NMCC 2010-2011 (1141-1148)

PARISH OF NEW MACHAR COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of a Meeting of the Council held on

Thursday 28 October 2010

Members:

Prof Roy Bridges (Chair) [RB] Mr Mike Taylor (Secretary) [MT]

Mrs Fiona Duncan (Treasurer) [FD] Mr Alexander Buchan (Planning) [AB]

Mr Martin Morley [MM] Mrs Pamela Young [PY]

Mr Gordon Murray [GM] Mr Robert Loughridge [RL]

Mr Graham Geddes [GrG]

Clerk to the Community Council: Mrs Linda Rendall

In attendance ex officio: Councillor Martin Ford [CllrMF], Councillor Fergus Hood [CllrFH], Councillor Nan Cullinane [CllrNC]

Abbreviations: AC = Aberdeenshire Council; NMCC = Newmachar Community Council

Apologies were recorded for: Fiona Duncan, Robert Loughridge, Martin Morley

In attendance as visitor: PC J Lawson

As outgoing chair, MT took the chair and thanked GrG and GM for arranging the alternative venue and providing refreshments.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting on 23 September were accepted as an accurate record.

1141 Police Matters

(i) PC Lawson gave details of the following incidents: theft of a satellite system from an unlocked vehicle and one shoplifting offence from local premises; two reported incidents of vandalism; break-in to a touring caravan; driving of a vehicle along a footpath.

(ii) Traffic police continue their vigilance on Hillbrae Way and one motorist has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal for driving at excessive speed and others have been educated.

(iii) Members of the public are encouraged to report any witnessed incidents of careless driving and, wherever possible, to note the registration number of the vehicle/motorcycle.

1142 Local Development Plan

RB reported that the submission from NMCC had been put forward and suggested that the submission be included as an annexe to the minutes of this meeting. It had been pointed out to AC that this was submitted on behalf of the whole community and should not be treated as if it were an individual submission.

1143 Visit of Mr Alistair Mair (see Minute 1132)

Preparations for Mr Mair’s visit on 2 November are well in hand and it is hoped that as many community council members and councillors will attend as possible. The group will meet for a soup and sandwich lunch (courtesy of NMCC), followed by a visit to the school. Coffee will be available in the village hall where the plans for the new hall will be on display. RB has prepared a booklet for distribution on the day, the cost of which (probably about £50) will be met by NMCC.

1144 Aberdeenshire Council Matters

(i) Cancellation of school lets – due to a policy introduced by AC to reduce overtime working by janitorial staff, it was reported that a number of clubs have been affected and are now no longer able to operate from the school during the evening. The situation with the After School Club has now been resolved and the janitor is permitted to work until 6.30 pm. Groups affected by the sudden change in policy include Chess, Football, Bowling, Good News Club, NMCC meetings, Councillors’ Surgery, Police Surgery, School Parent Council. In an attempt to reduce costs, AC is recruiting caretakers to open schools after hours on a lower salary than janitors. There have been no applicants for the post in New Machar. The decision to employ caretakers was made by AC’s senior management team some months ago and is based on the EU Working Time Directive. It was agreed that NMCC would write to AC’s Chief Executive to express their dissatisfaction and also to raise it as an emergency item at the Garioch Forum.

(ii) Further details about AC’s budget should be known within the next few weeks but it is expected that there will be major cuts.

1145 Planning Issues

There was nothing to report.

1146 Tipping Rubbish

MT reported that he had been contacted by a resident regarding the tipping of rubbish in a burn.

It would appear that this is an isolated incident as there have been no further specific reports.

1147 Correspondence

(i) Traffic Order from AC regarding disabled street parking in the Greens Way area.

(ii) Notification by AC on Budget Briefing – 6 December at Meldrum Academy. If no community councillors are able to attend CllrFH agreed to report back to NMCC.

(iii) Additional Supplementary Guidance Information.

(iv) Viewpoint – Aberdeenshire Citizen’s Panel.

(v) Association of Scottish Community Councils – report and election papers.

(vi) Aberdeenshire Design Awards – this year’s winners.

(vii) Rona Ross Thompson – update on Wildlife in Newmachar.

(viii) Aberdeenshire Community Partnership.

(ix) NHS Consultation on maternity services.

(x) Public Performance Report for AC 2009-2010.

1148 AOB

GrG reported that he understood that projects in various parts of Aberdeenshire had received funding from the ‘Leader’ Programme for rural areas via rural area partnerships. However, the Garioch Area appears not to have a rural area partnership through which funds might be applied for. RB said there did exist a Garioch Area Rural Partnership and promised to investigate the present situation with respect to access to Leader Funds.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 25 November in the Village Hall.