Latest news with #AberdeenshireCouncil
Scotsman
9 hours ago
- Politics
- Scotsman
Scottish council's U-turn on decision to close four nurseries hailed as 'victory'
The move comes after series backlash from communities affected by the initial closure announcement. Sign up to our daily newsletter – Regular news stories and round-ups from around Scotland direct to your inbox Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... A council said it plans to drop its decision to close nurseries temporarily ahead of an emergency meeting next week. Aberdeenshire Council announced earlier this year it planned to mothball four nurseries across the region. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The move was met with a major backlash by communities affected by the proposals, with parents accusing the council of acting unlawfully. The affected nurseries include Crossroads, Ballogie, Glass and Sandhaven. Campaigners protesting against the temporary closure of Glass nursery after the announcement to mothball the facility was made earlier this month | Supplied An emergency meeting on the proposed closures is still due to go ahead on Monday. But in an unexpected U-turn, just days before the meeting, the council revealed it intends to pause any future mothballing of nurseries underway while it examines official guidance on the process. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Head of Aberdeenshire Council Gillian Owen said while the unusual decision was made to state the administration's intention ahead of the official meeting, next steps would 'still require to be considered through the decision-making process at full council'. Ahead of the meeting, Alexander Burnett, the MSP for Aberdeenshire West, had received confirmation from the Scottish Government the council should have held a public consultation, under the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010, before any decision was taken. The Act states councils should engage as 'early as possible' with families affected by proposals to mothball a nursery. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Scottish Conservatives MSP for Aberdeenshire West Alexander Burnett | Katharine Hay In letters sent to councillors ahead of the meeting, a parent group said: 'We firmly believe that the council has acted illegally and improperly when making the decision to mothball these settings and we would urge you to please consider our position in detail prior to the meeting. 'Crossroads Nursery is a thriving rural nursery which serves our local rural community, this is not a nursery with struggling numbers or for which there is a low demand. This is a much-needed rural service which has provided exceptional care and the best start in life for our young people.' Mr Burnett described the council's decision to remove the plans from the table as 'a victory for our rural areas'. 'These nurseries help form the pillar of our communities and they are assets that we must keep open across Aberdeenshire,' the MSP said. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'I am pleased Aberdeenshire Council has listened to the concerns of parents and has also agreed to review its mothballing policy, which I have also been campaigning for.' Mr Owen said: 'The administration is minded to seek a review of our mothballing guidance to incorporate a consultation process with parents. 'We acknowledge the strong feelings concerning the four settings and appreciate the concerns of parents who highly value their local early learning facilities. We are trying to balance the needs of children and families, with a challenging financial position – but it is critical we do this in the right way. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'We will be recommending that we pause planning for all future mothballing activity currently underway, whilst we examine the guidance. Whilst we have been engaging with parents, we need to consult at a much earlier stage to inform the decision-making process, and we will explore how to integrate this into the procedure. 'We will also recommend reversing the budget decision identifying this as a saving in our 2025/26 budget process and seek to identify the saving from elsewhere.
BBC News
10 hours ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Aberdeenshire Council set to pause mothballing of four nurseries
Aberdeenshire Council is set to recommend pausing the mothballing of four rural local authority informed parents in April that Ballogie, Crossroads, Glass and Sandhaven nurseries would close at the end of this leader Gillian Owen said the council could potentially review its guidance so that it included a consultation process with parents.A meeting of the full council planned for Monday is expected to be asked to approve a review. Mothballing means closing a premises, but keeping it in a condition ready for future use. Last month, Aberdeenshire's education committee noted a decision to mothball the the Scottish government then wrote to the authority to highlight the need to consult parents in such Owen said on Friday: "We acknowledge the strong feelings concerning the four settings and appreciate the concerns of parents who highly value their local early learning facilities."We are trying to balance the needs of children and families, with a challenging financial position - but it is critical we do this in the right way." 'Unusual step' Ms Owen said the council's administration would recommend that planning for all future mothballing activity be paused while the guidance was said: "Whilst we have been engaging with parents, we need to consult at a much earlier stage to inform the decision-making process, and we will explore how to integrate this into the procedure."We are taking the unusual step of announcing our intention prior to the meeting in the hope that we remove further anxiety for the people who have made requests to speak."Aberdeenshire Council said its mothballing guidance had been used successfully for many years to support changes in education in response to local circumstances.
Press and Journal
4 days ago
- Business
- Press and Journal
Abandoned Banff watermill could be turned into a home after auction sale
A Portgordon couple wants to breathe new life into a picturesque watermill near Banff, which has lain abandoned for more than six years. In its former life, Eden Watermill was a tea room and a gift shop selling local artwork. The distinctive-looking property is a stone's throw away from the A947 trunk road to Aberdeen, and spreads over three floors. It has three external water wheels, a timber frame and a slate roof. The tea room was forced to close in 2019 due to floodwater which damaged the foundations and the knock on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the business. The building was auctioned for £99,500 in July 2023, and was later relisted at a reduced price following an unsuccessful attempt to find a new owner. And now, six years after it was left lying empty, Mr and Mrs M Bestwick are hoping to restore it to its former glory as their new home. The couple are planning to turn the watermill into a two-bedroom house. Blueprints sent to the council show the ground floor will feature an open-plan living room and a kitchen area. Meanwhile, the bedrooms will be on the second floor, along with an en-suite. You can see the plans on the Aberdeenshire Council website.
