Sample 8pg A4

Kingswells

Issue 1

June-July 2013

Community News

Picture taken by A N Other Kingswells Resident

Letters to KCN Hi MBC News, I just finished reading the latest issue and because I thoroughly enjoyed reading it, I thought I would drop you a line to say thanks to everyone for their efforts. I must admit I really enjoyed Ian F.McLennan’s article about Potholes which is absolutely brilliant.

I wrote to the council just three weeks ago about the road to Brotherfield where I live. The council have done exactly what Ian said and filled the potholes with the cheapest filler they could get which will wash away after a little rain and the cars and vans break it apart and hey presto.... more potholes. I did take this a couple of steps further and sent the same message to the Police Safety Department as potholes cause accidents when drivers travelling at speed on narrow roads swerve to avoid them. Again I went a step further and sent the same message to my local MP to inform him when (not if) there is a serious accident I shall let the local papers know that all parties have been informed, but no action taken.

I strongly object to the council spending about a quarter of a million pounds on a Cycle Track from the end of the dual carriageway near the Four Mile Inn into Hazelhead for something that about 50 cyclist per year will use, when the Brotherfield road carries about 500 cars / vans / trucks every day and the council spend about five thousand doing a botch-up temporary repair.

Keep up the good work and thank Ian very much for his article..................excellent.

Kind Regards Brotherfield Resident Editor’s response: Since this letter was received the Brotherfield road seems to have been repaired properly and work is continuing in our area. Keep your fingers crossed, but not whilst swerving to avoid remaining potholes!

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Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

The Mackinnons Award Michael Thomson, a fifth year pupil at Cults Academy, is this year’s recipient of the Mackinnons Award. Michael, who is just about to start sixth year studies at the school, was selected from a number of candidates, as being a particularly worthy winner.

The school held special assemblies and distributed leaflets to all pupils explaining the rationale behind the award. Pupils were asked to submit nominations and to state their reasons.

Michael’s mother, Elizabeth, has had very poor health over a prolonged period, and throughout her illness her son has shown himself to be supportive, reliable and a tower of strength for all the family.

Although there were a number of nominations for this year’s award the school felt Michael really captured the spirit of what Mackinnons were looking for and seeking to achieve.

This is the second year of the Mackinnons award – won last year by Peterculter girl, Sheri Lewis. Since opening an office in Cults some years back Mackinnons, solicitors, have developed a strong link with local parents, staff and pupils.

“As the local solicitors we are regarded as an integral part of the community. Our thinking behind the award was for us to recognise in some way, that community and to provide an annual award to a student nominated by his or her peer group not for a particular sporting, musical or academic prowess, but who instead has been recognised as being an outstanding member of the community” Patricia Gray Resident Partner

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Cults Library and Learning Centre The MBC area is relatively quiet in comparison to other areas of Aberdeen with regards to reported crime. However, are there crimes or offences not being reported to the police? Below is an extract taken from the Grampian Police web site.

What is anti-social behaviour?

Antisocial behaviour can mean different things to different people.

The Antisocial Behaviour etc (Scotland) Act 2004, defines antisocial behaviour as: acting in a manner that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress; or pursuing a course of conduct that causes or is likely to cause alarm or distress to at least one person not of the same household as the perpetrator.

Antisocial Street Scene People have the right to feel safe on the streets and to be free to use communal spaces without fear. An antisocial street scene can make people feel unsafe and create fear of crime and might include: Rowdy and intimidating groups, antisocial drinking, drug misuse.

Nuisance Neighbours Nuisance neighbours are an antisocial minority who can destroy communities with their lack of regard for the quality of other peoples’ lives. This type of antisocial behaviour can make people afraid to leave their own homes, especially as victim and perpetrator live close to each other. It includes: intimidation, harassment, noise nuisance, rowdy behaviour such as swearing and fighting, waste dumping, hoax calls, animal-related problems, vehicle-related problems.

