Issue 1
UDNY COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of meeting held on the 19th February 2015 in Pitmedden School.
Present: / David Murray, Brian McDougall, Bill Shewan , Matt Kaye , George Bruce, Garth Entwistle, Peter McAllister & George Duncan,Also Present: / Cllr P Johnston, PS Cameron Mack, Graeme Campbell & Nick Wilson
Apologies: / Bob Bamlett, Michelle Baguley, Colin Duncan, Susan Drummond, Andrew McMenemie, Cllr Allan Hendry, Cllr C Shand Cllr Jim Gifford
Minutes:
Chair: / The minutes from the January 2015 meeting were approved by George Duncan and seconded by Peter McAllister.
David Murray
Scottish Police
Fleeman Park
Dog Fouling
Grass Cutting in Udny Green / Police Scotland gave the following written report:-
Information collated between 15 January 2015 and 19 February 2015
3 reported incidents recorded on Police Scotland crimefile computer system for the Udny area during the dates listed. The first is involved a male driving a car (which he subsequently crashed) whilst under the influence of drugs. The second related to a male fraudulently trying to obtain driving documents from DVLA. The third incident involved careless driving and a male failing to stop and report an accident. Enquiries are ongoing. Crime statistics for the area remain extremely low.
The matters raised in the minutes however have been addressed as follows. A check of the Police Scotland accident file system shows that there have been 5 reported accidents at the A920 junction formed with the B999 between 01/01/2010 and 19/02/2015. It is appreciated that there may have been a number of other accidents which were not reported to the Police and other accidents which were not deemed reportable. In relation to the recorded accidents, 4 of the accidents involved damage only to vehicles and 1 involved slight injury to a vehicle passenger.
The community is continued to be encouraged to check their vehicles for winter safety including tyres, fluid levels and general car maintenance. It is vital that drivers are appropriately clearing their windscreens of frost, snow and dirt to allow maximum visibility to prevent collisions.
Police Scotland continue to encourage householders to secure their property, outbuilding's, vehicles and property of value at all times, in an effort to prevent opportunist thefts that continue to occur within Formartine. Opportunist thieves continue to target the Aberdeenshire area and favour insecure dwellings and vehicles.
Residents of the council area should be reminded that it is vital they take measures to secure their own property. Recently in Aberdeenshire there has been another spate of car thefts by perpetrators who are seeking out insecure doors to steel cars. Police Scotland have been carrying out random checks on house doors to see how secure they actually are and have found a number of properties easy to gain entry to in the hours of darkness.
The Police are also asking for the public to be vigilant in relation to banking ATM machines due to recent robberies in Banchory and Aberdeen. Vehicles travelling in 3 to 4 car conveys including 4 by 4 vehicles are of particular note in this regard.
Further discussion took place regarding the accident statistics for the area around the A920/B999 junction and PS Mack said that he would contact Philip Leiper of Aberdeenshire Council regarding the safety at this junction. They would also check their figures as the current accident stats look a little light, but Cameron went on to say that although many accidents happen they don’t always get reported.
The CC was to determine if the noise from quad bikes that are using a field near to the new houses in Udny Green was still troublesome. The police commented that if they were riding with the land owners permission there was little that could be done. The secretary will try to ascertain if the land owner has given permission to anyone?
The issue of speeding though Udny Green was raised as it is becoming more of a problem. Cllr Johnstone informed the meeting that speed control devices may be moved and become transportable and that new speed sensing devices could be obtained by the community. He went on to say that one unit shared by two villages could be affordable.
Two of the residents of Fleeman Park attended the meeting to raise their concern regarding the lack of recreational area in this housing scheme. They told the meeting that their children had to play on the adjacent building site through necessity. They are trying to address this issue with the council but it has been very difficult to obtain the relevant plans and drawings especially as this information is not available on the web site. What has been established is that the current open areas would not be grassed over as a woodland mix was being provided.The chair asked that the meeting be advised if differences are established between what was planned and what is provided.
There are still continued complaints regarding dog fouling in both villages and it was noted that some dog owners are not complying by not picking up after their pets. It was suggested that an additional dog bin in Udny Green would be beneficial and may encourage dog owners to pick up and deposit in the bin. It was agreed that if P McA could identify a suitable position a request would be made of the council to reposition the existing bin which is not being used.
Cllr Johnstone informed the meeting that Aberdeenshire council were not able to give a price for uplifting the cut grass as it’s not a service they can provide. After discussion it was said that if local residents cut the grass in between the council cuts it would keep the length of the grass to a minimum and therefore the cut grass on the green should not be a problem. ( No Change)
Udny Green
Development / It was noted that the appeal against the refusal of planning permission for 12 new houses in Udny Green had been upheld by the reporter but a design brief was required by Aberdeenshire Planners. It was also noted that the work on the landscaping of the original 18 houses has still not been completed with walls, fencing and Car park still outstanding. It was suggested that all of this work will be completed by the end of March
Land for Community Hall / Nothing new to report this month
Community Turbine / It was expected that the target efficiency of 30% would be achieved at year end due to the current windy weather.
Community Trust / Brian reported that interviews for the new Project Administrator role were held earlier and the successful candidate will be informed in due course. This will bring the staff compliment up to two which will greatly help progress the current projects. It was also noted that Pitmedden & Udny Green church(s) were greatly appreciative of the funding for their youth worker who was actively engaging with the young people of the parish.
Paths Project / Ongoing
Pharmacy / The community are still waiting to hear from the NHS the impact of the NHS board decision to stop HMG dispensing except where it is an acute prescription and the patient does not have access to a vehicle.
Udny Green
School / No further update until a budget can be found to pay for the repairs.
Planning
Applications
Pitmedden Park
Art in the
Community
AOCB / After discussion it was decided to convene a meeting of the planning sub-committee. The secretary will inform people of the date of the meeting. (26th Feb)
The lease is currently with the Park’s legal advisors for comment.
Susan Drummond has agreed to find an owner for this project and will report back at the next meeting.
· It was noted that the vacant site at the Smithy site next to the Dr Spence Village hall needs some TLC as the weeds are out of control and it makes the village look untidy.(ongoing)
· Matt reminded the meeting that it was nearing the end of the financial year and if anyone has any outstanding invoices they should submit these ASAP.
· The meeting was reminded that the Music Festival has been scheduled for the second weekend in June and that there will also be a beer festival. More volunteers are always needed and if anyone is able to help out they should inform Paul Johnstone.
· It was mentioned that a consolidation of web sites using the “udny hub” could be very beneficial for many groups in the community. All members were asked to have some thoughts on this and report back to the meeting. A typical example of a good site is that of Meldrum on line.
· The meeting was informed that the church were holding a gourmet auction at the weekend and everyone was welcome to attend.
Next meeting / Please note that the next meeting will take place on the 19th March 2015 at Udny Green School but starting at 8pm as the AGM will be starting at 7:30pm.
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