DRUMOAK & DURRIS NEWSLETTER
APOLOGIES
You might well fume at the press when you have
come across an apology for some inaccurate
reporting usually when some innocent member of the
public has been much maligned and the apology is
tucked away in a corner and couched in reluctant
terms to say the least. Well this newsletter works to
higher standards, so here is a FRONT PAGE apology.
Last issue I reported on two FRRs – Fund raising by
Running - projects. Unfortunately, by some means
that I still cannot understand, I reported that one of the
runners was a Jim Morrison. This should have been
Jim Williamson. I can only assume that my mild
dyslexia and Alzheimer conditions were acting in
tandem – a foretaste of things to come. So Jim my
sincere apologies for misrepresenting you, and
congratulations on raising £3800 for the Water Aid
project in Malawi
Editor
THE COUNTRY LOON’S WEATHER
Having enjoyed almost six weeks of glorious summer
weather which had begun to make Deeside look
slightly barren, especially the Drumoak area. Let us
enjoy the next few weeks of more unsettled weather
to come. The British Isles are still very much under the
influence of the warm Atlantic Ocean and the colder
North Sea; best keep the fingers crossed that the
prevailing warm westerly winds keep the cold
northeasterly winds at bay until the winter arrives.
Everything going to plan we might have the pleasure
of a bonny green countryside to see us through the
autumn.
The humid thundery weather can be the most
unpredictable type of weather to try to forecast for
more than one day at a time; all wildlife just act
normally giving no indications of what type of weather
lies ahead. During a spell of this sort of weather, we
ourselves can only act like the birds ‘bide in fin it’s
rainin an gyang oot fin it’s dry’.
The surest and the most simple method of predicting
the weather short range, is to look to the skies. The
shades of blue can tell us a great deal regarding
humidity, the paler the blue means more humidity
which indicates rain is on its way. Different shades of
blue are most noticeable if we look towards the hills,
when skies are of a pale shade, the more distant
ranges appear to fade into the blue of the sky, this
being caused by the heavy humidity, collecting dust
particles and other pollutants. Differing shades of blue
can play tricks ‘wi wir een,’ making hills look closer
September 2006
than normal, ‘It his aa tae dee wi the colour blue
comin throwe in shorter wave lengths fae aa ither
colours, hence the saying, “fin the hulls look close rain
is nae far awa”. The deepest shades of blue usually
occur after a wet cold front has cleared the air, ‘gein
us at least ae day o gweed wither’.
It can be of great help when planning the day ahead if
we can recognize the main rain bearing clouds. One
of the main rain bearing clouds which always brings a
lengthy spell of rain is Nimbostratus, it is the dark grey
sheet of cloud with the tattered look, and shafts of
precipitation, which seems to hang from below, along
with shreds of cloud known as pannus, parts of
pannus drift apart and become known as stratus
fractus, better known to fishermen as scuds, but, “tae
the fermin folk they are kint as watter cairts, they niver
fail tae bring a spell o rain”.
The other main rain-bearing cloud we should pay
much attention to as winter approaches is
Cumulonimbus, it is the large black cloud which we in
the northeast mostly see along the coast line,
bellowing rapidly high into the sky; they are more
noticeable during the winter months with their white
cauliflower tops. During cold weather we can at times
watch the cauliflower top change shape as it starts to
freeze, taking on a cirrus look, known as an anvil top,
a huge dome then appears on top of the anvil which,
with high winds, can explode covering a wide area
causing significant snow falls. ‘Maist country folk ken
Cumulonimbus as jist bein Upcastins’ In the northeast
they were often referred to as being Buchan Bullers, I
wonder which was named first? Bullers of Buchan or
the Buchan Bullers, they had obviously been named
after the bubbles at the bottom of the ‘weel kent’ rocks
and the bubble at the top of the anvil in the sky.
