Aberdeenshire Archives - Page 14 of 23

Give And Take Day At Ellon Academy

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Environment, Information Comments Off

Mar 182011

Aberdeen Forward…. Aberdeen Forward…. Aberdeen Forward…. Aberdeen Forward….

Ellon Academy is to hold a Give and Take Day on the 26th March 2011 with support from Aberdeen Forward and Aberdeenshire Council.

The idea for the event is people can take along, items such as furniture, kitchenware, books, dvds, cds, toys, and plants/gardenware. From 8.30am through to 12 noon people can drop items off at the STA room in the Academy.

From 10am until 3pm Ellon Academy will be open to the public who can come along and take any items they want for FREE.

Clothes, paint, videos and all electrical goods unfortunately cannot be accepted.

There will be some other stalls offering school dress for sale, at very reduced prices. Teas, coffees, refreshments and bakes will also be available, with proceeds going to help the fundraising efforts for World Challenge and other school activities.

It is hoped that among those who may benefit are families on low incomes or those setting up home for the first time. It is also hoped that by holding this event, items that might have gone to landfill will be found a new home.

If you have any queries about the day, or would like to organise any furniture to be uplifted on the day, contact Aberdeen Forward on 01224 560360.

This event marks the end of a year of Give and Take days around Aberdeenshire, which has seen all manner of items reused, rather than thrown away. From small items such as eggcups, and cds, to large items like the three-piece suites and pianos, they have all contributed to around ten tonnes of material avoiding go to landfill.

The hope is that local organisations that have attended these events will see how successful they are and look to run them in the future.

Ellon Academy has an active Environment Committee, which has been involved in the plans for the Event. The school recently were the first in Aberdeenshire to gain their prestigious “Second Green Flag” from Eco School Scotland.

Visitors to the school on the 26 March will also be able to view some pupil work and the ‘famous Tie Quilt’, recently purchased by Aberdeenshire Council’s Waste Department as an excellent example of Up-cycling.

The school is always looking for ways to engage with the local community to promote and sustain Environmental Awareness and enhance the Ellon Area. If you, or a group you are associated with would like to work with us please contact Mrs McMillan at Ellon Academy.

Contact Aberdeen Forward
Tel: 01224 560360

Ellon Academy,
Jean McMillan
Tel: 01358 720715

Another Spring, Another N.E. Stooshie About Travellers.

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion Comments Off

Mar 162011

By Anne Bruce.

In the past fortnight a group of Travellers arrived in Stonehaven and were treated to inciting facebook comments (now taken down) and swastika graffiti.

Even the local business association sent an e-mail out, stating:

“We are particulary (sic) keen to hear if any businesses have experienced any problems such as shoplifting, abuse to staff etc. or if you feel your business has suffered in any other way due to the presence of the Travellers”.

I am sure these things never happen when the Travellers are not in town!

“But these people trespass, leave a mess, don’t pay tax and have brand new cars” I hear you cry – or possibly, “These are not the old Romany Gypsies” as one Councillor (who belongs to the party of the current Scottish Government) tastefully put it – as if the old Romany Gypsies did not get a load of abuse and hassle. Perhaps we should have on-site DNA testing – I wonder where that would lead?

Perhaps for balance the local press could put the other side of the story for a change.

According to Shelter ‘Scottish Gypsies/Travellers, have a long history in Scotland going back to the 12th century’. The Scottish Government’s Race Equality Statement (1) , published in December 2009, makes it clear ‘that Gypsies/Travellers are a particularly discriminated against and marginalised group’.

Previously an article in the Daily Mail stated: ’Yesterday, Gypsy leaders met MSPs to call for new laws that would require local authorities to earmark land for sale to travelling families. However, last night Tory MSP Ted Brocklebank said the proposals should not result in taxpayers paying more to fund Gypsy traveller sites. He added:

“I don’t see why society should pay for or support them in that way. They should be treated with the same respect and abide by the same rules as other people.” (2)

Hmmm, some people might feel this way about MPs or MSPs!

