Stagecoach changes bus timetable

Stagecoach is making changes to bus timetables from Monday 8 January. I wonder what effect the public consultation had? The bus company says that in the Aberdeen area the main changes are:
 
Service 4A/4C Stonehaven Town Service
Additional morning journey on Service 4A following customer feedback.
 
Service 7/7A/7B/X7 Aberdeen – Portlethen – Stonehaven
Revised timetable to operate every 30 minutes between Aberdeen and Portlethen, with hourly extensions through to Stonehaven.
 
Service X7 will be renumbered to X6 between Aberdeen and Stonehaven. Service X6 combined with Service 7B to now operate a 30 minute frequency between Barclay Street and Forest Park.
 
Evening services to operate hourly between Aberdeen and Portlethen with two hourly extensions to and from Stonehaven.
 
On Sundays the frequency will be reduced to hourly with the withdrawal of some Portlethen journeys as a result of low passenger use.
 

Road reopens as pipeline leak is fixed

Work has been taking place to clean, treat and re-open the CK12 road between Netherley and Cookney. I have not had official confirmation that it has re-opened but residents say they have now been using it.

It was closed after a leak was discovered in the nearby Forties Pipeline System.

The pipeline’s owners INEOS confirm that the repair of the pipeline at Red Moss is now mechanically complete and pressure testing is well underway.

A small number of customers are now sending oil and gas through the pipeline at reduced rates as part of a coordinated plan that allows INEOS to carefully control the flow and pressure in the system.

INEOS has partially re-started the Kinneil facility. Flows through the pipeline and Kinneil will be increased gradually as we prove the system. There is currently increased flaring at the site as we begin to progressively and safely bring the different streams on-line.

INEOS will complete this work as quickly as possible but safety is the highest priority.

Based on current estimates the company expects to bring the pipeline and Kinneil progressively back to normal rates early in the new year.

INEOS has worked with the emergency services, relevant authorities and regulators as it has implemented the code compliant repairs on the pipeline.

Bin collections over the festive period

A reminder about bin collections over the festive period.
Collections due on Monday will take place on Friday (29 December). Those due on Tuesday will be done on next Saturday (30 December).
Collections scheduled for Monday, 1 January will be done on Friday, 5 January and those due on Tuesday, 2 January will take place on Saturday, 6 January.
If for any reason the council is unable to collect bins on any of these days, additional bags of waste or boxes of recycling left beside the bin will also be lifted on the date of the next scheduled collection for that material.
You can check your collection date on the council’s website: http://bit.ly/BinCollections
For guidance on materials you can recycle at home using the council’s recycling services, visit http://bit.ly/ShireRecyclables
Recycling centres will be closed on Christmas Day, Boxing Day, New Year’s Day and Tuesday, 2 January. Sites which are open on Sundays will close at 4pm on Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve. For more information, see: http://bit.ly/AbshireHWRCs
To request an additional food caddy or blue-lidded wheeled bin, call 03456 081207, email waste@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or go to: http://bit.ly/Additionalbins

Review of winter arrangements

Aberdeenshire Council officers are reviewing preparations for the next bout of severe winter weather, should it come our way.

The council’s head of roads Philip McKay says that despite all the effort and commitment of resources earlier this month, “there is no doubt that the snow and ice caused considerable disruption to the road and footway network, particularly in urban areas and minor rural roads. Obviously, this is not what we want to see, and following such an event the winter operational plan requires that it is ‘reviewed in light of experience and changing circumstances.’

“As we come to the end of dealing with this on the ground, work on that review will accelerate.

“During this event gritters have covered more than 40,000 miles treating our priority treatment network alone, close to twice around the world.

“Footway gritting crews were deployed, treating and retreating more than 1,000 miles of footway.

“Some 1,400 grit bins have been filled, emptied, and filled again, and in some places that cycle has been repeated more than once. Grit has also been available from a number of recycling sites. All grit bins will have been checked and refilled again by the end of this week.

“In the two weeks up to the 18 December more than 12,000 tonnes of salt has been used in treating roads, footways, car parks and filling grit bins, with more than 7,300 tonnes being used from 11 to 18 December alone. This takes our total usage for the season so far to over 21,000 tonnes.