Cumulonimbus occur more over continental areas
with the ‘Bulla’ on top of the anvil being much larger. If
we remember back to last winter we were seeing
‘upcastins aa winter tae the east’ and they were the
source of the storms on the continent. Cumulonimbus
is the cloud which gives us the torrential localized
downpours at any time of year when they burst, often
accompanied by big hailstones.
Plants that I would normally be looking to for signs of
what type of weather to expect throughout autumn
and early winter, are at this time looking as if it was
mid summer. Bird and animal life seem to be at a
standstill enjoying their day to day life ‘wi sma thocht o
winter,’ that leaves only the ‘maist winnerfae craiturs o
thim aa tae turn tae, that bein the insects’. Most types
have been much more plentiful this year than normal,
even during the cold start to summer they were
appearing in large numbers, migrant butterflies being
the exception. Large numbers of insects indicate a
warm humid spell to come, which it did, and at this
time still continuing. Many of the insects are still
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
Issue 48
multiplying in numbers. Could this be nature’s way of
letting them increase so that there would be safety in
numbers, giving at least some a chance of survival in
a severe winter? Similar insect increases occurred
over two to three year periods during the 1950s and
1970s both ending with severe winters.
It will be interesting to see if the swallows migrate
before or after the autumn high tides which, this year
will occur earlier than most years - it will be between
the full moon on the seventh of September and the
last quarter. If they wait till the high tides are past ‘we
micht get mair fine wither, anthier sax wiks widna
gyang far wrang’.
The Country Loon
MEDICAL NOTES
It has been an excellent summer for giving us the
opportunity to get out and about and enjoy the good
weather and we have all perhaps been more
physically active as a result – particularly living in such
an attractive part of the country with so many outdoor
activities on tap. The school holidays have been well
used this year for sports and outdoor exercise
generally. With the evolving concern about levels of
overweight and obesity in the UK it is most important
to keep up good amounts of calorie-burning exercise,
in addition of course to a balanced healthy diet. So if
you’ve had an active summer, keep up the good work;
if you’re thinking about taking up some exercise then
walking is a good start.
Our practice has just been through a major upgrade to
the computer system, which was significantly
disruptive for a while. However, thanks to major effort
on the part of our dedicated staff and to the patience
of our patients, it has been a success. It has also
been a reminder to us how much we are reliant on
electronic technology in this ‘information age’; we
communicate with colleagues electronically, write our
clinical records on computer (therefore legible!),
receive lab results direct to our computers and scan
hospital reports into the electronic patient record. The
advantages are speed of communication and an
improvement in the efficiency of administrative
systems in the practice, however it does take some
effort to reach a competent standard in computer use.
Increasingly our GP registrars (trainee GP’s) are
proficient in keyboard typing skills, which leaves me,
the original two-finger typist, envious. Perhaps this
should become an integral part of general education.
Fortunately there are courses available to help us
come up to speed with our computer skills. The
internet too has become an immense resource for
medical professionals and patients alike although
sometimes it can be difficult to filter out the best
quality information easily. This is where we human
doctors still have an advantage over the electronic
databases …. So I don’t think we are in danger of
being replaced quite yet!
Dr Douglas Harris
June 2006
BRACKEN FOR BREAKFAST ANYONE?
Those of you that walk in the Old Wood of Drum will
no doubt have noticed the incredible growth of the
bracken this year. With the help of eager volunteers
we’ve been battling to control it beside the trail and in
the large open areas where we are trying to
encourage more wild flowers to grow. We suspect the
bracken has benefited from the strange weather we’ve
had so far this year with the mild winter certainly
helping to encourage early growth.
It is found all over the world except the Artic and
Antarctic. Although bracken is an important and
natural part of woodlands it is spreading rapidly in
many countries. One reason for this may be climate
change. But there are many other reasons.
In times long gone the Old Wood would have had wild
boar grubbing up the young bracken which would
have kept it in check. We also believe there would
have been cattle grazing in the woodland which would
trample the young shoots before they could grow into
the head high bracken we see today.