Coming up to date, Gypsies/Travellers are not included in the current Census 2011 (no wonder there are no facilities for them).

Highlighting that international injustice does not just happen abroad:

“In one letter, to Aberdeenshire Council, Amnesty (International) highlighted its lack of a Gypsy and Traveller liason officer and its shortage of transit sites – where caravans can be parked for short periods. (3)

“A spokesperson for Aberdeenshire Council admitted it had only one permanent and no transit sites. ‘It’s something the council has been conscious of for sometime’. ” (3)

Ah, the crux of the matter. How long has Aberdeenshire council been conscious? (It is a question many of us ask ourselves). Perhaps between one and four decades?

The Secretary of State’s Advisory Committee ran from 1971 to 1999 formulating Scottish Office/Executive policy towards traditional travelling people and the committee’s focus was on site provision and encouraging local authorities to reach their ‘pitch targets’. (4)

Until Aberdeenshire Council takes its head out of the sand and provides proper sites for Travellers, as it is legally obliged to do, the police, politicians, journalists and community are hamstrung, whether travelling visitors are; Gypsies, Travellers, Romanies or rip-off tradesmen.

Anyone know a munificent land-owner?

Famous gypsies/travellers: http://www.article12.org/pdf/Famous%20Gypsy%20Travellers.pdf

Sources:

1 http://www.scotland.gov.uk/Topics/People/Equality/18934/RaceEqualityStatement

2 http://www.caledonia.org.uk/land/gipsies.htm

3 http://www.insidehousing.co.uk/news/care-and-support/scottish-gypsy-sites-%E2%80%98must-be-improved%E2%80%99/6512764.article

4 http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/business/research/pdf_res_notes/rn00-76.pdf

Picture Credit: Richard Slessor

You’ve Been Trumped – New Documentary Goes Viral

Aberdeen City, Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Events, Featured, Information Comments Off

Mar 112011

With thanks to Martin Glegg and Helen Thomas.

You’ve Been Trumped – a new documentary investigating the social, economic and environmental impacts of the Donald Trump golf course development near Aberdeen, Scotland has gone viral – with an innovative crowd sourcing drive to finish the film in time for its world premiere at the beginning of May 2011.

The feature length film, which includes music from Jonsi, the lead singer of Sigur Ros, has been selected to premiere at ‘arguably the best showcase in the world for documentary’, according to its production team.

The filmmakers were arrested and put in prison cells by Grampian Police whilst making the film. The Director, Anthony Baxter was also handcuffed in what the National Union of Journalists described as ‘a blatant example of police interference aimed at stopping bona fide journalists from doing their job’.

Now, to complete the documentary for cinema release, the producers are embracing crowd sourcing, which has been pioneered by some of world’s top filmmakers such as Kevin Macdonald, the director of hit films such as Touching the Void and The Last King of Scotland. The film is aiming to raise £12,000 in 50 days through the website Indiegogo.

In its first day of crowd sourcing, You’ve Been Trumped raised almost £2,000 with donations coming in from around the world. The filmmakers are offering ‘Perks’ to contribute to the film, such as signed DVDs by jonsi, and a guided walk along the coast to the village where Local Hero was filmed. The story of the residents on the Menie Estate where Donald Trump is building a £750 million golf resort, has been likened to the classic 1983 film starring Burt Lancaster.

The exact location of the premiere of You’ve Been Trumped is top secret until a news launch on 23 March 2011.

Deer Councillor – I Cant Believe It’s Not Utter …

Aberdeen City, Articles, Community, Environment, Events, Featured, Information Comments Off

Mar 072011

Voice’s Fred Wilkinson shares a letter sent to Councillor Aileen Malone in response to a grossly innaccurate and potentially damaging comment attributed to her in The Press And Journal Tuesday 2nd March.

‘Deer’ Councillor Malone.

