North Kincardine Rural Community Council met tonight via Zoom to discuss a variety of local issues.

The provision of electric vehicle charging points came under the spotlight, with the three Aberdeenshire ward councillors present saying it is not the responsibility of the local authority to provide these chargers, but the commercial world. However the local authority is drawing up a policy on EV chargers, including planning requirements, to which the community council will contribute.

Potholes came under scrutiny with one at the junction of the road from Kirkton of Maryculter with the South Deeside Road causing particular concern.

Community councillors also discussed the cleaning and repairs to local war memorials. The community council has a sub committee which will discuss these matters further, particularly at Banchory Devenick and Kirkton of Maryculter. Funding could be sought from the local authority’s Kincardine and Mearns area budget.

Other issues discussed included the forthcoming royal jubilee (with the suggestion that the community council donates a tree to each primary school); possible changes to the levels of public objections to planning applications needed to take the matter before local councillors; and possible changes to changes to the waste collection system (which will be discussed by Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee on Thursday).

The next meeting is on Monday 21 February.

The following new application in the North Kincardine ward can be viewed on the Aberdeenshire Council planning register: https://upa.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/online-applications/.

TRE/2022/0008
Date validated: 14 January 2022.
Site address: Parkend Cottage, 10 Marine Terrace, Muchalls, AB39 3RD.
Applicant: A.C. Morrison & Richards LLP.
Application: Trees in Conservation Area for Tree Works (Retrospective).
Public comment expiry date: Not applicable for this type of application.

On Thursday Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee will receive a report on plans to increase recycling.

This includes providing households with a 180L bin for metals and plastics. The current blue-lidded 240L bin would be for paper and cardboard.

Collections would be on a three week rota, with food waste being collected weekly. The change should cut the volume of waste going to landfill. It should also lead to annual savings of £564,000 to £765,000.

There is also a recommendation to councillors to instruct the Director of Environment & Infrastructure Services to further explore a business case for an opt-in chargeable garden waste collection service.

The current waste strategy was agreed some time ago to cover the 2019-23 period, so perhaps matters have changed. Assuming this work is approved, we will see in due course what a fresh deliberation produces.

The full report can be found here, and scroll to Item 11 on the agenda: https://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=495&meetid=19813

Meanwhile the Mearns Leader has carried a useful summary of the report: https://www.mearnsleader.co.uk/news/people/three-weekly-collections-and-an-extra-bin-proposed-for-aberdeenshire-households-3526153

Aberdeenshire Council today agreed its pitch and outdoor physical activity space strategy.

It has been a long time in preparation, with councillors, user groups and communities being involved.

This should have positive implications for Portlethen. An assessment shows that the Portlethen area is third in a list of 17 communities needing significant further investment in the provision of pitches across Aberdeenshire.

The report includes a proposal to establish five grass pitches as a competitive sports pitches in Kincardine and Mearns at Laurencekirk (one), Portlethen (two), and Stonehaven (two).

The report also proposes to convert the existing Hillside synthetic pitch into a football compliant surface. I reminded councillors about the aspirations of Portlethen residents to have such a full-size pitch.

It says: “It would also be possible to develop a full-size floodlit facility at Hillside (extending the existing facility). However, such a facility would require a pavilion as existing facilities would be inadequate to support a full-size facility.” The cost is put at up to £1.2 million, and potential timescale of 2024 – 2026. My understanding is that community fund-raising is likely to be required to supplement the contribution from the council.

The report also says that one project would be the provisional additional development of pitches in Newtonhill with a possible direct developer allocation. I asked at the meeting for clarification of what this means as the proposed local development plan does not include any further development in the village.

Returning to the overall proposals, communities committee chair Anne Stirling told the meeting: “The implementation phase requires us to allocate additional revenue and capital resources.

“This programme signals a significant investment of just under £9 million in our people across Aberdeenshire and underlines the importance of providing suitable outdoor space for a range of activities for the benefit of everyone.

“I also welcome the approach outlined to develop a single booking process for the use of Live Life Aberdeenshire and Education facilities which will streamline the current complex arrangements.”

Education would control school pitch use during the delivery of the school curriculum.

FINANCIAL POSITION

Councillors also heard that there is a projected overbudget position of £4.829 million for this financial year, which does not include the costs of Storm Arwen which are still being collated. However, there is confidence that the council will close the year on budget. The cost of running the council over the year is £639.519 million.

Meanwhile capital spending has slowed down because of the impact of covid. It is estimated that the council will be £29.553m under budget position at the year end. The report from officers says that large projects can take longer to deliver than expected and as such it is important to view the Capital Plan as a series of connected years.

WANT MORE INFORMATION?

All the reports can be found here: https://committees.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees.aspx?commid=1&meetid=19854 The pitches report is Item 9.

Police Scotland’s report on the Kincardine and Mearns area for December was published today.

ANTISOCIAL BEHAVIOUR, VIOLENCE AND DISORDER:

There has been a decrease in the anti-social behaviour calls, with 21 being received.

