Tag Archives: Aberdeen

Aberdeenshire man fined for environment offences

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Brian Watson (48) was today fined £11,250 at Aberdeen Sheriff Court for allowing controlled waste to be deposited on his land and for failing to remove it.

He had previously pled guilty to the contraventions of sections 33(1)(a) and 59(1)(a) and (5) of the Environmental Protection Act 1990 on 8 October 2012. The offences occurred between February and November 2011 at Coneyhatch Farm, north of Stonehaven.

Brian Watson trades as E Watson and Son and is in the business of groundwork, plant hire, haulage, skip hire, site clearances and tipper hire.  He allowed several thousand tonnes of waste to be deposited at Coneyhatch Farm which included plastics, metal, wood, paint tins, tyres, electrical equipment, demolition waste, general waste and green waste.

In September 2011, after months of attempting to assist Watson, the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA) required him to clear the waste up.  Instead of complying, Watson allowed more waste to be deposited at the site.

Craig Harris, Procurator Fiscal, Wildlife and Environment said

“Brian Watson repeatedly failed to adhere to the requests of the Scottish Environmental Protection Agency to meet the legal standards required of him.  He allowed thousands of tonnes of waste to be dumped at his site.

“Today Mr Watson has been brought to justice for his complete disregard of his duty towards the environment.”

Inverurie man’s assets seized

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£187,300 CONFISCATED FROM MAN WHO EMBEZZLED FROM ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL

At Aberdeen Sheriff Court today, a Confiscation Order for £187,300 was made against Jack Downie under the Proceeds of Crime Act (POCA).

Downie, of Inverurie, pleaded guilty on 16 February 2012 to embezzling £386,004.12 from Aberdeen City Council between 2 August 2006 and 7 September 2010. He was sentenced to 2 years imprisonment on 22 March 2012.

Lindsey Miller, Head of the Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service’s Serious and Organised Crime Division, and the current POCA champion, said:

“Jack Downie embezzled hundreds of thousands of pounds from the public purse for over four years. This was a significant breach of trust where he betrayed the responsibility of his position and stole from the public he was supposed to be serving.

“We are satisfied that this £187,300 confiscation order represents the amount of money available to us at this time, on the basis that is the total value of his assets he can sell to pay the order.

“This money will be added to the £60 million already gathered from Proceeds of Crime and will be re-invested by Scottish Ministers through the CashBack for Communities programme.”

Scottish Parliament to meet at traveller site

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Gypsy/Traveller site near Aberdeen to host parliamentary meeting

Clinterty Gypsy/Traveller’s site near Aberdeen will host a meeting of the Equal Opportunities Committee on Monday 4 February 2013 as part of its inquiry into Where Gypsy/Travellers Live.

The committee has already visited sites in Perth and Kinross, Argyll & Bute, Edinburgh and the Lothians as part of the inquiry. It also heard evidence from Gypsy/Traveller Liaison Officers, site managers, community councils, voluntary organisations, the police, the NHS and local authorities.

Committee Convener Mary Fee MSP said:

“It is fitting that we hold our committee meeting at Clinterty Gypsy/Traveller’s site as it gives us the opportunity to see where the community lives, in an area of Scotland that has already generated a lot of public interest on the subject.

“Equally important is the ‘Dialogue Day’ session which will allow us to bring together people who hold mixed views on issues such as facilities, cultural differences, policing and unauthorised sites. Our aim is to pool all our evidence to date and look at the solutions going forward.”

The Equal Opportunities Committee will take part in an informal ‘Dialogue Day’ session hosted by Grampian Regional Equality Council (GREC) on Monday 4 February. Representatives from Clinterty Gypsy/Traveller site, Aberdeen Council, Aberdeenshire Council, the NHS and Grampian Police will also participate.

Port of Ardersier to become offshore wind hub

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The Port of Ardersier on Scotland’s Moray Firth, once the centre of the early oil industry, has today moved centre stage as one of the key manufacturing and port facilities for the UK’s fast-growing offshore wind sector.

