Stonehaven and District Community Council (SDCC) held their regular business meeting on Tuesday 10th March 2026. The agenda for the meeting can be found on the SDCC website, and the major points are detailed below.
Following the resignations of several members of the community council new office bearers were proposed and seconded. The current SDCC members are
Chair – Brian Menzies
Co-chair – Fiona Tavendale
Vice Chair – Alistair Lawrie
Treasurer – Norman Mackay
Secretary – Rachel Frame
Ordinary members – Daniel Veltman, Ian Hunter, Jim Stephen, Raymond Christie, Andy McArdle, Phil Mills-Bishop and Ben Plouviez.
The new chair thanked those who have left and emphasised he would be working in partnership with the rest of the community council, to ensure that the work involved does not fall on one person.
Supermarket Survey
In matters arising: – the supermarket survey is live and can be found here. There have been over 350 responses received so far. All residents are encouraged to complete the survey.
There was discussion around the lighting at the leisure centre car park and footpaths. Jim Stephen said a local business has offered to fund improvements, and a council approved contractor has provided a quote. It was also queried whether Aberdeenshire Council have a mechanism for using external funding for such work. Councillor Turner agreed to investigate and report back with more information.
Planning applications
A planning application has been submitted for a new soft play centre at Kirktown Garden Centre. Members agreed this application would be beneficial for the town and will write to the planning department confirming their support.
Energy Projects
At the Bellrock Offshore Windfarm consultation event last week it was identified that the landfall would either be in the St Cyrus area or at Cowie, feeding from its own substation into the Hurlie substation. Although the Hurlie substation was refused planning permission SSEN are currently appealing, and the perception at the meeting was that some, if not all, current and future developments will be approved. This led to discussion around potential community benefit.
David Strang-Steel, a local landowner, raised some points, including the scale of developments, how community wealth building funds are allocated, and the potential legacy for Stonehaven. There was agreement that the subject of energy developments is complicated, particularly due to the number and scale of projects, and that SDCC should recruit additional expertise from the wider community, particularly from those who have experience in negotiations and engineering.
After further discussion it was agreed to set up a subgroup, including external expertise, with the aims of
· Engaging with the local community and collating opinions
· Accessing and managing community benefits
· Working with neighbouring community councils
Finance
The treasurer summarised the current position and proposed simplifying the bank accounts. It was also agreed to move the accounts from the Bank of Scotland, which will be closing shortly, to the TSB, with the intention of supporting local banking.
Correspondence
There were requests from other Aberdeenshire community councils for support with active travel proposals and Overhead line (OHL) consultation, but it was agreed there is no capacity to take on extra work.
Aberdeenshire Rangers are doing a wildflower planting event at Farrochie Park on 11th April.
In Brief
The Hannah Dyson and Community Awards are ongoing, with some nominations received, but information will be republicised to encourage more.
Events taking place in libraries now incur a charge, either as a hire fee, or charging a fee for entry.
An independent group has been set up to Save Stonehaven Library and stop it’s relocation to Viewmount. SDCC agree to support its aims and objectives.
The next meeting will be held on Tuesday 14th April.
Brian Menzies – the new chair of Stonehaven and District Community Council