Cllr Fraser Macpherson - LibDem Councillor for Dundee's West End - www.dundeewestend.com
Fraser has been LibDem Councillor for the West End on Dundee City Council since 2001 and has topped the poll in all of the 4 council elections he has contested. Fraser has served as the Council’s Education Convener, Finance Convener and Planning & Transport Convener. This blog has been the Top Councillor blog and a Top Ten blog in the LibDem & Scottish categories of the Total Politics Blogs Poll Awards.
Last night, I was minute-taker at the latest Friends of Magdalen Green committee meeting. It was an extremely positive meeting at which there was an update on the Roseangle playpark improvements campaign from Sharon and Alice, who are leading the campaign.
Don't forget the playpark campaign meeting tonight at 7.30pm at Braes Below - all welcome! The campaign team will be at WestFest Big Sunday, alongside the Friends of Magdalen Green and West End Community and Sports Hub stall!
Magdalen Green - looking lovely in the warm spring weather yesterday
This year's WestFest launches on Sunday 9th June with the 2013 Big Sunday on Magdalen Green. I'll be pleased to join my colleagues in Friends of Magdalen Green and the West End Community and Sports Hub who will have a stall at the event.
You can see details of Big Sunday here, with links to details of all the week's excellent events.
Back in February, along with other committee members of the West End Community and Sports Hub (WECSH, formerly WESHA), we toured the Riverside Pavilion to view the commencement of the improvement works provided by a Community Payback Scheme project.
Last night, we held another tour to view progress with the works that are nearing completion and these are looking great. Here's a few photographs from the visit last night:
New kitchen equipment installed
Repainted changing rooms
Repainted corridors - the floor is to be repainted after the football season ends
A new peak time bus service,
jointly funded by the City Council and Angus Council, and to be operated by
National Express Dundee, will start next Monday (27th May) providing
direct links between Piperdam, Liff, Ninewells Hospital and the City Centre.
The good news for the
West End is that parts of the West End
including Guthrie Street,
Brook Street,
Milnbank Road,
City Road,
Tullideph Road andAncrum Road
will be covered by the new route. This
is particularly welcome for those residents who used to rely on the former
Stagecoach 74 service that was withdrawn back in 2009.
Earlier this evening, I attended the latest meeting of Blackness Primary School Parent Council. Mr Ferrier, Head Teacher, gave a very helpful update on impending building improvements at the school. It was also great to hear that the school has been awarded a Health Promotion Platinum Award, the first school in Dundee to reach the platinum award level.
The school's PTA and Parent Council is holding its Summer Fete on Saturday 8th June, between 10am and 12 noon. The theme this year is recycling, with lots of activities including 'urban gardens' (a planting stall), 'water to wine' (win wine - or water!), DVD swapshop, and 'eco school' (recycled school uniforms).
Friends of Balgay now have a website that you can access at www.friendsofbalgay.co.uk. I'll declare an interest - Janet, me wife, has created it for the Friends, using a wealth of information Friends of Balgay supplied.
Further to my previous updates about the disabled access and other improvements at Blackness Library, I have received the following information from the council's Head of Library and Information Services :
"We are now in a position to confirm details relating to the temporary closure of Blackness Library for the completion of the building works.
The library will close from Thursday 30th May for a 6 to 8 week period.
A reduced service will be provided from Logie and St John's Church from Monday 3rd June onwards.
The opening times will remain the same."
I am very pleased that a West End library service is being maintained during the closure period and good to see it will be situated so close to the library at Logie St John's (Cross) Church.
After my weekly ward surgeries at Harris Academy and the Mitchell Street Centre, I took part in City Council committee meetings at which :
* At Education Committee, in a discussion on the funding of the rebuilding of Harris Academy, I sought assurances about the level of the Scottish Government's part-funding of the project.
