Minutes of Meeting - 27 September 2022

The minutes of the Community Council meeting held on Tuesday 27th September can now be viewed or download by clicking here.

The next meeting of the Community Council, again to be held on Zoom, will be on Tuesday 25th October 2022 at 7pm. Anyone wishing to attend should contact the secretary by email (click here) for access details.

ALL WELCOME

Cost of Living Crisis Support

A new Scottish Government website was launched today to signpost advice and financial support available to people in Scotland.

It includes information about support with increasing energy bills, Scottish and UK social security payments and benefits, support with housing costs, payments for families, as well as where to get further advice, benefit calculators, and wider health and wellbeing information.

Cost of living crisis - Cost of Living Support Scotland (campaign.gov.scot)

New Website Design

The Community Council went on line in 2015 and, since then, the format of the website has not changed. As of 29 September, we have updated the look and feel of the site.  One common comment we received was that visitors had to scroll through long items to find anything that they wanted.  The new design gives a short precis of what each article is about allowing visitors to scroll past them quicker.

We have tidied up the way viewers access information like useful web sites, the site archive and the dates of meetings all now being accessible through drop down menus.

We have also introduced a contact form where you can send emails to us directly.

We hope you like the new lay-out and would love to hear your thoughts on it.

Free 1 ton Salt Bags

Aberdeen City Council's winter community self-help scheme provides one-tonne bags of salt to local residents and community groups. 

In severe weather conditions some lower priority roads, streets and footpaths may not receive treatment for many days due to multiple treatments required on higher priority roads and pavements. The scheme will allow you to treat your street and surrounding footpaths when the council staff are unable to.

Applications for 2022/23 one-tonne salt bags are now open until 31 October.

You can fill out an application form by clicking here.

The one-tonne community salt bags, like the salt provided in grit bins, are only for use on public areas.

What is required to receive a one-tonne salt bag?

You are required to have:

• A named individual to take responsibility for the bag. Contact details for this person are required (an email address or phone number). 
• A secure location on your property, such as a driveway or other hard surface, to store the bag (1.5 metres of space is needed, ideally within 5 metres of the road).
• Access for the delivery lorry (a minimum of 3 metres wide with a suitable surface that will take the weight of the lorry).
• Permission from the landowner (if that is not you) for the salt bag to be stored on their land.

Before the bag is delivered the drop off location and the storage space need to be checked athat they are suitable. Salt bags cannot be dropped off on footpaths, roads, car parks or grassy areas. Once checked, the Council will be in touch to confirm your application and advise when your salt bag will be delivered.

Sometimes the salt mixture can affect grass or vegetation that the bag is stored on or near. The Council are unable to accept responsibility for any damage that does occur, so the named individual must accept responsibility for this. 

How to use the salt bag 

• The salt will be easier to use if you cover it with a polythene sheet.
• You can decant the salt into smaller containers for indoor storage or for sharing with your neighbours.
• A little salt goes a long way. A 10 litre household bucket will hold the same amount of salt that a gritter uses to treat a third of the footpaths of Union Street.
• Treating the area before bad weather comes can be very effective in preventing snow lying and ice forming.

Refilling

If your salt bag needs to be refilled, please email the Council on winter@aberdeencity.gov.uk to arrange this. The empty salt bags will be removed at the end of the winter season. Once your contact details are on record, the Council will ask whether you would like to participate in the scheme in future years. 

Salt and grit are also available from community salt bins and street grit bins.

Temporary Road Restrictions

The Community Council has been made aware of the following two temporary road restrictions:

GREAT WESTERN ROAD

From 0930 on 06 October 2022 until 1530 on 08 October 2022, there will be temporary traffic signals on Great Western Road between it's junctions with Cranford Road and Craigton Road. These signals will operate during off-peak hours and will be maintained by ACC during the works to install a replacement Lighting Column.

       DUTHIE TERRACE

From 0800 on 11 October 2022 until 2200 on 18 October 2022, there will be a temporary no-waiting restriction on either side of Duthie Terrace, Aberdeen, from the boundary between numbers 46 and 48 Duthie Terrace to the boundary between numbers 61 and 63 Duthie Terrace. Illegally parked vehicles will be removed at the owners’ expense. The measure is necessary to protect public safety during works for Scottish Water.

The Queen's Journey to Edinburgh

Her Majesty The Queen's expected final journey from Balmoral is as follows.

Departing Balmoral at 10 am on Sunday the Queen will go through Royal deeside and down the A93 passing:

• Ballater
• Aboyne
• Banchory
• PeterCulter
• then through Aberdeen, via North Deeside Road, Holburn Street, Great Southern Road, George VI Bridge, Bridge of Dee
• Portlethen
• Stonehaven
• Then continuing towards Edinburgh

The Death of Queen Elizabeth

The Community Council would like to add our sincere condolences to the Royal family at this very sad time.

Whilst the country has lost it's Queen the family have lost a mother, grandmother and great grandmother. Our hearts go out to them

Meeting on 27 September - Agenda

The next meeting of the Community Council will be on Tuesday 27th September 2022. The meeting will be on ZOOM and will start at 7pm prompt.

The Agenda can be viewed or downloaded by clicking here

Anyone wishing to attend should contact the Secretary by email at bandmcommcouncil@gmail.com for details on how to access the zoom meeting.

ALL WELCOME

Great Western Medical Practice - Update

The Community Council has received the following update from Liam Kerr MSP's office on the current situation at the practice.