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond today announced a memorandum of understanding between Highland and Islands Enterprise and the Port of Ardersier which recognises the port’s capacity to become a major UK manufacturing, construction and installation hub.

With 138 hectares (340 acres) of vacant land and a deep water quay, the former oil rig fabrication yard is ideally placed to capture a slice of the estimated £70-80 billion UK offshore wind construction market.

Welcoming the memorandum of understanding, Port of Ardersier CEO Capt. Stephen Gobbi said:

“There are few other locations in the UK, or indeed Europe, which can offer this quality and quantity of vacant land, a 1000 meter deep water quay and proximity to major offshore wind development zones.

“It complements other sites in Scotland and offers offshore wind developers and manufacturers the opportunity to site their operations close to the first-generation deep water sites at Beatrice and Moray Firth.

“This memorandum recognises this potential, and commits the Port of Ardersier and Highlands and Island Enterprise to work together to develop the port and bring new jobs and economic activity to this corner of
Scotland.”

Alex Paterson, Chief Executive of HIE, said:

“Port of Ardersier offers significant potential to offshore wind developers. Given the scale of offshore renewables activity, the sheer size of the site means it is ideally placed to meet the range of needs for manufacturing and assembly. HIE is delighted to work with Port of Ardersier to bring the site back into commercial use and help it secure new tenants.”

Scotland’s First Minister Alex Salmond said:

“We are working hard with our enterprise agencies both to secure overseas investment into our world-leading renewable energy industry and to support Scottish businesses to seize the huge opportunities available, working in partnership with inward investors and the rest of the supply chain to create jobs and help re-industrialise communities right across Scotland.

“These ports are ideally-positioned to become key hubs for the deployment of offshore wind, wave and tidal energy – across manufacturing, assembly, operations and maintenance – and the new Memorandums of Understanding with Highlands and Islands Enterprise underpin the importance that we attach to ensuring that all of Scotland wins from the renewables revolution.”

This would be a second lease of life for the specialist port. Formerly the McDermott Fabrication Yard, it was built on land reclaimed from the
foreshore in the 1970s for the fabrication and construction of North Sea oil and gas platforms. At its height, the yard employed 4500 people. It has lain dormant since 2001.

The port’s next step is to submit planning applications to Transport Scotland, Highlands Council and Marine Scotland to secure full consent as an offshore wind manufacturing port, with the goal of securing permission by the Autumn. The site’s current consent relates to oil and gas only.

The Port of Ardersier was identified within Stage 1 of the Scottish Government’s National Renewables Infrastructure Plan as a key integrated
manufacturing facility. The plan’s goal is to enable Scotland to accelerate the development of offshore wind and capture a major slice of the supply chain and jobs potential.

Stage 2 of the National Renewables Infrastructure Plan involves the development of detailed investment plans for identified sites. The
memorandum of understanding forms part of stage 2 for the Port of Ardersier and commits the two parties to work together to secure planning consent and maximise the economic and social potential of the port.

Councils use technology to keep residents on the move

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As forecasters predict plummeting temperatures across Scotland, three Scottish local authorities have opened up data to technology companies to improve services for commuters and councils services to help keep citizens on the move and local services functioning.

Glasgow City Council, along with a collaboration between Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils, received funding from independent innovation foundation, Nesta, to work with technology partners to open up data they hold to improve travel in poor weather.

Glasgow City Council in partnership with IRISS, has developed Glasgow Gritting which uses real-time data from the authority’s gritting vehicles to show local citizens which streets have already been gritted and are safer to use. It also shows the routes gritting vehicles are taking. This will not only help ordinary citizens to plan their journeys, but will also help other Council services to plan their work to ensure vulnerable people can still be reached and helped.

In the north-east of Scotland, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils have joined forces with technology company Swirrl to develop Smart Journey. This web and mobile app service shows all current traffic problems in the Aberdeen and Aberdeenshire areas as well as any reports of ice, snow or other weather issues affecting the roads.

Commuters are being asked to provide feedback to Smart Journey through the mobile-enabled website or Android or iPhone App.

A key feature of both projects is to allow local people to contribute to make the information presented more accurate. In addition, all of the code for these applications will be made publicly available so that Councils from across Scotland and beyond can develop their own, similar, digital services.