* At Environment Committee, I welcomed a report on promoting bowling in the city and pointed to the facility at Lochee Park and why it would be good to see the second green utilised and the Bowling Green's building improved. I also welcomed improvements planned for tennis facilities across Dundee, including a new porous macadam surface for the Victoria Park Tennis Courts (which, incidentally, were part-flooded today across the existing blaize court surface - the new surface will make a real difference).
* At Policy & Resources Committee, I welcomed Common Good Funding for the Tay Rail Bridge Disaster Memorial Trust, the High Mill Open Gallery Project and three other worthwhile groups. I also spoke in favour of ensuring that young people are represented across the city's Local Community Planning Partnerships.
This afternoon, I took part in the latest meeting
of the Balgay Stakeholders' Group that gives the opportunity for
representatives from Friends of Balgay to discuss issues around the park area
with local councillors and representatives of the City Council's Environment
Department.
We had a very productive discussion on a number of issues including the planting of wildflowers just inside the Scott Street entrance to the park, progress towards the new toilet provision at the Lochee Park Pavilion and improvements at the Rose Garden.
Friends of Balgay are having a litter pick on Sunday 2nd June from 2pm to 3pm on Balgay Hill. This takes place during the Dundee Festival of Volunteering. If you would like to help, the team will be meeting at the Observatory at 2pm. Equipment such a litter grabbers and gloves will be supplied.
In association with the University of Dundee Institute of Sport and Exercise, the Botanic Garden is holding a 5K Fun Run on the evening of Wednesday 22nd May.
From the Curator of Museum Services at the University of Dundee:
The next special event at the D'Arcy Thompson Zoology Museum is one of the annual highlights of our programme, now in its fifth year.
On Tuesday 21 May at 6pm we present Notes from the Museum, an evening of poetry and prose inspired by our amazing collections and the extraordinary life and work of D’Arcy Thompson. All of the work is written and performed by students on the Creative Writing MLitt and undergraduate courses in the School of Humanities, University of Dundee.
The event will be chaired by tutor Edward Small and promises to be an atmospheric and memorable evening.
All are welcome and there is no need to book - enter by the front door of the Carnelley Building.
I have recently been assisting the Dundee ADHD Parents Support Group get a local base to support parents and carers of children with ADHD. I'm pleased to highlight the forthcoming fundraising the support group has organised:
I am urging communities across Dundee to apply for the new £6m First World War: then and now fund, that the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) has just launched.
HLF is making at least £1m available per year until 2019 to provide grants of between £3,000 and £10,000. The money will enable groups across the UK to explore, conserve and share their First World War heritage and deepen their understanding of the impact of the conflict.
Communities can apply for grants for a variety of different projects, which could include:
•Researching, identifying and recording local heritage
•Creating a community archive or collection
•Developing new interpretations of heritage through exhibitions, trails, smartphone apps, etc.
•Researching, writing and performing creative material based on heritage sources
•Conservation of war memorials
The First World War had an unprecedented impact on our communities, with so many young men leaving for the front. Few people are alive now who can give us a first-hand account of this period but the legacy they have left behind can still be felt and seen.
The Heritage Lottery Fund will allow our communities to mark the centenary. I want to encourage those who want to commemorate the centenary to get in touch with the HLF and see if they can tap into this new fund.
This anniversary will be a poignant time for local people. I look forward to working with different groups to bring the stories from that time alive and preserve our heritage for future generations.
Last night, I participated in a very positive West End Local Community Planning Partnership meeting. There was a very interesting report on alcohol over-provision from a representative of the Dundee Alcohol and Drug Partnership and from the City Council's Health Improvement Officer.
The meeting also discussed a number of West End issues with useful updates from various representatives including Fire and Rescue, the Police, the third sector, the NHS and Dundee City Council.
I was very pleased to be assured that funding is now in place to provide a pedestrian crossing on Riverside Drive near the playing fields/pavilion, something I have long campaigned for.
I have criticised a leading company for placing advertisements on their
utility boxes, without necessary permission.
