I was asked tonight about the next meeting of the Kincardine and Mearns Bus Forum.

Originally it was scheduled for 31 August but was subsequently postponed, with the new date now being 28 September at 7.30pm in the Staff Room at Mackie Academy. Anyone interested in putting their views to Stagecoach and the council is most welcome.

More than 80 people attended tonight’s meeting about what’s good or not so good about Portlethen.

For three hours we discussed and debated transport, parking, the local economy, safety and many other issues. The comments will help Aberdeenshire Council when officers set to work drawing up a refresh of the Local Development Plan (more on this in coming months). The council’s area manager Willie Munro said that in partnership with other bodies they will also look as areas where there is scope for improvement and pull together a list of actions.

The meeting was run in conjunction with Portlethen and District Community Council.

A masterplan – proposed by Barratts and Polmuir Holdings – for housing to the south of Newtonhill received a dusty hearing at today’s Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee.

Councillors unanimously disagreed that the masterplan was acceptable and disagreed that it should be used as planning advice in the determination of any future planning application.

In straightforward language, that mean the developers were asked to go away to think again. They are also asked to hold a public consultation on what they propose, and to take on board the comments made by councillors. Meanwhile the area committee will have a site visit to better understand the impact housing would have.

I made a number of points setting out my concerns about the impact on the core path from Newtonhill to Muchalls, the incorporation of some green belt into the masterplan, a proposed landscape buffer with the railway line, and so on.

Other councillors – including my three fellow ward councillors – also expressed their concerns about what was being put forward.

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Full planning permission was given for a change of use of agricultural buildings to storage/distribution/industrial use at Gillybrands Farm on the Causeymounth at Cammachmore. One of the conditions is that there will be no use of power tools outwith 8am to 6pm Monday to Saturday. The farm is now only arable and there is no farming need any more for the buildings.

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Full planning permission was refused for a house and biomass shed south west of Cookney Ridge, in line with the planning officer’s recommendation. This would have allowed the timber yard to the east of Cookney to relocate after having lost storage land to the AWPR. As I said at the meeting, unfortunately the proposed site is not the right site.

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Newtonhill resident Morag Andrew has been nominated as an external member of the council’s school placings and exclusions appeal committee.

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I pressed the case for progressing with a cycleway/path between Stonehaven and Aberdeen. I was reassured when strategy manager Mark Skilling assured councillors that it is a priority. I asked that the missing link between Marywell and Charleston along the Old Wellington Road be a priority within that priority. Unfortunately these are long-term project requiring land acquisition, which is not an easy matter.

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An application for a late hours catering licence for Cafe No 6 at the Green in Portlethen was only partly granted. The applicant sought permission to open until 3am. In light of police and other advice, this was restricted to 1am. This matches the opening hours of the nearby Paddock. The application was granted for one year.

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I was disappointed that there was no support from fellow councillors when I tried to retain a public question time in the agenda of area committee meetings. This used to appear near the beginning of meetings, giving residents the opportunity to raise local issues with councillors and officers. The opportunity was only rarely used, however I felt it was important to retain. A governance review across the council led to it being removed from area committee agendas.

Plenty smiles and laughs among the serious issues being discussed tonight by the North Kincardine Rural Community Council at their monthly meeting in the Lairhillock School.

Among the topics were the building of the Aberdeen bypass (members are looking forward to its completion), more cabinets for superfast broadband being installed, recycling (what goes where), new wind turbines at Craigneil (and possible community benefit fund), the September issue of the South Deeside View, and local planning applications.

The next meeting is on Monday 18 September, at 7.30pm.

A drookit end to the Portlethen gala, not for the first time. Hopefully everyone had a great time nonetheless.

The sun was shining on the Muchalls Gala – until the raffle draw when the heavens opened.

Great home bakes and good fun at the Maryculter summer fair. I even got to throw wet sponges at the minister and go on a horse-drawn carriage ride down towards Inchferry.

Speed limits in towns across Aberdeenshire could be slashed to 20mph after council and police chiefs revealed a “significant proportion” of motorists still see speeding and reckless behaviour behind the wheel as acceptable.

There’s a report in today’s Press and Journal: https://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/fp/news/aberdeenshire/1311936/crackdown-launched-on-regions-danger-drivers/

It’s all about changing public attitudes. And it can be done. Who remembers “Just have one for the road” before driving home?

Road resurfacing will cause problems for Newtonhill people wanting to join or leave the northbound A90 carriageway.

Thankfully the work is taking place over 10 nights (from Sunday 20 August). I noticed the warning sign on my way back from Stonehaven this afternoon. https://www.eveningexpress.co.uk/fp/news/local/north-east-road-to-benefit-from-365000-resurfacing-works/

Meanwhile a section of the B979 Stonehaven to Netherley road will be closed under the A90 from 8pm on Friday, 25 August until 6am on Monday, 28 August. The council statement just says the closure is necessary as part of on-going AWPR works, however I’m sure I read somewhere it is to take down scaffolding, not the existing remaining A90 bridge. That comes later.

The Evening Express story says no works will take place at Newtonhill on August 25 and 26 to avoid disruption.

Following a survey of sports clubs, Aberdeenshire Council’s Sport and Physical Activity Service will be providing two new workshops giving them access to support on child protection policies and funding streams.

Bookings are now being taken for the free workshops.

The first, In Safe Hands, is a workshop supporting clubs to put child protection policies into practice and is essential for those acting as clubs’ child protection officers but is also relevant for those managing or organising the club.