Public Access at Menie - again

I have had reported to me three more incidents where people were stopped on the Menie Estate. References to previous incidents can be found here.

One incident I regard as very serious. I quote from part of an email from a young woman horse-rider

... so went for a ride down through the dunes beside the Trump area. Was outside the fences and on the path when they're (sic) security jeep drove down. Carried on back onto the beach and further down the the jeep with flashing orange lights comes powering out of the dunes and storming up the beach towards me - really motoring along, splashing through puddles, lights flashing - you can imagine how this went down with Lenny! .... Eventually 2 big fancy blacked out range rovers turn up and 4 Americans in suits jump out of each one and start accusing me of the vandalism that was in the papers a couple of weeks ago. There were really quite aggressive and if Lenny hadn't been freaking out and running round me in circles, it would have really been intimidating - they had to keep their distance because of him though.

A complaint has, I understand been made to the police.

There have been two further incidents in the past few days, one a pedestrian and one another horse rider.

This intimidation is not acceptable.

I shall be discussing the situation with the local police. Detaining me last March was one thing. Endangering people peaceably riding horses is serious.

Please do not be put off using the dunes. pedestraians, cyclists and horse riders are perfectly entitled to exercise their "responsible right to roam". I believe construction work has stopped - we are out of the marram grass planting season. Please be careful not to disturb the areas of planting and fencing.

I carry a mobile phone when I am on the dunes. I shouldn't have to but ... If I were stopped I would ask who was stopping me and why. If there was any effort to detain me, I would dial 999 immediately.

Hopefully this will be properly dealt with and we have no more in the long running series of incidents. I will be meeting the police on Friday.

Nature's Fecht for Union Terace Gardens

The craws war chattin ti the doos
Hiv ye heard the affa news
They’re destroyin oor gairdens at Union Terrace
Thae humans are a bliddy menace
The doos said are ye sure yer richt
We ken you craws are nae that bricht
Oh aye we heard it fae a wise aul owl
Fa wis doon the Toon’s Hoose for a prowl
Noo Jenny Wren wis hoppin aroond
Fin she heard the doos kickin up a soond
She flew up high ti see fit’s fit
Fit she heard she didna like ae bit
Oh michty me an gweedness gracious
Fillin in oor gairdens fit are richt precious
The trees and shrubbies far a hop aboot
Wull aa be for the chap nae doot
The tale wis telt ti the snails
They lit oot some affa wails
Iss surely it jist canna be
Destroy the gairdens an we’ll aa dee
Syne the news it reached the bugs
They hid heard it fae the slugs
The Toon’s Hoose wull be oor destination
There ti hae a wee bit infestation
We’ll crawl aa ower the Provost’s chair
An get in yon Sue Bruce’s hair
The wifie’ll hae ti hae a scratch
Serves her richt the silly vratch
The moles they noo heard the chatter
An said we’ll hae a wee bit natter
We can undermine St Nicholas Hoose
So’s the foondations are a bittie loose
Noo the robins war maist pit oot
As roon an roon they did scoot
Iss is news jist affa silly
As they passed it on ti a blue tit billie




The Blue Tits they warna overjoyed
In fact they were fair annoyed
We’ll hae ti flit ti Westburn Park
An that’ll nae be much o a lark
Syne a butterfly it flitted bye
On hearin aa the spik did cry
Fit aboot the bonnie flooers
Far a spent sic happy oors
The squirrels they cam oot o hidin
Fae holes in trees far they wis bidin
They canna chap doon oor hame
Fa thocht up iss silly game
The bees noo they war bummin
Wi frustration they wis hummin
We’ll hiv ti sting aa the bums
O Sir Ian Widd an his chums
The flooers, shrubs an the trees
War duncin wi anger in the breeze
Iss his been oor hame for yonks
Aa ti be trashed by stupid gonks
The aul aul trees hid some inspiration
We’re covered by an order o preservation
Jist aabody bide in oor leafy green tops
Agin the diggers we’ll pull oot aa the stops
Leave us aa aleen is nature’s plea
Nae hairm ti humanity did we ivver dee
Ye humans are jist bliddy feel
As oor gairdens ye try ti steal

Thanks and © Bob Smith 22/5/2010

Bunkerin Donald's Plans

Some times it's best to express yourself in verse
Thanks for permission to reproduce (and copyright) Bob Smith

Michael Forbes his decided ti sell
Some grun fit’s ca’ed The Bunker
Ti some fowk fa are affa keen
Ti stymie a Manhattan mumper

Trump ti buy iss plot o lan
Needs ti contact mair than a few
Fa hiv bocht iss bittie grun
An are part owners o it noo

There’s nae doot iss clivver ploy
Wull mak Trump nae verra happy
In fact I’ll gyang as far’s ti say
The chiel’ll be a grumpy chappie

Here’s ti Michael and his plotters
We aa hope iss dis some eese
So’s Trumpy’s plans are bunkered
An Menie fowk are left in peace

Ti aa ye gweed fowk oot there
Please tak in iss bittie verse
The best thing that could happen
Is Trump kicked up the erse

© copyright Bob Smith 2010

http://www.thebunker.org.uk

The Lunatic Fringe

On Wednesday, Aberdeen City Council voted to support the razing (not a misspelling!) of Union Terrace Gardens and the replacement of these with Sir Ian Wood's vision of a City Square.