In Glasgow this could mean local people requesting additional gritting of an area where one treatment may not have been enough or highlighting additional poor conditions in other areas, helping the Council’s roads team to prioritise its future work schedule.

Jackie McKenzie, Head of Nesta’s Innovation Programmes in Scotland said:- “We all know that when cold weather strikes, councils are under enormous pressure to keep towns and cities moving, helping people get to work and reaching the most vulnerable in society.

“The fantastic work being done by Glasgow, Aberdeen City and Aberdeenshire councils shows how open data can be used to develop new services for citizens and, by encouraging them to provide additional information, to make that service even better. Local authorities have shown the amazing results that can be achieved through the excellent partnership they have developed with digital companies.

“Nesta hopes that other councils across Scotland and beyond will take advantage of the fact that all of the information and code for these initiatives is open source helping others to develop services for future years.”

Five things you need to know today

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Royal Visit – MSPs visit Aberdeen – Midnight crash on A96 – Litter pick – School video

Her Majesty the Queen and His Royal Highness The Duke of Edinburgh arrives fresh from a weekend entertaining the Prime Minister and his wife at Balmoral to open a new library in Aberdeen today. They will also visit Marischal College to view Aberdeen City Council’s new headquarters.

The council have the following news about road and council office closures today:-

“Broad Street will be closed from 12.30pm until 7pm. Alternative routes are available via Littlejohn Street, West North Street, King Street and Castle Street, or Upperkirkgate, Schoolhill, Rosemount Viaduct, Union Terrace, and Union Street, or vice versa.

First Aberdeen and Stagecoach will have diversionary routes and alternative bus stops in place during the road closures.

There will be no through route for pedestrians on the Marischal College side of the road from 1.30pm. Viewing areas will be available on both sides of Broad Street. A pipe band will entertain the crowds on Broad Street from about 4pm

Some of Aberdeen City Council’s services will be affected during the event. The details are as follows:
•The Customer Contact Centre and switchboard will operate as usual on 08456 080910.
•The Customer Service Centre in Marischal College will close at noon and reception will close at 12.30pm.

The following alternative arrangements have been put in place for customers for the rest of Monday afternoon:

Social Care and Wellbeing Services from 12.30pm until 5pm
Drop-in queries and face-to-face interviews will take place on first floor of Exchequer House. Phone queries will be dealt with as normal. Call 01224 522055.

Homelessness and Housing Services
Services will continue as usual. While the Customer Service Centre is closed, homelessness services will be provided at Bon Accord Hostel at 77-79 Crown Street and at 95 Crown Street.
Phone queries will be dealt with as normal. Call 01224 522210.

Registrars
The registrar service will be closed for the afternoon of 24 September.
Normal business hours and operations will resume on morning of the 25 September.”

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Community sport facilities that have been described as ‘unrivalled’ will be showcased to MSPs from the Health and Sport Committee, as part of their inquiry into grassroots sport.

MSPs will visit Aberdeen Sports Village, a leading sport and exercise facility and host to Scotland’s first disability sports hub today.

Deputy Convener of the Health and Sport Committee Bob Doris MSP, said:

“The major sporting events of the summer have inspired communities the length and breadth of the country. Now that momentum is building for Glasgow in 2014, the Committee is looking to determine if we have the people, the facilities and the investment to support involvement in sport at the grassroots.

“Our Committee will hear from a number of local sport groups that not only get a health benefit from involvement in sport, but also a social benefit, not only for the individual but the community as a whole.”

The Committee will hear from a number of Aberdeen based sports clubs including Street Sport, Scottish Disability Sport and Aberdeen Amateur Athletics Club.

The Committee has already heard evidence from 20 organisations and had over 50 written responses from organisations up and down the country.

Member of the Committee and member for North East Scotland, Nanette Milne MSP said:

“The facilities at Aberdeen Sports Village are outstanding. As the inquiry is looking at the quality of facilities across the country, this visit will give us an understanding of what is possible.

