after out-going chair Nicola Harper gave her report. Paul Campbell from Newtonhill takes over as chairman.

It was heartening to hear from Neil about the accomplishments of the academy and the work being undertaken to improve further. He said that excellent teaching is at the heart of everything. “It was a good year. We are going in the right direction, and in a strong place.”