I have been in contact with the officer in charge of the trial of a new ethically-sound seagull deterrent. which is testing an anti-gull gel which has been produced to deter birds from landing on buildings in seaside towns. I have been told that the gel does not kill, harm or trap birds but deters them from landing by emitting ultra violet light which the seagulls perceive as fire. Apparently some natural oils have been added to the gel which are abhorrent to the gull’s sense of taste and smell. Furthermore,this is supposed to persist for two years, even in exposed areas like Angus’ coastal towns and could see gulls desert traditional habitats. Not surprisingly I am following the progress in the pilot to see if it would help us in Montrose as we have real problems with the seagulls.

I am working with council officers on developing another cycle track in our area. This is along the Brechin Road (A935) as plans are in place and work is progressing and I have hopes that in the next few weeks an announcement can be made.

The Tenants and Residents Association of Charleton and Condor Gala took place this morning. Although the weather was mixed the gala was well attended by many youngsters and some parents in the area. Great support from the local police and coastguards and my role was largely to help to serve the tea, juice and biscuits.

Catriona Matthew came to Montrose yesterday to officially launch the newly extended 450 yard 11th hole as one of the top events in our year of celebration. Catriona has played our classic links course on many occasions and she is herself part of our history as she has won our ladies amateur Munross tournament on several occasions and by officially opening the hole she is playing a further part in the history of 450 years of golf in Montrose. She also ran two golf clinics and was superb in all she did in the time she spent at the course. As chair of the 450 year of celebration I am delighted on how well the day went.

There is something wrong here! How can it be right for the Scottish Government to give more than £10m of public money to Amazon when Amazon pays no corporation tax?

Hugh Andrew, managing director of the publisher Birlinn Ltd said: “Scottish businesses have been given a kick in the teeth by a government that claims to represent Scotland. The Scottish Government seems to want to give more than £10m to Amazon, that doesn’t even pay taxes here, rather than support indigenous Scottish firms.

“It’s using public money to grab headlines, but with no strategic thinking about what economic benefit there will be.”

I have to say that I agree with Hugh.

Peter Bellarby

Aberdeenshire Council Liberal Democrat Group – Manifesto Commitments Delivered

In the run-up to the 2007 Council Elections, Aberdeenshire Council Liberal Democrats published their manifesto for 2007-11. The Manifesto covered all areas of the council’s work and set out before the residents of Aberdeenshire a well thought out and balanced programme of initiatives, all based on our core principles of fairness, equality and responsiveness.

In all, the manifesto contained 227 specific commitments, grouped under the headings of Working in Partnership, Strengthening Democracy, Stewardship of Public Funds, Empowering Individuals and Communities, Sustainability, Life Long Learning, Safe and Sustainable Communities and Caring for Communities.

Analysis has shown that 94% of these commitments were met, in whole or in part.

Against a background of severe budget reductions, Aberdeenshire Council Liberal Democrats can take some pride in their record of delivering their 2007 Manifesto commitments. We have

• Worked in meaningful partnership with our communities.
• Ensured Aberdeenshire is recognised as having the best quality of life.
• Established a record for sound financial management, recognised externally.
• Delivered significant capital projects across Aberdeenshire, despite the pressures on capital resources, including schools, road improvements, upgrading of council buildings and meeting the requirements of the Disability Discrimination Act for access to our buildings.
• Supported a wide range of community groups, including Community Councils, Rural Partnerships, Community Development Groups and Tenants’ organisations. As budgets have been reduced, we have assisted them to identify sustainable sources of funding to move towards being self-supporting.
• Put economic development in the broadest sense at the heart of our work.
• Delivered improvements to the planning service as well as attracting external funding for our Regeneration Areas.
• Delivered a Local Development Plan, designed to foster sustainable development across Aberdeenshire and give certainty to communities and the development industry.
• Maintained and developed the high standards of Aberdeenshire education
• Ensured the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence has been carefully planned.
• Delivered enhanced sporting opportunities for schools and communities
• Maintained our Library services and enhanced access to IT facilities within communities.
• Maintained our road network through some of the harshest winters in living memory and increased investment in road maintenance
• Established Design and energy efficiency as key parts of the Planning process
• Worked with our residents to increase the amount of waste that is recycled.
• Supported our rural and fishing communities
• Campaigned for Scottish Government investment in major road and rail projects in the North East. No such projects are currently under construction.
• Worked with partners to improve public transport provision across Aberdeenshire.
• Worked to engage with young people in particular and involved them in Community Planning at the highest level.
• Delivered high quality homes for our tenants and maintained the 30 year Business Plan.
• Delivered, in partnership XXX Affordable homes during the council term.
• Enhanced Care & Repair to enable many more people to remain in their own homes for longer.
• Worked closely with the NHS and other partners to provide seamless Community Health and Social Care services.
• Invested in our Sheltered Housing stock, family centres and care homes.

