CCC NEWS
CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
I T’S AGM time again for Culter Community Council; a time to look back and thank people for their efforts to help the community over the past year and to look to - and plan for - the future.
Your new community council this time has a full complement. This was achieved in no small measure by the efforts of Ann Wakefield who was able to convince and cajole our new members that their input would be very helpful and appreciated by us all. I thank them for their public spiritedness. I also welcome back the ‘old hands’. (You will find names, addresses and contact telephone numbers on the back page).
A major vote of thanks must go to our secretary, Marjory Skinner. Not only does she take the minutes at the meetings and deal with the correspondence, she also is editor of the Courier with all that that entails. She is responsible for gathering copy from all the groups, keeps in contact with the advertisers - and, of course, collects all their tees! The Courier allows CCC to keep you all informed about Culter for free so thanks are due to the advertisers. And please do no forget the deliver ‘boys and girls’ who pop a copy through your letterbox Thanks to you all.
Another large vote of thanks must go to Ann Wakefield who also took on two tasks
• The co-ordination of delivery of the Courier and
• The much bigger job of Co-ordinator of the Gala.
Ann and her hard-working Gala Committee once again arranged an excellent Gala programme of fun for our entertainment and raise funds for local organisations. (See elsewhere if you want to make a claim for funds.) On Gala Day, the sun shone and added to everyone’s enjoyment. The Race Night in September was also a great success. Thank you Ann, the Gala Committee and the volunteer helpers.
Our Treasurer, Nicola Hector, keeps our financial matters well in hand and bang up to date despite having baby Luisa (born in May) to look after now, too.
Our grateful thanks, Nicola.
Doug Stewart, our expert on Roads, was able to make a successful case in getting repairs done on Malcolm Road but had no luck in getting structural improvements to the dangerous junction of North Deeside Road with Malcolm Road beside that blind corner. Thanks for all your efforts anyway, Doug, and hopefully more success next year. The little effort Aberdeen City Council Roads
Department did put in towards safety in that area was white lines and signs to indicate pedestrian access at St Peter’s Terrace and down Kennerty Road (which also was made a one- way Street) - but this was paid for out of Cllr MacDonald’s community budget! Thank you, Pam. However the Roads Department must he thanked for repairing the pavement outside the Post Office, and by the Pelican Crossing, which had become quite dangerous.
Susan Chappell-Smith, who is President of Culter Village Hall Management Trust and Captain of the Ladies Section of Peterculter Golf Club, is therefore a key and valued member of CCC. Thank you, Susan.
Similarly Paul Anderson who, as Chair of the Millside Residents’ Association keeps us informed about that area and passes our information to the residents.
I must also thank our elder statesmen and former Chairmen Jim Ritchie and Sam Weller whose experience, insight and common sense is, always welcome.
Special thanks arc due to:
1. David Wakefield, his wife Ann, and the volunteers they organised to work with a team from Aberdeen City Council led by David Grant and Ian Tallbovs They were responsible for drainage work and stabilising the banking, tree planting and other improvements on the old Railway Line and Lovers’ Walk along the River Dee.
2 David Grant and his team for improving the drainage on the School Playing Field in time for the Gala.
3. John Troup and other members of St Peter’s Heritage Trust for initiating the co-operation between Aberdeen City Council Neighbourhood South, the Church and residents of Howie Lane. This allowed the car park (serving the cemetery, the Trust, the local residents and those walking on the Railway Line and Lovers’ Walk) to be speedily upgraded with new drainage and a tarred surface. Wonderful!
1. John Murdo for his efforts in preventing the BP Filling Station from being closed.
For the future, your community council will be co-operating and co-ordinating with Aberdeen City Council Neighbourhood South and other Council departments, our City Councillor, and other organisations such as Police, Fire Service, Health Board, Church, Businesses etc. as well as YOU, the residents, to work out an Action Plan for how we would all like to see Culter develop over the next 5-10 years, as well as gaining the facilities we think we should have e.g. better public transport.
Elsewhere in this issue the results of our first consultation meeting, held on Tuesday 23 September and incorporating the comments made by telephone, are summarised for your information, and to trigger more ideas.
Lavina C Massie
SECRETARY’S REPORT
AFTER reading the Chair’s Report, I find I am stuck for words - a little hit unusual for me, I think. Our Chair has given a very full account of all the happenings during the year so there is no reason to repeat them hut I felt 1 could not let the opportunity pass to mention, in more detail, one of our retiring members.
Jim Ritchie served CCC as an
‘ordinary’ member for many years and then made the jump (or was he pushed?)
and became Chairman. This post he filled for several years. Of course, he only
came along to one meeting in 1989 because he felt strongly that we should have a
crossing of some type at the junction of
As Chairman, Jim was adept at keeping the meetings on an even keel - not too easy with some wilful women on the community council. (I include myself here.) Often Jim would see a possible difficulty that none of us had thought of and this made the business of CCC run more smoothly for us. You will be missed very much but, you never know, we’ll maybe see you back again as an adviser.
Jim was a very faithful member
and rarely missed a meeting - even missing a game or two at Pittodrie to fulfil
his commitments to CCC! Now that’s dedication. Just look on the bright side -
if you had gone to Pittodrie to see the Dons play
- the very best of success for the future.
M J Skinner Secretary
PLANNING
Returning to the subject I wrote about in the August Courier, the new bill proposed to make dealing with planning applications easier and fairer - the Scottish Executive now is consulting planners. developers and communities on how best to incorporate the ‘third party right of appeal’. This would give communities and individuals a right of appeal against planning decisions just as readily as a developer can. Unfortunately this is likely to take about a year to put into place legally
Recent individual planning applications that have raised concerns within the Culter Community Council (CCC) are.
* Culter House: Despite the fact that the first planning application (to convert Culter House to 13 flats with 3 houses in the gardens) was refused, appealed and will go to a public enquiry in the new year, the developers have put in another application for 13 flats and 2 houses. CCC objected again!
* Standish Cottage: [ owner had appealed against two of the conditions (requiring trees to be re-planted and the road restored), although these conditions were applied when planning permission was granted A Reporter from the Scottish Executive Development Department Inquiry Unit came to examine the site, Also present were the Aberdeen City Planner, who dealt with this application, the architect, the builder and me. We all walked around the site discussing various points and we all were thoroughly questioned until the Reporter felt he had all the information from all parties to allow him to make a proper judgement. He said he would receive a copy of his decision in a few weeks time.
*
Lavina C Massie