Bettridge flourishing

It was good to catch up on what’s happening at the Bettridge Centre in Newtonhill tonight.

The annual general meeting heard tonight there are 38 user groups offering a wide range of activities including new ones such as pilates, judo, archery and yoga.

Plans for expansion into the basement were outlined, which would see phase three of the development of the centre.

Over the year the centre has attracted grants from a variety of donors, for example, the AWPR, Tesco, Total, Meikle Carewe wind farm, and Aberdeenshire Council. The AWPR money will be used to tar the car park, with work due to take place next month. Also in the offing will be LED lighting in the main hall, and CCTV (which is being donated).

There are five members on the committee, and more volunteers would be most welcome. The new chairwoman is Lynsay Doig, the vice-chairwoman is Melanie Torrance (after serving as chairwoman), Malcolm Macarthur as treasurer, and Alison Stewart as secretary.

Build faster, Chapelton urged

The Duke of Fife was urged this evening to press ahead with building more houses at the new town of Chapelton.

Residents and community council representatives told the Chapelton Liaison Meeting that more pace was required.

There were two main reasons – to build on undeveloped plots in the town and to fend off other developers who wish “to cover the countryside with houses” at Portlethen. Bids for around 3000 homes have come from house builders for the west and north of Portlethen.

David Carnegie, the Duke of Fife, told the meeting he was aware of the pressure and was in discussion with house builders in Chapelton to move forward.

However one developer, Stephens, will pause their building programme until existing stock is sold. They have 41 properties occupied. Zero C have 43 properties occupied, with two-bedroom flats for rent having been newly completed. Brio Retirement Living is pressing ahead and the show home should open shortly, with residents expected to move in around February. AJC have 35 properties occupied, with Liddell Place to be completed by the end of the year. In total 158 houses are either occupied or in stock.

The duke cited the general downturn in the housing market, and was looking forward to an uplift in the local economy.

The next area for development is to the north west, a mix of commercial and houses for rent plus 37 affordable units.

In other matters, a book about Chapelton is being produced, a 10k run will take place on 15 July (with 275 runners), Liddell Park with a toddlers’ play area has opened, an allotments committee has been formed to look after the 16 plots, the first primary school is due when 489 houses are completed (to the west of the development), and agreement in principle has been reached with Aberdeenshire Council over a new street light to illuminate the bus stop at the park and choose.

This is a six monthly meeting involving the Elsick Development Company, Aberdeenshire Council officers, ward councillors, NHS, and representatives from surrounding community councils and residents. Andy Dodds was there on behalf of Chapelton homeowners.

More surface dressing work

The Kincardine & Mearns road surface dressing programme of works for the next two weeks will be as follows:

W/C 18/06/18 (none in the North Kincardine ward)

B966 – Cairnton Farm to Odmoston Farm – Monday 18 June to Wednesday 20 June – road closure. 
U107K – Sub station near Denstrath north to Kelpie Bridge – Tuesday 19 June to Thursday 21 June – road closure
U107K – Denstrath access road southwest to Edzell Woods – Wednesday 20 June to Friday 22 June – road closure.
U104K – Church Road/Main Street, Luthermuir to C6K – Wednesday 20 June to Friday 22 June – road closure/ No Waiting.
B9120 – East of Backiemuir Farm to Muir of Blackiemuir – Thursday 21 June to Friday 22 June – road closure.
C2K – Dovecot Caravan Bends – Friday 22 June to Monday 25 June – road closure.

W/C 25/06/18

B9077 South Deeside Road – North Lodge, Kingcausie east to Netherlands Cottage –Tuesday 26 June to Saturday 30 June – road closure.
B9077 South Deeside Road – Mansefield Lodge, Banchory Devenick west to North Lodge, Ardoe – Wednesday 27 June to Friday 29 June – convoy working

In the event of bad weather, some adjustments may be required with regards to the dates.

Newtonhill teacher in awards final

A Newtonhill Primary School teacher is a finalist in Inspiring Aberdeenshire 2018, for the Beautiful Aberdeenshire Environmental Award.
Aimee Bainbridge has gone above and beyond her teaching role to drive forward environmental awareness among pupils, staff and parents at the school in a range of areas within her community to ensure future generations.
The winners will be announced at the Aberdeenshire Council event on Friday 15 June at Haddo House.
UPDATE 16 June:
I’m pleased to say that Aimee was the winner of the Beautiful Aberdeenshire Environmental Award at last night’s ceremony.
The winners are pictured at last night’s ceremony with Provost Bill Howatson.

New deputy meets parent council

An-end-of-term feel to last night’s Hillside Parent Council meeting, though there was plenty to talk about. New deputy head  Kayleigh Petrie was there – she joined the staff last week.
 
Among the issues discussed were the recent inspection report, parking problems, preparing for work, social activities, class/ teacher allocations, helping at the Portlethen Gala, the donation of a boat, and coping with the increasing school roll. The AGM will be held on Thursday 13 September.

South Deeside Road to close for repairs

The B9077 South Deeside Road is to close for five days from North Lodge east to Netherlands Cottage, Kincairn, while Aberdeenshire Council Roads Service carries out patching works.
The closure will last for five days from Tuesday 26 June.
Emergency and pedestrian access is to be maintained.  Vehicular access to affected properties is to be maintained whenever possible.

More people using rail station

A report to the North East Scotland Transport Partnership shows that the number of passengers using Portlethen station has increased.

The report says that “rail patronage has continued to see an overall decrease in patronage through North East stations. Whilst all stations have seen a decrease between 2015/16 and 2016/17, the majority of stations are still significantly higher than their 2010/11 baseline, with Inverurie seeing a 48% increase since 2010/11, Laurencekirk seeing a 30% increase since 2010/11 and Portlethen seeing a 150% increase in the same time period.”

There were more than 26.5 million bus journeys made in the North East in 2017/18. Both concessions and paying customers has seen a decrease over the last 12 months, with a reduction of 11.2% on the 2016/17 figures.

The number of cyclists on key routes in Aberdeen is increasing. The city has seen an over 40% increase between 2008 and 2018. In Aberdeenshire the number of cyclists has decreased on the majority of routes between 2016/17 and 2017/18.

Council takes over road

I have just heard that Greenlaw Road between Newtonhill and Chapelton has now been adopted by Aberdeenshire Council.
The council confirms that the road has been satisfactorily completed in accordance with a construction consent, granted in accordance with the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984. As such, as Roads Authority, the council, is required under the Act to add the above roads to its Statutory List of Public Roads.
That means the council is now responsible for its maintenance, street sweeping and gritting for the road, from the roundabout west to the two show houses at the entrance to the new town. The footpath is also adopted.

Plans to mark bypass opening

Plans for marking the opening of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) were announced today by the Scottish Government.
The focal point will be a community weekend of family-orientated events and activities on 8 and 9 September. This will take place on the AWPR in the Dee valley on the boundary between Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire.
A fete style event will include a celebration of travel through the ages with vintage vehicles and future electric vehicle technology.
There will also be unique opportunities for cyclists of a wide range of abilities to experience the road before traffic begins using it in earnest and cyclists get to enjoy the benefits of less congested city roads.
The Scottish Government has also confirmed the AWPR will be fully completed later this year, with sections opening to traffic over the summer.
There will be details about the fete nearer the time but meantime you can read more about the announcement at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/apps/news/release.aspx?newsID=4992