The next Garioch Area Bus Forum is to be held in Kemnay Village Hall on Wednesday 30th August from 7.30pm – 9.00pm. The Agenda along with the Minutes of the previous meeting is attached. Also included is a summary of local bus services and pending service requests.
Garioch ABF Autumn 2017 – Doc Pack
Following a re-tendering exercise of the contract for the A2B dial-a-bus, the following changes are effective from Monday 21st August.
Service Area
It is proposed that the service operating area will be more compact as per the attached map to keep the bus closer to Westhill. Alternative arrangements are being considered for the one existing passenger who will be negatively impacted. It is anticipated that the revised operating area will make it easier for the management of requests from passengers living outside Westhill, e.g. Echt, Garlogie and Kirkton of Skene.
Monday-Friday Service
The finish time is being brought foward to 1615 hrs which matches the usual demand for trips. Due to the revised operating area, mentioned above, from 21st August, residents of Dunecht and Echt will be able to request a trip on a Friday (an option not currently available). The service will be operated by two wheelchair accessible taxis instead of one minibus. The availability of two vehicles should result in an increase in the number of transport requests that can be accommodated and the vehicles will be easier to manoeuvre in narrow streets.
Saturday Service
A timetabled service will operate, as below, using the wheelchair accessible minibus that currently operates the service. This service is similar to the current operation on Saturdays.
Proposed Timetable
All passengers must pre-book to travel via the Council – bookings cannot be made via the driver.
The following times are indicative and the actual times will vary by up to 15 minutes depending on the number of passengers and location of pick-ups on the schedule. The earliest possible pick-up time will be 0930 hrs and the latest possible drop-off time will be 1245 hrs.
Echt 0945
Garlogie 0955
Kirkton of Skene 1005
Westhill Shopping Centre 1020
Westhill Tesco 1030
Westhill Tesco 1140
Westhill Shopping Centre 1150
Kirkton of Skene 1205
Garlogie 1215
Echt 1230
Passengers will be provided with an estimated pick-up time when they book.
Route
The main route is: from Echt on B9119 via Garlogie to Carnie roundabout; then B979, A944 and B979 to Kirkton of Skene; then Old Skene Road to Westhill (Shopping Centre); then Westhill Drive, Prospect Road and Endeavour Drive to Westhill (Tesco). Return via outward route in reverse.
The route may be truncated or varied in accordance with the passenger pick-ups on the schedule. (For example, if there are no bookings for Kirkton of Skene the bus can operate from Garlogie to Westhill via the most direct route taking in to account any pick-ups en route).
The service aims to provide door-to-door transport so, in accordance with the schedule, it will divert off the main route by up to half a mile to pick up and drop off passengers as close as possible to the door.
I realise it is some time now since our original meeting at the Library with RBS representatives and I just wanted to update you on what has been happening since then.
At the end of June, as requested at the first meeting, RBS agreed to meet with representatives of our three local community councils: Westhill & Elrick, Echt & Skene and Cluny & Midmar. Here is a brief summary of the issues addressed:
15 local managers of Post Office branches will be contacted throughout July (this includes the Stonehaven and Banchory ones as well as Westhill, as they have RBS branches closing as well). The aim is to find out what support they require moving forward and how best to support them in meeting alternative banking needs.
I will endeavour to give you further updates as they are available but I hope this is helpful in the meantime and grateful thanks to the community council chairs and secretary who attended the meeting to gather this further information.
The Scottish Government have now issued a Position Statement following the last round of consultations on review of the Scottish Planning system which closed in April 2017. This statement describes the key changes that Scottish Ministers are now considering taking forward through the forthcoming Planning Bill. Further responses on this Position Statement can be lodged up until 11th August 2017.
Some of the key proposals for the Planning Bill include:
Local authority planners, councillors as well as community councils and residents input greatly to the various consultation processes previously and it is good to see some of the issues raised being included in this Position Statement. The Statement can be accessed here along with the link for further comment on any of the proposals.
Tonight (Thursday 13th July), I attended an event at Thainstone organised by the FAS (Farm Advisory Service) aimed to inform tenant farmers and landowners about important changes to tenancy legislation including the current Tenants’ Improvements Amnesty.
Agreed as part of the 2016 Land Reform (Scotland) Act 2016, the amnesty allows for certain past improvements carried out by the tenant to be eligible for way-go (end of tenancy) compensation despite missing notices or consents. The amnesty opens on June 13 and will run for three years.
It was a very informative event and a chance to network with the farming community. I occasionally receive casework and queries about tenancy rights from farming constituents, so I took the chance to learn more about these important changes.
The main messages of the evening to tenant farmers and landowners were:
More information can be found in the Code of Practice – Amnesty on Tenants’ Improvements here.