There were seven assault crime reports raised; five reported are detected and have been reported to the procurator fiscal and the Youth Justice Management Unit. Meanwhile, one is still being investigated. There were no serious assaults reported.

ACQUISITIVE CRIME:

There have been 10 thefts with seven remaining undetected and are still being investigated. Three of the thefts relate to shoplifting offences, two of which were detected and the person responsible reported to the procurator fiscal. The third crime is still under investigation.

These crimes include entry being forced to a garage in Maryculter and a number of tools stolen from within. This is still under investigation.

In St Cyrus, a 33-year-old male was charged with a sneak-in theft to a residential property where soft furnishings were stolen. He has been reported.

ROAD SAFETY AND ROAD CRIME:

In December there were two drivers found to be under the influence of alcohol. They have been charged and reported.

There was one reported incident of dangerous driving, and four reported incidents of careless driving, all of which are detected and reported to the fiscal.

Numerous road safety checks using the Unipar laser device have been undertaken. Several new locations have been put forward as areas of concern for speeding, which will be visited in future operations.

COMMUNITY ENGAGEMENT:

As an Intelligence-led organisation, Police Scotland depends on members of the public to come forward and provide information. We like to know the ‘who, what, why, when, where and how’ in relation to criminals who are living or committing crime in our communities.

Nothing should be considered too small or irrelevant, things like names, nicknames, addresses, descriptions and vehicle registration numbers are all very helpful.

All information received is treated confidentially and measures are put in place to prevent the source of the information being identified, before it is shared with police officers. Information received helps prevent and detect crime, disrupt criminal activity and apprehend offenders.

CONTACTS:

 101 – Non emergency
 Email – StonehavenLowerDeesideCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
 Twitter – @NorthEPolice
 Facebook – www.Facebook.com/NorthEastPoliceDivision
 Web – www.scotland.police.uk
 999 – Emergency
 0800 555 111 – Crimestoppers

At last a start has been made on tackling potholes in Portlethen, Newtonhill and Muchalls. A rolling programme of work is being undertaken on behalf of the council by Hunter Construction. The photograph shows Hillside Road.

As I have posted previously, young people in Scotland aged five to 21 will be able travel for free on bus services from 31 January with a new or replacement National Entitlement Card or Young Scot card.

However national plans start marketing this now have been put on hold by Transport Scotland. Here is the reason: “Due to the rising cases of covid-19, and current messaging which encourages people to stay at home as much as possible, the decision has been taken to pause the launch of the marketing campaign until the situation improves.”

However, young people and children can still apply for their card from 10 January as planned, to access the scheme from 31 January onwards. Only those for whom bus travel is considered essential are being asked to submit their applications at this time.

This will also help to minimise pressure on councils, also impacted by the current situation with the pandemic, who will be responsible for processing applications and responding to enquiries.

Information about the scheme and how to apply is now available on the Transport Scotland website ahead of applications officially opening on 10 January: https://www.transport.gov.scot/concessionary-travel/young-persons-free-bus-travel-scheme/

Enhanced resources are being provided by Aberdeenshire libraries for families and carers for home-based learning during the pandemic.

Recognising some of the challenges faced by such families and carers, Live Life Aberdeenshire libraries will allow parents, guardians and carers to borrow many of the resources that teachers and schools across Aberdeenshire have access to.

For more information, see the Live Life Aberdeenshire website: https://bit.ly/LLAcres

Aberdeenshire Council’s business services committee yesterday unanimously agreed to make Friday, 3 June an additional holiday to mark the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee.

The decision means council workers will get the day off, or additional pay if this is not possible, while school pupils will also have an extra day off.

The extra day of leave will cost the council around £150,000 in staff costs that will be accounted for in the 2022/23 revenue budget.

In November 2020 the UK Government announced the late May public holiday was to be moved to Thursday, 2 June, and an extra public holiday was approved for Friday, 3 June to allow a four-day weekend to celebrate the historic event.

The Queen’s Platinum Jubilee will make her the first British monarch to reign for seven decades.

Meanwhile Aberdeenshire Council has set up a webpage from which you can find information about jubilee celebrations this year including details on the Queen’s Green Canopy, beacons and street parties. It also links to a national database where anyone can upload details of their planned event.

Individuals and community groups are encouraged to participate in any way they wish, whether this is by planting a tree or joining a Big Lunch hosted by a local group.

Here is the link to the webpage for more information: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/events/platinum-jubilee/?fbclid=IwAR3PsEpMnvl-Ty56AGbP_4euqdOs6N3dYwBfDatr79eapEH-886fLwpM9B0

The next meeting of Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council will be held on line, via Microsoft Teams, at 7.30pm on Wednesday 19 January.

This will be the community council’s first online meeting. Last year in-person meetings resumed in the Skateraw Hall after a long period without any meetings due to the pandemic.

The meeting will be limited to a maximum duration of one hour.

North Kincardine Rural Community Council has continued to meet on line via Zoom since covid-19 struck. Portlethen and District Community Council no longer exists due to a lack of interest among residents.