Bracken starts of as a really quite cute little curled up
frond (a complicated leaf) covered in downy hair and
tiny brown scales. It’s often likened to a shepherd’s
crook or a fiddlehead.
However as it unfurls and
grows it tends to dominate the woods and shade out
other plants. It can reach over 4 metres in the right
climate.The fronds grow from an underground
rhizome, the equivalent of a root. When split in half
the rhizome has a pattern reminiscent of an eagles
wing, which may account for its Latin name, aquila,
which means eagle. Sometimes the pattern looks like
letters of the alphabet. In the past it was believed that
these showed the initials of a future spouse!
It is considered a delicacy in some countries, but only
when it is very young.
However I would not
recommend tucking into a nice bowl of bracken for
breakfast as it is highly toxic. It contains a poison
which causes a lowering of bone marrow activity
which leads to anaemia. It has also been linked to
throat and stomach cancer in animals, but as far as I
know, the jury’s still out on whether it causes these
cancers in humans. Unwary cattle and horses have
suffered over the centuries from feasting on bracken.
Bracken does provide shelter for many creatures
though. Butterflies and moths shelter from the wind in
bracken and roe deer hide their young in it. Other
beasties which reap the benefit of plentiful bracken
are not such popular ones – ticks! There have been
huge numbers of ticks around this year; this has
caused many estates to report very low numbers of
ground nesting birds due to them being covered in
ticks and losing so much blood that they have died.
The plant has been used for many practical purposes
such as compost, mulch, tinder, packaging and
bedding. In Scotland back in the 18th Century it was
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
Issue 47
2
burned to obtain the potash needed for soap and
glass manufacturing.
With the demise of these
practices harvesting bracken stopped in most of
Europe; yet another reason for its rapid spread.
So if you fancy getting some exercise and helping
control the bracken in the Old Wood next year drop
me an email fmilne@nts.org.uk or give me a call and
I’ll put you on our list of willing volunteers!
Fiona Milne
Senior Ranger, NTS Crathes
NATIONAL TRUST WEEKEND ACTIVITIES
Crathes and Drum Castles provide a number of
weekend events in the autumn. If you are looking for
something for the children to drag them from their
computer games or just want to do something
different in the fresh air, to You might check them out
they are listed in the diary sheet at the end of this
Newsletter. – or phone 01330 844 810
We have games and crafts, as well as singing and
learning more about people from the Bible. On the 1 st,
3rd and 5th Sundays of each month we meet at Durris
at 10am and then on the 2nd and 4th Sundays we meet
at Drumoak at 10am. For more information please ring
Roz Scott on 01330 844557.
YSUNDAY
Around 27 teenagers pack into the manse in Durris
every second Sunday evening for a varied programme
of games, activities, speakers, video, drama, food,
discussion of issues etc. YSunday is open to all in 1st6th year school. One highlight of the year is the
Activities/Ski-ing Weekend at Glenshee in February/
March. Other activities last year included lively
involvement in worship, ten-pin bowling, barbecues,
learning about and raising & donating funds for
practical projects in the developing world. New
members are always welcome. YSunday restarts on
Sunday 3 September in the manse, 7.00 - 8.10pm.
The Contact Person is Tom Feist-Wilson (Junior
Leader) Tel. 01330 811 480.
SATURDAY RUGBY FOR KIDS
KIDZ AT THE KIRK
– Some other activities for children
Did you know that the Church of Drumoak-Durris has
heaps happening for children and young people of all
ages? Read on….
SPLAT
BANCHORY COMMUNITY
LEARNING & DEVELOPMENT
Open Weekend.
If you have children between 0 months and 5 years
old why not bring them along to our preschool music
group? We meet every Wednesday during term-time
from 1.15 to 2.30 in Drumoak Church Hall (opposite
the school). We sing, play instruments, dance, march
and shout together and have lots of fun learning about
the world of music. Percussion instruments, rhythm
sticks or whistles, puppets, masks or drums all add to
the variety. We like to sing songs from around the
world, weather songs, train songs, animal songs, food
songs, lively Christian songs, old favourites and brand
new wacky ones! We finish with snacks and drinks
and a chance for the adults to catch up while the
children play. The charge is just 50p per family, per
session. It’s a very informal group and great fun, do
drop in, we’d love to see you. If you would like more
information please ring Sarah Marshall on 01330
811767 or Mary Robertson on 01330 811593.
