Courier Century
WHEN local government was reorganised in the 1970s, parliament introduced community councils. Unlike the new regional and district councils they had little effective power or finance, but today the "super bodies" are history and Culter Community Council is thriving.
One of CCC's first successes was the Culter Courier, established within months of the council in 1977. Published quarterly, this is its hundredth issue. To an Aberdonian a free newspaper is suspect. 100 free Couriers are even more suspicious. To explain this phenomenon we have reprinted the cover page of Courier No. 1 from 1977.
The first issue presented not only the aims of our newspaper, to help "the residents of Culter to enjoy their life in the village better by knowing more about it and taking an interest in its affairs", but also how it was created by the community council
Comparing early Couriers with recent ones, there are many changes. Starting with the cover page, the masthead has subtly evolved. The sketch in the first Courier developed in the second issue into a virtual Culter centred on the church and the paper mill with its huge, smoking chimney. When the mill closed in 1981 the smoke disappeared. Then the chimney was felled in 1984, leaving the rural village which now adorns the Courier.
Another change is the print quality. Early issues were laboriously typed, cut and pasted, as illustrated in a Courier from 1981. Today, of course, word processing has taken over, giving more clarity but perhaps a bit less character.
There are also more pages in today's Courier, about twice as many. A prime reason is the increase in Culter groups writing to the Courier. In addition to original ones such as Culter Football Club, the Boys Brigade and the OAPs, new ones have arrived, such as the Golf Club, St Peter's Heritage Centre and several walking groups. Culter is a vibrant community.
The Courier is also bigger because advertising has increased dramatically. It used to be a struggle to find advertisers to cover the costs of printing, but today shops, businesses and services on Lower Deeside are keen to reach every household in Culter. As a result the Courier now shows a healthy profit which supplements the Community Council's other income from Aberdeen City Council and from CCC's other early initiative, the Culter Gala.
Introduced as "Try a Sport" day, the Gala has become the main community event in our calendar. The excitement, fun, music and laughter of Gala week is an annual tonic for Culter.
Apart from the Courier and the Gala, however, what is there to show for 28 years of activity by CCC? Many of the benefits are intangible.
How do you measure the success of the Courier in helping CCC to achieve its aims - "enjoying life", "knowing about the village", and "taking an interest in its affairs"? Yet the CCC has also had some visual impact on Culter, either directly or indirectly.
Here is a sample:-An early use of Gala profits was to fund wooden picnic tables and children's play equipment, such as on the Deeside Way and at Johnston Gardens. Most of these have been upgraded by the City Council in recent years with plastic and metal equipment.
C C C successfully petitioned the City Council for a Pelican crossing at the library, and more recently for the Zebra crossing near the filling station. Traffic and road safety issues were by far the main concern expressed at the recent "Planning for Real" consultation held by the City Council in Culter School.
Funds for major facilities such as sports centres could only be provided by the Region or District, but in its early years CCC felt rather a Cinderella compared to more central communities in Aberdeen. Campaigning by CCC helped to eventually achieve the fine Sports Centre on Coronation Road.
Despite being sited in lovely countryside, Culter used to have few trees near its centre. CCC planted over 20 gean (wild cherry) trees, whose survivors are now about 30 years old.
A more recent initiative to beautify the village is Culter in Bloom. This sub-committee of CCC is adding more and more colour to Culter, as flower tubs and baskets proliferate. Like so much of the CCC's effort this success depends on the wealth of enthusiastic volunteers in Culter. Appreciative of our efforts, the City Council liaises closely with Culter in Bloom.
Peterculter Golf Club is a magnificent example of what Culter folk can achieve. Starting from a reader's letter in the Courier of October 1979, the golf course was first proposed for Contlaw, then came to fruition in its beautiful setting beside the River Dee. Support from CCC and other bodies in the village helped overcome problems with planning approval.
CCC encourages change, but only if it benefits the village. Proposals for inappropriate development successfully opposed at several locations, such as Peter's Heugh between the Deeside Way and the river housing have been
Lovers' Walk, on the left of the picture, is one of a network of existing and proposed paths which CCC's new "Paths Group" subcommittee is encouraging the City Council to develop in and around Culter.
We hope that you have enjoyed this browse through the first 100 Culter Couriers. Perhaps you can play a part in the success of the next 100.
Concern about road safety has caused CCC to propose improvements, such as these signs at a hazard on Malcolm Road at the city boundary. Currently the prime roads issue is the proposed Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. While CCC accepts that this would bring traffic benefits to the village, we have advised against locating the road west of Culter because of environmental and other problems which would result. We also leafleted all households to encourage them to pass on their views about the AWPR to the Scottish Executive.