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<title>Granite Chips blog</title><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/index.html</link><description>News and views from Aberdeen</description><dc:language>en</dc:language><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><dc:rights>Copyright 2007 Aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:rights><dc:date>2008-08-08T09:48:32+01:00</dc:date><admin:generatorAgent rdf:resource="http://www.realmacsoftware.com/" />
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<lastBuildDate>Wed, 13 Aug 2008 17:20:39 +0100</lastBuildDate><item><title>Bus lanes fines increase? Let&#x27;s have a rethink.</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-08-08T09:48:32+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a09ce86f877e1fbb106bfc862b37ba09-61.html#unique-entry-id-61</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a09ce86f877e1fbb106bfc862b37ba09-61.html#unique-entry-id-61</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It simply cannot make any sense to bunch all the traffic into a big long, time-losing, fuel-wasting, pollution-producing line, while the lane on the left sits empty and unused.


...I sat there, in the company of hundreds of other road-tax and fuel-tax paying citizens for half an hour. 


...The Association of British Drivers has unearthed what it claims is the first admission that Transport for London  implemented policies to reduce road and junction capacity in central London. 

...There are many who believe that other cities, including Aberdeen have implemented similar policies to reduce road capacity and that bus lanes are among the methods. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Road works nightmare again&#x2c; 18 months later</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-08-05T19:09:44+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ae0be6d0af82285d78c25ae90064f322-60.html#unique-entry-id-60</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ae0be6d0af82285d78c25ae90064f322-60.html#unique-entry-id-60</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It is just 18 months since everyone was seething over the long-running road works in Market Street, surely one of the busiest streets in Aberdeen city centre.   When the work was finally completed everyone breathed a sigh of relief &ndash; particularly those who found themselves trying to conduct a business in the middle of the chaos. 


...After all, they had even put in the new traffic lights for the access to the retail park that is replacing the harbour rail freight terminal. 

...Presented at the council as a "transport interchange" for the 21st century, it actually removed part of the city's transport infrastructure &ndash; the railhead serving Aberdeen Harbour. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Scots road casualties lowest for more than 50 years</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-06-26T19:43:38+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/e5d313edb5bf6f077484c1c1d1d94860-59.html#unique-entry-id-59</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/e5d313edb5bf6f077484c1c1d1d94860-59.html#unique-entry-id-59</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The number of deaths and serious injuries on Scotland's roads fell to their lowest level for more than 50 years in 2007, according to latest statistics.


Provisional statistics for the UK from the UK Department for Transport show 282 people died on Scotland's roads in 2007,  10% downfrom 2006), with 2,315 people seriously injured (12 per cent fewer than 2006).


..."Road fatalities may be at their lowest level for more than 50 years, but 282 people dying on our roads is still 282 too many.   We are currently working with the some of the leading thinkers on road safety from across Scotland and Europe to help inform a new Road Safety Strategy for Scotland which will be published later this year."
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Scotland in surplus say Scottish Government</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-06-24T19:52:00+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/0bd2e45940cd503ead822a2f17bc5af9-58.html#unique-entry-id-58</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/0bd2e45940cd503ead822a2f17bc5af9-58.html#unique-entry-id-58</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[With recent increases in North Sea oil revenues, John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, pointed to a Grant Thornton estimate that Scotland's surplus would now stand at &pound;4.4 billion.


..."With a current budget surplus in 2006-07 of over &pound;800 million," commented Mr Swinney, "in the context of a UK deficit of over &pound;4 million - the flow of resources to the rest of the UK is some &pound;1.2 billion."


With a GDP per head of &pound;29,764, some &pound;12,000 more than the UK average of &pound;17,400, Aberdeen is one of the real power houses of the Scottish and UK economy. 


What we have to do now is persuade the governments in Scotland and the UK to invest in sustaining the vibrancy of our local economy for the national good.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Haudagain action? But is it flawed?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-06-19T19:20:35+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/1c84cc7ea437b6aba3f938184db1ddf5-57.html#unique-entry-id-57</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/1c84cc7ea437b6aba3f938184db1ddf5-57.html#unique-entry-id-57</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The infamous Haudagain roundabout has been accused of costing the country between &pound;15 and &pound;30 million in lost time, delayed deliveries and wasted fuel, let alone the undoubted diversion of trade away from Aberdeen.


...A flyover need be no more than, say 20 feet above the surface or, in the case of an underpass it could even be at ground level.


...What we wanted to see was an effective and radical solution that befits a country and a region that wishes to demonstrate a determination to be a "competitive place" for international business and more world headquarters to locate. 