Press and Journal
30-05-2025
- Business
- Press and Journal
Shop boss in fight to turn 'decrepit' Ballater building hit by Storm Frank into house as council warns it 'could flood again'
A former antiques shop in the heart of Ballater will be transformed into a home after its owner won a battle against council officials who fear it could end up flooded. Dasha Mukhina bought the empty C-listed building on Victoria Road three years ago. The ground floor unit was known for many years as the Gray & Kellas solicitors office and latterly as the Rowan Antiques and Jewellery store. But the site fell victim to flooding during Storm Frank in 2015, has been left to deteriorate since and now suffers from woodworm and rot. Ms Mukhina initially wanted to turn the site into a new cafe, but that proposal was axed over complaints the village already had too many of them. So, she went back to the drawing board and came up with an alternative plan to revamp the building. An idea to convert the shop into a one-bedroom house was lodged with Aberdeenshire Council back in October, but council planners refused the project earlier this year. As the building sits in an area of significant flood risk, they argued turning it into a home would create a 'risk to life' in the event of a flood. But Ms Mukhina appealed against the refusal in a bid to see her proposal come to life. The application recently went before Aberdeenshire Council's local review body for councillors to consider the case. Planning documents revealed that the two-storey building would have a bedroom and en-suite bathroom on the first floor. Meanwhile, an open plan kitchen, living and dining area would feature on the ground floor. The building owner proposed to add a balcony to the first floor. The papers had suggested the changes would help to bring the building back into use while ensuring it wouldn't degrade any further. Councillor Richard Menard wanted to see the refusal overturned to prevent the building from becoming 'even more decrepit and broken'. But he asked if flooding protection measures could be added in case flooding 'reared its ugly head again'. This point was also raised by councillor Catherine Victor. She suggested that Ms Mukhina could install flood doors that have been specially designed to keep water out during storms instead. The North Kincardine member said: 'I've gone through floods, I know what it's like – you can mitigate it. 'I think we should allow this development but I would suggest they look at putting flood doors on because that would be a good way to prevent water getting in their house.' Councillors unanimously agreed to overturn the refusal and allowed the change of use. However, Ms Mukhina has been asked to install timber flood doors to prevent the risk of the site falling victim to future flooding events.
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Scotsman
30-05-2025
- General
- Scotsman
Three ancient stone circles go on market — including one of Scotland's finest
The ancient Bronze Age sites in Aberdeenshire are looking for a new owner. Sign up to our History and Heritage newsletter Sign up Thank you for signing up! Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Learn More Sorry, there seem to be some issues. Please try again later. Submitting... Ancient, mysterious and revered, the stone circles of Scotland's deep past are not something you expect to come across in an estate agent's brochure. But now, not one, but three Bronze Age stone circles have gone up for sale in Aberdeenshire - including one of the country's finest. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad Easter Aquhorthies stone circle near Inverurie is one of the finest examples of its kind. It is now on the market as part of a sale of farmland. Picture: Aberdeenshire Council. | Aberdeenshire Council The scheduled monuments are included in sales of farmland across the area, with the archaeologist for the region describing the three listings as 'remarkable' and a 'rare chance' to acquire a piece of Scotland's pre-history. Among the sales are Easter Aquhorthies near Inverurie, a recumbent stone circle that dates to around 4,000BC. Probably used as a cremation and memorial site, the location has been described as one of the best preserved of its kind. The scheduled monument sits between two fields, which are part of six being sold for a combined price of £530,000 or as two separate lots. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad READ MORE: Campaign to save Sunset Song church in heart of rural community that inspired Lewis Grassic Gibbon Archaeologist Bruce Mann, senior historic environment officer at Aberdeenshire Council, said the name of Aquhorthies hinted at the site's past use and derived from the Gaelic word meaning 'field of prayer'. He said: 'Easter Aquhorthies is one of the best-preserved recumbent stone-circles in the region and, as such, is incredibly important.' Mr Mann added: 'The fact that we have three stone circles for sale at the same time is remarkable as they rarely change hands, being often part of a wider farm or estate. The sales, especially that of Easter Aquhorthies, offers a rare chance for someone to purchase an important example of North East Scotland's prehistory. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad 'Owing such a site, with its national designation as a scheduled monument, means careful management on behalf of the nation. The new owners will need to expect that people will continue to visit the stone circles, and that as owners they are custodians of part of our regional identity. 'They will also need to carefully consider what they will be able to do with the surrounding land, as the setting of these stone circles, within the land that is being sold, will need to be maintained.' Also for sale is the stone circle and ring cairn of Little Eslie near Banchory, which is being sold as part of 10.5 acres of land suitable for grazing. Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad The circle is part of an important landscape during the Bronze Age period, with the Nine Stanes and Greater Eslie stone circles found nearby. South Ythsie, near Tarves, completes the stone circle sales. Made up of six upright stones, with the tallest measuring 2.4m high, the monument sits in 151 acres or arable and pastureland, which is being sold for a combined total of £740,000. Mr Mann advised that anyone buying the sites should seek advice both from local authority planners and from Historic Environment Scotland. James Presley, of Aberdeen and Northern Estates, who is handling the sales, said: 'We do have lots of stone circles in Aberdeenshire, but to be selling three properties at once, all which have stone circles, is rare.' Advertisement Hide Ad Advertisement Hide Ad He said there had been 'strong interest' in the three separate land sales, but mainly from those interested in the farmland. 'There probably have been a few inquiries regarding the stone circles,' he said.
