FOVERAN COMMUNITY NEWSLETTER August 2013 Issue 136 Foveran Hall gets a new roof. 2 Foveran Community Council There are certain things which really annoy people and which are forever on the Community Council agenda – speeding, litter, dog fouling, planning applications, vandalism, grass cutting, road signs, travellers and their apparent immunity from the law and so on. As far as planning goes, things have been fairly quiet except that two developers have submitted what is now called a master plan and is an essential step in the planning process for major projects. The two most recent master plans have been for Foveran Village and the Newburgh 50- house development between St Clair Wynd and Knockhall Road. Both have been the subject of public meetings (called by the developers) and the next step is for formal planning applications which will be an opportunity for objections to be lodged. I did notice at the bottom of the plans for the Newburgh development, was an arrow with very small print, and the words “footpath to future development”. A straw in the wind perhaps, and certainly not possible in the near future, but it just goes to show that the developers, Scotia Homes, in this case, are already looking at the next Aberdeenshire Local Plan which is some years away. The Strategic Plan for Aberdeen/Aberdeenshire envisages intense development along corridors radiating from Aberdeen around the main roads. Foveran Village on the A90 is absolutely smack in the middle of one of these corridors and is vulnerable to considerable housing and industrial development. Newburgh is just a little outside the corridor, but not far enough to be completely immune. In our parish, only Cultercullen and Udny Station seem to have the chance to remain untouched. In Newburgh, there have been wonderfully encouraging signs of community involvement. We now have a full set of “uniformed” youth organisations – Scouts, Beavers, Guides, Brownies etc and it is truly remarkable how quickly this has come about. Then there is the splendid Gala Committee who somehow contrived to make one of the nastiest days of the year an occasion to remember and who, as a consequence, have made generous donations to community activities, including £250 towards Christmas lights. They come a bit expensive but two new ones are on their way. The Nicer Newburgh gardening group have transformed the display of flowers and plants in the Main Street area but they have also done a great deal of work in less spectacular but no less valuable work in weeding and clearing in our shrub beds. They have done so much that this year we are entering the Formartine in Bloom Competition for the first time. They don’t expect to win because they describe their efforts as “a work in progress”. Up to now, only Udny Station has flown the flag for 3 our parish and with great success but Newburgh is getting there and we won’t be disgraced! At Gallowshill, the Changing Rooms project has emerged from a rather tangled period but work will start in the first week of August. Tendering is complete and the site has been cleared. One of the reasons for the delay has been involving the project in an application to Sport Scotland to finance re-surfacing and refurbishment of the multi- purpose court. We are still waiting for the result but an August start will be made whatever the outcome. Other major items have been on the cards as well. In Foveran Village, the Hall now has a new roof to replace the old asbestos one. This would have seemed like a miracle 18 months ago. In Newburgh, the new Butcher’s Bridge has had funding approved and we now await the outcome. Planning permission has just been granted for strengthening the access road and for a temporary hard standing for a crane. A really interesting development for the Community Council is that we shall now have two youth members. Elections were held at Ellon Academy in June and two candidates were chosen. They have to be resident in the parish and they will be co- opted with full voting rights. We should have had one from Ellon Academy and one from Old Meldrum (the inland end of our parish is in the Old Meldrum catchment area) but wires at Old Meldrum got twisted. As a final thought, I really like the title of the new Christmas Lights group at Udny Station. They are “The Bright Lights of Udny Station” May they never dim! Duncan Milne Newburgh Gala. 4 EDITOR’S NOTE. Thank you very much for sending the articles in this edition. It would be good to have a fat Christmas edition so, if the muse takes you, please think about sending me an article, a drawing, a poem – whatever