I think this was a wrong decision for three reasons

1. It has dished Peacock Visual Arts proposals for a new Northern Lights Arts Centre which had secured most of the required funding and would have delivered a £5m/year economic boost to the City as well as making the gardens more accessible and providing handy facilities such as cafe and toilets.
2. No economic case for the City Square has been made.  This makes the proposed funding for the £90m+ that will not be given by Sir Ian Wood - Tax Incremental Financing (TIF) - dubious.  TIF depends on the infrastructure being developed actually delivering tax increases locally - and for central government agreeing that those extra taxes can be used to pay of the local debt.  Neither of these are certain.
3. The gardens themselves are used and loved.   They are a important cultural, historic and enviornmental asset to the City.   55% of the people in the City Square consultation said No to the City Sqaure proposals.  As I have already said "Which bit of No, don't you understand?".  Ian Wood said he would withdraw the offer unless the proposals were supported.   But ASCEF wanted to pursue the issue and the City Council has agreed to this.  

It's hard for councillors to say No to £50m.  I am sure that the P&J and the Evening Express would have told us that councillors voting against City Squre were numpties and a danger to the economy of the north east of Scotland if the vote had gone the other way.  Those against the proposals have been labelled as the Lunatic Fringe.  This blog is called National Disgrace, Scroundrel and Extremist because those are labels that Donald Trump and his accolytes tried to attach to me and I am plainly none of those things.  So I am happy to add Lunatic Fringe to the list - along with the 55% of those who were consulted on City Square who also said No.

People are genuinely angry about this decision and desperate for someone to take a lead in stopping this awful  "development".  I think that the economic case does not exist and the funding mechanism is too dubious.  So the odds are that this willnot happen.  It hasn't happened for 20 years .....

So let's group together as friends of Union Terrace Gardens and do what we can to conserve and improve them. 

Meanwhile, thanks for this video of the Gardens on Saturday 22nd May 2010.

Democracy

This Parliament does not represent us. We demand fair votes now. There must never again be an election under this broken system.

We need change - http://www.takebackparliament.com/

Vote for policies

It always fascinates me how people decide who to support.  But actual real policies often seems to have little do do with it. 

So I have been watching www.voteforpolicies.org.uk with interest.

This is a screen shot of the current result for Gordon, broken down by policy area.  This needs to be treated with caution - just 75 users is hardly representative - but Green policies are popular, particularly in regard to Crime, Economy, Education, Europe, and the Environment - 5 of the nine policy areas.    For up to date results, click here.

Nationally the results are moe significant with over a quarter of a million users of the tool.  And there the Greens are well ahead with 24% support.  See http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/ for the detail.

Hung parliaments and fitness to govern

In a time when Governments of  all colours have messed up and thrown us into an economic mess, a little humility would go a long way.  Whatever hand in terms of seats, is what the politicians will have to deal with. 

No party leader is going to make definitive statements about who they will/won't work with or on what terms.  They fear that Voter A will be put off if they say they favour Party X and Voter B will be put off if they say they favour party Y. 

So what should we be asking them about hung parliaments?

I'd suggest

To those who have said a hung parliament would be "bad"
Does that mean you won't work with others for the good of the country?  Why not?

To those that countenance a hung parliament,
How detailed a programme for government would you seek to negotiate and when can we expect the next general election?

More at http://www.38degrees.org.uk/page/speakout/hungparliamentpr

Election campaign visit

It was truly a delight to have Patrick Harvie MSP visit the Sue Edwards' Gordon campaign yesterday..  It was just a busy day that I've not had a chance to write it up until now.

We started with a visit to the lovely Molly Forbes who made us all most welcome (home-made blueberry muffins, cake and biscuits) and tolerated another round of media circus very patiently.  The good news for her and other residents that are threatened with compulsory purchase if Trump's plans are to be realised, is that 64% of Scots are now against the resort - see press release for details.

(Pictured: Sue, Patrick and Molly)







We then called into Ellon and then had a most interesting visit to Pitmedden Udny and Tarves Community Composting.  Sue, of course, took the quality control of the finished composted garden waste very seriously and Patrick couldn't resist a closer look at one of the toys.


Thanks to Vicki, Dave and Chris for giving their time to show us around and to discuss the issues.