Having contacted you ahead of the meeting to discuss the roe deer cull on Tullos Hill, I am sure I don’t have to tell you how I feel about the news that you are to proceed with the cull.

However, I do wish to tell you how I feel about the statement attributed to yourself in The Press And Journal, Tuesday 2nd March.

(http://www.pressandjournal.co.uk/Article.aspx/2160228/?UserKey).

Councillor Aileen Malone, the committee convener, said the council could not afford the bill. “We have been inundated with e-mails regarding this,” she said. “I think I have had about 50 e-mails, although only about one was from Aberdeen, and I think another from Aberdeenshire. The rest were from America, Canada and Italy“.

What did you mean by the phrase ‘about one’ ? More than one? Less than one? How many exactly?

How would you know in any case? In your response to my own comments, you did not ask where I was from, and I know you did not ask others.

So why even comment on the geographical demographic breakdown of those who contacted you when you have not sought to secure sufficient information to facilitate even a reasonably accurate estimate?

In responding to comments, your colleague Neil Fletcher asked myself and others to supply our address to establish whether or not we were ‘constituents’. Perhaps he may wish to share his findings with you – Such information having been gathered, I assumed that this would have been made known at the meeting.

It is apparent to many Aberdonians that the Council tend to experience difficulty when it comes to accounting, but surely from a mere ‘about 50’ emails it is possible to collect figures which would be ‘about’ right. Now if I were Councillor Dean, I would attempt to bolster that number of ‘about 50’ with the number of people I know who ‘nearly’ wrote to you, but I am not prepared to risk credibility over such a silly tactic.

Cllr. Malone, I know for a fact that more than ‘about one’ person in Aberdeen, and more than ‘another’ in Aberdeenshire contacted you with their concerns, and none of these people were asked where they resided.

You are quite entitled to disagree with input from citizens, but because you disagree does not make their contribution, and their status as Aberdeen citizens, any less valid. By your statement you have not only misrepresented a number of citizens, but you have dismissed them to the point as to send out the message that they don’t exist.

All too often, councillors have given statements which deliberately underestimate the strength and number of opposition to certain proposals, and to further belittle their cause, compare this number with a chosen majority, often – as with Loirston – the entire population of a given area, in order to put the opposition into ‘perspective’.

The fact that such a population includes babies and children, people who are unable to respond for a variety of reasons, people who don’t know, don’t care, or have no strong opinion one way or another, is rarely pointed out.

Dismissing respondents, whether for or against, in this way sends out the message that we are governed by the ‘know bests’ on behalf of the ‘don’t cares’ – and your statement as published performs this function beautifully.

Furthermore, the dismissal of those who have taken the trouble to contribute to the debate reinforces that ‘why bother’ mentality which serves to maintain the numbers in the ‘don’t care’ camp, and the less who bother, the easier it becomes for councillors to get on with the work that the majority don’t care about. If this is how you wish the value of your position to be perceived, then carry on, you’re ‘playing a blinder’.

However, there are others who see it differently.

Cllr. Malone, that many citizens don’t care about many issues, or don’t see any point in participating in debate until it concerns them personally is understandable, perhaps even acceptable.

But for an elected representative such as yourself to care so little for citizens that you, whether out of ignorance or negligence, allow a statement to appear in the media which certainly seems like nothing other than a lie, and a lie which not only fails to represent citizens, but takes them completely out of the equation, is deplorable.

Please find below a list of people living in Aberdeen/shire whom, in addition to myself, I know to have contacted you regarding the deer cull issue.

( List of names and part addresses of 6 persons from Aberdeen, and 4 from Aberdeenshire included in the letter to Cllr. Malone and the other councillors involved in the deer cull issue )

I suggest you review those ‘about 50’ emails with a view to establishing whether there are any more to add to this list, and issue an apology to every ‘about’ one of them.

I also believe it would be a responsible gesture if you were to contact Aberdeen Journals and ask if they could publish a retraction of your ill founded and outrageous statement.

Yours sincerely,
Fred Wilkinson.

