Portlethen Councillor Welcomes Jubilee Hall Funding Bosst

North Kincardine SNP councillor Alastair Bews has welcomed the announcement by First Minister Alex Salmond that Portlethen Jubilee Hall is to receive £60,000 in Scottish Government regeneration funding to help its refurbishment.

The hall, which was built by the community in 1890 to celebrate Queen Victoria’s Golden Jubilee, is the subject of a local fundraising drive to restore it to its former glory, with work required to bring it up to standard for the 21st century.

Commenting, Cllr Bews said:

“This is tremendous news for the hall committee, who have been engaged in a lengthy period of fundraising for the Jubilee Hall. It’s a very welcome boost to their efforts.

“The Jubilee Hall is well-used and is a valued local facility. This funding will be a great help to get the hall back to its former glory.”

The First Minister said the range of activities for people of all ages carried out every day in the historic building showed the Jubilee Hall was “a vital focal point” of the Portlethen community and a valuable local resource that would now benefit from £60,000 from the Scottish Government’s housing and regeneration budget.

Mr Salmond made the announcement as the Scottish cabinet met in Portlethen before carrying out the second in a series of public discussion events designed to allow communities across Scotland to quiz ministers on Scotland’s Future – your guide to an independent Scotland.

First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“The Jubilee Hall is a fantastic and well used resource for the local community, run by an incredibly dedicated team of volunteers for the benefit of people of all ages in Portlethen.

“The range of classes and events that take place in the hall is impressive, from line dancing to Zumba; mother and baby groups to primary school gym lessons and a community café, every day is busy at the Jubilee Hall. It truly is a vital focal point in the Portlethen community, just as it was when it was first opened in 1890.

“I am therefore delighted to be able to announce that the impressive fundraising efforts which have so far raised thousands towards refurbishing this fantastic facility will be boosted with £60,000 in regeneration funding to help bring it back to its former glory.

“I hope that the new funding will enable the ambitious plans I know the trustees of this fabulous place have to come to fruition and allow the hall to serve the people of Portlethen for many more generations to come.”

Read more...

Portlethen Councillor Backs Local School Campaigners

SNP Councillor for North Kincardine Alastair Bews today lent his support to the ‘Save the Heart of Portlethen’ campaign group in its bid to save both Portlethen and Fishermoss Primary schools from the threat of closure.

Councillor Bews said he agreed with spokesperson Steve McKerron over Aberdeenshire Council’s attempt to re-write one of the options which had already been out for public consultation.

The original option 3 that was overwhelmingly voted for by the public would have guaranteed a three school solution for Portlethen. However since the Council retrospectively revised it, it increases the likelihood that one of the two existing primary schools will close.

Commenting, Councillor Bews said:

“It is my view that this move reinforces the concerns that my constituents have about this consultation.

“It cannot be right for the council to change the options part of the way through the consultation process when people have already expressed a view. It is not treating people with respect to change their responses in this way.

“If the community is to have confidence in the outcome, Aberdeenshire Council needs to start this consultation again and not change the options in mid-stream.”

Read more...

Stonehaven SNP Councillor Welcomes Bervie Braes Road Re-Opening

Stonehaven and Lower Deeside SNP Councillor Graeme Clark has welcomed a decision to re-open the Bervie Braes Road during the summer months.

The decision to re-open the road, which has been closed to vehicles following a landslip in 2009, was taken by members of Aberdeenshire Council's Policy and Resources Committee today (Thursday 18 April 2013) after they considered a number of options for the future of the route.

Speaking after the meeting, Cllr Clark said that while he would have preferred the road to be open all year and closed in the event of heavy rain, he welcomed the decision to reopen the road and to revisit the situation after October.

Earlier, Cllr Clark's SNP Colleague, North Kincardine Councillor Alastair Bews, moved that a full review of the impact of the first year of reopening the road should be carried out, with a view to opening the road to vehicular traffic permanently. His recommendation was accepted by administration councillors.

“The Bervie Braes road is important for local tourism", said Cllr Clark. "While I'd have preferred a year-round opening, I'm hopeful that the partial re-opening we will see this year can lead to a permanent reopening in the future.”