Instead, I can see potential international investors continuing to shake their heads in disbelief at this example of our inability to really tackle our transport infrastructure needs, as they continue to hit the interminable queues on the way to and from our disconnected international airport. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Trump headlines first day of golf inquiry</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-06-11T21:20:26+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/31d0a6f081032ec46a509f8581214b1c-56.html#unique-entry-id-56</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/31d0a6f081032ec46a509f8581214b1c-56.html#unique-entry-id-56</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[His motorcade arrived at the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre on Tuesday and the star of the show strode through the door, surrounded by some 40 television cameras, journalists and photographers. 


...Certainly it seems that some of the anti-Trump brigade are motivate by a desire to cut the larger-than-life property billionaire down to size. 


Meanwhile the rest of us are left wondering at the expenditure of millions of pounds on a three-week public inquiry into a project which has overwhelming support from Aberdeenshire councillors and, by all accounts, the majority of the public in Aberdeen City and Shire. 


...Perhaps uncharacteristically, Mr Trump is showing remarkable patience with what seems to be the negative and even obstructive ethos built in to our planning system. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Unity needed to rebuild Aberdeen&#x27;s reputation</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-05-29T15:58:28+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9e3fcfd4ee200b245237de7fc76730b0-55.html#unique-entry-id-55</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9e3fcfd4ee200b245237de7fc76730b0-55.html#unique-entry-id-55</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Accounts Commission report into the financial state of Aberdeen City Council is yet another blow to Aberdeen City and Shire's reputation, coming, as it does, hot on the heels of the Trump debacle. 


...That is a very sorry state of affairs for a council that aspired to be "one of the leading councils in northern Europe". 


...So, there may be a temptation for us all to stand around wringing our hands picking over the details of what has happened in the past few months. 


That would be a total waste of time and effort and only serve to underline the failings.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Have fun with money</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-05-29T13:21:14+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/438b6d7aa3b854ccf4a4fdfeff6a61db-53.html#unique-entry-id-53</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/438b6d7aa3b854ccf4a4fdfeff6a61db-53.html#unique-entry-id-53</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Sounds a bit like a promotion for a competition, doesn't it?   But we could all be having fun with our money soon, even if we only have loose change.


The reason is the new design being proposed for the reverse of our coins, according to Marketing magazine.   They feature sections of the Royal Coat of Arms, in such a way that - if you shuffle your coins into the right order - you get the full coat of arms!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Funny how Chancellor and PM find the way to Aberdeen when they need oil</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-05-28T12:06:53+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/377751cf7fb275078ef1fa9669996bd0-52.html#unique-entry-id-52</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/377751cf7fb275078ef1fa9669996bd0-52.html#unique-entry-id-52</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Isn't it funny how the Prime Minister and Chancellor suddenly remember the importance of Aberdeen as the centre of the UK oil and gas industry when they need a favour? 


...In need of a lifeline from the industry they have hampered in the past, the Prime Minister and Chancellor visited to seek the help of the North Sea operators in opening the taps a bit, to reduce the oil price. 

...The Prime Minister is reported as saying that the price of oil that is crippling business and putting an unbearable squeeze on rural residents who rely on oil for heating, is not the fault of the tax regime.


...The Prime Minister and the Chancellor need to commit to promoting Aberdeen City and Shire as Europe's Energy Capital and reversing past under-investment to ensure this is a competitive place that will sustain energy developments for our future. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A modern parable?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-05-27T13:28:22+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/b3ee5187a07dd75331bb610a682e01ef-54.html#unique-entry-id-54</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/b3ee5187a07dd75331bb610a682e01ef-54.html#unique-entry-id-54</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Ken Livingstone (yes it was before the recent Mayoral election) rants in an interview with Trevor McDonald that the squirrel got rich off the backs of grasshoppers, and calls for an immediate tax hike on the squirrel to make him pay his "fair share" and increases the charge for squirrels to enter inner London. 

...He is taken to court and fined for failing to hire grasshoppers as builders for the work he was doing on his home and an additional fine for contempt when he told the court the grasshopper did not want to work. 

...The local authority takes over his old home and utilises it as a temporary home for asylum seeking cats who had hijacked a plane to get to Britain as they had to share their country of origin with mice. 

