I met with the Arnhall Moss group last week to hear about the work they have been doing to keep this Nature Reserve – one of the few remaining raised bogs in lowland Aberdeenshire – a special place.

Over the past years birch trees have invaded Arnhall Moss and begun to dry out the area. The new habitat of birch woodland supports a different range of insects and birds making the reserve a spectacular place to visit with much wildlife to see. Common woodland and wetland birds such as wren, great tit, blue tit, coal tit, redpoll, mallard and moorhen are abundant and mammals such as pipistrelle bats, roe deer, foxes and stoats, either live on or use the site.

Over the past years a number of successful events, such as Bat and Moth nights, Beastie Safaris and the annual Moss Mop Up have been held, an information board has been produced and installed and the paths around the site have been upgraded.

The Local Nature Reserve can be visited at any time. Access is taken from Denman Park, opposite the shopping centre at Westhill.

Please take the time to visit – I’m looking forward to a walk-about with Sally who has a wealth of knowledge on the Moss and who is also the newly-elected chair of the group.

Aberdeen City and Shire’s first ever strategic development plan embarks on its
formal representations stage today [Friday, 22 February].

The Aberdeen  City and Shire Strategic Development Plan has been drafted to ensure the region maintains its enviable quality of life and strong position in the Scottish and
wider UK economy through the identification of the new homes, employment land
and infrastructure improvements required up to 2035.

Residents, businesses and organisations are being encouraged to respond to the Proposed Plan at this, the final phase of consultation. Building a consensus as to what the priorities for the North-east are and how we can collaboratively address
them has been a key consideration throughout the whole process of preparing this
Plan. Beyond consultation the Plan will be submitted to Scottish Ministers later
this year for examination and approval.

Opportunity to comment

The Proposed Plan and associated consultation documents are now available on the SDPA website at www.aberdeencityandshire-sdpa.gov.uk . More than 600 copies are being sent out to interested individuals and organisations, with copies available in all public libraries throughout Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire. Copies are also available on request.
The consultation period will run for seven weeks, ending on 12 April 2013. Responses should be made on the appropriate form to the Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Planning Authority. Responses should ideally be submitted by email but can also be sent by post to the Aberdeen City and Shire Strategic Development Planning Authority, Archibald Simpson House, 27 – 29 King Street, AB24 5AA.

More information is available at: http://www.aberdeencityandshire-sdpa.gov.uk/home/home.asp

If your waste and/or recycling collection was due on Tuesday 1st January, arrangements have been made to make the collections tomorrow, Saturday 5th January 2013.

Scottish Liberal Democrat deputy leader and MP for Orkney and Shetland, Alistair Carmichael, has called on supermarkets, retailers and the public to act more responsibly in their use of packaging over Christmas and New Year.

The UK Government’s Waste Resources Action Programme (WRAP) estimates that the amount of wrapping paper estimated to be thrown away in the UK at Christmas could stretch around the equator nine times if each sheet was laid end to end.

Commenting, Alistair Carmichael MP said:

“At the end of Christmas Day we all end up with an abundance of packaging to throw away – whether it’s from food, gifts or crackers, it all adds up. But how much of that packaging was really necessary in the first place?”

“Excess packaging imposes a triple cost on us as consumers – we pay for it at the checkout counter, we pay for it to be disposed of and we bear the environmental costs. Manufacturers have a legal responsibility to minimise their packaging and to ensure as much of it as possible can be recycled. The examples I have highlighted demonstrate that this is clearly not happening.

“Tackling excess packaging must also be a central objective for our governments.

“At Westminster Liberal Democrat MP Jo Swinson is leading the fight to change the law on packaging. But this doesn’t mean that the Scottish Government can wash its hands of this issue.

“Ministers must work with product designers and manufacturers to encourage them to use sustainable designs and materials.

“The SNP Government should also develop improved packaging guidelines and should make it easier for consumers to complain if they feel the packaging of products is unnecessary.”

