In memory of a Newtonhill war veteran

A coffee morning in the Skateraw Hall in Newtonhill was a sell-out to raise funds to buy a bench in memory of Newtonhill-born Alistair Urquhart who died recently. His autobiography tells of his experiences in World War 2 as a prisoner of the Japanese. He worked on the Burma railway, was torpedoed, and survived the atomic bomb. His book is well worth reading.

He refers in his book to recalling his fond memories while he was a prisoner of war of being on the beach at Newtonhill, so appropriately the bench is to be planted on the beach. The coffee morning raised more than £300.

Walking, cycling and public transport survey

I have just been told that on-street surveys will be taking place in Portlethen on Tuesday 28 February and Wednesday 1 March.

Surveys will be conducted at:

– Muirend Road
– Bruntland Road

and will consist of short interviews with members of the public.

Surveys will be at the following times, running simultaneously for both sites:

8 to 10 am
12 to 2 pm
4 to 6 pm

At Muirend Road they will be at the area around where the shopping arcade with the Ashvale and Subway restaurants and the footpath running behind Clashfarquhar Crescent is.  

At Bruntland Road they will be at the area near the Academy.  

This is the plan for now, but if it transpires on the day that there are nearby areas with higher footfall, surveyors are instructed to move to those areas.

The aim is to gather information about Aberdeenshire residents’ experiences and opinions of walking, cycling and public transport.

The surveys are being carried out by Streetwise Services Ltd, who are working on behalf of the council’s transport strategy team.

Spotlight on Newtonhill area

A varied number of topics at Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council tonight. Here is a flavour of the meeting in the Skateraw Hall:

– Two people selling items door-to-door in Newtonhill have been reported by the police to the fiscal.

– The community council decided not to accept an offer from Aberdeenshire Council’s waste service to have an officer attend a future meeting.

– Six litter bins are to be placed around Newtonhill (no detail regarding where).

– A new noticeboard is to be erected at Cammachmore.

– Aberdeenshire Council’s environment team is drawing up plans to repair the right of way from the park north of the courts to the Elsick Mill, including opening up the tree canopy.

– Chairman Michael Morgan reported that an application for planning permission for six houses at Cammies was turned down by Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services committee as the site is in the greenbelt. The applicant has now appealed to the Scottish Government to have the council’s decision overturned.

– A member of the public has lodged a complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman over Aberdeenshire Council selling land at Park Place in Newtonhill for a road to enable possible house building to the south of the village. The ombudsman’s role is to investigate the council’s handling of the issue.

– There was much discussion about the Scottish Government’s consultation on changes to the planning system. A response is to be collated with comments.

– Nominations closed tonight for membership of the community council. Tribute was paid to Rhoda Nelson, Lesley Brown and Rhona Vassilikos who are standing down, as well as to Karen Ash who has submitted her resignation. Valid papers have been received from Edith Stephen, Alison Daniels, Moira Cameron, Rob Peaker and Mariana Yarnold. Two vacancies remain in Newtonhill. The AGM is on 15 March.

Chapelton nursery gets glowing report

Congratulations to the Croft Nurseries at Chapelton for their recent Care Inspectorate report. The outcome for the four key measurements was a 5 rating – very good. The nursery is registered to provide a daycare service to a maximum of 90 children at any one time aged from birth to 12 years of whom no more than 24 may be under two years of age and of whom no more than 12 may be school aged children.

You can read the report in full at http://www.careinspectorate.com/index.php/inspection-reports

Shortage of teachers

At the start of February there were 25 primary school vacancies and 18 secondary school vacancies in Aberdeenshire, with the situation most acute in north Aberdeenshire.

Teacher recruitment was identified as an ongoing challenge in Aberdeenshire a number of years ago and since then the council has been pushing on with a range of measures to reduce vacancy numbers.

Information sessions for registered teachers, including those who have previously taught elsewhere in the UK or abroad, took place last month and were attended by more than 40 people.

Council officers are now liaising with them to try and create bespoke packages enabling them to return to the classroom in Aberdeenshire.

Teachers who may not have taught for some time, may never have taught in Scotland or perhaps have never used their teaching qualification are being encouraged to come forward and can contact the council by emailing intoteaching@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or calling 01467 536158.

The Distance Learning Initial Teaching Education was introduced in 2014 as a flexible-learning programme in partnership with the University of Aberdeen during which participants are funded to study part-time for a post-graduate qualification in teaching.

Since then, 37 students have achieved that qualification and gone into their probationary year in Aberdeenshire schools. The latest group of 14 students began the programme last month and will graduate in June 2018.

https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/apps/news/release.aspx…

Grit bin request refused

Council officers have turned down a request for a grit bin near the Cairnhill Road/Michael Tunstall Place junction in Newtonhill. I had asked that one be provided to replace a grit bin provided by developers Barratts. Officers tell me a site assessment has been completed by the technical team, “and in accordance with the assessment criterion, the street does not qualify for the provision of a grit bin. The winter maintenance of this street will be carried out in accordance with the council’s current Winter Maintenance Operational Plan.”

I am disappointed – the grit bin policy is too restrictive.

Road closure cancelled

The scheduled closure of the C5K country road at Greens of Crynoch has been cancelled. The closure was due to start on 20 February for 21 days. A representative from the AWPR project told council officers that beams for the structure to be built have been delayed. There is no date at the moment for the work.

Cardboard skips removed

The giant skips for cardboard have gone from the Asda car park. The bottle bank remains along with a few standard containers for recyclables and clothing. The changes have happened because the recycling centre is now open at Badentoy. It is well signposted, though some of the signs are blown back-to-front, especially at the flyover. I have asked officers to fix them. I was asked why the council doesn’t collect glass along with the other items in the recycling bin.

I am told that if glass were collected with the rest of the recycled things it would be of less value to the council – and frowned upon by the Scottish Government. At the moment the colour-separated glass fetches income for the council and it can be used to make new bottles etc. If we changed to the Aberdeen system the mixed glass would be ground down for making roads and suchlike – and raise much less money. As well as being a bit wasteful of the earth’s resources!

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