...A Panorama special shows the grasshopper finishing up the last of the squirrel's food, though spring is still months away, while the council house he is in, crumbles around him because he hasn't bothered to maintain the house. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Let&#x27;s show Aberdeen has a heart</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-03-22T12:53:10+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/d6fcf52f1c619525158a39981f57dd41-50.html#unique-entry-id-50</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/d6fcf52f1c619525158a39981f57dd41-50.html#unique-entry-id-50</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It shows the depth of anger in the city about the &pound;27 million cuts and how they will impact on the most vulnerable members of Aberdeen's society.   It matters not whether it is Aberdeen City Council who have brought this financial crisis on, or whether it is a desperately unfair system that means Aberdeen gets &pound;320 less per head than any other local authority in Scotland.


...Today's front page story in the Press and Journal which talks about the Downs Syndrome man sobbing his heart out at the closure of Aye Can, surely underlines in very real terms that these cuts must not happen.


...	&bull;	putting parents through the trauma of not knowing whether their children and young adults can continue to get the best possible education and support through places like Camphill, Linn Moor and Easter Anguston.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Unfair system squeezing Aberdeen finances?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-03-13T09:46:11+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/cb20cc9434fc8f3dec8910f275780880-49.html#unique-entry-id-49</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/cb20cc9434fc8f3dec8910f275780880-49.html#unique-entry-id-49</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Many of us may take issue with the services that the councillors have chosen as the target for their axe, but there seems to be a basic unfairness in the way Aberdeen City Council is funded. 


...It appears that the reward we get for hosting much of the infrastructure for an industry which has kept the UK economy afloat for four decades, is to have the money drained out of our coffers. 


	&bull;	According to an article in the Evening Express yesterday, if Aberdeen City Council was to receive even the Scottish average, the city would be &pound;66 million better off this year.


...It's time for Aberdeen's councillors to prove their mettle and set about finding a way round this ridiculous situation, before we have to close Glencraft, respite day services, special needs schools, centres of excellence and a range of services for our vulnerable citizens. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Aberdeen cuts deep into support for society&#x27;s most vulnerable</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-03-07T19:01:48+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/28c5b298d1e3ac4c08dcbeb595cecbb0-48.html#unique-entry-id-48</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/28c5b298d1e3ac4c08dcbeb595cecbb0-48.html#unique-entry-id-48</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[However, as time has gone on, there has been growing shock at how deeply the cuts may impact on Aberdeen's most vulnerable citizens. 


...	&bull;	Did they know they were voting for the removal of the children of Aberdeen families from sector-leading facilities for children and adults with special needs like Camphill and Linn Moor?


...They could easily have said that the damage inflicted on services for vulnerable members of Aberdeen's community was too great and that their officials would have to think again.


...If that is true, and I believe it is, then Aberdeen has taken a huge step backwards in its stated ambition to be the leading council in Northern Europe. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Trump saga takes another turn</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-02-29T20:48:27+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9e398ee9ab8e482e22e735db3ddf694a-47.html#unique-entry-id-47</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9e398ee9ab8e482e22e735db3ddf694a-47.html#unique-entry-id-47</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As if the system did not grind slow enough (we should know, we have a seemingly-simple planning application that is coming up for its anniversary, still without a decision) the politicians seem to be determined to mire the whole issue in all sorts of witch hunts.


It really did seem a bit rich, therefore, that &ndash; after the Scottish Government announced that the whole application would go to a public local inquiry &ndash; one of the ring leaders in organising the parliamentary witch hunt over Alex Salmond's involvement in the application, had the audacity to criticise the government for its delay!


If any good is to come out of this, then (apart from the fervent hope that Donald Trump hangs on in there with his application) it must be the recognition that we need a wholesale review of the planning system.


When we are wanting to build a strong new economy for our future, we cannot have a planning system that operates at a speed which is ten times slower than the world of big business. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>EU oversteps its mark again</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-01-30T19:58:15+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9fa3dd53919afbbb3f11283d408f354e-46.html#unique-entry-id-46</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9fa3dd53919afbbb3f11283d408f354e-46.html#unique-entry-id-46</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[There is a street right in the heart of the capital where the restaurants on both sides of the street spill out onto the pavements and diners sit outside all year round. 

...Smokers, having been evicted from pubs and restaurants, would lose the chance to enjoy their pints in relative comfort in beer gardens.


Enjoying the outdoors at street caf&eacute;s could be a rare pleasure of the past if the EU gets its way


...For those of us living in the northern parts of Europe, patio heaters give us the opportunity to enjoy the alfresco life which would otherwise prove impossible.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The vitality of the oil industry</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-01-26T16:14:31+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/acc91b8866d6e473cbdd40dbd003ec70-45.html#unique-entry-id-45</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/acc91b8866d6e473cbdd40dbd003ec70-45.html#unique-entry-id-45</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[How have our politicians let the reality of this industry, which has kept the economy of this country afloat for more than 30 years, such a secret?   The UK and Scottish Governments should be singing the praises of our oil and gas industry from the rooftops and fighting to give it all the support it needs to continue to bolster our economy for the next 50 years.


