April

1. Present:-

Mr D. Caney, Mr A. Davies, Mr P. Findlater, Cdr C. Hunneyball, Dr J. Piggins, Mr A. Thomson, Mrs M. Wainman

Attending:-.

Mr F. Milloy, Mr G. Paterson, Councillor G. Saluja, Mrs D. Service

Apologies:-

Mr D. Evans, Mrs M. Michie, Mrs S. Milton, Mrs J. Newberry

2. Police Matters

Dr Piggins noted that, very unfortunately, there was once again no police representation at the meeting. Mr Davies said that he had had concerns about the number of youths hanging around in the evenings, whose presence in numbers could be intimidating. Mr Caney mentioned further cases of vandalism, including graffiti on the new bus shelter in the High Street. He was told that products were available to remove graffiti, but it was best done by experts. Dr Piggins mentioned problems with skate boarders in Bogbeth Road. Mr Paterson said that he had been forced off the road by a dangerous driver, but had taken the number of the car and was seeking to raise a private prosecution. Mrs Wainman commented on the damage to the Mace store, which apparently had taken place at 5 a.m. She had also noted a police car at the church hall the previous evening, although had not observed any trouble.

3. Minute of Meeting held on 22nd February 2001

The Minute of Meeting held on Thursday 22^nd February 2001 was adopted.

Proposed: Mr A. Davies Seconded: Mr A. Thomson

4. Minute of Meeting held on 29^th March 2001

The Minute of Meeting held on Thursday 29^th March 2001 was adopted.

Proposed: Mr P. Findlater Seconded: Dr J. Piggins

5. Matters Arising from Last Minute a. Consultation on Draft Land Reform Bill

The deadline for comments on the Draft Land Reform Bill had been extended to the end of June. A copy was in circulation, and Dr Piggins suggested that once it had been round all members a small working party should thrash out the Council response. Mrs Service asked what the bill set out to do. Dr Piggins said that it was designed to replace the outdated laws on access to land, and would establish rights for people to access land. The question under discussion was what rights should be left with owners. Mr Paterson asked if his views could be incorporated, but Dr Piggins said that it had to be a Community Council response, however he thought that there would be a copy of the draft bill in the library and individual comments could be submitted.

It was agreed that circulation would continue, and the matter would be discussed at the next meeting. It could be that a special meeting would also be required.

b. Report from Safety Group

Due to a misunderstanding, the letter to Andy Hickling had not been sent. Cdr Hunneyball was asked to write to him.

6. 220 Bus Service

Dr Piggins said that Stagecoach had admitted that overcrowding had taken place on the Blackburn to Aberdeen service, and had been reprimanded by the Department of the Environment. Stagecoach had explained that the inspector and the driver had thought that they were acting in the best interests of the passengers.

7. Aberdeenshire Local Transport Strategy

The final report on the Aberdeenshire Local Transport Strategy had been received and was being circulated to members. Dr Piggins noted that some of the objectives rang hollow when the problems of the local bus service were considered.8. Unfinished Business

a. Pavilion Committee

Dr Piggins said that he had not yet been able to speak to Mr Petrie, but thought that no progress had yet been made.

b. Village Notice Boards

Mrs Wainman said that Mr Pollard had been able to raise the money for this, and had given the Community Council a cheque for £250. The Council expressed their gratitude for this. Mrs Wainman was now waiting to be told who would be doing the actual construction. It would be up to the Community Council to have the noticeboards fixed in place.

Dr Piggins said that £200 had been earmarked for this, and this would not now be needed. Mr Paterson suggested erecting tasteful signs indicating directions to points of interest instead. Dr Piggins said that permission would be required to reallocate the money, and that he would seek this. However, it was also thought that Aberdeenshire Council could be of some help, and it was agreed to write to ask if the Roads Department would be in favour of the signs, and whether the Planning Department could assist in their design.

c. Car Parking at the Pleasure Park.

In the absence of Councillor Leitch, there was nothing further to report.

d. Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils

The final Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils had still not been received.