Advertisements for BT Broadband from British Telecom Openreach
have sprung up in the city, stuck to BT telecom utility boxes. I have had complaints about these from constituents in Cleghorn Street and
Glamis Road
– the constituents wondering if the adverts are authorised. See photo from Cleghorn Street - right.
Advertising of this kind requires
advertising consent from the City Council and having asked the council, I was advised that BT Openreach has failed to apply for such consent. From
time to time, I get complaints about fly posted unauthorised advertisements but
you expect a company like BT to play by the rules. As one
constituent pointed out, if every utility box and piece of street furniture had
adverts stuck across them like this, it would be extremely unsightly.
A constituent complained to BT about
one of the adverts and was told by BT:
“I am sorry to hear that you are unhappy with the
sign we have placed on our cabinet.
BT have invested heavily in the local area to
provide a faster Broadband service. As such we want to make people aware of
this so they have the opportunity to benefit from it.
BT have the necessary rights under the relevant advertising
legislation to enable us to place the signs on our cabinets.”
I therefore challenged BT to indicates what “necessary rights” BT had
to give authority for their adverts . BT replied:
“Based upon independent Legal Counsel,
BT believe that the advertisement has deemed consent under both Class 2B and 5 of the
Town and Country Planning (Control of Advertisements) (England) Regulations 2007.”
I have gently pointed out to BT that perhaps they have not
noticed the country they are placing their adverts in! English
Regulations have no relevance to Scotland
and when I asked them to provide evidence of deemed consent for sites in Scotland, I
have been met with silence from BT.
As
the Council’s Planning Team has confirmed that the company does indeed need
planning consent, I do think BT should remove these advertisements until and if
it obtains planning approval. Personally I agree with my
constituents that plastering utility boxes with such adverts is unsightly and
should not be encouraged. I spoke on Wave 102 News about the matter yesterday and you can hear this by clicking 'play' below:
This afternoon, I had the great pleasure of attending the 25th Anniversary Party of the Blackness Court Sheltered Housing Complex. There was a great turnout of residents - see below - and it was a lovely event to mark an important anniversary for the complex.
The event also marked the 25th Anniversary of Linda Webster as Blackness Court's Scheme Manager. Linda has been at Blackness Court since 1988 and is a much-loved and hard working scheme manager who has made Blackness Court such a lovely place for the tenants to have made their home. Linda gave an entertaining rendition of a poem about the past 25 years at Blackness Court - see above right - and was fittingly given a presentation by colleagues at Home Scotland.
This morning, along with many other guests, I had the pleasure of attending the West End Schools' Campus Official Opening at the magnificent new home for Balgay Hill Nursery School, St Joseph's Primary School and Victoria Park Primary School.
The musical and dance contributions by the pupils were excellent and it was a thoroughly enjoyable morning. Here's a couple of photographs from a most memorable and enjoyable event:
A welcome from pupils from all three schools
The talented choir that contains pupils from all years from all three schools
Dundee Liberal Democrats held our AGM last night and Craig Duncan was elected as the new local party Convener with Joe Setch of Dundee Liberal Youth being elected as Vice Convener. Thanks were expressed to Allan Petrie who has stood down as Convener. Allan remains on our local party Executive and we are delighted at welcoming new members to the Executive too.
The photo (right) is of (from left) myself, Liberal Democrat President Tim Farron MP, Craig, Scottish LibDem Leader Willie Rennie MSP and Joe during Willie's and Tim's visit to Dundee last year.
From Sharon Dickie and Alice La Rooy who are leading the Friends of Magdalen Green campaign for play improvements at the Roseangle Play Park:
We recently kicked off the fundraising efforts for improving Roseangle Play Park and a lot is happening already.
Alice La Rooy and Sharon Dickie are leading the fundraising efforts on behalf of the Friends of Magdalen Green and have organised a meeting for anyone interested at Braes Below (Perth Road opposite the University) at 7.30pm on Thursday 23rd May.
Anyone is welcome. We hope to gather a lot of ideas for the park improvements and fundraising as well as seek support of other volunteers.