...To them, it is more important to provide support for traditional businesses in the Central Belt than provide the road, air and rail infrastructure for what must surely be one of Scotland's most important industries. 


...I heard on Radio Scotland that the citizens of Alaska and Alberta get a cheque each year with a share of the oil revenues generated in their area. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Aberdeen drops off Edinburgh&#x27;s radar</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2008-01-22T19:10:29+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/641c4c404bb9627274c9c399782b7c08-44.html#unique-entry-id-44</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/641c4c404bb9627274c9c399782b7c08-44.html#unique-entry-id-44</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA["Enhancing our national infrastructure with National Developments will create a more successful country, increase sustainable economic growth and create opportunities for all of Scotland to flourish," said Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, John Swinney.


...The AWPR must be one of the very top strategically important national projects if we are serious about helping to sustain the oil industry into the future. 

...We have from now until April 15 to persuade the Scottish Government of the need to include Aberdeen City and Shire in their priorities.   Responses should go to Graeme Purves, Planning, Scottish Executive Development Department, 2-H Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ or e-mail to graeme.purves@scotland.gsi.gov.uk 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Do politicians have a death wish?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-12-17T23:01:57+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/60a2070435a0dc0a02cad6fcb8bd5996-43.html#unique-entry-id-43</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/60a2070435a0dc0a02cad6fcb8bd5996-43.html#unique-entry-id-43</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Now when the &pound;1 billion plan looks like it has been saved by the Scottish Government, other politicians pop out of the woodwork desperate to stick more spokes in the wheel and, potentially, derail the plan. 


...Opportunistic opposition MSPs and party leaders appear to be falling over themselves to bog the whole plan down in a sea of inquiries and to besmirch the Trump plan with talk of "sleaze".


...Across the Irish Sea, First Minister Ian Paisley's grin is getting wider and wider as he sees the potential &pound;1 billion development heading his way, with many more billions of future business following in its wake. 

...Given that some of the current detractors are supposedly in favour of this development, would it really hurt to stop scoring points and work together to get this through? ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Aberdeenshire Council moves to sort itself out</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-12-12T13:38:50+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/5fa7b63191cd3e4d6b5fb1d6f8b26c2b-42.html#unique-entry-id-42</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/5fa7b63191cd3e4d6b5fb1d6f8b26c2b-42.html#unique-entry-id-42</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The removal of Councillor Martin Ford from the chairmanship of the Infrastructure Services Committee and the decision that major projects must be capable of consideration by the full council go some way to sorting out the Trump mess at Aberdeenshire Council. 

...The question has to be asked how we allowed ourselves to get into this mess, which has sent appalling signals reverberating around the world about Aberdeen City and Shire not being the place to do business. 


...But there are indications that the Trump team may indeed hang on for a decision now that, by default, it has passed out of local councillors' hands.


We may yet see the benefits of a &pound;1 billion boost to our local economy and the name of Aberdeen City and Shire writ large in the list of world-class destinations. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Credibility of Aberdeenshire Council is on the line</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-12-04T16:05:37+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/21ad2a657f85ed462972a24da5d28418-41.html#unique-entry-id-41</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/21ad2a657f85ed462972a24da5d28418-41.html#unique-entry-id-41</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It is no exaggeration to say that the credibility of Aberdeenshire Council is on the line as a result of the Trump International Golf Links Scotland debacle. 

...Some of the councillors protested afterwards that they didn't want to stop the development, they just wanted to get the developer to "compromise".


...How come a man who has shown himself to be opposed to infrastructure was appointed chairman of the Infrastructure Services Committee?


...The fallout will not only be loss of billions of pounds of potential business from the development and the huge spin-off potential, the loss of potentially millions of pounds of planning gain and incalculable damage to the reputation of Aberdeen City and Shire as the region "not to do business".
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Trump will not appeal and is looking to Northern Ireland</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-12-03T16:26:13+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/6740b40c55f975604728a1c62eb1b265-40.html#unique-entry-id-40</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/6740b40c55f975604728a1c62eb1b265-40.html#unique-entry-id-40</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Donald Trump has confirmed that he will not appeal Aberdeenshire Council's extraordinary decision of just seven councillors to refuse planning permission for the Trump International Golf Links Scotland development. 