" Great Western Medical Practice has recently been through a significant time of difficulty, and therefore it is not news to learn that the practice has had to look proactively for answers to substantial sustainability challenges. Fortunately, a positive move forward has been found and sought during non-clinical hours. 

Unfortunately, the practice has had further absence in the last while from medical staff sickness, coupled with planned annual leave. This  has  meant they have had to operate an emergency only service. Phone lines are constantly very busy with people calling.  The practice has tried hard to meet the needs and demands of the patient population during this time. The Health and Social Care Partnership within the NHS Grampian area have made fully aware of the position. 

The practice is fully aware of the frustration that patients feel about healthcare just now, and shares many of them. 

I think the best we can do if there are further queries about the practice is direct them to the NHSG Health and Social Care Partnership rather than the medical practice at this point in time".

Double Yellow Lines in Deeside Drive

For some time, residents in Deeside Drive and surrounding streets have voiced concern regarding inconsiderate parking by motorists visiting the area; blocking driveways, parking dangerously and even preventing access for council refuse vehicles and, on occasions, emergency vehicles. 

MSP Liam Kerr has continually pursued this issue on their behalf and, as of the 25th August, has succeeded in having the double yellow lines in the area extended.

The Community Council thank Mr Kerr for pushing for, and achieving, an outcome that should result in a reduction of this anti-social behaviour.

Mr Kerr said "This can only be a good thing and an indication that the local authority accepts there is, and has, been an issue.

If people in our area do have concerns like these they can come to me and I'll try to help".

Thank you Liam, for a job well done.

Police Report - August 2022

This police report covers progress made in dealing with area priorities during August 2022.

The report aims to highlight emerging issues the area, and to provide crime prevention advice and guidance.

"Antisocial behaviour, Violence and Disorder:
This month officers have continued to carry out patrols across the Community Council ward as part of their duties.

In addition they have responded to reports of young people kicking a ball over the roof of Airyhall Library onto the main road on the evening of Wednesday 3rd August, however they had left prior to Police arrival and have not been reported since.

In the small hours of Wednesday 17th August officers responded to reports of very loud music being played from an address on Great Western Road, near Morningside Road. This resulted in a warning that was not heeded by the occupant and as such were subsequently charged in relation to the excessive noise and reported to the Courts. 

On the afternoon of Wednesday 24th August officers were contacted regards concerns for an elderly male walking about on Morningside Avenue area, with an old video camera recorder (VCR) device, believed to be taking video’s in the area.  Officers attended and established no crimes had taken place.

We continue to be grateful to all the members of the public who contact us to report issues they find suspicious. 

Acquisitive Crime:
There have been no recorded reports of acquisitive crime in our area this month, however I not naïve enough to know that crime is not happening. That is why I continue to encourage us all to remain vigilant. To report any suspicious activity to Police as soon as possible, passing as much detail of those involved as possible or any vehicles they may be using. In addition by taking simple steps to protect our
property, such as keeping property / vehicles secure at all times, keeping valuables out of sight, motion sensor or timed lighting and/or installation of CCTV. All these make a property or vehicle much less attractive to an opportunistic thief.

Road Safety & Road Crime:

I have received a couple of complaints this month regards speeding motorists near Airyhall Primary, as such officers were deployed to carry out speed checks on a couple of occasions, however no persons were found to be driving above the speed limit.

We continue to work with partners in response to specific complaints in terms of road traffic offences. Residents in the areas affected by antisocial driving are encouraged to contact Police on 101 at the time, to report incidents and provide as much description as possible of the vehicle(s)/person(s) in order for us to take positive action.

Community Engagement & Reassurance
SCAMS and FRAUDS

Criminals continue to make every attempt to scam us out of our hard earned money. I have included two links below that are advice leaflets on common phone and cyber type scams. The leaflets highlight what you can do to spot these and actions you can take to minimise the risk of becoming a victim to these fraudsters. 

Fraud is a crime in where deception is used for personal gain. It is usually to make money.

With technology growing, fraudsters are more sophisticated and many types of fraud exist. 

All reports of fraud and any other financial crime should be reported to Police via 101 without delay.

 The Little Booklet of Phone Scams 

 The Little Leaflet of Cyber Advice

Contact Us

 Always dial 999 in an emergency

 By phone – 101 for non-emergencies (+44 (0) 141 308 1070 if calling from out with the UK. Network charges may apply). 

 Our service advisors spend a lot of time each day answering calls on matters that are not actually the responsibility of the police. Please read the "Read this before you call 101" page on our website first to ensure Police Scotland can assist with your non-emergency issue.

 Online – for issues of a non-serious nature using our Contact Us form

 In person – Find your local Police Stations and check the Public Counter opening hours 

 Text Relay - 18001101 for deaf, deafened, hard of hearing or speech-impaired callers
 Support for British Sign Language users/speakers

 0800 555 111 - Crimestoppers.

Follow us on Twitter @NorthEPolice #WestEndCPT
Also available are the three following contact email addresses for the West End:
AiryhallBroomhillGarthdeeCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
HazleheadAshleyQueensCrossCPT@Scotland.pnn.police.uk
TorryFerryhillCPT@scotland.pnn.police.uk

Please also remember you can communicate with us using any of the following:

• Twitter - @NorthEPolice;
• Facebook – www.facebook.com/NorthEastPoliceDivision;
• Web – www.scotland.police.uk;