OUTDOOR AMENITY AREAS

working party seeks members

FOR several years, Culter Community Council (CCC) has enjoyed a good working relationship with Aberdeen City Council's Parks and Recreation Department. Whenever big problems have arisen with our outdoor amenity areas (the Railway Walk, Lovers Walk etc.) 'Parks & Rec' have come to the rescue. They also take care of big routine maintenance jobs such as grass cutting, rose pruning at Culter station, rubbish and dog bin clearance and fallen trees.

Several years ago I worked very successfully with Mr David Grant, Aberdeen City Council manager responsible for our area, to get the banks of the Dee and the main sewer, which runs alongside the river under Lovers Walk, protected from serious flood damage and erosion. At the start of this winter CCC again asked me to take up matters of maintenance to the Railway Path and Lovers Walk with Mr Grant. The drains have been giving problems, flooding the paths and causing localised landslip in steep cuttings. This winter's heavy floods have eroded Lovers Walk and again started to undercut the bank and sewer track.

Mr Grant responded quickly and positively and obtained approval and
budget allocation to install new drains and repair the paths before the end of
March. Following on from this, it is planned to stabilise the steep areas with
a tree planting programme to start in early April.

Culter is well served by 'Parks & Rec' but such big items cost a lot of money. In order to help conserve limited funds for these "big ticket' items I want to form a small group to undertake voluntary maintenance and improvement projects around the outdoor amenity areas.

Anumber of residents have mentioned how much they appreciate the picnic tables and wildflowers in the station area. This year new shrubs have been planted to provide cover and food for songbirds. This work has been done on a personal voluntary basis by community members. New work is planned for this spring, including the tree planting programme, after drains and pathways repair work has been carried out.

There is a natural link between the Railway Walk, Lovers Walk and the Heritage Centre. It is hoped that by working sensitively and maintaining the outdoor amenities of the village we can encourage our wonderfully diverse environment to flourish and provide many hours of sustainable enjoyment for a wide range of interests well into the future.

If you are interested in joining an outdoors team and/or would like to hear more about what can be achieved with the assistance and advice of the specialists in our area, please call or e-mail David Wakefield on 01224 733273, e-mail djwwcl@btopenworld.com and we will take it from there in partnership with the specialists who are ready and willing to advise and help.

David Wakefield