Dog-fighting – No Room For Complacency In Aberdeen

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Feb 252011

By Suzanne Kelly.

Rescued dog scarred from being forced to fight

The Council said organised dog-fighting is not happening here (at least they put that in writing to me a few years back).
The Scottish Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, the BBC and the police are not so sure. Back in 2007 there was an allegation that men were deliberately hunting the streets of Aberdeen with Staffordshire type dogs, looking for cats for the dogs to attack.

There was the recent incident in Seaton where a pet cat was held down by two men so a dog could savage it. Unfortunately, the police don’t seem to have found anyone for this crime yet.

Dog-fighting equipment and dogs were found in several areas north of Aberdeen not long ago as well. Two swans were recently found badly injured near Bridge of Dee (they are recovering), and on 14 February a swan was found in this same area – dismembered. While this last crime (injuring wild animals is a criminal offense) must have been done by a person, it was in the same general area that the dog-injured birds were found. Given these incidents it seems we do have a problem. The problem can be solved if people come forward and let the authorities know (anonymously if they wish) who is involved.

It is bad enough that there is such a visible increase in the number of dogs which could be classified as ‘pit bull cross breeds’ or ‘fighting type dogs’ under the Dangerous Dogs Act. In addition, many of the dogs in the ‘dangerous’ category which we see on the street are not on a lead and a few seem to be owned by people who are simply not interested in the dog’s welfare. The Dangerous Dogs Act was intended in part to counteract the proliferation of types of animals which were frequently involved in incidents where people were injured.

The psychological makeup of the people involved in dog fighting makes them a danger not just to animals, but to people as well

A dog ring in England was broken up not long ago; the dogs were trained to exhaustion, given live cats and other animals to tear to shreds alive and were made to fight in a pit in a woman’s back garden.

Dog-fight attendees are known to film the dogs torturing cats on mobile phones – the purpose of the cats is to rile the dogs up to fight.

If the dogs would not fight (and frankly, any well-treated dog does not normally want to attack another animal), they were tortured with electric shocks. In one case which involved nationals of several European countries, an English woman in was eventually jailed and fined. Dog-fighting is (obviously) illegal, and penalties include jail and fines – but some say the existing law is not strong enough.

The psychological makeup of the people involved in dog fighting makes them a danger not just to animals, but to people as well. They are detached from suffering, concerned only with money the dogs earn for them; have abnormal emotional development that make the fights seem ‘thrilling’ and such people are completely ‘beyond the pale’ of what is acceptable behaviour. Getting these people identified, and hopefully convicted will make animals as well as people safer.

The Dangerous Dogs Act saw four types of animal outlawed – but there are now so many cross breeds, it is virtually outdated to say that the fighting is limited to any one breed at all. As far as breeding goes, a bitch will be bred constantly to produce puppies, kept in complete confinement. One day the exhausted bitch will be so weakened that she and her last litter will be killed, and another bitch takes her place.

Rescued from dogfighting ring - only to be euthanised as rehabilitation is deemed impossible.

This ‘killer instinct’ is drilled into the pups from their first hours.

They are treated with great cruelty, forced into gruelling exercise regimes (which kills some of them in the process), beaten, starved, tortured and ‘rewarded’ by being given live animals to maul.

There is absolutely no place for dog-fighting or for anyone involved in this inhumane, illegal crime in a civilised society.

It is important to remember that even well-treated dogs have ‘turned’ – and attacked, mauled, and killed people – and statistics for these types of attacks are rising year on year. Dogs that have been treated cruelly to deliberately make them vicious are a serious threat to everyone’s safety.

A massive raid in 2007 in Merseyside saw twenty-eight dogs rescued from this fighting culture, and dozens or arrests, brought about by the public confidentially contacting police and animal welfare organisations.

