Campaign by Surfers Against Sewage
SINCE 80% of all the plastic that ends up in our seas was initially disposed of on dry land, a local band of eco-warriors is campaigning to remove the problem at source – here in Stonehaven.
Surfers Against Sewage held a beach clean up last December that saw over 160 adult and children pitch in to help pick up bags of the usual assortment of fishing line, cans and plastic remains.
And at this week’s meeting of Stonehaven and District Community Council, members heard from SAS representative, Amy Barclay, who said they are now working with the town’s businesses, in an attempt to reduce the problem.
They want our shops, cafes and bars to find three single use plastic items they use – such as plastic forks, straws and styrofoam trays – and either replace them or not use them at all.
Amy told The Bellman plastics on our shores is not necessarily a result of dropping/littering. It can also be items the consumer has responsibly disposed of like rubbish in bins, items in recycling buckets that the wind has blown back into the environment, or seagulls have pulled out.
She added, “This is why reducing the use of these items in the first place is more effective than just relying on the consumer disposing of them correctly.”
Plastic Free Status is not about getting rid of all plastic, some is very useful and a necessity. Plastic drinking straws are, for some, a valuable aid. Plastic Free Communities is about getting everyone to work together to reduce the town’s overall plastic footprint so we can eliminate the unnecessary SINGLE USE plastic by addressing the “throwaway” culture we seem to have created.
“Take small sauce sachets for instance. One big bottle will do the same job,” said Amy
The plastic free pledge is being met with a positive response both locally, where our primary schools have been contacted, and nationally – the Houses of Parliament are to implement new plastic reducing measures this year, in direct response to the SAS campaign.
See what the Houses of Parliament are going to do
Not to be outdone by Westminster, the members of SDCC offered Amy and Surfers Against Sewage their full support and will look into ways of helping spread the message.
Transport Action Kincardineshire (TrAK), the Kincardine and Mearns Transport pressure group, very much welcome the proposed upgrade at Montrose station.
Following the introduction of the new train service it is a important interchange as passengers travelling from Portlethen and Laurencekirk to stations South of Montrose have to change there. Stonehaven passengers will also have to alight there to make connections to 50% of the fast trains.
TrAK will be pressing for heated waiting facilities on both platforms at Montrose station as because of its proximity to the Basin it is in a particularly exposed environment.
WITH yet no pavement access completed to the homes already built at Ury Estate, members of Stonehaven and District Community Council grilled attending Aberdeenshire Councillors for an explanation and called for the council to reinstate the taxi service operated by the AWPR contractors.
When permission was granted for 230 houses at the east lodge, it was on condition of the provision of connecting pavements – yet due to delays caused by the AWPR works, the walkway is not yet in place.
At Tuesdays meeting of SDCC, Mike Duncan asked whether it was even possible to deliver a safe path.
Councillor Sarah Dickinson said there had been ‘factors to resolve’ with the pavement. One of these was the difficulty in fitting in a walkway of the usual width. The one to be constructed was likely to be 1.2m wide instead of the usual 1.5m. She added the work was due to start in April.
“This is very close to being resolved,” she said.
Councillor Dennis Robertson added his colleagues were are not happy and had asked for some kind of safe corridor for pedestrians, perhaps using tall cones to delineate it.
And Councillor Wendy Agnew said she had been approached by householders and had looked into if part of the Mains of Ury Farmyard could be used. There are also concerns about increased traffic once the flood prevention works get underway.
SDCC members were not satisfied with the responses.
Ian Hunter said, “How on earth can you think about building an estate without thinking about how people can walk to the town?”
Mike Duncan said, “There is significant danger. Someone could be killed there.”
Alistair Lawrie said, “It is like Picadilly Circus. A council officer has acknowledged it is dangerous. Could they not alleviate that danger, or, as the AWPR did, pay for taxis?
He added, “This is your work. There are ways of safeguarding people as the AWPR did. It is incumbent on Aberdeenshire and its officers.
“We are gambling with people’s lives.”
OUT of control dogs exercised in groups by hapless professional walkers and the eternal problem of mess left in parks and streets provoked a lively discussion at last night’s meeting of Stonehaven and District Community Council.
Paul Lindop described an assortment of scenarios he had witnessed of dogs in the charge of paid walkers that were not on the lead and not in control. This included seeing someone being knocked down by two black labradors – then being screamed at by the walker, a dog loose on the road at Dunnottar Woods and dogs fighting in the back of their walker’s vehicle.
Members of the public at the meeting added their experiences of the down-side of dogs. One had witnessed four animals completely out of control. He called for dogs to be walked on the lead.