SUNDAY CLUB
Can’t get out of bed on a Sunday? Sunday Club is
definitely worth waking up for!! On a Sunday the
church has various activities running during the
Sunday Service. For those under 3 there is a crèche.
For nursery and primary school age children there is a
special Sunday club. We start off with the adults in
church, and then go out for our own fun time together.
June 2006
Saturday morning training has just started at
Tillybrake playing fields Banchory at 10.30 am. Micros
(P1-3) Minis (P4-7) and youths (S1/2, U15, and U16)
Banchory Community Learning and Development is
having an Open Weekend on Saturday 9th and
Sunday 10th September to promote their Services.
The Saturday will consist of the class enrolments for
the Adult Learning programme between 10am and
12noon in the Community Facility at the new Hill of
Banchory Primary School For classes that start before
this date please turn up to the class and enrol on the
day.
Stick around after your enrolments for lots of fun and
games from 12noon to 4pm. During this time there
will be a number of opportunities to find out about
Community Centre facilities and Services as well as
many other community and voluntary organisations in
the area. There will also be some hands on activities
including tours of the building, story sessions, messy
play, careers advice, mini health checks and much
more.
Also on Saturday from 12noon to 4pm there will be a
Community Fun Day in the Hill of Banchory Primary
School playground, planned and organised by young
people from the Hill of Banchory area. A crèche will be
available for some of the day, please call 01330
826253 for more information on this or any of the
above.
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
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On Sunday there will be a Youth Fun Day in the
Community Centre at the Academy from 12noon to
4pm, where there will be the usual fun and games
including, rock wall, bouncy castle, live music, youth
café, drunk driving course and many more
demonstrations and fun. Established youth groups will
be there to promote their achievements as well as
recruit new members. All young folk from 11 to 18
years old are welcome, as are adults who would like
to find out more about what services are available for
young people in the area, or would like an opportunity
to volunteer.
There are no entrance fees for either day and all
refreshments are free. Looking forward to seeing you
all there and we will be glad to deal with any enquiries
on 01330 826253.
I started a new self-help group. The Health and
Leisure group would offer gym membership and
organise outings to do healthy leisurely things. It does
what it says on the tin. I applied to various places for
money. Grampian Police, NHS Grampian, the City
Council. I got some donations from friendly companies
like Qserv. Cheers Mike. Once we had £3000 we
were up and running. Literally. I now go to the gym
five times a week with folks who otherwise might be
drinking White Lightning but who instead now like to
wind down after a days work. At this rate, I'll be fit to
run a marathon fairly soon. We have had golf days,
curling evenings, camping weekends, a trip to the
Scottish Parliament (big thanks to the very lovely Dr
Nanette Milne MSP) I have lost 4 inches from my
waist, the kilt fits fine, but the strange thing is I have
lost very little weight.
BANCHORY COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT GROUP
Banchory Community Development Group (CDG) is
your local forum to discuss local issues that affect you
in your work, home or play life and is made up of local
people interested in their communities. Local people
serving on CDGs can ensure that local leisure and
learning opportunities are what their communities
need. Members of the groups have real say in what
goes on and have control over the local Community
Development Funds. Currently, CDG has a 9
community volunteers with 6 local Councillor and staff
members, but more volunteers are sought. If you, or
anyone you know, have an interest in positive
Community Development. Please contact Lindsay
Melrose, Community Learning Worker, Banchory
Community Learning Centre tel 01330 825966
FUND RAISING EVENTS
THE WORLD’S BIGGEST COFFEE MORNING
The Macmillan Cancer Support have organised a
nation wide coffee morning to generate funds to Help
make a difference to people living with cancer.
