While BT carry out work in an underground structure the C30K country road will be closed at Schoolhill near the fire training centre for two days – Monday 7 August and the following day – from 9.30am to 3.30pm.

Aberdeenshire Council is offering a free, one-off training session in child protection basic awareness on Wednesday 16 August from 9.30am to 1pm in Woodhill House, Aberdeen.

It is aimed at the multi-agency general contact workforce, defined as those who are likely to come into contact with children, young people and other family members, as part of their job. This could include admin staff, receptionists, GPs, support workers etc. The frequency of the contact will vary but these workers will not usually be involved in any in-depth personal work with them.

These workers need to have the confidence and awareness to recognise when a child or young person may be in need of protection and how to respond.

Apply to training.courses@aberdeenshire.gov.uk giving your name, job title, organisation and a contact phone number.

Aberdeenshire Council’s surface dressing operations for Kincardine and Mearns are now underway, starting with the South Deeside Road (B9077) from the B979 junction to Tilbouries bridge.

I noticed the 20mph signs were in place – I hope drivers will take heed! I have been told that a motorcyclist was left with a buckled front tyre and cars with chips in windscreens/paintwork. Slows speeds are vital.

These operations will take approximately two weeks to complete. These works are very weather dependent, and operations may cease during periods of rainfall.

Council roads officers tell me that surface dressing is used as an effective and cost-efficient way to further the lifespan of roads and improve the quality of damaged carriageway.

The technique of laying hot bitumen followed by chippings works to seal the road surface and provides better grip for vehicles. To ensure no bare patches are left, more chips are laid than are required for the finished job. Although the newly-dressed road is mechanically swept a number of times after being treated, it takes several days for chips to embed fully into the bitumen.

Traffic passing slowly over a newly-dressed road helps to speed up this process, but when motorists exceed speed restrictions loose chips can prove hazardous.

Some patching work is also sometimes required, where badly cracked section of roads are repaired prior to surface dressing, and these works will also be taking place throughout the area.

In combination, these processes can significantly add to the longevity of local roads at minimal cost, helping to protect them from severe weather and other damage, providing extra grip. Appropriate use of this technique has helped to routinely keep Aberdeenshire’s roads in the top five in the annual Scottish Road Maintenance Condition Survey.

Here is the list of roads:

A reminder that the road surfacing repairs on the U58K Duffshill Road will take place on 17 and 18 July.

In addition, the nearby C34K Causey Mounth (to the west) will be closed from 19 July until 20 July, also for road surfacing repairs.

Council officers assure me that emergency and pedestrian access is to be maintained by the contractors. Vehicular access to affected properties is also to be maintained whenever possible.

Remedial work on Portlethen Academy will take place between 4 and 17 August, while the school is closed for the summer.

Contractors will install steel bond and Surefix tiles externally and head restrain straps internally. The work will be undertaken at no cost to Aberdeenshire Council.

This addresses issues identified in checks on schools built under PPP contracts. Engineers stress that the identified works represent no immediate safety risk.

I have been assured by council officers this will not interfere with the Portlethen gala or other activities taking place in the academy.

A great evening in Newtonhill’s Skateraw Hall, with music from the Kilwhang Bell Ringers from Stonehaven followed by great songs from Inverbervie’s Jack Macpherson.

The event was a fund-raiser for the 1889 hall, with the next challenge being an upgrade for the cloakrooms. Great food too.

PS: Did you know Kilwhang was the old name for Stonehaven?

I attended my first meeting of the Strategic Development Planning Authority this afternoon. There were some snippets of general interest:

There is sufficient land identified in local development plans for building homes for 23 years, given current build rates in the North East.

The National Records of Scotland has published its estimates of population across council areas, and during 2015/16 the number of people leaving the area exceeded those arriving by about 300. This brought to an end 14 years of continuous net in-migration. It is unclear how long this new phase will last.