9. New Business

a. Crombie Court

It was reported that there was still a lot of mess around the new development at the Crombie Court. A further letter would be sent to the developers, with a copy to the Planning Department.

b. Drainage of the Pleasure Park

Mrs Wainman said that she had heard that work on the drainage problems in the Pleasure Park was about to commence.

c. Drainage in Fyfe Park

Mr Findlater said that there were severe problems with the drainage of the new estate around Fyfe Park. He thought that the problem was caused by the compaction of the ground by the building contractors.

d. Parking in Station Road

Mr Davies said that there was often a problem with cars parking outside the Clydesdale Bank on the double yellow lines. This made it very dangerous for cars coming out of the High Street. There was, however, nothing that could be done unless the police enforced the no waiting restrictions.

e. Village Clean Up

Mrs Service said that she was prepared to organise a clean up in the village. She proposed holding it on the evening of Friday 11^th May. All three schools had been enthusiastic about the proposal, and she hoped that as many others as possible would help. Mrs Wainman said that she had tabards, and Aberdeenshire Council should provide a skip, which would be requested. The clean up would be advertised in the village newsletter.

f. Library Sign

It was reported that there were some letters missing on the sign on the village library. The Head of Library Services would be asked to repair this.

10. Report from Safety Group

A letter from Susan Deacon had been received, in which she said that no definite decision had yet been taken with respect to the reduction of Ambulance Control Centres to those situated in Paisley, Edinburgh and Inverness.

The Garioch Safety Group was seeking to have greater youth involvement in their work.

An interesting talk had been given by Mr Gordon Moir, the Deputy Head of Grampian Fire Brigade, in which he addressed the lessons learned from the fire at Strathburn School.

The next meeting, which would include the AGM, was going to be held on 1^st May. Mr Findlater would be unable to attend, but Mr Davies hoped to be able to represent Kemnay at the meeting.

Mr Paterson asked if provision was made to replace batteries in smoke detectors in homes of those on low incomes. Dr Piggins said that failure of smoke detectors was often due to other causes, including deliberate removal of batteries to stop false alarms, but that this was a matter for the Social Services.

11. Report from the Press Scrutiniser

It had been reported that Councillor Leitch had been involved in a serious car accident, but fortunately neither he nor his wife had been injured.

12. Aberdeenshire News

Councillor Saluja said that little had occurred recently, as there had not been many meetings due to the holiday period. The Inverurie accommodation for the homeless had been approved following modifications to the design, as had the Oyne Trading Centre. There had been discussion about the structure of the new school at Oldmeldrum.. It had been decided to call it an Academy, and to give it a traditional structure. Police numbers in Grampian were at their highest for a number of years.

Dr Piggins expressed concern about the state of some of the roads in Aberdeenshire, highlighting the B979 between Peterculter and Wester Ord. Mr Paterson added that the bridge on this road was particularly narrow and dangerous. Councillor Saluja said that there was a rolling repair programme, but he would take these matters up. There was, however, a possibility that this road lay within the city limits.

13. Planning Applications

No new applications.

14. Correspondence

Jan McRobbie, the Committee Officer for the Garioch Area, would be leaving her post shortly, and it had been proposed that she be given a farewell present to thank her for her sterling service. Those present (including members of the public) contributed £17 towards the gift.

The Community Council had been invited to nominate a representative to sit on the Kemnay Network Development Group. Mr Thomson volunteered to represent the Community Council.

The Grampian Health Council Annual Review had been received and was being circulated.

Inputs to the Community Learning Strategy Paper had been requested. The Council did not feel that they were able to make authoritative comment, as they had no resources nor expertise in this area.

15. A.O.C.B.

Mr Findlater said that the speed of some cars, particularly in the outskirts of the village, was frightening, and coming out of Fyfe Park could be dangerous. It was unfortunate that the recent clamp down on speeders had not included any checks in Kemnay. It was agreed to write to Inspector Allan to ask if the automatic speed detector, which had been extremely successful in cutting down speed, could be reinstalled.

16. Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be held on Thursday 31^st May 2001 at 7.30 pm in the Wainman Room at Kemnay Village Hall.