“The inquiry will also look at the accessibility of facilities and how community groups are engaging with community sport hubs, a key part of the legacy of Glasgow 2014.”

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Three men have been taken to hospital after a midnight crash involving only the car they were travelling in on the A96 near Alford reports the BBC.

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An Aberdeen company specialising in industrial cleaning will take its expertise to the streets tomorrow for a community litter pick with Aberdeen City Council’s team of Countryside Rangers.

MITIE Cleaning and Environmental Services, based at East Tullos Industrial Estate, will join forces with the Rangers to wage war on the litter around the coast of Aberdeen, south of the Torry Battery.

The clean-up is part of MITIE’s corporate social responsibility commitment, which sees staff being offered a day to help with a community project in the local area.

The area that will be the focus of tomorrow’s event is a gem in Aberdeen’s coastline but is regularly blighted by litter. Some of it is washed in by the sea or blown in by the wind and gets trapped on the beaches. Other rubbish is left by visitors.

John Morgan, Contract Manager with MITIE, said many of the firm’s staff live in the Torry area so they will see direct benefits of their hard work.

He added: “The main thing is that we do our bit for the local community that provides us with the majority of our Aberdeen workforce. We are delighted to have the support of the Countryside Rangers for this fantastic project.”

The Countryside Rangers will be on hand to assist and offer advice.

Aberdeen City Council Countryside Officer Ian Talboys said: “We are so lucky to have such a great stretch of coast on our doorstep, an area where you can often spot dolphins and porpoises right in the harbour entrance.

“It is a shame, however, that people are not more responsible with their litter, often choosing to drop it as they walk away or dump it from their cars.

“If this litter is blown into the sea the dolphins and porpoises are likely to try and eat it mistaking it for food. A single plastic bag can kill one of these beautiful and iconic creatures. With the help of staff from MITIE we hope to reduce this risk and make the area more attractive for the local community.”

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Aberdeenshire Council have responded to an FOI request and subsequent appeal to the Information Commissioner by publishing a copy of a film about rural schools which we also show you below. The background is also explained by the council here:-

 

In September 2011, members from the Commission on Rural Education visited Aberdeenshire Council and invited officers to make a presentation on the challenges faced by large rural authorities in delivering educational provision.

To aid that presentation, officers from the council developed video footage which gave the Education Service’s view of rural school life and the situation facing Aberdeenshire’s schools and pupils.

On September 28, 2011 the Commission on Rural Education met and saw a copy of the film in full.

The film production was covered by the general filming and photography consents our schools have in place.

This issue centres on two scenes within the production which were altered only as part of an evolutionary process of it being shown to different audiences, as well as responding to a parent’s wishes under the Data Protection Act.

The film was shortened for the purpose of showing it to members of Aberdeenshire Council’s Education, Learning and Leisure Committee on October 27, 2011. In this version, a scene with a head teacher giving views on small schools was deleted.

A parent then contacted the council concerned over a pupil’s inclusion in the film and withdrew consent for the footage of the pupil to be used. This section was removed from the footage to comply with the parent’s request.

The council subsequently received a Freedom of Information request for a copy of the original DVD. The applicant was advised that the original footage had been deleted. Whilst the footage had been withdrawn from use, it was still in the possession of the Council. The person who prepared the response to the FOI supplied the information in good faith. Whilst there was no intention to mislead the applicant, it is clear that the advice given was incorrect. For that, Aberdeenshire Council unreservedly apologises.

The issues over how the information was edited and stored have raised concerns and we will address these, as well as the way we deal with FOI requests.

From an educational perspective Aberdeenshire Council, alongside other local authorities, has to take a realistic view of its school estate, the quality of teaching and environment in which our pupils learn, grow and develop. The film was intended, in its time, to provide a perspective on the challenges for a local authority in providing rural education.

We are required to comply with the decision of the Information Commissioner. (A link to the decision notice is available here)

Having carefully considered the Commissioner’s decision in detail, we have decided it is in all our best interests not to appeal the decision. Instead we will learn lessons from this experience.