Environmental Environmental antisocial behaviour can give communities the appearance of decline and when environmental antisocial behaviour is allowed to take over, other forms of antisocial behaviour can seem more acceptable. Environmental antisocial behaviour can include: graffiti, fly-tipping, littering and waste dumping, dog fouling, vandalism, abandoned vehicles, criminal damage.

What action can be taken?

The aim of any action is to: protect victims, witnesses and the community; enable the perpetrator to understand the consequences of their behaviour; make sure the perpetrator changes their behaviour. Measures that can be used by the police and other agencies include: warning letters and interviews, fixed penalty notices, Antisocial Behaviour Orders (ASBOs) and closure orders.

Action may be initiated by a number of agencies including the police, local authorities and registered social landlords. If your quality of life is being affected by anti-social behaviour, call our Force Service Centre in a non-emergency to report details of the behaviour or 999 in an emergency.

Tel: 868346 Email : cultslibrary@aberdeencity.gov.uk How Libraries can help with the credit crunch Libraries are free to join.

One place where you don’t need a purse or wallet We’re open evenings and Saturday mornings Buying books can be expensive.

Save the planet as well as your cash by borrowing a book.

We have everything from the latest bestseller to travel guides.

If we don’t have a title in stock, we can get a copy for a small charge

DVDs & CDs We have all the latest DVDs which you can borrow for a charge and you can keep them for a week. Look through our stock of CDs and you might find something you haven’t listened to in years!

For the kids

Looking for something to do over the holidays which is free?

We have a programme of activities for all ages Also a Bookstart Rhymetime every month

For the adults In partnership with Aberdeen College, we run classes Look out for the new programme in August

Free Internet access

Surf the net for free on our PCs. You can spend up to 2 hours each day

Online resources

Libraries subscribe to a range of e-resources If you have a Library card you can access them free online 24/7 Also check the Library catalogue and reserve items We will inform you when they are available for collection Visit the Council website www.aberdeencity.gov.uk

If you are affected by any anti-social behaviour, do not hesitate to call Grampian Police. If you wish to discuss any matter with me, leave a message with our Force Service Centre and I will contact you as soon as I get back to the office.

Evan McEwen 8521 Culter Police Office

Telephone Numbers Service Centre 0845 600 5 700 Crimestoppers 0800 555 111 Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

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News from the Community Council Extract from the Chairman’s Report taken from the Annual General Meeting of the Community Council on 25th June 2009 Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) During the past year one of the principal strategic issues impacting significantly on the local community has been the AWPR Following objections raised in previous years, we made a formal written submission to the AWPR Public Inquiry. Some of us were frequent attendees at the Public Inquiry and indeed made representations to the Reporters about some aspects of its conduct.

We were disappointed by the scope of the public inquiry, the lack of attention to up-todate costs, the focus away from improving the existing road network and developing the public transport system. We also had major concerns about the way Transport Scotland has managed the project.

Nevertheless, I believe that we properly represented the views of the local community through our written submission. We await a response to it and expect an announcement on the outcome of the public inquiry in the autumn of this year.

Planning Applications In 2008 Colin Cranfield and Jill Kirkham were involved in commenting on over 17 separate planning applications. The workload has not let up in 2009.

We have had four planning applications where members of the public attended our community council meetings. Most noteable was the application for the construction of houses on the flood plain between Loirsbank and the River Dee. It led to Margaret Bochel, Head of Planning and Infrastructure at the Aberdeen City Council, attending our community council meeting to hear our views about how the planning system could be improved.

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Colin and Jill have been meticulous in their review of the weekly planning list, commenting to ACC based on the criteria agreed by the community council, which can be viewed on our website; www.cbmcommunity.org.uk I would like to think that our thoroughness is recognised by the ACC planning department and our views carefully considered.

Colin and Jill deserve a special vote of thanks for their hard work and diligence and I am delighted that Christine McKay has joined the planning sub group to work with Colin.

Other Issues There is a danger that so much focus on strategic and planning issues detracts attention from our other efforts that have a more immediate and beneficial impact on the community. Different community council members have taken the lead on a wide variety of issues.