So on Friday 29th September why not have your
coffee break in Drumoak Church Hall and support this
worthwhile cause. Coffee is served 10.30 to 12.30.
Jill Gow (01330 811 495)
CONFESSIONS OF A WOULD BE MARATHON
RUNNER -- SANDY WALLACE TELLS ALL!
The year started with various problems that needed
addressed. Firstly, I was 42 years and 17 stone.
That’s 3 overweight. I needed to lose 2 inches to get
into my kilt for my nephews wedding. Secondly, at my
work (the best little alcohol rehab charity in Scotland),
I had come to realise that many of my clients had no
hobbies other than drinking. So even if they really
wanted to change, they struggled to see what they
could change into. I'll tell you about the other
problems in a minute.
June 2006
The other problem was that being a full time alcohol
rehab worker, a full time councillor and a dad of two
primary school kids, I was struggling to do justice to it
all. And in any case, the Council moves so slowly, that
sometimes I despaired of getting things done. As my
party's Education spokesman, I wanted to help
Carronhill Special needs schooI in Stonehaven but I
was making slow progress. I was on the management
committee of two great charities, Linn Moor in
Peterculter, a Voluntary Service Aberdeen project
caring for kids with some very profound learning
difficulties and Beannachar on the South Deeside
Road, a Rudolph Steiner project providing homes and
supported employment for young adults with learning
difficulties. But both management committees did their
work on Thursdays, when Aberdeenshire Council hold
their policy committees. I was rarely free to do
anything for them. And if by any chance I was "free",
my employer kinda expected me to show up at work.
Understandable I suppose. With regrets, I decided to
resign from the two charities.
Then I saw a poster. Run the New York marathon in
November for charity. A charity called Kids will
arrange my flights, hotel and race entry if I raise
£2000 for them.and, if I raise more, they are happy
that I give it to local charities. I thought, " I could raise
£8000". Two grand each for Kids, Carronhill, Linn
Moor and Beannachar.
Now it’s sunk in. The training is going well. Honest, I
will manage to run 26 miles. But £8000? Is that
possible? I have contacts, I get opportunities to reach
out to people. If everyone I meet gave me a quid, I
would raise £2000. But realistically they won't, so if
every fifth person I meet gives me £5 that amounts to
£2000. If every company I deal with gave me a tenner,
that would be £2000. Same problem, but maybe every
tenth company will give £100 and that is £2000. Then
maybe I can get other people who meet other people
to take sponsorship forms and raise money for me.
Wife, kids, colleagues, friends, family, other
councillors, council officers I know well. The parents
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
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4
and staff at the places I am raising money for. 100
people raising £20 each. That would be £2000.
£2000 left. I write articles for community newsletters,
of which this is one. They are read by people I never
get the chance to meet. If every reader gave gave
20p, that would be £2000. They won't but if every
tenth reader gave £2.00? One shiny brass coin?
Are you a one on ten? I really hope so. I believe I can
do this. 26 miles by foot, six months of training, 4000
miles each way, 3 stones in weight, 4 inches off my
waistline, 4 charities, £8000 for kids with special
needs, one in ten readers of this article, £2, one shiny
brass coin. Lots of numbers, but surely, zero problem.
Please help me. You can send me a cheque to Spyhill
Cottage, Durris, AB31 6DH, payable to Sandy
Wallace New York Marathon Account. You can call
me on 0780-1900-841 and I will tell you who I know
near you that will collect your donation.
Thanks, when the pain sets in, your support will keep
me going.
Sandy
DRUMOAK DURRIS & CRATHES
BOWLING CLUB
A few reminders:Sat. 30th Sept. 2.00pm
Tues. 3rd Oct.
Sat. 28th Oct. 7.30pm
Green Closure and prizes.
Indoor Bowls begin
Concert in the Pavillion
BIG BROTHER KNOWS WHERE YOU LIVE !!