takes your fancy. I need your great works by the 15th of November at the latest as the printers are very busy around that time of year. You can email it to me, send it by post or just ring me and tell me what you want to say. If you get the Ansafone, just leave your name and number and I’ll get back to you. [email protected] Mrs Janet Jones, South Minnes, Newburgh. Ellon. AB41 6BB. If you would like to advertise, please contact: Miss Margot Wright, 69 Main Street, Newburgh. Ellon. AB41 6BL. [email protected] Please remember to include your name and full postal address and telephone number when submitting an advertisement coz we need your money and if we don’t have your details, we can’t get it. The rates are: ⅛ of a page is £6: ¼ of a page is £12: ½ a page is £24: A full page is £48. 5 First Class Gifts & Newburgh Post Office 19 Main Street, Newburgh, AB41 6BE Tel: 01358 789589 Opening Hours Monday to Friday: 0915 to 1345 Saturday: 1000 to 1230 We stock fair-trade goods, a large and varied selection of stationery, books, gifts, crafts, cards & gift-wrap Come and visit us to find lots of gift ideas for the whole family 6 NEWBURGH NEWBURGH WRI The April meeting is always the business meeting and after the usual report of the past year’s events, some members from Oldmeldrum Institute entertained with a variety of activities as the new committee was formed, but not before conducting the prize giving ceremony. The awards were presented as follows: The Fullerton Cup (Most Points) Mrs Isobel Shewan The Milford House Cup (Runner Up) Mrs Margaret Chandler The Annie Middler Cup (Baking) Mrs Isobel Shewan The Walker Cup (Bulbs) Mrs Margaret Chandler The Millennium Quaich (Crafts) Mrs Margaret Singer The Jubilee Jam Pot (Preserves) Mrs Betty Wood The Jubilee Dish (Little Treasures) Equal: Mrs Margaret Buchan Mrs Margaret Singer Congratulations to all who gained a prize. We were treated to a most interesting talk by Jimmy Buchan (BBC Television’s ‘Trawlermen’) in May. He told us of his life as a trawlerman and his brief time in local politics, amusing us with many of his stories and anecdotes. His tale of sailing the trawler down the East Coast of England and up the Thames to launch his book was particularly entertaining! In June we had a visit from the Pitmedden First Responders. A group of volunteers, set up to be available to the people of Pitmedden and surrounding area whilst they await the arrival of an ambulance. The First Responders are trained by the ambulance service and are there to stabilise patients and comfort anxious relatives whilst the ambulance is on its way. Mr Young was a captivating speaker and we all learned about how funds were raised for the service in a very short space of time and one or two things about cardiac arrests and strokes. They brought various bits and pieces of equipment to demonstrate to us, and we all were interested to test the pulse oximeter to see how much oxygen there is in our blood! We take a break for the summer but many of us are eagerly looking forward to our annual outing in July. This year we are going to Scone Palace. 7 We resume after the summer in September when we look forward to hearing about ‘The Humble Tattie’. New members and visitors are always welcome. Newburgh WRI meets on the first Tuesday of the month at 7.30 pm in the Public Hall. Further information can be obtained from the secretary Mrs Kate Duncan on 01651 843777. Sue Edwards. Press Secretary 8 NEWBURGH GALA Newburgh folk certainly showed their spirit by turning out in numbers despite the abysmal weather. Amazingly we managed to continue with most of the programme and this is due mainly to the ‘get on with it’ attitude of our locals. The 6th Castle Canter was a success with a new course record being set by Lyall Booth. The football tournament was a real success with some really good football being played in cold and wet conditions. Teams involved were: Newburgh Mathers Primary School, Peterhead Boys Club, Fraserburgh Boys Club, Ellon Meadows Boys Club and Pitmedden School. The format was a development set-up with all teams playing each other once and all players received a medal. We would like to thanks all the groups who braved the rain and put on a fantastic display on our staged area – these include Fraserburgh Pipe Band, Lawrence Dance Academy, Newburgh Mathers Choir and The Martial Arts Institute. Thanks also to Ian Alexander Joinery for providing us with the stage. Due to the weather we badly needed the warm food provided at the BBQ run by Newburgh Thistle Football Club and the hot drinks provided by the SWRI and Corner Cafe.