...Last week, Liberal Democrat Councillor Martin Ford used his chairman's vote to sway Aberdeenshire Council's Infrastructure Services Committee against the development, potentially scuppering the entire &pound;1 billion project.


...&ldquo;This development has the potential to be an extremely important diversification of our economy and I personally will do all I can to keep the application alive.&rdquo;


...One Liberal Democrat convener is apparently proud of potentially killing off a project that that his Liberal Democrat leader describes as an "extremely important diversification"!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Councillors&#x27; Trump refusal causes outrage</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-11-29T16:55:20+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/491d79b24cb81f0bcaa99c469eaed81a-39.html#unique-entry-id-39</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/491d79b24cb81f0bcaa99c469eaed81a-39.html#unique-entry-id-39</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Why would you turn down the potential of a &pound;1 billion investment to create a prestigious development that would not only draw thousands of visitors to Aberdeen City and Shire, but also focus international attention on the quality of the environment and services here in the North East? 


...	1	Is Councillor Ford - who appears not to be a fan of infrastructure projects like the AWPR or the Aberdeen Airport runway extension and now Trump International Golf Links Scotland &ndash; the right person to chair a committee on infrastructure issues?


...It appears that Aberdeenshire Council &ndash; apparently shocked into action by the volume of public outrage which jammed their switchboards and clogged their email systems &ndash; are planning to hold an emergency meeting to overturn the decision of the Infrastructure services committee.


...On the contrary, Councillor Ford is reported as saying he doesn't see how his decision can be overturned and appears to be quite proud that on the basis of his vote the project is dead!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The Herald corrects Kelvin McKenzie&#x27;s BBC outburst </title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-11-04T11:00:18+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/64e542b6eed2ab751dddcd800d0e4c7e-38.html#unique-entry-id-38</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/64e542b6eed2ab751dddcd800d0e4c7e-38.html#unique-entry-id-38</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Herald has come up with the answers to blast Kelvin MacKenzie's outrageous anti-Scots outburst on the BBC Question Time programme. 


...It is to be hoped that the BBC take note of these figures and make sure that, in future, they only spend our licence fee on booking people who (while they may be outspoken) at least base their statements on knowledge and understanding of the facts.


	&bull;	If Kelvin MacKenzie's distorted vision of the facts is indeed prevalent in England then perhaps it is time to call their bluff and call for the repeal of the Act of Union.   That would return Scotland to the status a sovereign nation, within the United Kingdom, as we were after the Union of the Crowns and before the union of the parliaments.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>D for Darkness and Danger in and around Aberdeen</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-10-26T10:45:59+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/e44460d0473a1e34580c86fa4a39f47a-37.html#unique-entry-id-37</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/e44460d0473a1e34580c86fa4a39f47a-37.html#unique-entry-id-37</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[RoSPA says that vulnerable people, like children and the elderly, are in much more danger during dark evenings than in the mornings. 


...On the way to school we tended just to walk straight there, on the way home we would be with friends and possibly - kids being kids - somewhat distracted from danger.   Can we add to that the commuters who are perhaps tired and exhausted at the end of a day, rather than awake and alert after a night's sleep?


...They say that the extra hour of daylight at the end of each day would give people a chance to be more active outdoors, walking, jogging, or even just working in the garden.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Kelvin MacKenzie promotes Scottish independence</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-10-12T09:16:30+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/560a6cbe70f9cacc188c44d16cac5d08-36.html#unique-entry-id-36</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/560a6cbe70f9cacc188c44d16cac5d08-36.html#unique-entry-id-36</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Kelvin MacKenzie's outburst on the BBC Question Time programme where he said that the Scots love to spend (Britain's) money but don't like to earn it, is the sort of comment that fuels the drive towards Scottish independence.


Listening to these words in the part of Britain that has probably done more to underpin the UK economy for the past 30 to 40 years than any other, these words are exposed as the arrant, anti-Scottish nonsense that drives the Scots towards independence. 


...It seems that Kelvin MacKenzie must have been duped by what almost seems like a shameful consipiracy (as Andrew Marr put it in his his "History of Modern Britain") to airbrush the huge significance of the North Sea oil and gas industry out of Britiain's history. 


It's as if little Englanders simply could not stand the truth that the current economic strength of UK plc has been underpinned by the investment, enterprise, endeavour and technology which has largely taken place in Scotland!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>It&#x27;s whose oil?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-09-04T10:28:47+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/088368c9c58fee9c023bdaa1a550f6f3-35.html#unique-entry-id-35</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/088368c9c58fee9c023bdaa1a550f6f3-35.html#unique-entry-id-35</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The Offshore Europe conference and exhibition opens in Aberdeen today, with delegates from a hundred countries converging on the city for the biggest oil exhibition outside the USA. 

