Cheques for local good causes

Representatives of the groups with Callum Whiteford of RES (in black)

Representatives of the groups with Callum Whiteford of RES (in black)

A very pleasant event this evening in Newtonhill Bowling Club when cheques from the Meikle Carewe find farm community funds were handed over to this year’s good causes. The cheques totalled £40,796, and were handed over by Callum Whiteford, the community relations manager of RES, the company which operates the turbines to the west of Netherley.

There were 21 applications this year and the recipients are:

  • Drumoak, Durris & Crathes Bowling Club (£1180)
  • Newtonhill & District Bowling Club (£5000)
  • Newtonhill Community Hall Association (£4433)
  • Maryculter Woodlands Trust (£1840)
  • 1st Maryculter Scouts (£2988)
  • Portlethen Moss Conservation (£4400)
  • Portlethen & District Men’s Shed (£5821)
  • Stonehaven Tolbooth Association (£4000)
  • Stonehaven Horizon Project (£800)
  • Stonehaven Amateur Swimming Club (£5083)
  • 1st Stonehaven Scout Group (£3930)
  • Panthers Basketball Club (£1314).

Newtonhill Bowling Club is using its £5000 cheque towards the £42,000 cost of a new carpet on the green. Work to replace the artificial surface (it is on a concrete base) takes place this March.

Newtonhill Community Hall Association is spending its £4433 on upgrading the small hall in the Bettridge Centre.

The Men’s Shed hopes to open in the spring, having raised £60 to date.

If I have misheard and got any of the figures wrong, please let me know!

The scheme is administered by Kincardineshire Development Partnership on behalf of RES, and the decisions on which group gets what are made by community council representatives in the local area.

What offices does the council need – and where?

On Thursday Aberdeenshire Council will discuss what offices need to be provided – and where – for our staff.
Folk may recall there was an attempt late last year by the SNP-led administration to quit Woodhill House in Aberdeen and head north to Inverurie in a deal to invest in sports facilities in the town.
That plan was thwarted by the opposition, and a short-term working group was set up to look at the options. There will be a report from the working group coming to full council, but I have not seen it yet. However a news release has been put out by the council and it appears that moving more than 800 staff from Woodhill House to Inverurie is still on the cards. That’s what the BBC is reporting too.
We will see. If there is such a pressing need to move the HQ simply because it is in Aberdeen, then perhaps we should change the name of the local authority from “Aberdeen”shire too! That might be welcomed by residents who live in Kincardineshire and Banffshire!
If Woodhill House were not habitable or suitable for purpose, then I would not have an objection to relocation. But I am told the building is sound. It is a central location, with good road access from all over Aberdeenshire.
The proposals also include investing in council offices in Ellon and Stonehaven, as well as the possible replacement of Gordon House in Inverurie.
Officers still have a lot of work to do and a final decision has not been taken. I do not want to prejudge the outcome of the full council debate on the report next week but it is important for the public to know that we as the opposition have put more transparency around this whole issue.

Water companies consider options

Well that was an interesting meeting with Scottish Water and Kelda Water representatives about the 6ft 6in high cabinet at the Braehead in Newtonhill. They agreed to look at other options for siting the cabinet, including tucked in beside the hedge at the top of the beach path. However there are technical requirements which must be met for such installations, so no promises from the utilities at this stage.

I also spoke to neighbours, one of whom is looking forward to this going operational to reduce the noise from the pumping station.

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Houses, clippings, crime in the spotlight

A wide range of topics discussed at tonight’s meeting of Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore Community Council, with half a dozen members of the public and three Aberdeenshire councillors  attending.
 
– The removal of the green waste lorry was discussed with information being received from Aberdeenshire Council. Officers are not for changing their minds, but offered to come to a future meeting. The meeting heard that some residents have replaced hedging with fencing as they have no way of disposing of clippings.
 
– Residents are planning to lodge a complaint with the Scottish Public Services Ombudsman over plans by Aberdeenshire Council to sell land in the wildlife area on Park Place so that houses can be built further south of the village. A meeting had been held with Barratts about their plans and some surveying work is expected to take place on the moor. “They are listening to us,” said chairman Michael Morgan.
 
– Various planning applications were discussed, including area committee support for six houses on the Cammies site, and plans for a new house at East Cammachmore (objection to be lodged).
 
– The Scottish Government response to the proposed Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan has been received by the local authority. The details are still being analysed but the meeting heard that one decision appears to be the removal of a travellers’ site at Chapelton.
 
– Six community councillors from Newtonhill and Muchalls are due to stand down at the AGM on 15 March. Nominations should be lodged with Cllr Carl Nelson (as the returning officer this year) by 15 February.
 
– PC Wallace told us this remains a low crime area. He warned about rural crime, answered questions on air weapon licences, policing on the A90, and the 50mph speed limit at Charleston.
 
– Among other topics were litter, the state of the path next to the Old Mill, and community council funding available for local projects.