“This makes Aberdeenshire the heaviest user of salt this winter to date. Highland Council are the second highest, with around 13,000 tonnes.

“To keep supplies topped up, two restocking ships have arrived at Aberdeen Harbour been unloaded and salt distributed to our winter depots. In total over 10,000 tonnes has been restocked into depots. Arrangements are also underway for additional restocking in early January.”

The core issue facing the roads service was the considerable fluctuation in temperature – moving from as low as -11 to above freezing and raining; slight thaws during the day followed by freezing at night. That has meant priority one surfaces needed to be retreated again and again, delaying treatment of other roads and pavements, with the result the snow has become compacted and turned to ice.

Measures being looked at in the review include looking at the prioritisation of gritting for car parks and schools, the provision of additional grit bins, the refilling of grit bins, obtaining new equipment for tackling footpaths, and improving communication to make it easier for residents to report particular problems or bins in need of refilling for example.

I have made a number of suggestions, including reviewing the routes given priority (Banchory Devenick School being an example); reversing the current grit bin policy so that it is much more generous (e.g. there are none in Hillside); and having salt/grit available at Badentoy recycling centre for the public (now in place – it was an oversight).

Pipeline repairs progressing

Here is today’s update from INEOS, the owners of the Forties pipeline which sprung a leak near Netherley. It’s is good news.

A letter to the wider community in the Red Moss area will be issued this morning to notify them of current estimate for completion of the repair.

“INEOS continues to make steady progress towards the safe repair of the Forties Pipeline. Continued monitoring and assessment confirms that the hairline crack has remained stable since the flow of oil and gas was stopped through the pipe on Monday 11th December.

“Work on the pipeline is progressing well and based on current estimates INEOS is planning to complete the repair around Christmas.

“As work on the pipeline continues INEOS has initiated the planning phase necessary to begin recommissioning the system, including the Kinneil facility, as soon as the pipeline repair is complete.

“Initially a small number of customers will send oil and gas through the pipeline at low rates as part of a coordinated plan that allows INEOS to carefully control the flow into the system. INEOS will complete this work as quickly as possible but safety is the highest priority.

“Based on current estimates the company expects to bring the pipeline progressively back to normal rates early in the new year.

“INEOS continues to work with the Emergency Services, relevant authorities and regulators as it implements the code compliant repairs on the FPS pipeline.

“As long as work continues at Red Moss, the precautionary safety cordon will remain at 150m. The unclassified CK12 Netherley to Cookney road, which passes close to the site remains closed by the police and all non-essential drivers are being requested to seek alternative routes to ensure that the road remains clear for essential works.

“We apologise to our customers and the local community for the issues that this creates and we are working hard to minimise the impact of the pipeline closure as far as possible.”

AWPR pollution brings windfall for groups

The consortium building the Aberdeen bypass has been ordered to pay £280,000 to local groups after polluting local rivers including the Dee.
As well as the report on the BBC website, the Evening Express also covers the story. They report that the Bettridge will get £40,000 to surface the car park, Newtonhill Environment Action Team £1850 for a shed; Maryculter Woodland Trust £20,000 for paths; and Newtonhill History Group £3000, amongst others.
The report on their website has fewer details though than the print version: https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/news/scotland/aberdeen-bypass-contractors-pay-280000-penalty-for-river-pollution/
The BBC Scotland report was first with the news:

Panto stars: Take a bow

If you wanted a jolly good evening, then Portlethen Academy’s panto “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” was the place to be.

A cast of thousands – well it seemed like that – put on a top notch performance tonight. The core members of the cast were excellent and indeed maybe professional careers could be beckoning?

In an emotional finale, the sixth year pupils gave heartfelt speeches about how important taking part in panto had been. It made your heart swell.

Take a bow everyone. Literally.

Street lights working again

An update from Aberdeenshire Council officers – An electrician visited Balquharn Way, Circle and Drive in Hillside this morning and he has advised that the lights are now working.

This fault was also the reason why the lights in Redmire Crescent were also faulty.

If there is a problem with a street light it can be reported via the council’s website at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/apps/roadfaults/