And another said he had been in frequent contact with the dog warden during his 13 years living in the town. He said dog mess was a perpetual problem – and with tourism becoming more important, we should ensure we had clan pavements. He called for better signposting to encourage owners to pick up.
Mike Duncan, called for a visible campaign by the local dog warden and asked how other council staff were trained to deal with the problem.
The meeting heard while it is difficult for the dog warden to catch fouling ‘in the act’, if you see someone walking away, you can report them. Action can be taken as long as they are given sufficient information.
Councillor Sarah Dickinson said: “We need to step up as a town in terms of people’s behaviour.”
The law and your dog – from the Aberdeenshire Council website. https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/environment/animal-health/dogs/dogs-and-the-law/
To contact the local dog warden, tel: 01467 530807
INDIVIDUALS in need and local groups are being reached out to by Aberdeenshire Charities Trust, ACT2, who have funds available and that could be put to good use.
At today’s meeting of the Kincardine and Mearns Area Committee, members heard that not one application from the area was received last year by the trust.
Residents of Ward 18 – Stonehaven and Lower Deeside – Drumoak and Stonehaven, have various categories of grant available to them:
The prevention of relief or poverty
For each fund category, there is no minimum grant amount; the maximum that can be awarded to an individual is £500. Groups can apply for up to £1,000 funding.
Councillor Alison Evison said: “More and more people are facing more and more challenges. I am pleased the council is making efforts to raise awareness of this scheme.”
There is an application form available online at:
https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/funding/kincardine-and-mearns/#apply
There is also information on other sources of relief and funding available through the local authority.
POLICE comment on unregulated dog walkers, Surfers against Sewage and doctors’ e-consultations feature in a packed agenda at Tuesday’s meeting of Stonehaven Community Council.
The meeting starts at 7pm at the Invercarron Resource Centre and is open to the public, who are given ample scope to raise their own issue or comment.
There will also be an update on the Local Development Plan – see previous post – along with the latest news from the Court Building and the coastal flooding survey
If you normally watch the One Show or Emmerdale, then why not ring the changes? And you’ll even hear The Bellman introducing itself to the members.
The full agenda is available on the Community Council website
http://www.community-council.org.uk/stonehaven/
YOU may want to buy a new home in the next few years, but where could it be? That is what the next Local Development Plan (LDP) for Aberdeenshire will decide.
At their meeting on Tuesday night, Stonehaven Community Council will discuss what is called the Main Issues Report – the proposed significant changes to the existing policies within the LDP, along with the sites proposed by developers.
Identifying areas of land, for housing and business use in and around each town and village, is one of the main purposes of an LDP. It also sets out the planning policies development must conform to, looking at matters such as built heritage, environment, development in the countryside, climate change etc.
The current LDP was approved in 2017. Work is already underway for its successor due in 2021. And, with developers circling the town with bids to build hundreds of houses, consultations are underway.
As well as the discussion at the Community Council, there is a public drop in session in the Community Centre on March 6 (see event calendar) where you can see what is being proposed.
There is much information online, including a slideshow about the main issues report
Within the slideshow, there are further links to an interactive map that shows all the bid sites around Stonehaven. There are also two YouTube videos that explain the whole LDP process. Have a look.
Need we say more? We are all fed up with dog mess and randomly abandoned poo bags.
After a very successful long hot summer of 2018 for Stonehaven Town Partnership’s Land Train, the team are gearing up for the season ahead.
We are looking for drivers and conductors to come on board. We are offering competitive rates of pay for both the driver and conductor positions. If you hold a PSV licence and a valid CPC and have a day or two a week to spare and are interested in working on the land train, we would love to hear from you. For the conductor roles we require you to be age 16 and over, have an interest in the town and enjoy working with people. Please contact us on projects@stpweb.org for further information or to send us your cv.
Last year we carried nearly 4000 passengers in the school summer holidays alone and are looking forward to welcoming many more on board this year.
The family favourite runs around Stonehaven, taking in the sights around the town – the Open-Air Pool and Caravan Park, the Harbour and the world famous Dunnottar Castle. The train will start running at the start of the Aberdeenshire school Easter holidays and will operate daily throughout the holidays. It will then be in operation at weekends until the start of the Summer holidays when it will be in operation daily.
The Land Train is also available for private hire – last year we held birthday parties, hosted school and nursery trips and were very proud to take part in a wedding. If you would be interested in hiring the Land Train for your special event or for your group or organisation, please contact projects@stpweb.org for further information.
We are very fortunate to have the support from many of the local businesses in the form of advertising along the side of the Land Train. If you would be interested in advertising your business or group on the Land Train, please contact us at projects@stpweb.org.