Try something new …

Ever wanted to try your hand at archery? Does mediation really help you relax? What’s walking netball? Find out at the Bettridge Centre in Newtonhill this Sunday from 10am – 4pm.
As part of the Aberdeenshire Wellbeing festival, the whole centre is being opened up to anyone who would like to try some of the regular activities which run there including netball, KidzAct, badminton, yoga & meditation, line dancing, walking netball, Jazzercise, field hockey and hypnotherapy & guided relaxation. Everything is free – including teas and coffees – and is suitable for most ages.
A full timetable is available via www.bettridgecentre.org.uk, the centre’s Facebook page, or by calling 01569 731320.

Villagers put their views on development

A very good turnout tonight at Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council when the main talking point were the bids from developers as Aberdeenshire Council sets out to refresh the Local Development Plan.
The local bids for land west of Muchalls, south of Newtonhill, to the south of Cammachmore for housing and for employment land  west of the A90 at Newtonhill were discussed one by one. This will help the community council when members meet Aberdeenshire councillors next month.
The consensus was that no further land needs to be zoned for housing.
(There are 137 bids in Kincardine and Mearns which can be viewed at https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/planning/plans-and-policies/ldp-2021/?area=Kincardine and Mearns#list)
The meeting also heard that work should start on refurbishing the  play area in Newtonhill Park in August or September. It will be a phased improvement with the new equipment being bought shortly. There is still a question mark over whether developer funding of £26,000 will be available.
Ownership of the land at the former cattle underpass under the A90 has now been established. The community council has ambitions to reopen the underpass for pedestrian and bike access to connect St Michael’s Road in Newtonhill with west Cammachmore.
The community council is to write to Police Scotland urging that action is taken over inconsiderate parking – including on pavements – at Newtonhill School, especially in afternoons.
The annual general meeting of the community council takes place on Wednesday 20 June in the Skateraw Hall. There are a number of vacancies, and nominations close on 30 May. Let me or the community council know if you would like a form.

Surface dressing to take place

This won’t be popular in the short term with drivers and motorcyclists … the Kincardine and Mearns surface dressing programme is due to commence on Monday 21 May. The programme of works for the next two weeks will be as follows:

W/C 21/05/18

B979 (B9077 Junction to Mains of Altries – Monday 21st – Wednesday 23rd – road closure 
B979 (U93K to Craigie Cat) – Tuesday 22nd / Wednesday 23rd – Friday 25th – road closure

W/C 28/05/18

C12K – B979 junction to Elrick Farm – Monday 28th – Friday 1st June – road closure
C151C – A93 to Jackieshillock – Wednesday 30th – Friday 1st June – road closure
U67K – Turfcraig to Altries Stables – Thursday 31st – Friday 1st June – road closure
U59K – The Steadings, Ardoe East to Whin Cottage – Friday 1st June – road closure

I am told by the roads service that in the event of bad weather, some adjustments may be required with regards to the dates. They will endeavour to keep us updated as much as is reasonably possible.

There will be speed limits in force once the work is completed.

Round-up from the area committee

Today’s Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee saw a number of local issues being discussed.
DEVELOPER CONTRIBUTIONS – Officers have been instructed to report back to councillors on the current and future status of the park and ride project north of Portlethen.
It was also agreed that the infrastructure recommended for the use of the sustainable-related developer contributions associated with the Schoolhill development is to be explored in more detail. This includes simultaneously looking at alternative uses of this money within the available time-frame.
SOLD Councillors have agreed to the sale of the former Maryculter East School.
FIRE SERVICE In an annual report to councillors, the fire and rescue service reported there had been no fire fatalities in the area in 2017/18, and only a slight increase in accidental dwelling fires. Of such incidents 90% of homes have working smoke alarms.
Councillors were assured there are no plans to close any of the three stations in the area (Stonehaven, Inverbervie and Laurencekirk).
GRANT Newtonhill was awarded a £4150 grant towards 50% of the cost of replacing the village’s festive lights. This is subject to a review of the festive lights policy which will be presented to the council’s infrastructure services committee in June.
The village plans to purchase 32 low-wattage, light-emitting diode festive lights. Three of the 12 area councillors voted against awarding the grant at this time.
CHANGES The council’s community learning and development service has been realigned to focus on those in greatest need. This includes make transitions throughout life (e.g. from school to work), workforce development, and supporting communities to be strong, resilient and inclusive.
Examples given were helping Syrians settle in Scotland, providing English tuition for speakers of other languages, reducing offending by supporting people on release from prison, and supporting activity to reduce alcohol use.
A90 SERVICES On a 7-5 vote councillors approved an application for planning permission in principle for services just off the A90 near Luthermuir. This would include a farm shop, cafe, restaurant, studio units, an hotel, and a petrol station. HGV vehicles would not be allowed access. The development would be modelled on the Tebay North services in Cumbria.
The application now goes to the infrastructure services committee for consideration.
EARLY LEARNING Councillors heard of plans to refurbish part of Portlethen Primary School to expand the capacity of the early learning and childcare provision, This will help meet the Scottish Government’s commitment to expand entitlement to funded early childcare from 600 hours to 1140 hours by 2020. It is expected that this project could be delivered in 2018/19.