...In the early years of North Sea Oil, the SNP used to say "It's Scotland's oil" and, sure enough, by normal rules of international boundaries it would seem that the bulk of the oil and the gas on the UK continental shelf was, in fact, in waters that would be Scottish if Scotland was indeed independent.


On the other side of the North Sea, Norway (which has been independent since the early years of the 20th century) has used oil to make itself one of the richest countries in the world, in terms of gross domestic product per head. 

...But, at the exhibition today, UK Minister at the Scotland Office, David Cairns will tell delegates that it is not Scotland's Oil, but the UK's oil. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Scottish Executive becomes Scottish Government</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-09-03T19:03:37+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/c74271812ae91c4f733fe8f5a041d359-34.html#unique-entry-id-34</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/c74271812ae91c4f733fe8f5a041d359-34.html#unique-entry-id-34</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Signs at the six main Government buildings in Edinburgh and Glasgow have already been changed but other material such as stationery will only be changed gradually to be as cost effective as possible in the transition.


The government says the decision was taken to adopt the new identity because research showed that the term Scottish Executive was confusing or meaningless to many members of the public.


...But the Government claims a &pound;1.1 million saving made from having fewer Cabinet Ministers than the previous administration, fewer private office staff and fewer special advisers more than covers the cost of rebranding.


	&bull;	The term Scottish Executive will continue to be used in formal legal documents such as legislation and contracts.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Direct USA flights are good news for Aberdeen</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-09-03T09:57:25+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/92cdea8640676e2c0812fb4fa94f14da-32.html#unique-entry-id-32</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/92cdea8640676e2c0812fb4fa94f14da-32.html#unique-entry-id-32</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[At the time when the Offshore Europe Exhibition is about to open its doors, the news that Aberdeen will finally have a direct air link with Houston, Texas, starting in January is excellent news.


According to reports in today's Press and Journal the new direct will be operated by City Star using a 50-seat Boeing 757 with the fare for the ten-hour business-class-only flight to Houston being around &pound;2,500 return. 


Not only is this a great boost for the industry, as it battles against an inequitable tax regime, to retain its competitive edge it is surely good news all round for Aberdeen. 

...Taking two flights (there and back) to reach Houston surely has to be better for the environment than taking four flights to reach the USA?
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Road safety expert group to look at reducing Scottish toll</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-09-01T10:39:47+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/e48e8b8f526695616197c3266097c06a-33.html#unique-entry-id-33</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/e48e8b8f526695616197c3266097c06a-33.html#unique-entry-id-33</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Scotland's road deaths were also the fifth lowest in a group of countries that included England, Wales, most of Europe and the USA.


...I also have a concern that the culture of movies and computer games that feature lurid crashes, from which you emerge unscathed (and indeed some games where you are rewarded for crashes) could be carrying a subconscious message that reckless and dangerous driving is laudable and without harm.


...As Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson pointed out, too many lives are being &ldquo;needlessly&rdquo; lost on Scotland&rsquo;s roads, with young drivers in particular taking unnecessary risks and putting lives in danger.  

...For me one situation that really has me fighting the "red mist" is the number of drivers in this area who are apparently unaware of one of the most basic rules on our roads - "KEEP LEFT". ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Transport hits the headlines in Aberdeen&#x2c; yet again</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-08-31T16:15:26+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a1cb90616e84e75bc1e0bb609c476da3-31.html#unique-entry-id-31</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a1cb90616e84e75bc1e0bb609c476da3-31.html#unique-entry-id-31</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[	1	The long saga of the third crossing over the River Don and the suggestion by Scottish Executive Reporters (safely tucked away in the central belt and isolated from the reality of Aberdeen's shocking transport infrastructure) that we don't need a third bridge over the Don.   Easy for them to say - they don't have to suffer the daily misery of sitting in traffic queues, or sit doing the business balance sheet and watch the hours and delivery times drain away.


...Any other country with a centre of economic activity this important to its national economy would make sure the infrastructure gave it a competitive edge in international terms.


...But, for the Haudagain, there are noises that maybe, perhaps we might get a solution based on an extra road and more traffic lights, or a bigger roundabout.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Independence within the United Kingdom?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-08-14T13:57:37+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/c54f43bec0f28e087a823857ff6e42b4-30.html#unique-entry-id-30</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/c54f43bec0f28e087a823857ff6e42b4-30.html#unique-entry-id-30</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In their first 100 days in power, the SNP Scottish Government has come forward with a series of policy changes that signal quite clearly that Scotland is "under new management".