Please note that due to CARRIAGEWAY REPAIRS to be carried out by Aberdeenshire Council it will be necessary in the interests of public safety to apply the following restriction to traffic.
CLOSURE
ON THE C99c
FROM AUCHRONIE HILLTO MILLBUIE FARM
Commencing 7 August 2017 for 5 days.
Site notices will be erected in due course indicating the temporary restriction to traffic and the alternative routes where applicable.
The alternative route is B9126 to U98c Kirkton of Skene, B979 Kirkton of Skene to U100c, U100c to C99c Blackchambers, U102c to B9126
I wrote previously about the Scottish Government’s research project, the aim of which is to investigate the role of women in farming and the agriculture sector in Scotland under five headings: daily life, aspirations, career paths, leadership and comparative analysis with women in other family businesses. During the research, the importance of inheritance, training and farm safety also emerged as important issues. I have copied the findings below.
In 2016, the Scottish Government’s Rural and Environment Science and Analytical Services Division (RESAS) commissioned research on ‘Women in Farming and the Agriculture Sector’. The overall purpose of this research was to establish a baseline position on women in farming and the agriculture sector, which then will inform future policies to enhance the role of women in these sectors.
The specific aim of this research project is to investigate the role of women in farming and the agriculture sector in Scotland under five headings: daily life, aspirations, career paths, leadership and comparative analysis with women in other family businesses. During the research, the importance of inheritance, training and farm safety also emerged as important issues.
The research was comprised of literature review, 9 focus groups, 30 interviews and two on-line surveys: in total, over 1300 women and 12 men from across Scotland participated. The research was undertaken from June 2016 to March 2017.
Key Messages:
Women play a major role in Scottish agriculture, participating in the full range of farming activities.
The cultural practice of passing on large farms intact to one son is the single biggest barrier to women’s entry into agriculture. This means land transfer is institutionalised culturally (i.e. it is a hegemonic practice) but not legally (i.e. there is no legal restriction against multiple inheritance or bequeaths to daughters).
Women are very under-represented amongst the elected leadership of national-level farming organisations (e.g. although over 1/3 of farm operators are women, the NFUS has no women amongst its national office holders, regional board chairmen or committee chairmen.
However, about half of NFUS staff are women). Women have more proportionate elected representation in the Scottish Crofting Federation (where 3/9 board members are women).
Most survey respondents would like to see more women involved in leadership of farming organisations, but only about 1/3 were personally interested in becoming more involved in leadership themselves.
Lack of time is a major barrier to advancing women’s roles on-farm and in farming organisations, and to accessing training (including continuing professional development, knowledge sharing, farm visits and industry events). Women in agriculture are very busy, juggling family responsibilities, farm work, housework, off-farm employment and volunteer work.
Some respondents reported exclusionary practices that take place in farming organisations (e.g. the unlikeliness of women being elected to committee positions; women being asked to leave meetings once the social elements were finished).
Approximately 18% of main survey respondents identified ‘Not welcome by existing male leaders’ as a barrier to their participation in leadership of farming organisations.
The Scottish Association of Young Farmer Clubs (SAYFC) was the most common provider of leadership experience to women in Scottish agriculture.
There is a clear need for more access to, and uptake of, vocational, practical training for women entering agriculture, across a range of topics.
Enabling new entrants to establish farms also enables more egalitarian gender relations. This and other research shows that when men and women enter agriculture together (through buying/ renting together at the outset) more equal gender relations exist.
Approximately 29% of survey participants expressed an interest in developing farm diversification activities in the next five years. This interest was particularly marked amongst crofting respondents (38% expressed interest in developing diversification activities).
Women and men engage in many unsafe farm behaviours as a result of different demands and activities not accounted for in recommendations on safe practices.
Women in family businesses outside of agriculture face far fewer barriers to business involvement and leadership.
Scottish Government’s concerns about recognising the role of women in agriculture are similar to those shared by the European Union and national governments (e.g. Australia, Northern Ireland).
Key Recommendations:
The cultural practice of passing on large farms intact to one son needs to be challenged. Other models should be explored (e.g. in the rest of Europe it is not possible to disinherit other children). Increasing the discourse on inheritance practice (e.g. in farming organisations and the farming press) can lead to change in practices.
Succession planning is poor and families are reluctant to discuss it together. Access to professional advice on succession planning, as well as awareness raising and support, should be offered to all members of farm families.
The practice of only having one named tenant on a croft should be revisited to critically evaluate the gender implications. In an instance of divorce, spouses can lose access to the family home on the croft.
Conscious and unconscious bias needs to be addressed in farming organisations. A programme of measures is necessary and the following are recommended:
If women-only networks and activities are supported, this should be through mainstream farming organisations, and not as separate fringe events.
Practical, hands-on training programmes need to be developed and made accessible to women through flexible scheduling, childcare availability and on-line components. Topics of primary interest to study participants included: livestock husbandry, animal health, accounting, business entrepreneurship, large vehicle driving, environmental protection and legal compliance.