Business rates hike on the way

Just when businesses are struggling with the effects of the reduction of business due to the oil price reduction the Scottish government thinks it’s a good idea to raise non-domestic rates (also known as business rates).
It’s not a clever move for the 12,000 non-domestic ratepayers in Aberdeenshire.
Rates information can be viewed on the Scottish Assessors Association web site saa@gov.uk and click on non domestic valuation.
Any non-domestic rateable value up to £15,000 will qualify for 100% rates relief under the small business bonus scheme. Between £15,001 and £18,000 the discount is 25%.
However non-domestic rateable values above £51,000 will attract a business supplement of 2.6 pence above the new proposed standard poundage rate of 46.6 pence.
The last revaluation was done in 2010 and related to values on 1 April 2008. This recent valuation relates to values on 1 April 2015 and is effective from 1 April 2017.
There is currently NO provision for transitional relief, but these valuations can be appealed free of charge on the SAA website.
So what can you do if you are facing a huge hike in your non-domestic rates bill?
  • Appeal the valuation.
  • Contact your regional and constituency MSPs. They will be voting on the Scottish Budget. It has not been passed YET. The easiest way to do that is via the impartial www.writetothem.com/ website
  • Lobby MSPs to include transitional relief in the Scottish Budget.
  • Contact the local Chamber of Commerce.
Notices will be issued on 15 March 2017.
By the way, although councils collect non-domestic rates, the money goes to the Scottish Government in Edinburgh.

Backing for car storage in the greenbelt

A long meeting today of the council’s Kincardine and Mearns area committee. Of local note were the following:

– The committee supported, by 7 votes to 3, an application by Arnold Clark for a car storage area to the west of the A90 at Duffs Hill. The storage yard would take approximately 830 vehicles. I argued it should not go ahead as the site is in the greenbelt. I was one of the three councillors to vote against.  As it is contrary to planning policy, the application now goes to Aberdeenshire Council’s infrastructure services policy committee for a final decision.

– Full planning permission was granted retrospectively at Kirk Croft, just east of Portlethen Parish Church, for the erection of a garage and workshop. There were a number of objections, including a petition, concerned that a right of way might be impeded. I wasn’t in the chamber for this item, having declared an interest as I know objectors.

– We also had weighty discussions about the performance of the new health and social care partnership and about the new social work assisted transport policy. The aim is to make people more independents and take control of their lives, however the council will continue to provide transport if there are no other means of accessing services. The final decision will be taken by the integrated joint board which has council and NHS representatives.

Solar panels for school

A building warrant has been grant for the installation of 190 solar PV panels to the roof of Lairhillock School. The cost of the work is £66,594.

Building warrants were also granted in the last few weeks for eight single storey houses at Chapelton (A J Stephen), and the erection of 29 residential dwellings for phase M5 at Schoolhill, Portlethen (Stewart Milne Homes). I should add that developers also require planning permission to build houses.

Speed cameras to go live shortly

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The 50mph speed cameras on the A90 at Charleston are expected to go live next week,  a public meeting heard tonight.
North Kincardine Rural Community Council organised the briefing from the various organisations involved in building the Aberdeen bypass – the AWPR.
The Charleston junction is where the current A90 meets the south leg of the bypass coming from Milltimber and Wellington Road from Aberdeen.
A new flyover is being constructed at Charleston, with steel composite beams to arrive in March to bridge the A90.
While that work is under way there is a 50mph limit on the A90 from Kincorth to the Findon interchange. Average speed cameras were erected late last year and have been undergoing calibration and verification. That process is complete, but introduction of the cameras has been affected by the theft of a generator.
The meeting heard that the cameras are likely to go live next week. The AWPR representatives said that news releases and signs would warn drivers when this would happen.
The limit has been proposed for safety reasons.
The AWPR team also told me that they would look at the timing of the traffic lights on the west side of the existing flyover. The tailbacks in mornings of traffic heading north to Wellington Road have stretched back south of Hillside.
A suggestion is to be considered that single line traffic be in operation on the A90 southbound to allow traffic from Wellington Road to merge safely. There have been many near misses.
The meeting also heard about plans to build the AWPR over the South Deeside Road. This will be done in two stages, using a diversion. At no time will the SDR need to close. This work should be completed by September or October.
The B979 Milltimber Brae will be closing on the weekend of 28/29 January. This is to allow the construction of an aqueduct beside the North Deeside Road.
About 100 people attended the hour-long meeting and asked a variety of questions, which revealed among other things that they are using self-fixing concrete. At the moment the workforce is at 1300 with that expected to grow again.
Representatives assured the meeting the road is scheduled to open on schedule – in 2017/18. Quite when remains to be seen.
At the close of that part of the meeting there was an appeal for members of the public to join the Maryculter Woodland Trust. A small number of people are doing the background work, and new members would be welcomed. There is no membership fee.
Fifteen members of the public stayed for the remainder of the meeting which covered a variety of issues including planning, the zoning of children from Lairhillock primary school, broadband provision (proving tricky), co-opting a new member (Ron Farquhar from North Cookney), and future venue of meetings, which will be the Lairhillock school.

How to order a grit bin

The recent cold snap has put the spotlight on the need for grit bins so residents can access grit for the pavement and road at tricky spots. If there isn’t a grit bin in your area, you can ask the council to provide one. There is a list on the council website which tells you where they are.
Unfortunately the council is not as generous with the supply of grit bins as I would like. When the policy was reviewed last year at the council’s infrastructure services committee I argued strongly it should be easier to qualify for a grit bin. However I and my colleagues were not able to sway the majority of councillors, which means it is more difficult than it should be. In my view.
The council does not provide as many grit bins as private developers. They take theirs away when the roads are adopted by the council. Residents then have to apply for a replacement.
Follow this link to see where the grit bins are and to get the form to apply for one (there are criteria to meet). Send the form to roads@aberdeenshire.gov.uk  Click on “Gritting” then scroll down to the “Self help” section