When to call the authorities:

Do you see any dogs bearing obvious scarring?
Are dogs, cats or other small animals in your neighbourhood disappearing?
Do you hear the sounds of animals in pain?
Neighbours acting suspiciously and keeping either dangerous dogs or large amounts of dogs?
Has a neighbour with a dangerous dog suddenly not own the dog any longer?
Suspect something however tenuous?

Scottish SPCA Chief Superintendent Mike Flynn said:

“We believe that any dog, regardless of its breed, can be made aggressive through an owner’s lack of training or through deliberate encouragement of bad behaviour.

“The breeding, trading and owning of a dog banned under the Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 is not only extremely irresponsible and reckless but is also a criminal offence. Anyone caught doing so can expect to face prosecution and a court may order the destruction of the dog.

“We rely on members of the public contacting us as soon as they become aware of any information relating to dog fighting and urge them to contact our animal helpline on 03000 999 999. We can assure people that all calls are dealt with in strictest confidence and information can be left anonymously.”

Just to get the message home: anyone with information or with any possible tips – however large or small about animal cruelty should call the SSPCA animal helpline on 03000 999 999. You don’t have to give your details and any information just might stop animal cruelty.

Menie Masterplan Must Be Revised To Protect Residents

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Information, Opinion Comments Off

Feb 182011

By Bennachie Blether.

Residents at Menie who have spent years under threat of Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) for their homes have breathed a sigh of relief with news of a statement from Donald Trump that his organisation will not ask Aberdeenshire Council to use their powers to purchase the land.

However, since the news broke last week, significant evidence in the form of a letter to planning chiefs at the council shows that Trump International Golf Links Scotland (TIGLS) did indeed ask for CPOs to be administered.

Menie resident David Milne issued a press release which also contained the letter in question. He said:

“There is an element of relief to be gained from the recent statement from Donald Trump regarding his decision not to use Compulsory Purchase Orders in relation to his housing development here at Menie. However, the statement has been treated with scepticism by myself and many others simply because in his statement he claims never to have actually requested CPOs in the first place, this is untrue.

“The letters show quite clearly that a formal request for CPOs to be used was made on March 4, 2009 and was the result of some considerable prior discussion. Therefore until such time a formal letter withdrawing the request is made public, this application can be reinstated at any time.”

Planning permission for the £750m championship golf course, 450 room hotel, 950 holiday apartments and 500 residential homes was granted in May 2009.

In a further twist to the ongoing saga, local councillor Debra Storr has written to Aberdeenshire Council to point out that as there is no prospect of Trump acquiring the properties of the Menie families, the Masterplan, which includes these properties, is no longer valid.

According to Councillor Storr:

“The Masterplan now needs to be redone to reflect the reality that the Trump Organisation is not going to get control of the land owned by the Menie families. The Trump Organisation has made it clear that it intends to work round these properties and Aberdeenshire Council needs to see the detail of that.

“I have therefore asked the council whether they have told the Trump Organisation that a revised masterplan is required and when we may expect to see the revised plans.

the council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period

“The Menie families are concerned that they will continue to suffer harassment by the Trump Organisation and therefore it is to everyone’s benefit if a revised Masterplan is submitted to show how the families will be able to peacefully enjoy their properties within the resort development.”

Ms Storr added:

“We have already seen the building of ‘temporary’ bunds at Hermit Point and Leyton Cottage. Therefore I do worry that Aberdeenshire’s cosy relationship with the developer will mean that the legitimate interests of the families will not be protected.”

Councillor Storr has written to both Iain Gabriel, director of Infrastructure Services, and Christine Gore, director of Corporate Services at Aberdeenshire Council asking for confirmation that the local authority has advised the Trump Organisation regarding the masterplan situation and when the revised masterplan can be expected.

An Aberdeenshire Council spokesman said:

“We are currently considering whether the approved masterplan for this development requires to be revisited.”

Commenting on the issue, Trump International executive vice president Sarah Malone gave the view:

“Debra Storr appears to be confused and is yet again attempting to create problems where there are none.”

However, fellow councillor Martin Ford backed Ms Storr’s call for new plans:

“The bid for compulsory purchase was just one of the unreasonable demands Mr Trump has made in connection with his proposed resort development. We will never know whether Aberdeenshire Council or the Scottish Government would have done Mr Trump’s bidding this time too.”

“One consequence of Mr Trump abandoning his demands for his neighbours homes is that the approved masterplan for the development is no longer implementable. It includes the land the residents’ homes are built on.

“This raised the question of whether the planning condition requiring a masterplan can now reasonably be said to have been fulfilled.

“In his statement, Mr Trump claims that he has ‘no interest in compulsory purchase’ and ‘never applied for it’. That is downright untrue.

“Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote to Aberdeenshire Council formally requesting the council to exercise its power of compulsory purchase to acquire eight plots of land on behalf of TIGLS. The eight properties were listed and included were the homes of four families.

“Aberdeenshire Council could and should have made it clear long ago that compulsory purchase was not an option it would support. To that extent, the council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period.

“The council’s shameful failure to stand up to Mr Trump’s bullying has caused lasting damage to its reputation.”

Councillor Ford also paid tribute to the Tripping Up Trump campaign, adding:

“I want to pay tribute to the well-organised and effective campaign run in support of the Menie residents.”

“The thousands of people who actively helped the Tripping Up Trump campaign were defending important principles, and last month’s statement from Mr Trump is effectively an admission that the campaign has worked. Thank you to everyone who took part.”

No Democracy At Shire Council – Unnecessary School Cuts Forced Through

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Information, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 112011

By Cllr Martin Ford, Aberdeenshire Council.

I said last week I did not expect Aberdeenshire Council’s budget setting meeting, which took place yesterday (10 February), to be either lengthy or out of the ordinary (see: Aberdeenshire Budget Day Looms, Aberdeen Voice 4 February 2011).

I was only half right. The meeting lasted less than two hours.

Normally, budget meetings are extremely predictable. The Council’s ruling administration proposes its budget. The opposition parties each propose an alternative package of measures.

There is a debate in which speakers from each party say why they believe what their party has put forward should be supported. There is a vote in which each party votes for its own set of proposals. The administration’s budget receives the most votes and thus becomes the Council’s budget.

Yesterday’s budget meeting was different in one key respect. The Democratic Independent group of councillors, of which I am a member, was not allowed to put forward its alternative to the administration’s budget.

As reported in previous articles, Aberdeenshire Council’s Liberal Democrat/Conservative administration, with SNP support, voted through nearly £27 million of cuts and savings at the full council meeting on 25 November.

At yesterday’s budget meeting, further savings of £1.461 million had to be approved to balance the Council’s revenue budget for 2011/12. As expected, the Liberal Democrat/Conservative administration accepted the recommendation from Council officers to close the budget gap by bringing forward planned cuts and savings from 2012/13 into 2011/12.

So, for example, the administration proposed changing the cut in spending on Community School Networks it had decided in November, increasing it from £107,000 to £137,000 in 2011/12 by bringing forward some of the cut planned for 2012/13.

Council officers advised that it was not competent to propose no cut to these staff, even though we had put forward an alternative

Amongst the accelerated cuts in education spending proposed by the administration was an increase in the cut for 2011/12 to spending on primary school classroom assistants, from £88,000 to £100,000.

In their budget proposals, the SNP councillors left unchanged the planned £88,000 cut in the 2011/12 budget for primary school classroom assistants.

This year it fell to me to formally move the Democratic Independent group’s budget proposals. We saw it as a priority to maintain spending on primary school classroom assistants and visiting specialist teachers – so we proposed making no cut to either in 2011/12. We proposed making a saving instead by cutting the budget allocated to repairing unadopted roads, as these roads are not, by definition, a Council responsibility and the budget for repairing them has mostly not been spent.

Once it became clear I was proposing no cut to primary school classroom assistants or visiting specialists, I was stopped from speaking by the provost. Council officers advised that it was not competent to propose no cut to these staff, even though we had put forward an alternative way of balancing the budget.

The Council operates a general policy that it cannot reconsider its decisions within six months, unless there is a two-thirds majority in favour of doing so. But when the administration, and then the SNP councillors, proposed increased spending cuts in 2011/12, by bringing forward cuts from 2012/13, it was ruled this did not constitute a change to a previous decision, so the two-thirds rule did not apply.

But when I proposed the opposite, not to proceed with cuts, this was deemed a change that could only be debated if a two-thirds majority agreed.

A show of hands was called by the provost. Just six councillors voted to allow us to put forward our budget proposals.

The provost ruled the Democratic Independent group budget proposals out of order.

Faced with a debate between the administration’s and the SNP’s very similar budget proposals, both of which opted for staff cuts in primary schools, there was no point in staying. None of the Democratic Independent group councillors was going to vote for either of the proposals we had to choose from. We all walked out in protest.

I have never walked out of a Council meeting before. It is not something I would normally consider and not something to do without very good reason.

I did it yesterday because the budget debate had become pointless, and because of the manifestly unfair way the meeting was being conducted. It was not that our proposals were voted down – it was that we were not even allowed to put them forward for consideration and debate. That is undemocratic and wrong.

I am appalled at the Council’s refusal to allow open debate. Apparently it is perfectly acceptable to propose further cuts in classroom assistants – but seeking to stop the cuts is not allowed.

That is completely one-sided.

The two budget proposals that were voted on by Aberdeenshire councillors yesterday both accepted the primary school staff cuts the Democratic Independent group had sought to avert.

It was, of course, the administration’s budget proposals that were approved. The cuts to classroom assistants and visiting specialist teachers – and many others – will go ahead.

It’s a fair COP (anag) Donald

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Featured, Information, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 042011

By Helen Thomas.

The residents of Menie can celebrate. The threat of being forcibly evicted from their homes has been lifted.

As reported in The Press And Journal on Monday 31st Jan Donald Trump publicly states that he will not be asking Aberdeenshire Council to use Compulsory Purchase Orders (CPOs) to evict residents from their homes to make way for his golf resort.

Of course he also states that, “we have not, and will not, request that Aberdeenshire Council use their CPO powers to purchase houses.”

His statement is designed to make himself out to be the victim of malicious lies, whilst the Menie residents are branded troublemakers.

Unfortunately for Mr Trump however, there is documented evidence that he did make the CPO request. In the press release http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/news/release.asp?newsID=1258 obtained under the Freedom of Information Act, the Council states:

“The Council has been asked by the Trump Organisation to use its powers of compulsory purchase”.

Can it be any clearer? One does not have to be too cynical to guess that Trump’s statement is the result of a huge volume of negative publicity and a desperate attempt to manage the backlash. Resistance is growing and he knows it. People don’t like to be bullied and the threat of the use of CPOs against homeowners for his own gain is just that. Because of these lies, the Menie residents will be cautious in celebrating. They know the battle is not yet won and wonder what will come next. ( See STV Article and Video: Click Here )

They are not alone in their battle, however.

A small parcel of land next to Michael Forbes’s land, right in the heart of the potential development, has been bought by the campaigners and anyone can sign up to own a part of it. Nicknamed The Bunker, this piece of land, and the campaign solidarity it offers, is now owned by 10,000 people – and that number’s growing every day. The residents’ fight has reached every corner of the globe. The Facebook group has new requests from people wanting to join daily – from places as diverse as Florida, the Netherlands and Australia.

It’s not just ‘ordinary citizens’ either. Ex-Queen guitarist Brian May has pledged his support. The Green Party’s Leader and MP Caroline Lucas, author and broadcaster Cameron McNeish and film producer David Puttnam have all joined The Bunker.

The world is waking up to Donald Trump – and they’re doing it in Scotland.