...The interesting bit, of course, is that the party in power, the SNP want to go the whole hog with Scotland resuming its status a sovereign, independent nation. 


...First Minister Alex Salmond points out in his foreword to the document that our union with the other nations in the United Kingdom has two bases: 


...Alex Salmond makes the point that amending, or repealing the 1707 Act of Union, would still leave the Union of the Crowns intact and leave us, presumably, as... a nation within the United Kingdom. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Aberdeen special needs&#x27; workshop nominated for top UK food award</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-08-10T13:52:14+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/566c7275258ec0b2098c5380d86c6565-29.html#unique-entry-id-29</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/566c7275258ec0b2098c5380d86c6565-29.html#unique-entry-id-29</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Well done to all the lads and lassies at Newton Dee Bakery which has been nominated for Local Hero 2007 in celebrity chef Gary Rhodes' UKTV award scheme.


The winning Local Hero 2007 award winners will go on to feature in a UKTV series and will also win &pound;40,000 to invest in their business. 


...The bakery is just one of a number of work opportunities within the community - the others are the excellent cafe at Newton Dee (drop in for a coffee and home bakes or soup and bread it is a real experience!)

...What a fantastic boost it would be to the lads and lassies to win do well in this award scheme. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Scottish Broadcasting commission is step in right direction</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-08-09T10:05:09+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/709d71676dc5dd6f8a3394c0dba0b086-28.html#unique-entry-id-28</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/709d71676dc5dd6f8a3394c0dba0b086-28.html#unique-entry-id-28</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[	&bull;	We have been taught that our lowland language - Scots - is an "add-on" to English, whereas it was a totally separate language that has evolved closer and closer to English as the increasingly dominant language of the world. 


...Well, what do you think the reaction in England would be if 97 or 98% of their programmes came from Scotland and if the English news was an afterthought added on to the news from Glasgow, Edinburgh or Aberdeen!


...And, of course, we perhaps feel it more acutely in the North and North-east of Scotland where our own local programme making, particularly since the merging of Grampian TV and stv seems to be a very pale shadow of its former glory. 

..."I will be speaking to the BBC and other television networks about what we can do to ensure that they are getting the right kind of talent and ideas from Scotland, so they can start investing the right amounts of money in Scottish drama, entertainment and documentaries.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Kingswells roundabout drivers risk endorsement</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-08-03T09:32:15+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/fc393fcc47650ef162b535302ed67acd-27.html#unique-entry-id-27</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/fc393fcc47650ef162b535302ed67acd-27.html#unique-entry-id-27</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Being involved in a near miss involving four cars at the Kingswells roundabout this morning highlights the risks that impatient drivers are taking with their safety and others... and with endorsements on their licences. 


It's not my favourite place on earth, but I seem to spend a lot of time sitting at the Kingswells roundabout, thanks to the peak-time traffic light phasing that only allows five or six cars through on each green phase from Countesswells. 


During the time I am there, usually there are two or three drivers who blatantly flout the law and pull over onto the wrong side of the double white lines into the path of oncoming traffic to steal a march on other drivers.


...This morning's incident was when four cars came off the Kingswells roundabout heading to Countesswells, only to meet a driver in a big 4x4 coming down the wrong side of the road, round what is a semi-blind corner!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Putting Energy Institute in Glasgow is utterly illogical</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-07-16T17:41:39+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/67479787fa67c0d0e6504e669ac3757d-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/67479787fa67c0d0e6504e669ac3757d-1.html#unique-entry-id-1</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The news that Glasgow is likely to be the Scottish centre for the UK Government's proposed Energy Technologies Institute is completely illogical. 

...I have always been told that, to make a success of anything, we should play to our strengths and build on them.


...	&bull;	Aberdeen is the only UK city to be a member of of the World Energy Cities Partnership. 


...Aberdeen is one of the world's leading energy cities - surely the only logical home for the UK energy institute?
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Delay for the Aberdeen by-pass is a disappointment</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-06-29T10:38:25+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ac32dbf9d934801524e8d8a8af7d5647-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ac32dbf9d934801524e8d8a8af7d5647-3.html#unique-entry-id-3</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Unbelievably, this historic bridge, with its seven-foot width restriction remains the only trunk road link between Europe's Energy Capital and the rest of the UK and Europe beyond!


...The new Scottish Executive have made it clear that they are working flat out to deliver the road, but they claim that there was no slack built into the programme set by their predecessors. 