One in a hundred ....

All the fuss from airlines about the so-called over-cautious approach of NATS seems to me to be geared to trying to strong arm compensation out of the government rather than a sound basis of science

I keep looking at the Met office maps.

One maps shows satelite imagery of teh volanic ash plume.

Another shows the no-fly zone predictions

So just how dangerous is it to fly though this ash?  This news report from the BBC gives some details.

If one airliner in a hundred has total engine failure due to volcanic ash, then that seems to me to be a pretty big risk.  The risk not only impacts the crew and passengers but in crowded Europe, the risk of a crash on an urban area can not be ignored.

Would you get on a plane if you thought there was a one in a hundred chance of engine failure.  I wouldn't.

Which bit of "No" don't you understand

ASCEF's Chairman Tom Smith thinks that a 55%/44% vote against the City Square proposals is unclear - and therefore that the City Square proposals should go to a next stage - an international competition to design Ian Wood's dystopia. That 55%/44% votes goes up to 63% to 37% if the numbers on the two online petitions are included. 55% is clear. 67% is very clear.

Just which bit of No doesn't Tom Smith understand.

People very clealy wanted a green space and the arts centre. When asked what they would like to see in the City Square project the answers were

1. Formal gardens 3071
2. Contemporary arts centre 1968
3. A cultural centre for the performing an visual arts 1734
4. A meeting space 1732

The Northern Lights Arts Centre that Peacock are spearheading deliver these top four.

Let's just get on with it.

If Sir Ian Wood wants to help the City, then I'd suggest he focus his efforts into moving local industry faster to the renewables sector. As he has pointed out, we need to do this soon if Aberdeen is to become a world class centre for off shore renewables.

I think he is a better businessman than he is a town planner.

I don't know when ASCEF next meets - their website is very coy about this.  But Aberdeen City Council will apparently discuss the issue on 19th May.  I suggest that people contact City councillors to ensure that the clear view of the public is fully taken into account.

No should mean No.

Voter power

One thing I have always believed is that we must move to a system of electing our representatives that gives voters more power.  And that means the single transferable vote (STV) - the best system to maximise voter power (although like any system, it has its faults).

This video explains just how crazy the current First Past The Post system is - and ties the issue firmly to the laziness and arrogance of some MPs. Thank you to http://www.voterpower.org.uk/ and the New Economics Foundation.

If you recognise the problem, please don't vote for any Party that will not commit to introducing STV - so that leaves Greens, LibDems and SNP.

Policies not tribes

Choices in thsi General Election for some may be hard.  Neither Labour nor the Tories look attractive and I have lost faith in the LibDems.

What I do this time is clear,  I have the opportunity to vote for Sue Edwards who is a woman of principle with a big heart.   It's interesting watching someone new to politics grapple with doorsteps, hustings etc.  Sue takes it all in her stride and stays beautifully herself.

There are big issues.  Clearly "business as usual" won't be enough to solve problems with the economy, the environment and help people live high quality lives.  And I worry that people will vote out of fear of "the other" rather than hope to create a future they really want.

Just as a matter of interest, try looking at the policies at http://voteforpolicies.org.uk/  and see how your views align to the various parties.  The result are more than interesting.  You might surprise yourself!

Robin Hood tax

The campaign for a Robin Hood Tax (a small tax on financial transactions) has launched a new video. Please click here and watch it.

Mobile Police Office

I am happy to advertise Grampian Police Open Surgeries on Tuesday 23rd and Wednesday 24th March.

THE CAR PARK, METHLICK- TUESDAY 23 MARCH 2010 1000 – 1130 HRS
THE SQUARE, TARVES = TUESDAY 23 MARCH 2010 1330 – 1500 HRS
MAIN STREET, NEWBURGH - WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH 2010 1000 – 1130 HRS
LEISURE CENTRE CAR PARK, BALMEDIE - WEDNESDAY 24 MARCH 2010 1330 – 1500 HRS

Come along to the Mobile Police Office to discuss any local matters of concern, obtain advice, or just have a chat with your local Community Officer PC Iain Clark

New Aberdeenshire Local Plan

Yesterday and today I spent looking at allocating houses and employment land to settlements in Formartine (my bit of Aberdeenshire).


View Aberdeenshire Local Plan 2007-2023 in a larger map

It's difficult to get information out on what is happening but I'm trying so I've put the decisions so far onto a Google map.  I've used symbols for housing, employment sites and written in the detail.  Some sites are very large and you'll need to look at the full documentation.

A further report will come to a future meeting of Formartine Area Committee to look at development around Potterton as an alternative to development at the south of Oldmeldrum.  The debate amongst the local councillors is mainly a) whether Potterton is in the Strategic Growth Area or not (50:50 according to the Head of Planning Policy) and b) whether development should be north or south of the Potterton.

