Community council to get to grips with grass
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A BUCKIE community group have revealed they are stepping up to the plate to tackle areas affected by Moray Council's reduction in grass cutting services.
Many public areas have been left partially or completely uncut as part of the local authority's bid to shave £15 million from its budget, a move which has sparked outrage and health concerns across Moray.
However, Buckie and District Community Council (BDCC), along with Buckie Roots (originally Friends of Buckie Square), a sub-group formed a year ago by the organisation a year ago, are set to take on the mantle of cutting as many priority areas of grass as possible.
BDCC chairman Kevin Mckay told the Advertiser: "I think it's important to stress from the off that we're not getting involved with the politics of the decision to reduce grass cutting – the basic truth is that the council doesn't have the money and if you re-instate full grass cutting services then it just means something else has to be cut back.
"We're working closely with Ken Kennedy at the council's lands and parks section to identify which areas they do and don't cover in terms of grass cutting and from there which areas are priorities. Some people feel some places should be left to grow while others are unsightly and should be cut – our job at the moment is to work out which is which and how much it'll be feasible for us to get cut."
Financing the project is obviously a major consideration and one which Mr McKay said the community council were taking a long term view.
"The community council doesn't have a lot of money and an option we're looking at is to apply to the Buckie Common Good Fund to help pay for the grass cutting this year.
"After that we're looking at raising our own funds; we've got our own gazebo which we're planning to have at the Buckie Christmas Kracker and are planning a couple of open days. Collection tins will be going in certain shops in Buckie, too."
As BDCC seek to harness the town's community spirit, Mr Mckay stressed that these efforts relied solely on volunteers to make them happen, with fresh talent always welcome to come on board.
He said: "At the moment we've just got eight people on the community council out of a possible 12 seats to cover the whole of Buckie, with a ninth hopefully joining shortly.
"We each bring our own talents, experience and skills to the community council but at the end of the day it's still not a lot of people.
"I'd appeal to people to consider joining us and become a community councillor. Bring your enthusiasms and passions to the table to help your community, there's something for everyone to do and enjoy on the community council."
For more information on BDCC and their work, visit their Facebook page or email buckieanddistrictcc@gmail.com
