A wide range of issues were discussed tonight at the North Kincardine Rural Community Council meeting in Lairhillock primary school, with more than a dozen members of the public present.

The new local police inspector Sheila McDerment touched on local matters including rural crime (including hare coursing), acquisitive crime especially shoplifting and farm thefts, and traffic problems. She also promised robust action on illegal encampments. The community council will receive quarterly tailored reports from the police. She was asked about temporary 30mph speed limits on local roads in the vicinity of the AWPR, and speeding in general. She also advised that if residents had questions or concerns they can email stonehavenlowerdeesidecpt@scotland.pnn.police.uk. Of course emergency calls should be made to 999, and non-emergency calls to 101.

The AWPR prompted much discussion, after vice chairman Henry Irvine-Fortescue reported on a meeting with council and police officers. Problems continue with heavy vehicles on local roads, noise from machinery during the night, road closures, and signs not tallying with public notices.

The meeting also heard from a local farmer who has applied for planning permission for a house in the greenbelt for an essential farm worker.

A report from Aberdeenshire Council area manager Willie Munro had been received but the contents will be considered and discussed more fully at the next meeting, particularly in relation to the Blairs development.

The Royal Bank no longer issues cheque books for the account the community council has, so the account is to be closed and business taken to the Bank of Scotland.

No volunteers have come forward to take up the post of secretary. The community council is considering making this a paid post.

The noticeboards have been removed from the Corbie Hall, and from outside the former schools at East and West Maryculter. A new noticeboard will be purchased for the Corbie Hall, and also for Lairhillock School.

The meeting heard that there is a £200,000 deficit in meeting the cost of renovating Maryculter church. We were also told that St Ternan’s Church at Muchalls has wet rot in two areas which requires attention. A letter of support will be provided by the community council when grants are sought at Muchalls.

Community council planning officer Colin Pike said he was standing down as he will be a candidate in the forthcoming Aberdeenshire Council elections. Should he not be successful he hoped the community council would have him back.

Some 500 trees were planted by volunteers at the Maryculter Woodland.

The annual plant sale and coffee morning will be held on 20 May in the Corbie Hall. The event is run jointly by the community council and the South Deeside View community newsletter, thus a decision on the recipient/s of the money raised needs to be jointly decided on or before the next NKRCC meeting. The agreed recipient/s will be asked to help staff the event – particularly the coffee morning.

The A93 North Deeside Road and the B979 Milltimber Brae are to close over two weekends due to AWPR construction work.

The North Deeside Road west of Milltimber Brae (towards Peterculter) will be closed from 8pm on Friday 31 March until 6am on Monday 3 April. This is to allow the contractors to complete the first phase of the carriageway tie-in. The only exceptions will be buses and emergency vehicles.

Milltimber Brae will be closed between 8pm on Friday 7 April until 6am on Monday 10 April.

I see that the Scottish Government reporter has turned down Stewart Milne’s proposals for a development at Mains of Cowie just north of Stonehaven. It would have included up to 250 houses, community facilities, a primary school, retail (not exceeding 4000 square metres gross floorspace), a petrol filling station, and related infrastructure.

The decision is included in a report due to come before the Kincardine and Mearns area committee on Tuesday.

The reporter said it would have an adverse impact on the setting of the town, and that the “proposed development would be contrary to the relevant provisions of the development plan, and that there are no other material considerations which would justify granting planning permission in principle.”

Six of us have just completed a course on emergency life support, organised by Trossachs Search and Rescue in the Bettridge Centre. We now know how to use defibrillators and much more. There is another course this afternoon if you can make it. You could save a life!

The C5K country road at Maryculter is to be closed for even longer than expected. It will initially be closed from 20 March to 28 March, then be closed for a further 21 days from Monday 3 April while the AWPR team install bridge beams.

The new primary school at Hillside will not open on 27 March as planned. Aberdeenshire Council officers have taken the decision to defer the opening of Hillside School until Tuesday 18 April. They say that this extension of time will fully facilitate all the rigorous testing and snagging required to make the school safe for children and staff.

Council officers have written a detailed letter to parents, explaining the position and the consequential impact. It was being issued to parents this afternoon. I have attached a copy.

This week’s Mearns Leader has an advert advising that a 20mph zone and a 30mph limit will come into force in Hillside on 20 March.

The 20mph zone covers streets to the west of Cookston Road towards the new primary school. The 30mph limit will apply to School Brae (the C30K). There will also be three speed bumps on the Causey Mounth.

The limits were being introduced to coincide with the opening of the school, which will be welcoming pupils from 27 March, which has now been postponed until mid April.

I pressed the case for more bottle banks in Portlethen at today’s meeting of Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee. I said it was ridiculous that a town of some 8500 people has so few bottle banks, and we would have had one fewer if Asda had not had a change of heart to allow the one in its car park to remain. They were fed up with fly-tipping. A study of the town is under way to see what potential there is for more bottle banks.

A wider review of the recycling service is under way to see what improvements can be made. This is important because recycling overall languishes at 41% on the household waste being collected in Aberdeenshire. The total always falls over the winter, but this is far below where we should be. Bizarrely a council south of the border has one of the best recycling collection rates in the UK by using exactly the same system as Aberdeenshire.