This last week sees the highest every increase in the basic old age pension and also more people than ever benefiting from taking so many people out of income tax completely. This has been because the Lib Dems in the coalition have forced the Tories in the coalition to agree to the changes.

I have dealt successfully with several issues raised by constituents this week namely the damaged flower bed in the High Street, a lamp standard and a broken fence.  I have also visited several constituents about issues they have raised which have included speeding in various streets, dog fouling, housing, the need for a licence for a street party and litter.

This week I have also supported by attending fund raising events for the Day Care Centre, Christian Aid and Chest Heart and Stoke Scotland, and a community group called DUCH.

Folklore has it that the headlines in the Press&Journal when reporting the sinking of the Titanic was:-
“North East Man Drowns at Sea”

To commemorate the 100 year anniversary of the sinking of the Titanic this month the Tolbooth museum is holding an exhibition about the Titanic and its connection with the North East of Scotland.

A local model maker from Newtonhill, Andy Bain, has kindly loaned his large models of the Titanic, one to the Maritime Museum in Aberdeen and one to the Tolbooth. The one at the Tolbooth has portholes which light up.

The emphasis of the Tolbooth display will be on the fact that perhaps the headlines in the P&J should have been
“North East Man Does Not Drown at Sea”

Part of the exhibit illustrates the controversial story about the rescue of a prominent North East Landowner, Sir Cosmos Duff Gordon, his wife Lucie Christiana and her secretary, Miss Laura Mabel Francatelli.

The displays in the Tolbooth Museum have been completely revamped for the coming season and include Law and Order. A jail has been built to replicate the period when the Tolbooth was the County Court and Jail. There are displays about RW Thompson, the famous Stonehaven inventor, and local geology with the new model of the fossil Pneumodesmus Newmani found at Cowie.

In addition to the many artefacts provided by Aberdeenshire Museums Service and with thanks to a major local benefactor, Jim Bruce, of Bruce Bygones there is a magnificent display of home and country life throughout the 20th Century. Fishing, Fireballs and the connection with Dunnottar Castle, churches and Old Stonehaven are all represented. There is also a small gift shop and a dinosaur quiz for children.

The Summer opening hours are:
April Fri. – Mon. inclusive 1.30-4.30 pm
May- Sept. Wed. – Mon. inclusive 1.30-4.30pm

From the end of May 2011 till the end of December 2011 there were about 10500 visitors. George Strang, the Management Committee member responsible for the displays said: “I think it would be fair to say that at least 75-80% were tourists. This year we would like to increase significantly the number of local visitors to the Museum . Hence the revamp and our intention to have rotating displays about schooling, Robert Burns’ Father, The Open Air Pool and other aspects of Local Heritage.”

The Tolbooth group are very keen to have the various groups, societies and clubs in the Mearns area visit the Tolbooth and would be prepared to open the Tolbooth by arrangement outwith our stated hours to accommodate the needs of the interested parties. Any group interested in visiting the museum should contact George; contact details are on the Group’s web site:
Stonehaven Tolbooth Museum

George continued: “We have an excellent group of volunteers who help us to keep the museum open 6 days per week in the summer. However we try not over commit our existing volunteers, many of whom assist other groups with voluntary efforts.

“We therefore are always on the lookout for additional help. If you are interested in becoming a volunteer contact me or better still visit the Tolbooth and talk to the volunteers on duty. I am positive that you will be surprised at the enjoyment and satisfaction that they get out of it. We have Curator Notes at the museum and therefore specialist knowledge is not a requirement of being a volunteer. The only commitment is being available, say, once or twice a month and the ability to talk to and listen to the visitors. It becomes addictive.”

I am outraged that RoadSense are proposing to mount yet another attempt to block the construction of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route. They have already had their appeals rejected by judges twice. I say RoadSense have had their opportunities to present their case and should accept the rulings already given. AWPR is vital for the economic wellbeing of NE Scotland. Any further delays will just add to the cost and take the economic advantages further into the future.

I ran a survey on this website a little while ago. The survey showed overwhelming support for AWPR with only a few opposed to it.

Peter Bellarby