It is important that we are open and transparent in our dealings and, given that we are not appealing the decision, we will comply with the instruction from the Commissioner’s office and release the copy of the film with footage of a child removed (in line with the Data Protection Act).

Film preview – Searching for Sugar Man

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We are willing to bet you that you will come out of the cinema after watching this film and head straight for the nearest music store, or download the music immediately from iTunes. The film, Searching for Sugar Man, is a documentary, but having already won the Special Jury Prize and the World Cinema Audience Award for Documentary at this year’s Sundance Festival, and was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize, as well as winning second place at the Tribeca Festival, you know that it has to be special. And it is.

The story is true of course, but it is one which is barely believable, even when the film draws to a close. (And you will not want it to end anyway). Sixto Rodriguez, a singer songwriter of Mexican descent, lived in Detroit and sang in less than fabulous bars there, including one called The Sewer. Two record producers, Dennis Coffey and Mike Theodore, signed him to make his first album called Cold Fact in 1970 and a second album Coming from Reality followed which was produced by famed music producer, Steve Rowland. But neither of these amazing offerings became a hit in the US, despite the fact that all three of the record producers worked with many huge stars, both before and after working with Rodriguez. It fell to the South African market to buy his records, and he became a musical legend there. His songs, in the words of one person interviewed in the film, were ‘the soundtrack of our youth.’ This was the South Africa of apartheid, of oppression. His songs appeared to speak directly to the people at the heart of that struggle, and they simply loved him.

The music is sort of Bob Dylan but better. It is quite mellow, but with enough lyrical twists and turns to engage you. And in our view his music is better than Dylan in many respects, principally that you can understand what he is singing.

In the opening sequence of the film you might think that you are on the Pacific Highway in California, but this is not possible as the car is driving on the left hand side. It is only when you are told that it is Cape Town that you realise the film is starting on a different continent with staggeringly beautiful scenery. This proves to be a world away from the streets of Detroit.

There are some unanswered questions, including the destination of money earned from the sale of the records, but we think it is just as well that those areas were left unexplored, at least for the time being. The intrigue and mystery might easily have been compromised, and a great film spoiled. But the  team behind it knew what they were doing.

It is the work of Director, Malik Bendjelloul. Based in Stockholm, Malik Bendjelloul has been directing documentaries for twelve years, primarily based on musicians. In 2001, Bendjelloul directed the first ever documentary about German electronic pioneers Kraftwerk. He has also made a documentary series about the history of heavy metal as well as some single documentaries, collaborating with such iconic artists as Björk, Sting, Elton John, Rod Stewart, Madonna, Mariah Carey, U2 and Kylie Minogue. Last autumn Bendjelloul directed a filmed concert with Prince.

Bendjelloul has also worked as director and creative producer for Swedish Television’s international cultural weekly show Kobra, where he made short documentaries covering a wide range of stories. Among the subjects were the First Earth Battalion – the American army division who tried to teach their soldiers to walk through walls; and a profile on Alfred Merhan, a man who has been living in Charles de Gaulle airport for 18 years and who became the inspiration for Steven Spielberg’s THE TERMINAL. Other subjects have included the controversial story of British pop band The KLF burning a million pounds, and a film exploring the rumours surrounding Paul McCartney’s death.

He had worked on Sugar Man for a long time before meeting up with the Producers Simon Chinn and John Battsek who helped complete the film. Bendejelloul said:- “In 2006, after five years making TV documentaries in Sweden, I spent six months travelling around Africa and South America looking for good stories. In Cape Town I met Stephen “Sugar” Segerman, who told me about Rodriguez. I was completely speechless – I hadn’t heard a better story in my life. This was five years ago and I have been working on this film more or less every day since then.”

The producer Simon Chinn has already won Oscars and other plaudits and you will possibly know him for his most recent films Project Nim and Man on Wire (the latter did win the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance). It became Rotten Tomatoes best-reviewed film of all time.

In 2005, Chinn established his production company, Red Box Films, to produce MAN ON WIRE (taking inspiration from Philippe Petit, who kept his ideas for future projects, including his high wire walk between the Twin Towers, in a red box under his bed) and it currently has a slate of projects – including feature documentaries, feature films and television dramas – at various stages of production and development.

