Westhill school re-zoning moves forward

school uniform

Following on from the public meeting held at Crombie Primary back in September 2015 and before that, the public consultation launched in August 2015, councillors are now being asked (on Tuesday 12 January at the Garioch Area Committee meeting) to consider the formal report on the consultation regarding the review of Westhill Network Primary School Zones. Further, we are being asked to make a recommendation to the Education, Learning & Leisure Committee (they meet next on 4th February) that the Council adopts the proposals.

Officers have carefully considered all of the responses to the consultation and have made a recommendation in their report. The recommendation is that the Council should adopt the proposed changes, but with some minor amendments to them. All of the Broadshade housing development should be zoned for Crombie Primary, ensuring Skene School keeps its rural identity. To compensate for the Westward expansion of Crombie School, the area around Morven Drive in Westhill should be re-zoned to Westhill Primary. In addition, Crombie Primary may need to be extended to cope with all additional pupils, the cap at Elrick School can be lifted, and it may ultimately be possible to remove the temporary accommodation at Skene School.

The full report can be accessed here (item 12).

Happy New Year!

2016

2015 has been another busy year, I am sure you will agree, with ups and downs like any other.  While things at council level constantly change with new faces, policies and procedures; the concerns raised by you as residents, on a wide variety of issues, remain top priority for councillors. An important part of our role is supporting volunteers and local groups and that is something I look forward to continuing in 2016. The next year is going to be a challenging one as more oil-related jobs go in the North East. Public and private sectors will need to work together to find solutions by diversifying skills, working with academia and promoting our tourist industries.  The council budget itself will be challenging with big decisions having to be made on which services we retain, which ones we provide differently and which ones we look to others to provide. I hope that all political parties will find consensus on council tax reform over the following months. We need to agree on a more progressive system which is fairer to all and one which makes local authorities more accountable to you.

On a personal level, my New Year resolutions include getting outdoors more, working smarter and sleeping more. Whatever yours are, I wish you a year full of hope and good health.

Special good wishes go to all those affected by the recent floods and all those who are helping rebuild the lives of those affected.

 

Leader funding open to applications

Following on from successful launch events held last month, two new European funding programmes are now open to receive applications.

LEADER Programmes for North and South Aberdeenshire are seeking applications from rural businesses and communities for a wide range of projects.

Funding will be allocated for projects which contribute to key themes identified in Local Development Strategies, such as connectivity, business competitiveness, the environment and people and place. The funds are managed by partnerships known as Local Action Groups. South Aberdeenshire Local Action Group Chair, Liam Smyth, said: “I am pleased to announce that the South Aberdeenshire LEADER programme is open for business. We have been allocated around £2.8 million from the European Union and Scottish Government which will make a real difference to our communities and economy.

I would encourage any groups or businesses who have project ideas in line with our priorities to apply by visiting the South Aberdeenshire Local Action Group website at salag.org.uk

Applicants must complete an Expression of Interest form before applying to the LEADER programmes. The deadline for the first round of full applications is January 29th 2016, with decisions being made by the partnerships in March.

Dedicated co-ordinators are in place for both North and South Aberdeenshire who will be able to assist with any queries and help applicants through the process.

For more information call 01467 628443 or visit www.local-development.eu

 

 

Are lessons from the Continent still relevant today?

paul lewis...litter louts

Drop LitterDrop Litter 3

 

 

 

 

 

On researching a historical record on a local issue online, I stumbled across this account of a meeting on Housing and Public Health held in Aberdeen and reported in the Press & Journal on May 18th, 1935. I have many, many conversations with residents about litter and hope this piece will be of interest!

“The lessons Scotland had to learn from Continental practice in house-building were given by Mr John Wilson, principal architect of the Department of Health for Scotland.

It might be claimed, he said, that on the whole they had little to learn in internal planning and in the provision of sanitary facilities they were ahead of the Continent as a whole.

Speaking of the upkeep of property, Mr Wilson said one could not but be impressed with the high standard of cleanliness of the tenants and their children.

We are not a tidy nation, and one wonders how the beautiful courtyards of the Viennese schemes or the Siedlung Britz of Berlin would be kept if transplanted to Scotland. How is it that in the surroundings of our houses and in the countryside we are so often indifferent to litter lying about?

There was much better discipline among the children abroad than at home, and it was obvious in all large schemes in Scotland a uniformed caretaker was necessary if outside amenity was to be observed.

The Continental people seemed to have a strong sense of house pride which was well worth emulating, though it is only fair to state that in many of Scotland’s slum clearance schemes many of the tenants had reacted well to the new conditions.

Declaring that the squares in Berlin were kept much cleaner than they were in this country, Mr J Norval said that if one threw away a cigarette box or match box in Berlin there was a hand on one’s shoulder and a note demanding two marks. So there you are, he said, amid laughter.”

Board meets with Licensed Trade

Central Licensing Board met today for the first of what we hope to be an annual event to bring together members of the licensed trade as well as Licensing Standard Officers, Police Scotland and NHS. There was a good turnout and we heard from all partners about the role they play in alcohol legislation and working with the boards across Aberdeenshire. Police Scotland outlined their initiatives aimed at keeping the public safe around alcohol, namely Pubwatch, Safer Streets and their new Student Life campaign (see graphic below). NHS spoke about the impact of alcohol on health with 365 admissions to hospital of Central Aberdeenshire residents in 2013/14 being alcohol-related. The Board reminded license holders that more options for payment of annual fees are now available and that we now send out letters to holders rather than the premises address. An update to potential changes in legislation was also given and more information will be uploaded on to the Aberdeenshire Council website soon. For the next annual meeting, we are very keen to hear suggestions from the licensed trade about what they would like to be included on the agenda. Regular board meetings are held every 8 weeks and are open to the public and we would be very pleased to welcome the trade at these meetings.

infographic-staying-safe-on-student-night-out