AGM Chairman's Report

 

Kemnay Community Council

A.G.M. 26^th March 2009

Chairman's Report

This has been the last year of the three year term of the current Kemnay Community Council. For the first time in, I believe, around twenty years it was necessary to hold an election for the next Council, and while this did entail some work it was very encouraging to see that there were so many people prepared to step forward and to serve on behalf of Kemnay.

It has been a varied year, with fewer major issues than have occurred in the recent past, but nonetheless a good deal has been achieved.

PC Allen, our Community Beat Officer, has been a frequent and welcome attender at our meetings, and has been a positive influence in the village. He has been receptive to our requests for information and, I believe we now have a better understanding of the problems faced in Kemnay, although that does not mean that we necessarily know how to solve them. What is encouraging is that the percentage of crimes solved is improving, and hopefully this will filter through and have a deterrent effect on potential offenders.

One of the highlights of the year, and please excuse the pun, has been the success of our Christmas illuminations. An offer by Aberdeenshire Council to provide a substantial sum towards their provision helped kick start the project, which had not, until then, progressed too far. Under the leadership of Eric Pashley we were provided with a vastly improved display last Christmas, and now that such a good start has been made the way is clear for a steady increase in the number of decorations.  Kemnay owes a great debt of gratitude to Eric, without whose efforts I doubt we would have achieved anything significant. Other contributors, both financial and in kind, were acknowledged in the newsletter.

While on the subject of Aberdeenshire Council finance, the Community Council installed a handrail on the steps of the path down to Boat Croft following the submission of a successful application for a grant towards the cost. These steps, which can be dangerous when wet or icy, have been a cause for concern of the residents for years. We also successfully applied for a grant on behalf of the Village Hall to allow improvements to the stage sound system.

There have been some frustrations. In response to a request by the younger members of our community we had hoped to arrange to have a set of goal posts erected on the green. In the event the only location acceptable to Aberdeenshire Council was not acceptable to us, so the money that had been earmarked for this, and to be spent on younger people, was donated to the Youth Café. We continued to be surprised by some initiatives such as provision of benches near Littlewood Court and the improvements to the Pleasure Park. We certainly welcome enhancements but would appreciate a degree of advance information. A recent proposal to create a "wish list" may help in the future.

A request from an individual in Craigearn for an extended speed limit zone was forwarded, but it drew attention to the fact that we should not assume that a single voice represented a consensus, as proved when we were contacted by a number of people who opposed the suggestion. Our request was withdrawn, and in future such proposals will be noted in the newsletter report and deferred for a month before action is taken. However, a request for action to be taken to control speeding was generally supported and the authorities were invited to investigate, as they were after complaints about safety at the Horner junction and the narrowing of the junction outside the new Bridgend block of flats.

The requirement for Community Councils to register under the Data Protection Act was considered quite unnecessary and vehemently opposed, and the matter was taken up with our MSP. Unfortunately the Information Commissioner has not been persuaded, and although our inclination was not to register it was decided that this should be a matter to be decided by the new Community Council.

A highlight was the talk given by the P7 pupils of Kemnay Primary, who went on to win the public speaking competition in Edinburgh. We congratulate them.

While discussing awards, we entered the Place of Origin in the Aberdeenshire Council Design Awards competition, and were pleased to receive a Highly Commended Certificate, the highest given in our category.

Most of the planning applications that we have examined have been routine, but the one for the Fetternear development aroused stronger feelings. There have been two critical letters in the Kemnay Newsletter, and a large number of objections to the plans noted, most of which refer to the proposed car park on community land in Bremner Way. The Community Council has in the past been opposed to housing developments; however in this particular instance the proposal, unlike any previous, or proposed, ones, does offer the possibility of employment opportunities and much improved community facilities. For this reason the outline proposal was supported in principle, however the Bremner Way car park arrangements were opposed. This support may be modified when detailed plans are published.

We responded to the draft Structure Plan, but our comments were not accepted. We now have the opportunity of putting our thoughts directly to the Scottish Government. We also made some suggestions for inclusion in the Draft Local Development Plan which should be published shortly.

Hopefully the Fetternear proposal will draw attention to the fact that the LDP has the potential to approve the building of several hundred houses in Kemnay, over and above the more than 150 currently under construction or awaiting final approval, but whose plans aroused little opposition other than from the Community Council.

The Community Council was deeply unhappy about the changes to the Association of Scottish Community Councils' constitution, which we believe makes the Executive virtually unaccountable. Moreover, the voting system used was not in accordance with the then constitution. We also do not know what the ASCC is doing on our behalf. For these reasons we have suggested that Aberdeenshire Council consult with Community Councils to see if they wish to continue their block membership.

There has been a right of access issue at Beech Hill Croft, and the Community Council has supported efforts to resolve the impasse.

Paul Smart and Susan Milton have not stood for re-election, and we thank them both for their work. Special mention must be made of Susan Milton, who has served for 32 continuous years on the Community Council. Her contribution, both in practical terms and in advice offered, has been absolutely invaluable and her presence will be sorely missed.

Finally, my thanks go, in particular, to Margaret Christie for doing a superb job as our Secretary, and to our Treasurer, Janet Newberry. I do not know what I would have done without David Evans's sound advice and hard work over planning, and sometimes other, matters. Our Councillors have also been most supportive: Cllr Al-Kowarri has attended every meeting and willingly deals with our problems, and Cllr Grant has also been a frequent attender and has become involved in a number of issues. Finally I would like to thank all members of the Community Council for what they have done for Kemnay over the past year.