John Hopkins describes some of the sinister aspects
of combining the ubiquitous post code with data bases
When the GPO – as it then was - introduced
postcodes throughout the UK in the Sixties and
Seventies, many of us thought that it was just a way of
helping Postman Pat to deal with bad handwriting on
letters. In fact, Pat (not to mention Jess, his cat)
needed all the help he could get, what with deliveries
being twice daily - even on Sundays - in those far-off
golden days.
Postcodes are alpha-numeric (e.g. AB31 6TY). When
they were introduced, people complained that they
were much more difficult to remember than all-number
codes, such as US zip codes. Of course, these were
exactly the same people who had complained a few
years earlier when phone numbers went from being
alpha-numeric to all-number.
Everyone could
remember that the number for Scotland Yard was
Whitehall 1212. Has anyone any idea what the
number is now?
Even if it started out as just a postcode, it wasn’t long
before companies realised that it was a great basis for
collecting and analysing data.
June 2006
Take the example of AB31 6TY. AB31 is one of the
sorting offices for Aberdeen. The 6 indicates a sector
for this sorting office. The letters TY indicate a unit
within a sector. Each unit contains an average of 15
properties. For many purposes, the unit is an ideal
size for data analysis. For others, the sector (AB31 6,
in this example) is better.
If you are a home insurance company and your
existing customers in TW9 5 claim for burglary three
times more often than the national average, you’ll
think twice about taking on another customer in TW9
5. More controversially, you may charge them more
for their insurance – or even refuse to sell them a
policy.
If you are a police force, you may send more foot
patrols to those postcode areas where most crime is
reported (or you may just concentrate on nicking
drivers for speeding, because it is so much easier).
Did you think supermarket “loyalty” cards were about
loyalty? Think again. In exchange for a bit of a
discount and a few BOGOF coupons, you give the
supermarket your address and postcode. Every
purchase made using your card is then recorded and
analysed by their computers to give a detailed picture
of how much you spend and what on. This means
they can target offers at very selective groups,
perhaps sending leaflets by post to all households in a
couple of dozen specific postcode units.
If you are a loan company or building society, you
may decide to simply avoid doing business altogether
in certain postcode sectors or units. Of course this
practice (called “red-lining”) has been discontinued in
the interests of social justice. Similarly, the moon is
made of green cheese.
Even if the jury is still out on whether Santa Claus
actually exists, it is nonetheless true that he has been
given a postcode by the Royal Mail. The full postal
address (so you can send your Christmas letters in
good time) is:Santa
Reindeerland
SAN TA1
So, there is a vast number of private company
databases brimming with data about us and our
immediate neighbours. However, it is only when the
data in these is joined together that the power of the
system becomes apparent. There are “data
warehouse” companies now, who exist to build up
(and sell) such data profiles. They start by loading
various publicly-available datasets, such as the Post
Office’s National Postal Address File, the full Electoral
Register, the Companies House file of Company
Director’s names and addresses plus various
shareholder registers. Because this information is in
the public domain, Data Protection regulations can be
ignored.
Then comes the clever part. The Post Office’s
National Postal Address File contains a complete
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
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5
register of all valid postal addresses in Great Britain
together with their current postcodes. The computers
read the addresses and start to categorise the
property type. If the address contains the word “Flat”,
it is likely to be a smaller property and in a town. If it
contains the word “Farm”, it is likely to be in the
countryside. If it doesn’t have a street number, it is
likely to be in the countryside. If it’s called “Hall”, it is
likely to be bigger than somewhere called “Cottage”.
On its own, this categorisation is not watertight, but
when combined with other information, it becomes
more and more accurate.
The Electoral Register contains details of all citizens
allowed to vote in elections in the UK. The names
and number of adults in each household make it
possible to identify the likely composition of that
household (e.g. married couples with shared
surnames, apparent “bidie-ins” and complex
households where there are three or more electors
present with two or more family names). As with the
address analysis, the apparent form of the household
is not necessarily a wholly reliable indicator on its
own. But it all adds up, and checking all the old
versions of the Electoral Register makes it possible to
identify the number of years that any particular
individual has been present at a given address.
