Grants, school rezoning, and more

Here are some of the highlight’s from this morning’s Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee:
– Councillors approved grants of £500 to Marykirk Village Hall and £3000 to Stonehaven & District Angling Association. So far this year no groups in the North Kincardine ward (i.e. here) have applied successfully for financial help.
– We were updated on proposals to rezone the Stonehaven town primary schools as Dunnottar is under pressure. We were also told about plans to rezone the new Blairs and Riverside of Blairs development so that any primary children would go to Lairhillock and secondary pupils to Mackie in Stonehaven rather than Cults Academy. No Blairs parents attended the public meeting on 7 September.
Aberdeen City Council had decided that Cults would no longer accept these Blairs pupils, however a new secondary at Countesswells is to be built, and so officers have been asked to liaise with their city counterparts to see if the situation has changed. There is more information at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/BlairsRezoning
– Unemployment (measured by benefit claims) in North Kincardine stood at 1.3% in March, compared to Aberdeenshire’s 1.6% which is the seventh lowest in Scotland.
– Some 97.4% of household planning applications are dealt with withing two months. However the average time to grant a building warrant is 99 days.
– It takes on average 42.4 days to re-let a council house in Kincardine and Mearns.
– Planning permission for 142 houses at Carron Den in Stonehaven was refused by eight votes to three. Stewart Milne already has consent for 109 residential units on that land, however the firm was hoping to build smaller houses due to a market shift away from larger homes. Councillors had concerns about layout, siting and design, as well as the 40% increase in house numbers.

Setback over pitch plans

Aberdeenshire Council officers have been exploring the creation of a football pitch next to the new Hillside School all-weather pitch, primarily using developer obligation funds allocated for that purpose (approximately £130,000).

Tenders for the work were put out, and linked with other pitch development work to ensure that prices were as competitive as possible and benefited from economies of scale.

However the best price for the new pitch was nearly £300,000, far higher than was originally estimated to be the case. The cost is as a result of difficult ground conditions.

Officers will be working with the community to look at alternative affordable plans for the area, and will keep local councillors informed as this work progresses.

Mobile library off the road

I have been told that the mobile library service for communities in the Kincardine & Mearns and South Marr areas will be off the road until a new member of staff has been recruited to this post.

In the meantime, all customers have been notified individually, and every effort is being made to get books to customers through local branch libraries or van deliveries.

Wind turbines do the business

Wind turbines in Scotland supplied the equivalent of 93% of the country’s household electricity in August, according to The National newspaper.

That is a new record and 33% more than in August 2016.

Wind generated enough output to potentially supply 100% or more of Scottish homes on nine out of the 31 days of August and power nearly 5m households across the UK on one day alone.

Meanwhile plans to build a new substation to transfer a new substation to transfer electricity from the world’s largest floating windfarm off Portlethen have been given the go-ahead. There is more at https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfg-sdfgapproval-for-new-substation-to-transfer-electricity-from-%E2%80%8B-floating-north-sea-windfarm/

Helicopter mystery solved

Anyone agree that there seem to be more helicopters flying up and down the coast these days? Well, it is the case.

I raised the question at the Aberdeen Airport Consultative Committee today and was told that the search and rescue helicopters fly along the coast as part of their training routine. They used to be based up north and offshore but now are at the airport.

Grants available for artists

Artists and craft makers in Aberdeenshire who would like to develop their skills can apply for funding through a grants scheme.
 
This autumn sees the launch of the 2017 call to artists to apply for Visual Artist and Craft Maker Awards, a partnership between Aberdeenshire Council’s Cultural Services and Creative Scotland now in its 14th year. Awards of between £500 and £1,500 are available. There is more information at https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/apps/news/release.aspx?newsid=4786

Pool lights problems being addressed

I have now been told by council officers that problems with lighting at Portlethen swimming pool are being addressed.

Here’s the update:

• Portlethen Swimming Pool exterior lighting – the three external lights have now been repaired, and the Culture & Sport service has requested for the three domed lights to be reconnected. An electrician is attending on Monday to look into the feasibility of this area of work.

• High level columns with floodlights attached – it is understood these columns were used as part of the previous CCTV. These floodlights are no longer in use as there are new CCTV cameras attached to the building.

• Swimming pool foyer carpet – staff are aware of the condition of the carpet and have been looking into possibilities of replacing it with vinyl.

Health partnership seeking carer to join board

Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership is looking for an unpaid carer representative to join the Integration Joint Board (IJB).

The role of the carer representative is to represent the views of unpaid carers at IJB discussions regarding the future of health and social care services in Aberdeenshire. An unpaid carer is a person, of any age, who provides unpaid help and support to a relative, friend or neighbour who cannot manage to live independently without the carer’s help.

As a carer representative on the IJB you should have, or have had, an unpaid caring role and be able to represent both your views and the views of other carers across Aberdeenshire. You should have an understanding of health and social care services and an interest in the decision making process.

You will attend formal board meetings where you will be part of the board responsible for overseeing the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care Partnership and managing adult health and social care services in Aberdeenshire.

If you are interested in finding out more visit https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/…/health-and-social-care-i… or email integration@aberdeenshire.gov.uk