I was delighted on Friday to be invited to join social work staff and officially mark the start of construction on a brand new Family Resource Centre in the Shire.  The Centre will be in Victoria Street, Inverurie. It will provide a targeted, timely and multi agency programme of support to children and their families in […]

I am looking forward very much to the artistic duo DUFI from Tain unveiling their innovative proposals for making major changes to the centre of Banchory. Working with the local community for three months, DUFI artists Alister MacInnes and Fin Macrae are preparing to reveal their ideas for rejuvenating Scott Skinner Square this week. As […]

First of all a very Happy New Year to you ! As we start 2014, the real countdown begins as we head towards the Referendum on September 18th this year. I am proud to say that I am pro Union and sincerely hope that the people of Scotland will respond with a resounding No vote to […]

When the three Banchory & Mid Deeside local councillors and more than 100 objectors all from the community say they don’t want another betting shop in Banchory High Street it would have been such a landmark victory if the Scottish Reporter had agreed with us. However, as predicted, the appeal by Ladbrokes was upheld. As […]

Scottish Liberal Democrat justice spokesperson Alison McInnes MSP said that new proposals from Police Scotland over police counter closures are small concessions. In a report by the Chief Constable to the Scottish Police Authority today, Police Scotland revealed that a total 804 responses were received to its online consultation on plans to close 65 police […]

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 […]

Last week the Marr Area Committee considered an application for a crematorium at Crathes. I had serious concerns about the access and issues over road safety which I felt had not been properly addressed. The coverage of the committee debate in the local paper The Deeside Piper did not reflect the balance of views expressed from […]

I welcome the recent move to scrap the Right to Buy in Scotland.  In Aberdeenshire, for the last 12 years right to buy sales, as introduced in 1980,  have been reducing and have fallen over that period from a  high level 350 house sales per year to 35 per year. Pressure on the reducing number […]

It is with a huge sense of relief and pride that at Full Council on Thursday 17th January, I finally heard the news that I had long wished to hear as an elected member for Banchory and Mid Deeside – Aberdeenshire Council has agreed to invest in a multi-million pound community sports facility at Hill […]