Stonehaven Has Just About Had Enough
Stonehaven is a resilient, community‑minded town — yet in recent years it has been asked to absorb one blow after another. The latest is the decision to relocate Stonehaven Library from its long‑standing home in Evan Street to the Council’s Viewmount office building.
Many residents feel that this time a line has been crossed, and that the relocation is simply unacceptable and must be stopped before it becomes irreversible.
This has also prompted the community to ask the obvious question: Why does this keep happening to Stonehaven? The move is already Council policy, but the community still has no clear explanation of the evidence behind it or any acknowledgement of the impact it will have.
The recent “engagement exercise” felt to many like a box‑ticking exercise rather than a genuine consultation.
And residents already have a clear understanding of the damage this relocation will cause — in fact, many fear the repercussions will be even more severe than the closure of the Invercarron Resource Centre — yet there has been no meaningful acknowledgement of those concerns, beyond a token “engagement exercise” that offered little opportunity to be heard.
A Pattern Stonehaven Can No Longer Ignore
Across the town, actions, omissions, and service changes affecting Stonehaven are happening with no involvement from the people who live here — even when the Community Council has raised concerns or asked for clarity.
- Invercarron Resource Centre was closed without consultation, and the repercussions are still being felt across the community — particularly by the senior groups who relied on it for support, activities, and connection, and by other groups who have been left without a home.
- The library relocation, part of Operation Oyne — the Council’s plan to reduce its property footprint by merging services into fewer buildings — went ahead with no public consultation and an engagement process that was, by any reasonable measure, completely inadequate.
- Healthcare services in Stonehaven are under review by AHSCP. In fairness, some consultation has taken place and the findings have been published, but more needs to be done. Public perception is that the review has lacked clear community involvement so far, with no response to the Community Council’s Participation Request as yet — reinforcing the need for further engagement given the potential negative impacts of proposed changes. Another decision being forced upon us before the community has had a meaningful say.
- Street lighting continues to deteriorate across the town, with long‑standing faults left unresolved and no clear plan for systematic repair. The resulting dark patches create unavoidable safety risks for pedestrians, drivers, and particularly older residents who depend on well‑lit routes.
- Roads continue to deteriorate and, with no clear plan or timetable for real improvement, the situation is becoming unsustainable. The worsening condition of key routes is now a safety risk as well as an inconvenience — and money must be found urgently to fix a problem that affects every resident, every day.
These actions and omissions affect daily life — and they continue to happen with limited transparency and no meaningful opportunity for residents, or the Community Council, to shape the outcomes. Operation Oyne is a classic example: a major policy programme most residents hadn’t even heard of until its consequences were already being felt.
A Rare Chance to Demand Clarity
Community Council meetings are open to the public, and questions can be asked in the public forum — do not miss this chance to make your voice heard on the library relocation.
On Tuesday 10 February at 19:00hrs, Stonehaven and District Community Council will host Mr Tim Stephen, Area Manager for Kincardine and Mearns, to discuss the library relocation. While Mr Stephen is not responsible for setting Council policy, he is a senior officer responsible for implementing it — and this meeting is a rare opportunity to ask direct questions about how and why this decision is being taken forward.
The library may not be “closing”, but relocating it into a space that is not fit for purpose risks a slow, quiet decline — death by a thousand cuts — until it effectively disappears. Stonehaven cannot allow that to happen.
Yet something positive can still come from this moment. There is a real opportunity for the Council, the Community Council, the Stonehaven Town Partnership, and other local groups to work together to unlock the building’s almost limitless potential — for tourism, for dementia support, for community use, and for the wider benefit of the town. As one resident put it, “If we work together, this building could become one of Stonehaven’s greatest assets — not another loss we’re forced to absorb.”
If you cannot attend the Community Council meeting, you can still make your voice heard by writing to: stonehaven.library@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
Stonehaven and District Community Council Meeting
Tuesday 10 February 19:00hrs
Courtroom, Court Building, Stonehaven
Please see the link below for the full agenda and further information from the Community Council — and please share this link with anyone who may be affected.