The latest Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee meeting was held on Tuesday 4th March at Viewmount. The agenda and supporting reports are available here, along with the recording of the public part of the meeting.
The four main reports presented and discussed were
· the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) quarterly report, October to December 2024.
· the Aberdeenshire Local Development plan scheme for 2025-2026.
· the Equality Mainstreaming and Outcomes report 2021-2025.
· the Aberdeenshire Health and Social Care partnership strategic delivery plan progress report.
Mike Cassie, Station Commander, SFRS, presented his report, and added some additional details. Four new recruits will be joining the Stonehaven crew shortly, bringing it closer to the full strength. There are also a number of community initiatives both in place, and upcoming.
· Safe Aberdeenshire presented to S5 at Mackie Academy, in conjunction with Police Scotland and the RNLI (dates for Portlethen and Mearns tbc)
· Fire safety support for sheltered housing complexes
· Emergency out-of-hours food bank provision, through £9K funding from the Rural Poverty Alleviation Fund
· Breakfast club during school Easter break, following the success of the Christmas programme, which had 300 attendees over 3 days.
· Road safety initiative – open day at Stonehaven fire station in conjunction with Police Scotland, date tbc.
Council staff members presented the reports on the local development plan and mainstreaming equalities and answered councillors questions.
Four representatives from AHSCP presented their report and took questions. Key concerns for councillors included the utilisation of the Stonehaven vaccination centre. It was confirmed that phlebotomy, vitamin B1 injections and atrial fibrillation services all use the centre, alongside vaccinations. Forest View centre is also now fully utilised, with no spare capacity.
Delayed discharge was also a concern, and Janine Howie confirmed that as of Monday 3rd March there were 115 delayed discharges in Aberdeenshire, of which 17 were in the south (K&M and Marr areas). However, care homes are struggling to cope with patients who have dementia and complex needs.
The final item was discussed in private, as it involved the contract for disposal of a council asset.
Next meeting will be held on Tuesday 25th March.