Aberdeenshire Council and Aberdeen City Council have joined forces with the metal industry and Zero Waste Scotland to boost recycling rates for metal packaging.

The local authorities are taking part in the Metal Matters campaign which is designed to support councils which offer a kerbside recycling collection by encouraging residents to make full use of their local service.

Drink cans, food tins, pet food tins, empty aerosols, aluminium foil, foil trays and sweet tins can all be discarded in the authorities’ kerbside black boxes.

The average household uses around 600 food and drink cans, 280 foil trays, 27 aerosols and dozens of metres of household foil every year. Although all these items can be recycled using the black box, statistics show that less than half are being recovered, meaning valuable materials are being lost to landfill. I admit to being guilty of throwing some of these items in the normal household bin, but not any more!

The eight week campaign will see leaflets sent to households across Aberdeenshire.

Chairman of Aberdeenshire Council’s Infrastructure Services Committee, Cllr Peter Argyle, said “Over the last few years, we’ve been making it easier for residents to recycle an increasing number of materials, and metal packaging is an important part of this stream.”

Many residents have voiced their concerns about dog waste on our pavements and paths. Although Aberdeenshire Council provide as many dog bins as possible, some dog-owners choose not to use them. Dog-owners who don’t clean up after their pets can be issued with a Fixed Penalty Notice and will incur a fine of £40. If you can provide details of offenders in your area or would like more information, please contact the dog warden on 01569 768224.

Rising fuel bills are stretching household finances and people are looking for ways to save money on their energy bills.   

To help consumers spend less on heating their home Citizens Advice is coordinating an advice campaign called Big Energy Week (16-21 January 2012) which will see thousands of people across the country get practical help and advice to cut their fuel bills and get all the financial support they are entitled to.

Big Energy Week is supported by consumer organisations such as Consumer Focus and Which?, charities, the Government, energy suppliers and switching websites.

As part of Big Energy Week there will be events up and down the country where people can get practical advice on how they could spend less on heating their home.

• In addition advice will be available from Citizens Advice Bureaux and online at www.bigenergyweek.org.uk
• If you are looking for ways to save money on your energy bills now visit adviceguide.org.uk/index/fuel_costs_and_saving_money

Ok, I admit to cheating and my Christmas tree gets pulled apart section by section and stuffed back in to it’s original B&Q box taped together by an annually added multi-layer of parcel tape, sellotape or whatever kind comes to hand at the time in my haste to get on with the year ahead!  For those more traditional souls, although there are no kerbside collections of Christmas trees in Aberdeenshire, you can recycle them free of charge at Household Waste & Recycling Centres.

Inverurie, Souterford Road, AB51 0TP

• Standard hours From 12th December 2011 :
  Monday to Sunday: 9am to 5pm
  Tuesday: 5.00pm to 8pm (April to September)

Westhill, Westdyke Avenue, AB32 6QX

• Standard hours From 12th December 2011 :
  Monday to Sunday: 9am to 5pm
  Tuesday: 5.00pm to 8pm (April to September)

Leddach Grange residents welcomed two new dog bins recently. Payment passed to Aberdeenshire Council from the developers through planning gain funded the additional bins. I have been campaigning for over three years for the provision of extra dog bins here. Up until now, dog-walkers in the estate had the use of one dog bin which was unsuitable for the expanse of the estate. These new bins should help keep the area clean and safe. One bin is located on Carnie Crescent near the entrance to Burnland Place and the second is nearby the all-weather football pitch.

A litter pick is planned for Leddach Grange on Saturday 3rd December at 1230 hrs – just for one hour. The Community Council litter initiative is run by Aileen and Raymond Swaffield who have kindly agreed to loan us the kit and hopefully we can make it a regular clean-up. We usually meet in the Denman Park on a monthly basis to help keep it tidy. With the small amount of volunteers, there is never enough time or bodies to cover more of the area, so it would be great if Elrick could become a regular tidy-up spot too. Meet at the all-weather football pitch beside Carnie Woods next Saturday 1230 hrs. See you then!