These range from task forces for litter clear ups (Harriet North Lewis and Martin Harris); hanging baskets in Cults and Bieldside (Peter Coutts); Christmas Carol Service (John Etchells); distribution of the small improvement fund (Graham Payne). This is not an exhaustive list but an indication of the small things that can make a big difference to the community.

Since becoming Chairman I have become more aware of the volume of issues upon which we are asked to comment, often on very tight timescales. As an example, in the June meeting we saw issues about speed bumps on roads and sheltered housing in Cults. In the recent past we have commented on the core paths project (Jill Kirkham); the school week (Tracey Davidson) following input from the Cults PTA ; waste management proposals ( Guus Glass). Reacting to a wide diversity of issues, various members have made responses on behalf of the Community Council.

MBC News We have become more effective in our communications with local residents through our website and through this newsletter. MBC News is completely independent of the Community Council and paid for by its advertisers. With Peter Coutts, Eleanor Brennan and

Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

Tracey Davidson being members of both the MBC News management team and of the Community Council we are better able to plan our regular submissions.

Police and Councillors The police are regular attendees at our meetings and I would like to thank them for their contribution. I would also like to thank our local councillors for their involvement in our meetings in the belief that the liaison between Community Council and local city councillors is mutually beneficial.

Acknowledgements I took over as Chairman in August 2008 and this is a good opportunity to reiterate our thanks to David Fryer for the splendid job he did as the previous chairman.

A number of members stepped down during the course of the year. Dave McFarlane and Douglas Anderson were stalwarts of the community council and we owe them a special vote of thanks. Nurul Hogue Ali was with us for a short time before moving out of the area. Nevertheless, he brought a lot of energy and enthusiasm to the community council.

We have been fortunate to recruit some new members, not least due to the efforts of Eleanor Brennan who has become our chief recruiting officer. Tracey Davidson, Christine McKay and Gemma Campbell have all joined the community council in 2009.

Unfortunately two other community council members (Jill Kirkham and Alistair Annand) have recently announced that they will be leaving. As members of the planning sub group and secretary respectively they were two of our most diligent members. I would like to thank them for all their efforts; they will be sadly missed and difficult to replace.

Happily Guus Glass has volunteered to take over as secretary.

Peter Reiss

email : sue.kcn@yahoo.com

Local Development Plan 2011 -2016 The formulation and progress of the Local Development Plan is perhaps the single most important strategic issue immediately concerning the Community Council and is of importance to every single person in the area.

The Local Development Plan stems from the Structure Plan approved by Aberdeen City Council in February 2009. Although the General Register of Scotland forecasts a probable increase in the number of households in the city and shire of 37,860 over the next 20 years, the projected requirement for housing was virtually doubled to 72,000 houses by the strategic planning team. The proportion to be built within the Aberdeen City boundary is 36,000 houses. This was based on an anticipated boom in employment in the North East economy, a desire to increase the population by 40,000 and an aspiration to grow the population of the region by a further 20,000 to 500,000. Despite the financial and economic crisis, the Aberdeen City Council decided that almost half of the 36,000 houses should be built by 2016.

Hence the target for new houses in the first 5 year Local Development Plan (2011 –2016) is 16,500 with 12,000 houses to be built on Greenfield sites.

The Community Council’s views on the Structure Plan made known during the consultation phase between June and September 2008 were largely ignored. Community councils, including CBMCC, and some councillors across the city and shire have written to Scottish Ministers to seek a public inquiry. We believe that this is the only way to challenge robustly the Structure Plan, as the previous consultation did not engage properly with the public. If the Structure Plan remains unchanged, Aberdeen City Council is automatically required to make sufficient land available for 16,500 homes to be built Details of our letters sent to Aberdeen City Council and to Scottish Ministers can be found on our website: www.cbmcommunity. org.uk under latest updates - community council planning sub group.