Women should be supported to pursue a range of farm diversification opportunities, at a variety of scales.
More land should be made available for new entrants (e.g. on Crown Estate Scotland land, from large estates (of all ownership types), and through a ‘matching service’ with older farmers).
To increase farm safety, financial incentives, for farmers to purchase equipment appropriate for women and to encourage the use of childcare facilities, should be developed. Further research is needed to consider how to plan a farmyard for women and ageing farmers.
You will recall that NHS Grampian carried out a consultation last year on a number of GP practices on prescription dispensing. Skene Medical Group was one of the practices consulted on. You can read the full background on the review here.
You will note that for Skene Medical Group, the review group concluded that as there is a community pharmacy co-located with the medical practice and the fact that there are pharmacists within the surrounding areas, that there are no individual patients or a qualifying class of patients who will have serious difficulty in obtaining from a pharmacist any drugs, medicines or appliances other than scheduled drugs required for treatment, the group therefore recommends that Skene Medical Group is no longer required to dispense from the practice.
NHS Grampian will discuss this recommendation at their next Board meeting on 6th July.
Today, the Garioch Area Committee met for the first time since the May elections in our home ground at Gordon House. Our last area committee meeting three weeks ago was held in Woodhill House because the chamber in Inverurie was being used for General Election work (what it really just three weeks ago??!).
Ward 13 (Westhill and District) items included an application for alterations and extension to the Milne Hall at Kirkton of Skene. After some discussion and hearing from hall committee member, Kenny Freeman, members agreed to defer the determination until a site visit which will take place on September 5th. You can view the report here.
I was delighted that we all agreed the recommendations to award £8,202 to Westhill District Amateur Swimming Club to purchase equipment which will enhance training across the district and a grant of £599.16 to Millbank & Tillyfourie Playing Field Committee to purchase an electricity generator. Millbank is one of the smaller communities in my ward who has a very active team of volunteers who don’t ask for much, so I was particularly pleased that Garioch Area Committee was able to agree this.
There was an application under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982 to grant the extension of the hours of operation of a funfair at Echt Show from 1800 hrs – 2330 hrs on Friday 7th July, 2017 and from 1000 hrs – 0000 hrs on Saturday 8th July and this was duly granted.
Chief Inspector Murray Main presented us with a local area update with a verbal update on the local trends and issues. I was particularly pleased to hear that CI Main will be leading a Rural Crime working group to look at the incidents of crime unique to some of our more rural areas such as sheep-worrying, cattle rustling, theft of plant and hare coarsing; all crimes which have been reported in the press recently. I asked CI Main about how we can effectively report back to communities about the preventative work done in our area with regard to speeding and asked about the campaign targeting motorcycle safety. I was pleased to hear that the great work done by Police Scotland (and formerly Grampian Police) over a number of years on Operation Zenith is being carried forward.
I was pleased to meet with the local CEO of Royal Bank of Scotland last week along with their senior management to discuss further the branch closure at Westhill. Also attending the meeting were local business and personal account holders, charity account holders, a Post Office representative as well as representatives from each of our three Ward 13 community councils; Westhill & Elrick, Echt & Skene and Cluny, Midmar & Monymusk.
I called for this meeting after RBS made a public announcement to close local branches including Westhill, Banchory and Stonehaven. The strength of feeling about the closure is clear by the amount of emails and calls we have received on this issue. A high number of residents have signed a petition against the closure, but we must not build up hopes of any reversal of the decision to close these branches and we must take a proactive stance to get the very best alternatives for local customers. At our meeting, it was reiterated by the bank that this is a commercial decision. What we did ask them to do is bring back more in-depth analysis of the figures they first presented to justify the closure and to produce a “Customer and Community Engagement” document in early course so that we can see clearly the statistics behind the closure and their plans for future engagement.
We were able to start a dialogue with them about the alternative banking methods they expect their customers to use. At our meeting, RBS agreed to consult further through community councils as well as other partners including Aberdeenshire Council. These discussions will shape when and where a mobile branch can be located in Westhill. There was a recognition that the mobile branches are not fit for purpose and we were assured that the vans will be upgraded with the technology required to serve customers.
We were also successful in our request that RBS sit down separately with local Post Office managers to ensure that they have the capacity to provide alternative banking facilities rather than take it for granted that all post offices will be able to accommodate the additional transactions.
Many customers are concerned about the lack of privacy at both the local post office and in a mobile branch and I am making enquiries about the possibility of RBS holding local surgeries.
All in all, this meeting was a useful starting point and I hope that we can explore all avenues to secure the very best alternatives over the coming months. When RBS and our community councils have arranged their next meeting, I will provide details here.
As an update, RBS have today provided the following: