As the former chair of Social Work & Housing at Aberdeenshire council I was proud to be at the official opening of the new £10m Care Home in Inverurie this week. Under the previous administration we made a commitment to provide new care homes and after Edenholme in Stonehaven we now have a superb care village […]

I was delighted to be given a sneak preview of the wonderful new care village in Inverurie this week. ‘Bennachie View’ ( its new name) is the replacement for Blytheswood Care home in Port Elphinstone.the town. It is built on the same model as Edenholme in Stonehaven with 8 small semi- detached cottages nearby to […]

  I was delighted to be invited by the Aberdeenshire Youth Council to attend their Campaign Launch event at the council chamber at Woodhill House the council’s head quarters. The event was designed to inform Councillors and other elected representatives of the Aberdeenshire Youth Council’s most recent campaign on Mental Health and also on our new campaign […]

I was delighted to be in Stonehaven recently to sign up to Shelter Scotland’s  ‘Make Renting Right’ campaign. In Aberdeenshire there are 11 per cent of households in the rented sector and it has become home to a more diverse group of tenants in the last decade. For example the number of families with children […]

I am going round speaking to many people about the vote next week  and I am pleased to say that  we are receiving a positive welcome on doorsteps. I do believe that those who say they are undecided are anxious about the future with the possibility of a yes vote and what it would mean […]

There is good news for the Banchory and Mid Deeside community following the council’s consideration of the responses to the recent consultation on Registration Services across the Shire. In the light of the responses, the council has listened to the voice of residents in the local area and have said they will retain a Deeside […]

At our last Social Work and Housing committee I was delighted to report that Aberdeenshire Council is set to spend more than £90m over the next three years upgrading existing homes and building new council houses. Successful bids to the Scottish Government for funding to build new council homes together with the council’s own New […]

Banchory & Mid Deeside Councillor Karen Clark has welcomed the news that a special community event is being held  this week to allow local people to view the draft plans for the new Banchory pool and sports centre. Cllr Clark says: ‘We have had tremendous feedback to the council over the summer with 1,077 responses […]

On Thursday 7th November I chaired the Social Work and Housing Committtee. Members heard about work on an innovative low energy affordable housing development which will get underway in Fraserburgh this month, after the project secured £1.4m of Scottish Government funding. Aberdeenshire Council’s housing team joined forces with experts at Robert Gordon University’s (RGU) Scott […]

It was a real privilege as Chair of Social Work & Housing to see the new state of the art Edenholme care home officially opened on Friday 17th May at Stonehaven. What all the guests saw as the home opened was that Edenholme is leading the way in the care and support of frail older […]