Aberdeen City Council recently arranged for

Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

one single public meeting covering Lower Deeside as consultation on the Local Development Plan. CBMCC and Peterculter Community Council considered this to be inadequate given the importance and immediacy of the issues. Hence two additional consultation meetings were organised by the Community Councils in association with the City Council.

About 500 people came to the three consultation meetings where many of the 52 developers presented their submission plans which potentially include:• 4678 houses for Cults • 527 houses for Bieldside • 1989 houses for Milltimber • 2435 houses for Peterculter In addition there are still 1015 potential houses to be built under the current Local Plan including :• Hazeldene 150 homes • Fiarsfield 280 homes and • Loirsbank 10 homes.

Many people at the consultation meetings commented that it was only through these sessions that they had any idea what was going on – a reflection on the inadequacy of previous public involvement.

The overwhelming view expressed by those in attendance was that the scale of developments being proposed under the Structure Plan and hence the Local Development Plan grossly exaggerated the housing demand.

• Who is going to buy these houses?

• How will new roads, schools and

the rest of the infrastructure be

provided?

• What happened to the green belt

policy?

We all recognise the need to promote and diversify the local economy, given the inevitable decline in the offshore oil and gas industry over the next 20 years, and the unlikely resurgence of the agricultural and fishing industries. However, promoting the local economy is no substitute for realistic forecasting of housing needs. If the plans go ahead, developers will be able ‘cherry pick’ sites across the city choosing to build on Greenfield sites within the city boundary that maximise their profits.

Admittedly this is the first phase in the consultation process on the Local Development Plan and some of the proposed developments will be thrown out by the City Council as a normal part of site assessments. The next step is the publication of the Main Issues Report which will review the planning issues surrounding the proposals under the Local Development Plan. CBMCC and Peterculter Community Council will in due course arrange a series of public meetings for City Council representatives to present the Main Issues Report and answer questions from the public. This will be followed by the launch of a draft Local Development Plan for which there will be a statutory consultation process. The timings of these events are subject to change and we will try to ensure that they are properly advertised. The publication of the Main Issues Report could be later this summer with a draft Local Development Plan in September 2009. However, if there is yet to be a public inquiry on the existing Structure Plan, the publication of these latter documents may be deferred.

Many people at the meetings asked what they could do to fight the proposals which will change the whole character of the city and Lower Deeside in particular. You may consider some or all of the following actions: 1.

Local residents could support the community council in the de mand for a public inquiry into the Structure Plan by writing to Scot tish Ministers and our MSP Nicol Stephen emphasising that you have only just found out about the scale of development being proposed. You may wish to refer to the CBMCC letters on the web site in any letters you send.

2.

We suggest you write to Dr Margaret Bochel, Head of the Planning and Infrastructure Depart ment at Aberdeen City Council expressing your views about the proposals including specific com ments about individual sites.

Milltimber and Peterculter wards, Alan Milne, Aileen Malone and Marie Boulton.

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News from Marie Boulton & Alan Milne It has been a very busy time at the council, with interviews being carried out for the directors for the new council structure. The new structure is as follows: Sue Bruce - Chief Executive Gordon McIntosh - Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Director Pete Leonard - Housing and Environment Director Fred McBride - Social Care and Well Being Director Annette Bruton - Education, Sports and Culture Director Stewart Carruth - Corporate Governance Director Gerry Brough - Economic Project Director Sue joined as Chief Executive seven months ago, Gordon and Pete have been with Aberdeen City Council for a number of years and have recently been joined by Fred, who also has a wealth of Council experience. The rest of the team is expected to be in post by the end of the summer. Following the summer recess, interviews will commence for the next level down within the new council structure (Heads of Service) who will report to the relevant Directors as above. The new structure sees the council move away from the area structure of North, South and Central and on to Directors who will be responsible for whole services city wide, under their respective categories.