Under the new scheme, the road will open during summer months (April to October), with a weight limit of three tonnes, a 20mph speed limit and a one-way system running from Dunnottar Castle into Stonehaven. Barriers will also be installed as an added safety measure on the road running down Bervie Braes.

Read more...

SNP Councillors Comment on Police and Fire Vote

A local SNP Councillor has expressed his disappointment following a decision by Aberdeenshire Council last week to pass the scrutiny of Aberdeenshire-wide police and fire services to the Council's busy Policy and Resources Committee.

North Kincardine Councillor Alastair Bews had backed calls for a new Council 'Blue Light' committee to be set up to oversee local police and fire services, following the move to Scotland-wide services next year. However, the SNP proposal was voted down by members of the ruling Conservative/Lib Dem/Independent administration, with the support of Kincardine's two Labour Councillors.

The new arrangements mean that Kincardine and Mearns area of Aberdeenshire Council will have just one member – former Provost William Howatson – representing the area on the 14-strong committee when it comes to Aberdeenshire-wide fire and police matters. In contrast, the Garioch area has six Councillors on the committee, four of whom represent the Inverurie and District ward.

Scotland's eight regional police forces, in common with their corresponding fire services, are to merge to form a single national police and a single national fire service from April 2013. Although Scotland-wide boards will have strategic responsibility over the services, Scotland's 32 local authorities have been given a free hand in deciding what local accountability measures they wish to put in place.

At the full council meeting, Councillors backed a proposal supported by the Aberdeenshire Council administration, which transferred the remaining work of the Grampian Police and Fire Joint Boards to the Council's Policy and Resources committee.

SNP councillors had earlier voiced fears that parts of Aberdeenshire risked coming off a poor second to areas which are better represented on the Policy and Resources Committee.

In order to redress the imbalance, the SNP had proposed that a stand alone Public Safety Committee of 18 councillors be established, which would draw on 3 members from each of the six council Area Committees. As well as overseeing local police and fire services, the new 'Blue Light' committee would also have taken on responsibility for community safety and emergency planning.

Councillor Bews said he was “disappointed” at the outcome.

“I don’t think it’s treating the police and fire services with the level of attention they deserve if we simply make them an agenda item in an already busy committee,

"We owed it to the staff and the general public to have a robust system in place for scrutiny and governance arrangements locally.

“It's particularly disappointing given that the make-up of Policy and Resources Committee will now mean that only one Councillor from Kincardine and Mearns will be able to represent the area on shire-wide issues.

“Why Kincardine's two Labour Councillors thought this was worth supporting is anyone's guess. Today’s decision means that there is now very limited scope for the views of staff bodies such as the Fire Brigades Union to engage with councillors under the new arrangements.

“This is a lost opportunity to put in place a new system which would have led to increased transparency and a greater level of engagement on police and fire issues.”

Note: The current 14-member Policy and Resources committee contains six councillors from the Garioch area, three from Formartine, two from Marr, and just one each from the Kincardine and Mearns, Buchan and Banff & Buchan areas.

Read more...

Portlethen Councillor Welcomes Additional Rail Services

North Kincardine SNP councillor Alastair Bews has welcomed the announcement by ScotRail of extra services to serve Portlethen.

Councillor Bews has been a long-standing advocate of more frequent and better rail services to the Kincardineshire town.

Improvements to services at Portlethen include five additional stops per weekday, including services to Inverurie and Glasgow Queen Street, with an additional four more stops on Sundays. The new services will commence on Sunday 9 December.

Commenting, Cllr Alastair Bews said:

“I’m delighted by this announcement of additional rail services for Portlethen. I’ve been calling for additional stops at Portlethen for many years and this is a welcome step forward.

“Passenger numbers at Portlethen fell by over a quarter between 2008 and 2010. At this time of increased fuel prices it makes sense to make it as easy as possible for people to undertake their daily commute by alternative methods and I hope that this commitment by ScotRail to Portlethen will see a reversal in that trend.”

Read more...