Following my previous post (March 5th) regarding the damage done to the notice board and the fencing around the recycyling centre in Sauchen, I can now confirm that:

1. The notice board is community-owned, not council-owned as I had originally thought and the perspex has twice been replaced after being vandalised. It is disheartening to hear that local youths are repeatedly destroying the hard work of the community. Plans are in place to re-locate local notices and I look forward to seeing this completed.

2. The fenced-off area around the recycling area again is not council-owned as originally thought but belongs to Stewart Milne homes. The community council has written to Stewart Milne Homes regarding the state of the fencing and a reply is awaited.

It was a pleasure visiting Sauchen last weekend and meeting residents there. We got a very warm welcome and spoke to many residents about local issues. It was disheartening to note that both the village notice board and the fencing around the recycling centre had been vandalised. I spoke to Aberdeenshire Council who reassured me that these have now been noted and repairs will be made as soon as possible.

The village of Sauchen has expanded somewhat over the last few years. I spoke to residents from one of the newer developments from 2006 in Margaret Allan Grove who expressed concerns that the 30 mile speed limit has yet to be extended to include their residential area from its original location on what used to be the edge of the village. The street lights have yet to be extended also.  I have written to Aberdeenshire Council on both these issues and await their response.

Aberdeenshire Council maintains over 3367 miles of roads and over 932 miles of footway. This year four new 4×4 gritters have been added to the fleet, staff rotas have been drawn up and the winter maintenance operations room is ready to go.

 Of course Aberdeenshire Council cannot deliver the service single-handedly. Cllr Gurudeo Saluja told me that they are supported by a highly reliable team of local farmers and contractors who play an important role in the overall maintenance strategy and that they are ready for snow-clearing action across the local area.

 I spoke to Skene farmer, Graeme Phillips who has been on stand-by each winter for over 20 years to ensure that roads are kept clear of snow. He can be out from as early as 5.30 in the morning to ensure roads are cleared to enable residents to get out and about. Graeme says  “The system works very well, I usually get a phone call from the Roads Department the night before if the weather turns bad. I work in a team with other local farmers and we keep in contact with each other throughout the operation to make sure all areas in our patch are covered”.                                

Westhill was buzzing today with lots of activities going on. My day started on a festive note right from the start; as I drove  home at 8 o’clock after dropping my son off at work, on passing the Broadstraik Inn I saw Santa coming out of a car. Perhaps he had ditched his sleigh there last night. I then went to the Farmers’ Market which, despite the bitterly cold day, was bustling with shoppers taking in the festive spirit and browsing the stalls. There is a range of local food produce stands each month with local craft stalls as well. The market is a great chance to have a blether with folk and of course I cannot resist stocking up on fresh duck eggs. Then it was on to the Lions’ book sale next door in the Trinity Church. The Lions hold a monthly book sale and all proceeds go to local good causes. Trade was good today and I just had time to grab a coffee there and run to Denman Park (duck eggs intact) for the litter pick. Aberdeenshire Council Landscape Services have been tidying up and cutting back shrubs in the park, so it was a bit easier to reach some of the litter this time. An hour in the Denman made a difference then it was back home to Leddach Grange to see who would turn up to the inaugral litter pick on this side of town.  Many thanks to Ivan, Cameron, Jacqueline and special thanks to Holly (5 ) and Fraser ( 2) – who were wee stars – for turning up and making a difference.

The lamp standard at the entrance to Leddach Grange on Carnie Crescent has, I am sure, been in this state for some time. I contacted Aberdeenshire Council today who recorded my complaint. I am not particularly pedantic about how straight our lamp posts should be, but more concerned for the safety aspect. I suspect a vehicle has been in contact with it as the bottom of the post is buckled and obviously the structure is weakened as a result.  As the road has not yet been fully adopted by Aberdeenshire Council, it may be that the developer still has responsibility for maintenance of street lamps here and Aberdeenshire Council have promised to clarify this. I do hope that whoever has responsibility for it takes it and that we will see a speedy repair.

There are a number of ongoing issues in Leddach Grange at the moment. One is the recurrence of damage done to the fencing which cordones off the burn running between Burnland Place and Carnie Avenue. Apparently strips of fencing has been removed by residents to provide a short-cut! Yesterday I spoke to Greenbelt Group who are responsible for the maintainance here and was assured that they are dealing with this issue. The hold-up seems to be a lack of response from home owners to correspondence sent by Greenbelt regarding repairs. I will keep you updated.