The new ‘Aberdeen Local Development Plan’ has got underway and our area, the Lower Deeside Ward (Peterculter to Pitfodels and including Countesswells) received a total of 53 developers’ bids (Development Options). All Development Options are now being assessed

by Council Planning officers. The Council’s assessment of the sites follows the ‘Sustainability Checklist’ published by the Council at the time landowners/ agents were invited to submit Development Options, and takes on board comments submitted by members of the public at the various workshops in June. The ‘Main Issues Report’

for the emerging ‘Local Development Plan’ is due to be published for public consultation by Aberdeen City Council in September 2009 and will include the Council’s preferred development options. It is important that residents are informed about what is being proposed and able to express both their interest and concerns, and I would urge everyone to look at Aberdeen City’s website and feel free to discuss things with the Community Council, Council Planning Officer or their Elected Councillors.

Marie Boulton tel. 01224 523148/522178 Alan Milne tel. 01224 523148 (ACC) or 867816 (home)

News from Aileen Malone Number 24 Bus Many residents in the area approached me with concerns when they heard First Aberdeen intended to end service 24 from Peterculter to Garthdee from 13th July 2009. There are real worries about the impact this may have upon the local community. I have been keen to find a solution and I am happy to report that the matter will be in front of the Urgent Business Committee very soon for a decision. The report will outline how the current budget that supports local bus services can be re-prioritised.

We may yet be able to fully fund the Peterculter-Garthdee bus service through Section 75 ‘developer contributions’. There is a legal agreement with ASDA and Sainsburys who will provide funding for this service. I am pressing to have this agreement implemented. The proposed route map and time table have been made available. The phrase ‘use it or lose it’ is particularly relevant for this bus service. (see updates on p17) The Waste Team In my last article I stated that 19,500 households would be offered the opportunity to participate in food waste collections in Cults & Milltimber on a rolling programme in July. I am sorry that there has been a delay in starting the second and final phase of the Food and Garden waste collection. This is due to the handling arrangements which have to be put in place for the collected material.

The In-Vessel Composting Plant that processes the combined food and garden collection is near New Deer (forty-plus miles from Aberdeen). The most economic way to transport the food and garden waste is using articulated lorries carrying approximately 20 tonne per load. Our collection vehicles can only carry 4-6 tonnes. As a result, the new service requires that an extension is made to the Sclattie Transfer Station in Bankhead; our collection trucks will deliver into Sclattie, the food and garden waste is loaded into articulated lorries and then taken to New Deer. Rather than delay the whole food and garden waste collection, we took the decision to start collections on a limited basis and use two extra collection vehicles and drivers to shuttle the 4-6 tonnes loads to New Deer. We are near to concluding the contract to construct the extension and we anticipate being able to open the site in late autumn, meaning that collections to the remaining households with brown bins will start in November.

I am not content with this situation but it is important that the Council does not expose itself to unnecessary risk for the sake of expediency. Recycling remains one of our top priorities throughout the city.

Cults Academy Since my last article I have visited the new Cults Academy School to see progress. I am very pleased to say that the school is on track for pupils to move across in October 2009 and the swimming pool should be available for use in January 2010. There well be a chance for the community to visit before the school change over and I am sure all will be impressed with the facilities on offer not only for the school but the community as well.

Have a nice summer and as always, if you need to get in touch with me regarding any issues, please contact me at: Councillor Aileen Malone Town House Broad Street Aberdeen AB10 IFY Direct Dial: 522356 Home: 862189 Email: amalone@aberdeencity.gov.uk

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Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

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News from Milltimber playgroup W h a t a great term we h a v e had at Milltimber playgroup - the weather has been good so we have spent lots of time in the park. The children have loved their new topics and themes all about the summer.

We’ve had great crafts and the children have enjoyed seeing their art work displayed and taking it home to mums and dads. Thanks especially to Karen for this, as her artistic talents are being put to full use.

Lyndsay, Karen, Julie and Sam are making a great team and with such good planning, the children are really enjoying the freedom to choose from the many activities every day.

It is certainly never boring!