The cost of potholes

Councils across Scotland have paid out £4.59m over the past decade to drivers who have complained about cars being damaged by potholes, though not all authorities have published complete data.
 
According to the Press and Journal today, Aberdeenshire Council has paid out almost £200,000 in that time. In Aberdeen, the figure is nearly £100,000.
 
Meanwhile, the Scottish Government has handed all 32 councils in Scotland a total of £10m to help with road repair bills – Aberdeenshire is receiving £820,000.
 
Aberdeenshire Council’s head of roads Philip McKay commented that the council consistently ranks within the top five of all 32 local authorities in the annual Road Maintenance Condition Survey.
 
“However, it is fact that potholes can appear at any time on any standard of road. All of Aberdeenshire’s roads are inspected on a regular basis in line with national standards, but potholes do appear between inspections. 
 
“If members of the public make the council aware of a road defect we will arrange for it to be attended to and made safe or repaired. The best way to notify the council of road defects is online at www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/faults or by phone on 08456 08 12 05.
 
“The authority’s independent insurance representatives deal with all pothole related insurance claims and each case is dealt with on an individual basis. However, claims are unlikely to be successful if clear evidence of a road defect is not subsequently identified, or if the council was not aware of the defect prior to the incident.”

Help for those who are suffering

The recent death of the Frightened Rabbit front man Scott Hutchison and the Coronation Street storyline about suicide have brought the topic to the forefront of people’s consciousness and it is important to get the message out to those who are suffering that there is help out there.

Choose Life – Prevent Suicide North East was launched in 2016 with an app designed to help people feeling suicidal to access local services and advice. The app has been used by 29,000 individuals since its launch with the most often used tab being the ‘safety plan’.

The app has also been designed to help those who are worried about a friend or loved one and to help them access support. You can take a look at the app here: http://preventsuicideapp.com/

Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership has been focusing on known suicide triggers such as the breakdown of relationships and the difficulties this can present particularly for men in their middle years. You can see more on the Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/PreventsuicideNEScot/

Fiona Stalker from the BBC will be hosting a Facebook Live panel discussion for the Partnership on Thursday 17 May from 7pm https://www.facebook.com/events/429346757478768/

Please share this information if you wish.

Contactless payment on buses

I am told by Stagecoach that they now accept contactless payments on board their buses.
In their statement they say it takes less than a second for contactless payments to register. “Our buses accept all Android and Apple Pay devices, including smart phones and Apple watches for payments up to £30. So there’s no need to worry about having cash anymore.”
There is more information at

No card payments at car parks

Card payment will no longer be available in Aberdeenshire Council’s pay and display car parks – such as Market Square, Stonehaven, from next week (14 May).
This is due to a change in legislation relating to security and the high cost of upgrading the machines.
Cash will still be accepted and payment can also be made using the RingGo smartphone application, or by phone. Currently council car parks make a loss of around £140,000 a year, and the council is considering changes so that they cover their own costs, as they have in the past.

Buses, bikes, dogs and winter roads

But more importantly it included some issues which may of interest locally.

BUSES – Councillors agreed that the local authority should be a member of the North East of Scotland Bus Alliance Quality Partnership. Its aims include arresting the decline in passenger numbers and improving the performance of bus services. The partnership has a passenger charter which says that bus operators will “provide a modern, accessible and high quality fleet. I took the opportunity to point out that many would not agree that the X7 buses are “accessible”.

The report also mentioned the proposed park and ride north of Portlethen. I asked officers what the next steps are in that regard. I was told that it “very much exists as a project, and has been in the strategy for a number of years.” I was assured it is still on the agenda.

CYCLE ROUTES – A local transport strategy update contained the news that officers have submitted bids to Sustrans for funding for the design of a cycle route from Portlethen to Wellington Road, which I described as the missing link. Bids have also been submitted for financial support for the construction of cycle routes in Portlethen from Muirend Road to Badentoy Road and on Cookston Road. There is more at https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/council-beats-a-path-to-sustrans-door-for-cycle-route-funding/

WINTER ROADS – There was much discussion about improving the roads winter service, in light of recent experiences, which cost the council more than £7m, compared to a average winter spend of £4m.

Mention was made of the lock-block roads in Portlethen which became skating rinks, the need for more, suitably situated grit bins, clearing playgrounds, improved planning of treatment for priority routes, enlisting more help from farmers, better communications, and involving the public in helping themselves.

I urged officers to provide more grit bins, and in the right places.

A root and branch review of policies are to be carried out by dedicated staff, with further reports to come back to councillors.

DOGS – Councillors agreed that a report with various options be taken to area committees about the presence of dogs in school grounds, enclosed council playparks and cemeteries. This could see dogs being banned from these specific places, either as a result of a policy decision or perhaps as a new by-law. Another option would be to take no action. A final decision will be made by the infrastructure services committee after the summer recess.

AWPR to close country road

I have just been told that owing to AWPR works to remove concrete plant crossing protection slab, road reinstatement, and permanent barrier installation it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to close the U63K country road at Blaikiewell near Kirkton of Maryculter for 20 days.
The closure will begin on Wednesday 23 May.
Emergency and pedestrian access to be maintained. Vehicular access to affected properties to be maintained whenever possible.