But what do the people of Potterton think?


I'll post more as as I can try to expand to other bits of Aberdeenshire when I can - but currently I don't have the information.

Let me know what you think and I'll let you know when the formal plan is published and how you can comment or object to it formally.

Primary school visits

Today and last Thursday, I toured the eight primary schools in my ward, along with council officers and councillor colleagues.  What most impressed me was the children.  In several of the schools, the head teacher delegated touring the school to a small group of pupils.  Now, it's great to have a small group of children that are confident about engaging with strange adults.  But everywhere, it was clearly evident that most of the children could have taken on the role of our guide.  I was impressed.

Education is more than test results and exams.  And these schools are getting good results on these measures.  But they are also, I think, producing more than mere schooling.  The children look set to being great adults - enagaged with the world. 

The schools themselves varied from the relatively large primaries in Ellon and Newburgh and small primaries with multi-yesr classes in Arnage, Foveran, Tipperty and Slains.  You can have long debates about the benefits of small more personal schools versus the range of opportunities a larger school can offer.  But what is important is the quality and enthusiasm of the staff.  Good teachers make good schools.  And good schools provide us with the most valuable asset we can have for all our futures - children able and willing to reach their own potential.

I'm looking forward to planned visits to the Academys to see how they take up the challenge!

Climate change adaptations for the NE of Scotland

The audience at the Royal Society of Edinburgh's presentation and debate on Climate Change last night had some very clear views.

Firstly, in stark contrast to the Cassandra's such as Ian Wood and Co, the audience had a great belief that the shift to a low carbon economy was an opportunity for the north east.  The overwhelming feeling was that with the assets of our ports, our universities and the engineering expertise, particularly sub-sea, we had a wonderful opportunity to embrace change.  That didn't particularly surprise me.  Industry seized the opportunity of north sea oil and there is no reason why the renewables, particularly subsea renewables, shouldn't find a natural home here.

Secondly, and this did surprise me, there was strong demand for better public transport.  FirstBus came under fire for its high fares in the city - justifiably as a minimum of £1.50 for ajourney is high by any standard.   Stagecoach services in the Shire were seen as infrequent and slow.

This is a bit of a chicken and egg issue.  With just 6% of journey's by bus and 60-70% by car, it would take a small shift from car to bus to expand bus services greatly.  Think about it.  If just 1 in 10 car journeys were replaced by bus, then this would double the number of bus journeys.    OK - it's not quite that simple but part of the solution is in our own hands.

Scale and management of cuts

the Accounts Commission has called on councils to take urgent and radical action to deal with the financial challenges ahead in their annual report, An overview of local government in Scotland 2009. The reports points to a likely real term drop in the Scottish budget of between seven and 13 per cent between 2009/10 and 2013/14.

Things could be worse - the Conservative Shadow Chancellor George Osbourne now saying the Conservatives will be "tougher than Margaret Thatcher" when it comes to tackling Britain's budget deficit. This will inevitably put more pressure of local government.

The Democratic Independent Group called for an inclusive all-group approach to making the hard decisions that will be needed in the recent budget. The LibDem/Tory administration may regret refusing this approach.

If the LibDem/Conservative administration on Aberdeenshire want all the power, then they can take all the resoponsibility.

Private lives and public roles

Two senior officials in Aberdeenshire are on leave while the Council investigates matters that have been in the press over the weekend. I have sympathy for the individuals involved. Their private lives should be exactly that (so long as they do not bring it into the workplace.) The intrusion into their lives by The Sun is appalling.

However it is entirely appropriate that claims of bullying and intimidation are investigated. I hope this happens as swiftly as possible. Education is a key service for all our futures and we need good quality, stable management to allow our schools to thrive.

Unions Terrace Gardens v Peacock

Architecture and Design Scotland have now commented on the proposals.

I think it fair to say that they were not impressed.

I started to pick out some choice quotes .... but it was most of the document so I recommend you read the whole thing.



We are nearing the end of the City Square Consultation.  I have seen nothing to change my mind from when I first posted on this topic.

The CitySquare, ASCEF, Ian Wood camp sound increasing strident and unrealistic.  Getting a Guggenheim is the cherry on the top of culture led regeneration - not the start.  For example, Dundee getting a V&A outpost builds on Dundee Rep, DCA, Scottish Dance Theatre - and we have - well what?  The best arts organisation we have is Peacock ... and we are putting their future at risk if we go with CitySquare.

A peacock in the hand is worth a hundred times more than 490 car parking spaces in the bush.  And there are ways forward from Peacock that open up the gardens and link them with e.g. Belmont Street.  The compromise solutions have clearly be laid out by Peacock and their brilliant and hugely committed architect Edgar Gonzalez. 


Why won't Ian Wood add his money to the funds Peacock already have and make UTG brilliant.  

Make your voice heard!