November

Kemnay Community Council
Report of Meeting Held in Kemnay Academy on:

28 November 2002

1. Present:-
Mr A. Davies, Mr D. Evans, Mrs S. Milton, Mrs J. Newberry, Dr J. Piggins, Mrs M. Wainman, Cdr C. Hunneyball.
Attending:- Inspector D. Allan, Ms C. Campbell, Mr D. Duncan (Inverurie Herald), Mr G. Henderson, Ms I. Kendrick, Councillor A. Leitch, Ms. L. Robertson, Ms N. Sneddon, Ms S. Taylor
Apologies:- Mr. P. Findlater, Councillor G. Saluja, Mr A. Thomson

2. Police Matters.
Inspector Allan reported that two traffic wardens had been active in Grove Road outside the Primary School, controlling dangerous parking. Otherwise there had been few problems, and staffing in Kemnay was up to strength. There had been a nasty case of car vandalism outside the Bowling Club, and there was a spate of thefts of car badges, although this was not restricted to Kemnay. One car had been stolen, and found burnt out in Aberdeen. Fortunately this type of crime was rare. The drop-in centre plans were proceeding, and although there were obstacles he was hopeful that there might be good news on the horizon.
Mr McKay had reported a potentially serious incident at the Academy, involving the starting of a fire. Inspector Allen said that there was a suspect in this case.
Mr Davies said that a 20 mph speed limit was being introduced in Kembhill Park and Shannoch Drive, but one was needed in Bremner Way. Inspector Allen agreed. This would be taken up with the Roads Department.
The gritting plan this winter was the same as that for last winter. This meant that the Castle Fraser road had a low priority. Motorists were warned.

3. Minute of Last Meeting.
The Minute of meeting held on Thursday 31st October 2002 was adopted.
Proposed: Mrs S. Milton Seconded: Mr A. Davies

4. Matters Arising from Last Minute
a. Community Web Site.
Ms Campbell said that the workshop had been extremely useful, and she had made a lot of progress on the site, which can be found at www.kemnay.org.uk. She encouraged everyone to check it and forward their comments. By no means all the links were yet complete, but she now had the framework set up. The contents of the Yellow Book would be incorporated. Contact numbers would be shown without the STD code to minimise the chance of their being used improperly. She was warmly thanked for all her work, and congratulated on the great strides made so far. Some funds were available from Aberdeenshire Council for web sites, and Dr Piggins said he would ask to see if money could be provided for a scanner and a camera.
b. Bennachie View Lorry Park.
It was understood that this was not a lorry park, but a car park for the residents of Paradise Road. There is no lorry park in Kemnay.
c. Area Partnership.
This would concentrate on matters common to Westhill, Inverurie and Kemnay. The main area of concern was facilities for young people.
d. The Glebe Obstruction.
The pile of earth had not yet been removed. Cllr Leitch will investigate.
e. Area Top Up Budget.
At the last meeting it had been proposed that a bid for a youth shelter be submitted. The young people of Kemnay had not been represented at that meeting, and they did not support this. Now being represented they said that, as it would be open to the weather, it would not be used for much of the year. After much discussion it was concluded that the only facility that would be really welcome was the youth café, so Dr Piggins said he would approach the Area Manager to see if funds could be made available for this, even though it fell slightly outwith the rules of the award.

5. Report from Safety Group.
There had not been a meeting in the last month.

6. New Business
a. Fireworks Bill.
Shona Robison MSP had sent details of a bill she wished to introduce to restrict the sale of fireworks, as at present they were being used very indiscriminately. She proposed restricting the sale to a few weeks before Guy Fawkes Day, and licensing retailers so that their sale, particularly to children, could be controlled better. The Council agreed to support this, with the caveat that if the Police had to accept responsibility for licensing extra resources should be made available to them.

7. Aberdeenshire News.
Councillor Leitch gave a report on the series of meetings and workshops he had attended, highlighting the Child Protection Review, which had identified a serious shortage of social workers. Ways of making this an interesting vocation for the young were sought. He also referred to the Joint Future Group Seminar, which aimed to provide a single funding source for interlinked services.

8. Planning Applications.
Only two applications had been submitted. One was for a development at Craigearn, which had been discussed at the last meeting, and the other was for a replacement garage at Kirkstyle. There were no objections to this, but it was felt that the old building should be demolished once the new one was finished.

9. Correspondence.
The only papers received had been for background information and had been circulated. Details of refuse collections over Christmas/Hogmanay would be published in the newsletter, and a notice placed on the village notice board.

10. A.O.C.B.
It was noted with interest that the bus timetable followed by Stagecoach drivers did not accord with the one made available to the public. The published timetable had the 220 bus to Aberdeen leaving Aquithie Road at 0710; the drivers aimed to leave Kirkstyle at 0708!

11. Date of Next Meeting
Thursday 30th January 2003, in the Wainman Room, Kemnay Village Hall.