If you would like to join The Bunker please visit http://www.trippinguptrump.com/the-bunker or join us on Facebook at http://www.trippinguptrump.com/the-bunker

Aberdeenshire Budget Day Looms

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Featured, Opinion No Responses »

Feb 042011

By Cllr Martin Ford, Aberdeenshire Council

Next Thursday (10 February), Aberdeenshire Council will formally set its revenue budget for the financial year starting in April. Despite Aberdeenshire Council facing the worst budget cuts in its history, I do not expect the budget meeting to be especially lengthy or dramatic.

This is because the bulk of the cuts the Council will make in 2011/12 were voted through by the ruling Liberal Democrat/Conservative coalition – with SNP support – at the full council meeting on 25 November.
(see: Council Tax Freeze and Many Cuts Decided, Aberdeen Voice, 26 November 2010).

The cuts the Council will decide on next Thursday will be small in comparison to the cuts already voted through. What the Council has to do is to agree some further budget reductions to balance its planned revenue expenditure with its expected income – an income that has effectively been decided for it by the Scottish Government (see: Horrific Scale Of Council Cuts Becomes Clearer, Aberdeen Voice, 19 November 2010).

The position immediately after Christmas was that the Council needed to identify further savings of over £4 million to balance its revenue budget for 2011/12 (see: Grim Reality Of Aberdeenshire Budget Cuts, Aberdeen Voice, 31 December 2010).

Since then, Council officials have reviewed some of the budget provisions made for increased expenditure arising from changes in government policy. Finance officers are now advising that only £4.01 million need be included in the budget to address these pressures, instead of the £7 million originally estimated.

The amounts Aberdeenshire Council will be paying towards the funding of Grampian Police, Grampian Fire and Rescue Service and Grampian Valuation Joint Board have also been set at less than expected – by a total of £1.13 million.

On the other hand, it has become clear some new responsibilities given to the Council by the Scottish Government need an additional budget allocation of £1.335 million.

The net result of these various developments is that Aberdeenshire’s budget gap has come down to £1.461 million. Further spending reductions totalling that amount will need to be approved on 10 February to produce a balanced revenue budget for 2011/12.

Council officers are recommending the 2011/12 budget is brought into balance by bringing forward savings and service cuts planned for financial year 2012/13 into 2011/12. While it is always risky making predictions – and a week is a long time in politics – I expect the Council’s coalition administration to accept the officers’ recommendation.

Trump Rules Out Use Of CPOs

Aberdeenshire, Articles, Community, Environment, Featured, Information No Responses »

Jan 312011

By Cllr Martin Ford.

In a statement issued earlier today by Trump International Golf Links Scotland, Donald Trump does appear, at last, to have ruled out using compulsory purchase to force his neighbours from their homes.

For the families concerned in particular, that must be a great relief.

I am delighted for them. They have shown great courage and strength.

The families have been living with the threat to their homes for over two years. While feelings of relief and joy will be dominant now, we must not forget that the residents should never have been put in this appalling position of uncertainty by Mr Trump in the first place. What Mr Trump has done today is withdraw a threat he should never have made.

In his statement, Mr Trump claims that he has ‘no interest in compulsory purchase’ and ‘never applied for it’. That is downright untrue. Mr Trump’s lawyers wrote to Aberdeenshire Council on 4 March 2009 formally requesting the Council to exercise its powers of compulsory purchase to acquire eight plots of land on behalf of Trump International Golf Links Scotland. The eight properties were listed. Included were the homes of four families.

Aberdeenshire Council could and should have made it clear long ago that compulsory purchase was not an option it would support. To that extent, the Council is as guilty as Mr Trump of causing the affected residents unnecessary worry and stress over an extended period.

The Council’s shameful failure to stand up to Mr Trump’s bullying has caused lasting damage to its reputation.

I want to pay tribute to the well organised and effective campaign run by Tripping Up Trump in support of the Menie residents. The thousands of people who actively helped the Tripping Up Trump campaign were defending important principles.

Today’s statement from Mr Trump is effectively an admission that the campaign has worked. Thank you to everyone who took part.

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