Earlier today, I attended the latest meeting of
theJericho House support group, a regular meeting at which a
number of us discuss fundraising and other projects to support this important
facility in the West End Ward, that assists those recovering from alcoholism.
We received the extremely positive news that the recent play at the Steps Theatre ("Broken Puzzle") not only produced an income of over £1200 in aid of Jericho House's charitable work, the service users, staff and others who performed in it are now taking the show to Glasgow.
We also heard the good news that the Families Anonymous support group at Jericho House is going from strength to strength and gaining new participants.
Jericho House staff and service users are kindly taking part in the West End clean-up initiatives as part of the Festival of Volunteering early next month, which is also good news.
Wighton Heritage Centre at the Central Library : Cappuccino Concert - Saturday 18th May at 11am, with coffee available from 10.30am.
Kenna Campbell and Wilma Kennedy, Gaelic singers
Kenna Campbell is recognised as one of the principal tradition bearers of contemporary Gaelic Scotland. Born in Roag, near Dunvegan on the Isle of Skye, and now living in Glasgow, she belongs to a family of singers and pipers - the Campbells of Greepe. Her greatest passion is for the òran mòr or the "big song" in classical Gaelic tradition, and the family as a whole share a special talent in the singing of mouth music or puirt a beul.
Her love of song is matched by that of her desire to pass on this knowledge and skill to a new generation of singers, and her role as principal tutor in Gaelic Song at the RSAMD's Scottish Music degree is characterised by a contemporary approach matched with a respect for the roots of tradition.
Her daughter Wilma Kennedy is also a renowned Gaelic singer, broadcaster and teacher. A double Mod Gold Medalist, she is very well known in Dundee as the director of the award-winning Dundee Gaelic choir and Gaelic song tutor for Friends of Wighton.
Further to my article yesterday about the new encampment on the former GA Call Centre site at the Technology Park, I spoke on Wave 102 News about the matter. Click 'play' below to listen:
Earlier this evening, I attended the latest West End Community Council meeting at which the guest speaker was Miguel Gomez Goni who, as a Spanish citizen living in Dundee, spoke about his experiences of living in our city.
In the police update, PC Forrester mentioned the recent spate of graffiti, an issue I raised at Policy and Resources Committee last night. I was given assurances that all efforts are being made to tackle this. I have reported the most recent complaint - near the Roseangle Car Park - (see right) - to the council's Rapid Response Team to have the graffiti cleaned off.
As reported in last night's "Evening Telegraph", a group of travellers have re-occupied the former GA call centre site, following the previous occupation. As I indicated in last night's paper, I am anxious to see a swift resolution to the situation and hope the travelling community will henceforth use the official site at Balmuir Wood.
The council's Housing Department advised me yesterday:
"There is a new illegal encampment of 4 caravans at the old GA call centre on Explorer Road. We visited the site this afternoon with the Police to speak to them and take their details. The wife of the boss said they will be gone by the weekend as they are only passing through from Aberdeen back down south. I will contact Jones Lang & Lasalle to let them know they have another encampment & advise them to block the access from Riverside Drive."
With regard to the dumping of rubbish (see photo from the previous encampment above), the council's Head of Democratic and Legal Services has also advised me:
"Further to previous correspondence I met with Chief Inspector McKillop on Friday 10th May and he confirmed that he would consider using the Mobile CCTV Unit in appropriate cases in the future."
The new Harris Academy building is striking and innovative in design and will provide high quality 21st century facilities for the school community and for the wider West End community who will be able to make use of the school facilities - for example for leisure and night classes - when the new school opens in August 2016.
At last night's committee, I sought assurances that there would not be any detrimental effect for the immediately adjacent residents in the Perth Road area in terms of their residential amenity - for example noise, construction traffic and other vehicle parking and maneouvres - during the construction period. This is an area I will be keeping a close eye on on behalf of constituents from commencement of the demolition and rebuilding project that will start at the end of the 2012/13 academic year at the end of June.