Everybody knows that certain forenames have been
fashionable at different times - John and Susan in the
Fifties, Wayne and Waynetta in the Eighties, Brooklyn
and Romeo today. The data warehousers use this
information to establish the age distribution of people
with each of the more common forenames. To
improve accuracy, they use not just the forename of
the individual but also the forename of any partner
with the same surname at the same address, plus the
information on duration of residence at that address.
And do you think it would be possible to guess at
someone’s religion and ethnicity from their surname?
If you were a loan company offering conventional
loans, you might conclude that it makes no sense to
send advertising to Muslims (for most of whom paying
or charging interest is unacceptable). And would you
market England tee-shirts to someone whose name
starts “Mac” or “Mc”?
If you are thinking that this sort of reckoning is not a
proper job for a person, you are absolutely right. But
it’s just the job for a computer. So what next?
Add in the Census data (available publicly down to
postcode unit level). Conduct “lifestyle surveys”,
where you get people to fill in long and detailed postal
questionnaires about their preferences in exchange
for money-off vouchers (or entry in a “Free Draw”) and
add all that in. Also, have you noticed how many other
ways companies try to get hold of your
name/address/postcode details? Free samples of
shampoo – just fill in the form. A copy of our guide to
investment – just submit a web request.
June 2006
Every little bit of data is a jigsaw piece and –
referenced by your postcode – adds up to a detailed
picture of you and your neighbours. If you are like me,
you will probably be a bit worried about some of the
ways in which this sort of data can be abused by
private companies. However, this is as nothing
compared with what the Government will be able to
do, once it combines all the databases to which it has
access. They haven’t got very far with this yet, but
just give them another eighteen years. It’ll be 2024,
but it’ll seem just like 1984.
You may wonder why the Government doesn’t already
have this power. My theory is that there is a secret
libertarian resistance movement in the heart of the
Civil Service which is nobly sabotaging every such
development. You may, of course, prefer to believe
that the appalling record of failures and cost overruns
in virtually every Government computerisation project
is simply due to gross incompetence.
And these people want to inflict an ID card on us?
John Hopkins
CRATHES DRUMOAK & DURRIS
COMMUNITY COUNCIL
CRATHES PLANNING:
The new housing mooted for Crathes in the
Aberdeenshire Local Plan has reached the stage of
draft Development Brief (pre-submission of a planning
application). The Development Brief, about to go
before the Marr Area Committee for approval was
discussed at a recent meeting held at the request of
the Community Council. Community Councilors David
Morrish and Tony Butcher met with Aberdeenshire
planners. The landowner, Dunecht Estates were
represented at the meeting by Stuart Young and
Ryden Property Consultants. The ground in question
lies in front of the old Crathes Garage where is
proposed to build a first phase of 45 houses. The
location has no sewerage, no gas, no shops and a
school 2 miles away with no foot or cycle path
connecting it to the village. On these and other points,
the proposal has received local objections, supported
by the CDDCC who are at a loss as to why such a
development is considered, but they will remain
connected to the planning process in the hope that
sense will prevail. At the meeting CDCC asked, why,
in these environmentally sensitive times, would we be
considering a housing development with individual oil
or gas tanks? They involve the unnecessary use of
road tankers and pose a risk of leakage to ground
water. Why are we continuing to load up already
dangerous commuter routes such as the South
Deeside Road? Why are we building in such a
prominent location? If you are interested in getting
involved with this issue please contact you community
councillor.www.durris.net/html/community_councillors.
html
David Morrish
Chairman, CDDCC
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
Issue 47
6
taking place as to what improvements can be made to
the existing plant.”
