I been actively involved in pursuing a response from Network Rail as I have asked  the Transport Manager at Angus council to contact them to find out  about the date for the new pedestrian Bridge.   In my view it is appalling that network Rail have failed to respond to the issue being raised over several months on the companies plans for the replacement of the bridge. It is outrageous that they have failed to reply to the correspondence and to give a new date and reasons for the delay. The issue of the replacement of the bridge has been going on for many years and the last date I was given was for the work to be started was November 2011. No reasons has been given for a delay and no date has been given when the work will be done. The Montrose public are being taken for granted and groups such as the disabled, infirm and parents with prams and young children have huge difficulties with the present arrangements and deserve to know when action is going to take place.

The Town Centre Regeneration Group which I am on have supported changes at the station with the viewing points and new information boards and have plans for further improvements, but we cannot make the progress we wish due to this delay in replacing the bridge.

The launch of the consultation on the plans for the Montrose Town Centre improvements, with the Montrose area public took place at the YM. The Town Centre Group, which I was on, had representatives from Montrose Society, Montrose Heritage Trust, Montrose Community Council, Montrose Area Partnership, Val Cooper ( YM) local residents and as well as Montrose councillors Mark Salmond and myself.  We have spent many months working up the proposals to improve the High Street so that it will make it more attractive to locals as well as visitors and be a boost to local shops. The plans will be available for viewing and for commenting on in the YM as well as the local library, and we have devised a short questionnaire and we hope as many people in possible will complete it by  The Town Centre Regeneration Group will then collate the responses and then decide how to take this forward. We are seeking the views of the public on issues such as the proposed colour schemes, litter bins and seating as presently what we have are badly needing upgraded and the proposals will help to have more of a corporate scheme which we beleve to enhance our high street and be welcomed by shoppers. Funding is available  and this will help to fund phase 1 of the project and our group have further ideas of improvements to our town. So far the group have been behind the installation of the mermaid lamps and to the viewing points at the railway station.

A number of residents in the village contacted me expressing their concerns about regarding the speed of the traffic travelling along Main Road in Hillside. The difficulties of crossing the road forpedestrians such as school children as well as the elderly were identified.

As a result I organized a site meeting residents with one of the roads staff so that the issues could be discussed. This resulted in speed checks and the roads officer developed several possible options which were discussed by the local community council who eventually narrowed the options down. These were then thanks to the local post office on display for informal consultation and through that it became clear that the preferred option proved not to be feasible due to the difficulties of an oil tanker delivery.

Consequently, another visit was organized and the roads officer put forward another option which you have in front of you today is to construct a new footway and new dropped kerb crossing facilities as well as a raised table and build outs.
Essentially this will make quite a difference as traffic will slow down and the road for pedestrians will be much safer.

AS the councilor who has played a role in working with the roads staff as well as the local community in helping to tackle this issue of speeding I am delighted that the committee have agreed to this report so that what is now proposed will be out for formal consultation and the outcomes of that will come before a future Infrastructure Services Committee.

The last week or two have been very busy not only with pot hole issues, but also others such as dog fouling,  street lighting, council housing  and road resurfacing

I spoke in favour of a report on the South Montrose area by saying ” It is a widely recognised fact that much of this area is greatly in need of regeneration as there are several derelict buildings and the people in the town were given the opportunity both at the George Hotel to view the proposals as well as to talk to some officers about the proposals as well as to send in their comments on the what was suggested. This report notes these responses to the draft master plan for the area and it is generally clear that there is considerable support for not only the physical regeneration but also the economic regeneration. The responses we have from the people of Montrose illustrate this and there is a recognition of a wish of existing businesses to take part in these improvements as this will be a major boost to our town and provide both short term as well as long term boost to our local economy. There is also the potential of tapping into the renewables off shore sector which I am personally very keen for us to do.

I seek the support of the committee as the more we can do to provide jobs and opportunities for our local population in Montrose and indeed Angus as whole in what is a growth sector in the world economy the better. This is especially important at this time given the difficulties the national as well as the world economy is facing.”

I am glad to note that the committee passed the report.

I spoke in favour of the report on the Community Grant scheme which came up at a recent council meeting as I said ” I call on the members of the committee to support the funds being allocated to Montrose Events as they wish to purchase Christmas themed banners which can be used each year to promote our town during the Christmas period. I also hope the committee agree to allocate funding to Hillside Scout Group who have been very active in successfully providing activities for young people and I am aware have planned many camps in the coming year. If the committee agree the money allocated will be used to purchase camping equipment which will be available for other groups in the town. This community grant scheme has been very successful and makes a difference to many groups as this provides them with funding that they would otherwise not have access to.”

I was delighted the committee agreed with me and passed the report.

As a result of complaints from local residents as well as travelling in the town I have been in touch with the roads maintenance manager about pot holes in Dun, Craigo, Montrose, Ferryden and Hillside.

Yesterday, Ed Miliband said the chief executive of Royal Bank of Scotland, Stephen Hester should not receive a bonus this year.

If Labour wanted control of executive pay of state owned banks, then they should have made renegotiation of contracts a condition of the bailout when they were in power.

Labour should have also demanded that all front office investment banking staff in those banks had to re-apply for their jobs, without any guaranteed bonuses.

Labour left the coalition toothless to deal with the issue. Once the banks returned to operational profitability, they lost the legal financial justification for placing investment banking front office staff under consultation to review pay and conditions.

Today, Vince Cable has proposed a series of measures to give shareholders a binding vote on executive pay, and crucially, given Sir Fred Goodwin’s deal at RBS, exit packages.

Vince Cable found himself unable to address high pay at RBS, Lloyds and HBOS, thanks to Labour’s failure to address the issue when it bailed out the banks.

Vince has done what Alistair Darling should have done, and proposed the legislation he needs to get the powers the government needs.

As the largest shareholder in RBS and other banks, the government will now be able to control the executive pay at those institutions, and fix the problems Labour created.

“Millie” has arrived at the Tolbooth Museum, Stonehaven, and is now on display there. “Millie” is a 10” model of the millipede Pneumodesmus Newmani. The fossil of the millipede was found by Mike Newman in 2003 in the sandstone rocks of the foreshore at Cowie, Stonehaven. It is around 428 million years old and the oldest known air-breathing animal in the world. The Model has been commissioned and paid for by Aberdeenshire Council Museum Service and donated to the Tolbooth Group, which now runs the Museum in partnership with the Council.

The Tolbooth Group is discussing with Aberdeenshire Council the continued operation of the Museum in the coming Spring and Autumn when it is hoped to be able to open six days a week. Meanwhile it is open on Saturday and Sunday afternoons up to the end of March.

The Tolbooth Group is considering changes to the layout of the museum and has identified some themes for the coming Spring/Summer season. The work will be carried out in the next couple of months in the leadup to the fuller opening times. This is being masterminded by George Strang who would be pleased to hear from anybody who can assist with this.

Further good news for the Tolbooth is that a local businessman has donated £500 to the Tolbooth Group.

Cllr Peter Bellarby, Chair of the Tolbooth Group, welcomed “Millie” to the Museum and said: “This fossil is hugely significant and now visitors to the Tolbooth will be able to see what the creature looked like. The Tolbooth continues to be a success story and that is due to all those who have helped, whether it is by manning the Museum, lending artefacts, carrying out practical tasks or making a donation”.

Anybody who would like to help can go to the Tolbooth Group’s website
Go to Tolbooth Group Website through which they can contact the Group.