Earlier this evening, after my weekly ward surgeries at the Mitchell Street Centre and at Harris Academy, I took part in City Council committee meetings.
At Development Management Committee, I moved refusal of the proposal to create a housing development at the former Parkview School in Blackness Road. My amendment read:
"Item 1: Housing Development at Former Parkview School
I wish to move refusal of this application on the following grounds:
Overdevelopment
The proposals are contrary to Policy 4b of the Dundee Local Plan 2005 as the scale and nature of the new build development results in overdevelopment of this site, which is out of character with the surrounding low density residential area. There are no material considerations of sufficient strength to justify the granting of planning permission contrary to the policy.
Loss of residential amenity
The proposals are contrary to Policy 1 of the Dundee Local Plan 2005 as the design and layout of the development will have an adverse impact on the amenities of local residents by reason of
a) overshadowing, caused by the new build development and
b) noise, caused by the location and quantity of car parking in the northern part of the site.
There are no material considerations of sufficient strength to justify the granting of planning permission contrary to the policy."
In short, as the two local residents who spoke in deputations also pointed out, the principle of upgrading the school building to create housing was acceptable; cramming significant additional housing onto the site is not.
The vote was extremely close - 14-14 - but unfortunately, on the Convener's casting vote - the application was approved.
At Policy and Resources Committee, and in discussion about policing matters, I asked questions of Police Scotland representatives about domestic housebreaking in Dundee and about graffiti vandalism.
THE ROAD TRAFFIC REGULATION ACT 1984 - SECTION 14(1)
THE DUNDEE CITY COUNCIL AS TRAFFIC AUTHORITY being satisfied that traffic on the road should be prohibited by reason of electrical cabling works being carried out HEREBY PROHIBIT the driving of any vehicle in Douglas Street (from Milnes East Wynd to Lower Pleasance), Dundee.
This notice comes into effect on Tuesday 28 May 2013 for 5 working days.
Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained.
Alternative routes for vehicles are available via Park Street / Brewery Lane / Lower Pleasance.
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being one of the guest speakers at the North East Scotland Liberal Democrat Conference in Laurencekirk. It was a thoroughly enjoyable day with a great turnout of Liberal Democrats from right across NE Scotland.
Christine Jardine, who has been selected as our party's candidate at the forthcoming Aberdeen Donside Scottish parliamentary by-election, gave a rousing speech. Christine is a hugely impressive candidate, pointing out that "The North East needs a strong voice in parliament, not yet another nationalist who will bang the drum for independence."
It was also good to hear from Cllr Fergus Hood, Aberdeenshire councillor for East Garioch, who, last week, left the SNP to join the Liberal Democrats. Fergus spoke with passion about his vision of improved facilities and services for the people of Aberdeenshire and how it is the Liberal Democrats who are delivering.
Here's some photographs from a great day (and with thanks to my colleague Daniel for his help with this!):
Addressing the conference
George Lyon MEP with some of the Dundee Team!
Christine Jardine (second right) with Cllr Steve Delaney of Aberdeen City Council, Alison McInnes MSP, Willie Rennie MSP and Malcolm Bruce MP
This morning, along with fellow councillors, the Lord Provost, the city's MSPs and other invited guests, I had the pleasure of attending the launch of nine brand new hybrid-electric double decker buses by National Express Dundee. See photo from the launch at Dundee High School below:
It is great to see these Scottish-built, environmentally friendly vehicles being used on the Number 5 route that serves much of the West End and it was fitting that the party was taken on one of the buses to the University of Dundee’s Botanic Garden, where there were speeches by the Lord Provost and Phil Smith, Managing Director of National Express Dundee. Phil is pictured giving his address (right).
It was also good to take the opportunity of the visit to the Botanic Garden to speak with some of the team from the Friends of the University of Dundee Botanic Garden who are setting up for their plant sale tomorrow - see left. It is on from 12 noon to 3pm at the Botanic Garden tomorrow - don't miss it!