DRUMOAK SEWAGE SAGA
Many people are asking about what is happening with
the Drumoak Sewage plant, so the Newsletter has
made a few enquiries. One of the Scottish Executive
Reporter’s condition finding in favour of the houses
was that “No development shall commence until a)
the waste water treatment plant at Drumoak has been
upgraded to a standard which can accept the
additional foul water from the development, and b)
works have been undertaken to create a safe crossing
point for pedestrians over the A93.
Reasons: in the interests of public health and the
safety of pedestrians”
In response to our enquiry, a senior representative of
Stewart Milne Homes told the Newsletter that they are
having difficulties with Scottish Water who had
changed the design concept after SMH had designed
the plant, and in consequence were having to
redesign the plant………
Its good to know that so many people are looking after
our welfare each time we flush the loo!
Editor
According to Planning Services the extension was
approved last year but some minor amendments to
the scheme required further authorisation which was
only granted some two weeks ago. This would
explain why the work, that started some months ago
when W.M. Donald set up their site office and
removed some of the screening trees, has stopped.
The next meeting of the liaison group will be on
Wednesday 20th September. If anyone has any
complaints or observations can they please call
Donald Keith on 01330 811 763 by the 19th Sept.
Enquiries to Scottish Water who have the
responsibility for treated water disposal resulted in the
following statement:
“Scottish Water is committed to delivering an
upgraded waste water treatment works for the
Drumoak area. As well as providing an improved level
of treatment it will also cope with the ongoing
expansion of the local housing stock. This work will be
carried out by Stewart Milne.
Scottish Water is currently going through the design
and technical approval process and is working closely
with SEPA to obtain a new discharge consent for the
upgraded works and select a suitable outfall site on
the River Dee.In advance of the proposed work at the
site, some trees have been removed to allow the work
to go ahead.Some houses have already been
connected to the existing waste water system in
recent times. The treatment works are operating very
close to capacity and are still within their current
consent from SEPA. Stewart Milne will be carrying out
some interim improvements to the plant so it will
remain within the consent until the full upgrade has
been completed. Scottish Water hopes to complete
this waste water improvement as soon as possible.”
Meanwhile, SEPA have told the Newsletter :
"Drumoak Wastewater Treatment Plant continues to
be monitored and regulated by the Scottish
Environment Protection Agency (SEPA). There have
been no consent failures this year, with the most
recent sample taken on 17 August 2006.
The developer has reached an agreement with
Scottish Water that they will contribute to the
modernising of the sewage works, however the
discharge currently continues to operate within the
existing consent conditions, whilst an investigation is
June 2006
PARK QUARRY LIAISON MEETING
KEEPING OUR BEAUTIFUL ENVIRONMENT
BEAUTIFUL
Recently, I received an this e-mail from Claire
Gillespie who raised a very interesting point that is
worth sharing with the community. It said:
“I am emailing you because I can't find an email
address for those responsible for the Deeside Way on
the website. I read in the recent CDDCC meeting
minutes that the Deeside Way is being officially
opened in June.
I am wondering if the Deeside Way people would be
interested in getting local people to volunteer to look
after (adopt) a section of the route to keep any eye
on. I live at the Park end of Drumoak and regularly
collect litter and cover dogs dirt on the section
between Park Shop and Park Estate walled garden. I
also collect litter from the road between Park Shop
and Coupers road (via Tersets farm).
I read in a past newsletter that a local man collected
litter between Park shop and the main village so I
think it may be possible to get other volunteers.
Anyway this is just a suggestion - I will keep on doing
what I do even if my idea goes no further.I look
forward to hearing form you or whoever is responsible
for the path”.
It’s a very interesting question. Whilst we might
expect ”The Cooncil” to carry out major maintenance
on our footpaths, we can hardly expect them to pick
up all the rubbish deposited by their users. Yet if no
one does there will be a litter trail from Aberdeen to
Banchory in no time, and the task would rapidly be
beyond us. But if we do it bite by bite – like eating an
elephant, we would soon keep our environment
beautiful. If Claire’s message strikes a chord with you,
call 01330 811 763, to register your interest.
Drumoak & Durris Newsletter
Issue 47
7