We loved it, and we are struggling to tell you about it in too much detail since we really do not want to spoil it for you. It is the story of Rodriguez, an American singer, his music and his life. Maybe that is all you ought to know before you storm the doors of your nearest cinema from 27 July 2012 when it is available on general release. Then sit back and prepare to be amazed by the story of a singer songwriter who was bigger than Elvis in South Africa.

Searching for Sugar Man opens in the UK today 27 July 2012.

Photo © StudioCanal

 

£122.5m to be invested in NHS Grampian

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The funding is enabling patients in the Grampian area to benefit from a £110 million emergency care centre and a £12.5 million energy centre at Foresterhill Health Campus.

The area is also benefitting from £25.7m investment in projects identified for delivery through revenue funding via the hub initiative.

These include Aberdeen Health Village (£15.5m), Woodside Health Centre (£4.7m) and Forres Health Centre (£5.5m).

The investment has been revealed to coincide with a visit by Public Health Minister Michael Matheson to the Foresterhill Health Campus and the Aberdeen Health Village.

Minister for Public Health Michael Matheson said:

“Having the right facilities, in the right place is important to people across Scotland and that is why we are determined to ensure both staff and patients the length and breadth of the country can work and be treated in the best possible surroundings.

“This significant investment in health building projects clearly sets out the strength of our commitment to the NHS in Scotland, and will mean that we can provide more sustainable, high quality and continually improving health care services close to home in Grampian and across the country.”

Graeme Smith, Director of Modernisation NHS Grampian, said:

“We’re delighted with this investment – the result of a great deal of hard work by many people in NHS Grampian and of our good working relationship with the Scottish Government. It will play a major part in modernising patient care and the facilities used to support patient care.”

The new Energy Centre will ensure that the energy needed for current and future developments on the Foresterhill Campus is available.

It is estimated that it will deliver a 17 per cent reduction in present CO2 emissions, equating to some 4500 tonnes per year and it will also return expected energy savings of around £1 million per year.

Work is underway on the new Emergency Care Centre at Foresterhill in Aberdeen, which will bring together emergency and urgent care services into one building on the Foresterhill site.

The new facility is scheduled for completion at the end of 2013.

Aberdeen Health Village will house a range of community health services, such as dentistry, radiology and sexual health services in one location and is due to open in December 2013.

MSPs decline Trump invitation

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An MSP and two Aberdeenshire councillors have declined a surprise invitation from Trump Vice president, George Sorial, to tour the Menie Estate development next week ahead of its official opening next month.

The Greens say that to date Mr Trump has invested £13m in the development, not the £750m figure that is often reported. And despite having outline consent subject to conditions in 2008, the Trump Organisation only recently applied for and got planning permission for a clubhouse, so it is only a temporary clubhouse which  is being put up.

Patrick Harvie, Green MSP for Glasgow, said:-

“I will try to find the time later this summer to visit the site with local residents and see the full scale of the Trump Organisation’s destruction of this important natural asset. Sadly on the dates in question I will be working in Parliament and visiting constituents in Glasgow.”

Scottish Green Party Councillor Martin Ford said:

“The Menie dune system was an amazing and beautiful natural habitat before it was targeted for development. I have seen the damage inflicted on the Site of Special Scientific Interest when visiting local residents. This was officially sanctioned vandalism of an important nature conservation area on a horrendous
scale. I don’t have to go to Menie to see a Portacabin.”

Independent Councillor Paul Johnston said:

“The last time I spoke to George Sorial he threatened me. He has now invited me to meet him at a lonely spot on the Aberdeenshire coast. I’m not going.”

Aberdeen City Council meets 13 June 2012

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The next meeting of Aberdeen City Council will take place on 13 June 2012 at 10.30. You can read the whole agenda here.

Part of what is under discussion are the plans to turn Aberdeen into a City of Culture in 2017 which is estimated to cost just under £500,000 in salaries for the BID team alone.

One other part of the business being discussed by the recently elected council is to nominate members of various committees and boards. The nominations are as below:-

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