Aberdeenshire Council leader reflects on the year past in her Ellon constituency
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I do hope you all had a good Christmas and that you enjoyed spending time with your family and friends, writes Cllr Gillian Owen.
My Christmas this year was spent at home with Steve, we did have our son Alexander and his girlfriend Eilidh visiting Christmas Eve for dinner and part of Christmas day opening presents, it was very chilled.
I would like to place on record my sincere thanks to all those who had to work on the big day and pay tribute to their families and friends too, it is a hard one and for many people it’s a normal day.
Thank you.
On a personal note, many of us have medical issues, I have suffered for years with osteoarthritis but have learnt to get on with it, although I’m waiting on a trapeziectomy (the removal of a bone at the base of my thumb) which is due this month, 6 weeks in plaster is the trying part!
But annoyingly this year like many of a similar age I was diagnosed with diabetes, I make a plea to all pubs and restaurants to take more notice of diabetes, which afflicts many people.
Diet is a crucial part of reducing the symptoms, yet many menus are not always conducive. Portion control is important but having something suitable on the menu is the real issue.
Many menus have vegetarian, vegan, and lactose options but very few cover diabetic suffers.
So please as the new year starts look at your menus, as little or no choice takes the excitement out of going out!
I have continued to hold surgeries, many of you will have seen me at the Ellon Farmers Market or in the Community room at Rowlands Chemist, my thanks to Rowlands for allowing me to use their room. I must say I enjoy meeting and hearing from you all.
Pressure still needs to be put on Transport Scotland to recognise that the junction at the Toll of Birness is not fit for purpose and needs to be upgraded as soon as possible.
My work on the Why Stop at Ellon? Campaign continues in this vein, it’s hard to believe that I set this campaign up 10 years ago and whilst a few safety measures have been installed to mitigate the blackspot far more needs to be done.
Everyone knows the A90 stretch from Ellon onwards needs attention, with no railway the connectivity is road based.
The north-east continues to be the engine room, and it is time that the Scottish Government chose to reflect this and provide the very necessary resources to allow the upgrade to the A90 Ellon onwards to occur.
Towns throughout Aberdeenshire continue to struggle.
Ellon is no exception empty shops, and a reduced footfall is a worry.
Diversification is needed and we must try and encourage new business into the area which will not only provide jobs but more choice for the residents and maybe then they will choose to shop locally rather than go further afield.
The Aberdeenshire Council Hub on the old Academy site, has now started and is scheduled to open in 2025, many council buildings will be freed up and hopefully this will provide opportunities to help the town grow.
The housing development at the Academy site has been completed and in July many new residents moved into their new homes. However, the whole projects seems to have taken forever, and of course the traffic lights on Golf Road have been a cause for consternation to many, hopefully a pedestrian crossing will soon be installed.
Have you got the “my Aberdeenshire” App yet?
I included this in last year’s message but felt it was important to highlight again. Residents can install on their mobile devices, go to the Aberdeenshire Council Website where it can be downloaded, equally email me and I can send a QR code for either iPhone or Android. This enables them to report potholes, streetlights, request and fill a grit box, fly tipping, and missed bin collections, it contains all sorts of other information and well worth a visit!
In June it was a great honour and a professional privilege to become the Leader of Aberdeenshire Council.
Having been a ward Councillor for Ellon & District since 2007 and the chair of Audit and Scrutiny in 2012 and then of Education & Children Services since 2017, I feel I have been able to see the Council and all we do every day, from all angles, from the vital local aspects of our work at an area level, to the important work undertaken through scrutiny and audit to the significant policy work led forward by a large policy area such as education and children services. I believe this wide-ranging experience will support me well as Leader.
Over the past five years as a policy chair, I have worked hard to operate in a consultative, collegiate manner across the Chamber, seeking consensus where we can - and where we cannot, ensuring disagreement and debate are undertaken in an appropriate, respectful manner. I will seek to continue to work in this way as Leader.
We live in very testing financial times and the budget set last March had huge impacts on our services and sadly this will continue.
Prioritising where money is spent versus which services to either reduce or stop are such very hard decisions to make. There are always winners and losers. One of the toughest times for all elected representatives is budget time as there is never enough money.
We have to cut our cloth and ensure what money we have goes much further which is why the transformation projects are key to assisting Aberdeenshire Council to being a more efficiently run council and looking at new ways to run services using innovation.
Ellon and its surrounding villages are blessed with organisations who do so much for our communities, too many to mention them all but here are just a few; from the Community Councils, Ellon Civic Pride, Friends of Ellon Cemetery, Ellon at Heart, Ellon Legion, Ellon Menshed, Nicer Newburgh Gardeners, the Ellon Community Resilience Group, the Foodbanks, Ellon and Ythan Rotary Clubs, Ellon Castle Gardens, School Parent Councils, the many Church Groups, and the Boys & Girls Brigade, the Scouts and Guides, the Sports Clubs and many, many others who make a difference to our towns and villages, I would like to thank them all for the contribution they make and if I have forgotten anyone I’m truly sorry.
Finally, can I wish everyone an uneventful, healthy, happy, and prosperous 2024 and should anyone wish to contact me about an issue my details are, Facebook - Cllr Gillian Owen, Twitter @gillianlowen, 07768 257392 or email cllr.g.owen@aberdeenshire.gov.uk
