A lively meeting tonight in Lairhillock primary school for the North Kincardine Rural Community Council. Here are some of the points that caught my attention, and no doubt attracted an audience of 19 members of the public:

– The Corbie Hall could be open again by the end of April. A builder is due to start work this week repairing the damage done by last month’s flooding, with a promise to complete the work withing six weeks. The adjoing football pitch requires more clearing up but should be playable within a week or tow. One goalpost ended up at the rowing club in Aberdeen. The new defibrilator at the hall is a write-off. There are hopes that it can all be back in use in late spring. The local authority has already made enquiries to use it for the Scottish elections on 5 May.

Ever wondered what happens to the 5p we pay when taking a plastic bag? It goes to charity. And one of the recipients from Asda’s proceeds is Portlethen Community Basketball Club. They have been awarded £2000, which will contribute towards the cost of employing a part-time seasonal member of staff for a further 12 months. My friend Polly Jones from Asda tells me that over the last year more than 200 local groups and projects around the country have benefitted from Asda carrier grants and loans totalling more than £600,000.

Aberdeenshire Council set its budget for 2016/17 today. I voted against the SNP/Labour cuts of £28m. The Liberal Democrat/Conservative/independent alliance proposed a different budget which would also save £28m, but we were outvoted by 34 to 28. We had for example wanted to put more funding towards child and adolescent mental health services, but instead there will be a cut of £200,000.

Whatever decisions were to be taken would cause difficulties and challenges. Making such a cut is not easy.

Portlethen Academy was in the spotlight at our meeting today of the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee. Head teacher Neil Morrison was telling councillors about the progress over the last year.

The head teachers from Mackie and Mearns academies were also there to tell us about the attainments and achievements of pupils.

Neil told us that he was very pleased with the results and found them very encouraging. The trend is upwards, which he said that was the result of a lot of work over a period of time. Confidence is growing among pupils, who he described as motivated young people. However it is work in progress.

An interesting meeting tonight of the fledgling Portlethen Community Sports Hub. One shocking fact we heard was that 21% of primary 1 children in Portlethen are overweight or obese. A campaign is being launched in due course to encourage a more active lifestyle. One difficulty facing parents is finding out what activities are available.

The meeting also discussed how to proceed with the pitches across the Causey Mounth from Hillside primary school. The preferred outcome would be an all-weather pitch however this looks like being a long-term ambition as funding is not available at present and Aberdeenshire Council will only be able to provide a grassed pitch. This however could eventually be replaced by the all-weather pitch. The grassed pitch could be playable by August next year.

A well attended meeting for Kincardineshire Development Partnership tonight in the Bettridge Centre in Newtonhill. One reason was that there was a presentation of cheques and certificates from the Meikle Carewe wind farm fund, totalling some £24,000.

Here are the groups who were successful in the annual awards (I think I have got this list right!):

Portlethen Community Basketball £961
Maryculter Driving for the Disabled £1200
Stonehaven Tennis Club £150
Lairhillock Primary School Parent Council £3075
Stonehaven Folk Festival £295
Portlethen Men’s Shed £3810
Maryculter Woodland Trust £1260
Bettridge Centre £2980
Drumoak and Durris Community Group £1574
Stonehaven Business Association £1000
Durris Scottish Women’s Institute £250
Woodend Arts £1920
Maryculter Friendship Club £1000
Durris Indoor Bowling £900
1st Drumoak Scouts £4000

Now this is really good news. A power of work has been done by the two local authorities and others to secure this investment. But I hope it will not be frittered away. The City Region Deal will supposedly address a number of proposals from the region including a new energy innovation centre, supporting the industry to exploit remaining North Sea reserves, as well towards the expansion of Aberdeen harbour, enabling the city to compete for decommissioning work. The City Region Deal also sets out how the region will diversify the biopharmaceutical and agri-food industries, diversifying the area’s economy and creating new jobs and export opportunities, as well as commitments to improve digital connectivity across the area.

Portlethen Community Council tonight had a packed agenda of issues to discuss Here are few of the points that caught my attention:

– The new stretch of road opposite the under-construction Hillside school should have the top surface applied in mid March. Meanwhile the shell of the school should be erected shortly. The head teacher is due to be appointed in April.

– The Portlethen gala might be held in mid August. The gala ceilidh on 19 March is sold out. The next gala committee meeting is on 3 February.

– Support was expressed for the Portlethen Allotment Group which meets on Thursday. Chairman Ron Sharp paid tribute to Christine Lorimer who had founded this “fantastic” group. The ground has been identified and it needs to move forward now to flourish.

– Aberdeenshire Council is planning to provide a type of hook for the food waste bins to stop them blowing away. More in due course.

– The community council has objected to plans for two houses at Wairds Farm and to flats at Marywell beside the caravan park.

– There was an in-depth discussion about developer contributions (formerly known as planning gain money) and how the community can access such funding.

– The community council heard about the concerns of parents at Fishermoss school about inconsiderate parking. Reference was made to an article in the Mearns Leader from 20 years ago about the same concerns. Some 69 out of 89 parents felt that it was dangerous at the morning drop-off and 72 at the afternoon pick-up. The parent council suggestions include a zebra crossing; a crossing patroller; an extended parking bay; parking bays at Bourtree park car park (and more parking), flashing 20mph signs, a police presence; and so on. Contact is to be made with Aberdeenshire Council officers and the police.

– No police officers attended the meeting, for operational reasons. Chairman Ron Sharp expressed his disappointment adding that there seems to be less and less community policing.

– Brian Arris, the managing director of Dickie Pharmacies, outlined their plans for a pharmacy at Hillside, on the site beside the supermarket which is under construction. It would be open from 9am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday, and closing at 1pm on Saturdays. The proposals were warmly welcomed.

– The meeting heard that the local weekly paper, the Mearns Leader, could be up for sale along with other Johnston Press newspapers. The owners have put the Leader in a group of 59 titles it considers to be sub-core and stated they “need to improve their contribution”. The company said in a statement that “a number of brands have been identified that are not part of its long-term future” and that a “process has been initiated to explore the sale of these assets.” Now whether that includes the Leader remains to be seen. It was noted at the meeting how few copies the paper sell in Portlethen, though about a fifth of people at the meeting said they bought it.

– Support was given to proposals for a seven-a-side pitch at the Hillside school and an all-weather public pitch on adjoining ground. This is to be discussed at a meeting on the new Portlethen Sports Hub on 3 February.

– Passenger figures at Portlethen station have been steadily increasing. There was general agreement more trains need to stop there.

The next meeting of the community council is on Tuesday 23 February, starting at 7pm in the academy.

This morning I attended a meeting of Elevator (also known as Enterprise North East Trust, the organisation that runs Business Gateway in the North East). As you would expect, the downturn in the oil and gas sector is having an impact. There has been a 20% increase in people looking to start their own business, however fewer business units being let. Some tenants are shutting up shop due to a lack of orders and work. The business centres in Stonehaven and Portlethen for example are normally full, but not at the moment. The market is certainly fragile

A new analysis of settlements across Aberdeenshire shows that the average 2014 household income in Newtonhill was £44,087 and £37,685 in Portlethen. The Aberdeenshire figure was £32,870.

The population of Newtonhill was 3136 in 2014, and 9066 in Portlethen. The unemployment rate in both the two communities in 2015 was 0.6% compared to 0.8% in Aberdeenshire and 2.2% in Scotland. I suspect the local figures may have risen recently.

In 2013, the average house price in Newtonhill was £200,473 and £230,663 in Portlethen. The Aberdeenshire figure was £207,905.