As the term comes to a close we have been having lots of fun with some teddy bear picnics. We even had a sponsored Animal Hunt which was a great success and I would like to take the opportunity to thank everyone who sponsored our children and who helped set it up. A special thanks to BP who matched what was raised, for which we are very grateful. It was fantastic to see how the children’s imagination was caught by the idea of hunting down those naughty animals who had escaped

from the zoo. In case you are worried, they were all found and have been returned to the zoo (big store cupboard!)

There are lots of plans afoot for next term for the children and the grown ups so look out on notice boards.

Dates for your diary: Family fun BBQ Sunday 6th Sept.

Rescheduled Race Night Saturday 19th Sept.

Catchlights photography Sunday 29th Nov. (Phone Karen to book a spot on 07745 702 404)

We say a sad goodbye but good luck to our Rising 5’s who are off to school. Where did the time go? We are looking forward to seeing new faces joining us after the holidays.

Please contact us if you think your child would enjoy some play sessions, and check our advert for information on times.

We currently have funded and nonfunded Playgroup and Rising 5’s spaces and we always welcome new faces. Please contact Lyndsay Hay on 0759 5920 836 for any information and look out for our website very soon.

Thank you to the staff and committee for their dedication and may we wish you all a fantastic summer holidays and look forward to seeing you in August for more fun and adventures.

21st Aberdeen (Cults) Scout Group As you read this, the Group is eight months into its Centenary Year and already we have had many successful events celebrating that landmark event.

The Jumble Sale, which took place on 30th May, was an immense success and we are delighted to report that the income realised was in excess of £9,200. This in itself is a record, and huge thanks go to all those committee members, mums and dads and friends who organised and took part in this important fundraising activity. The main organising committee, who have run the show for many years, have decided to retire and allow new members with fresh ideas to take over and thus, continue the Jumble Sale into our next century. The accompanying photograph shows the stalwarts of the Fundraising Committee bidding a last farewell as this year’s sale came to a close. It is to be hoped that parents of the children in the group will come forward and help on a new Fundraising Committee, as the Jumble Sale is key in allowing the Group to function both efficiently and safely. Running the Jumble Sale is a rewarding and very sociable thing to do, and the outgoing Committee will be able to advise new members as required.

Alison (on behalf of Milltimber playgroup Staff and Committee)

21st CULTS SCOUT GROUP

BOOK SALE and XMAS FAIR Scout Centre, South Avenue, Cults 7th November, 2009, 10am – 4pm Books available in many categories e.g. Local History, Travel, Cookery, Hobbies, Sport and many novels by popular authors.

Varied selection of Christmas goods, Chocolate tombola, teas and coffees.

The hall will be open from 2nd - 6th November from 2 – 4pm and 7 – 9pm when any donations of Books, DVD’s and CD’s will be most welcome.

For special collections, please phone Sonia Smith 01224 868713 Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

Our next fundraiser is the annual Book Sale and Christmas Fair which will be held at the Scout Centre on Saturday 7th November between 10am and 4pm. All donations of books will be, as usual, gratefully received and fliers will be delivered door to door in anticipation of this sale. Accompanying the Book Sale is our now customary, Christmas Fair held in the upper hall. This will be an ideal opportunity to get into the Christmas spirit and purchase some early gifts, taking the strain off your last minute Christmas shopping.

The Group is taking part in the city wide “Open Doors Day” scheme on the 12th September and everyone is welcome to pop round, see what we have done, meet the Committee and view our exhibition of 100 years of Scouting by the 21st in Cults, as well as having some light refreshment which the Group will be delighted to provide.

Finally, a renewed plea for parents to get involved with the Group as we currently have a substantial waiting list which we will only be able to reduce if new helpers and leaders come forward. Dedicated adults are the life blood of the 21st; it is imperative for our ongoing success that more volunteers become involved in a worthwhile and exciting activity which truly benefits the children of Cults and Bieldside.

email : sue.kcn@yahoo.com

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Kingswells Community News Issue 1 - June-July 2013

email : sue.kcn@yahoo.com