...But, it is difficult to make the mud stick when the new administration have only been in power for a matter of weeks. 


The bottom line is that, those of us who are daily inconvenienced, penalised and disadvantaged by an archaic roads network want this petty mud-slinging to stop.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Credit where it is due? North Sea oil &#x27;airbrushed out of history&#x27;</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-06-29T10:33:42+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ab5db34e92f20ab8915718a9b5e552a1-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ab5db34e92f20ab8915718a9b5e552a1-2.html#unique-entry-id-2</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[And it is not just today, but as Andrew Marr pointed out in his excellent history of modern Britain programme on BBC TV, the North Sea oil and gas story seems to have been airbrushed out of past history.


Speaking of the Margaret Thatcher era and how the radical plans to revive the British economy might have gone off the rails had it not been for North Sea oil and gas, the programme cut to a North Sea oil platform.


...Yet, to this day there are policy makers in London who appear to be unaware that 70% (and expected to rise to 80%) of Britain's prime energy needs stem from the oil and gas industry in the North Sea. 


...Even more so, when you tell them that these companies do an average of 40% of their business overseas from what is now one of the world's prime international centres of excellence in oil and gas technology.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Controversy about Scottish Prime Ministers</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-06-27T10:40:47+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/75277d74ae305ff4672cab2daffb22db-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/75277d74ae305ff4672cab2daffb22db-4.html#unique-entry-id-4</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In actual fact, if the place of your birth dictates your nationality, we have had a Scottish Prime Minister for the last ten years in Tony Blair - born and brought up in Scotland! 


But even if you forgive that bit of amnesia by those who are getting into a froth about Gordon Brown's Scottishness, have the chattering classes in England forgotten that that building in Westminster actually houses the United Kingdom Parliament - not the English Parliament?


...Given that background, it really is a bit rich now to start complaining about the inevitable consequence, given that Scots make up a reasonable proportion of the United Kingdom electorate. 


...As far as I am concerned, if English MPs are so insecure that they don't want Scots in charge of departments that run affairs in England and Wales and if they don't want Scots to vote on matters that don't affect Scotland, the remedy is in their own hands. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Remember summer 2007</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-06-26T10:44:04+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/088706c70d5675352ff72bf567b59ff9-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/088706c70d5675352ff72bf567b59ff9-6.html#unique-entry-id-6</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[OK, that is maybe a bit harsh but it is now past Midsummer's Day and we seem to have been stuck in a northerly airflow for weeks, bringing cold air from the Arctic Circle. 


To be fair, the East of Scotland was quite badly affected in June by the sea haar. ...  I have learnt that we are not the only ones to be affected by such cooling mists.   In coastal areas of California for example they have "June gloom" caused by the "marine layer" coming in from the Pacific and I can recall sitting in Carmel shivering, while hearing that, back home, Aberdeen was enjoying temperatures of 25C+!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Time to express your opinion on Trump International Golf Links</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-06-26T10:42:14+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/60ae886a9f349dfb3c5234b8ba42b044-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/60ae886a9f349dfb3c5234b8ba42b044-5.html#unique-entry-id-5</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The &pound;1 billion Trump International Golf Links Scotland plan for Menie Park, just north of Aberdeen, goes before Aberdeenshire Councillors in a few weeks time.   So now is the chance to have your say on whether it should be approved - and you can do so in just a few seconds online!


...It would be something to really put Aberdeen City and Shire on the world tourism map, drawing visitors (who normally bypass this area in their haste to get from Edinburgh to Loch Ness) into our part of the world. 


...Add to that the economic benefits for our economy and the spin-off benefit of visitors visiting other golf courses, businesses, distilleries and tourist attractions in the area and the potential benefits of this development are huge. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>What ever happened to the Scottish strawberry?</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-06-10T10:45:19+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ea43870a13bedc09202668a8e8b50f2a-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ea43870a13bedc09202668a8e8b50f2a-7.html#unique-entry-id-7</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Remember when Scottish strawberries were a mouth-watering taste of the best soft fruit in the world? 

...For that reason the fruit growers of Tayside have been persuaded to plant new varieties of strawberry that have the vital attribute not of taste, but an ability to survive being dropped on the supermarket floor!


Let's boycott supermarket strawberries until they bring back real Scottish strawberries, rather than the notorious El Santa variety. 


Until then, I advise you find a small shop, pick-your-own, or roadside that stocks the real McKay. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Don&#x27;t lose the Trump opportunity over SNH</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-05-31T10:46:05+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/78352747ed24ac56db84f90b8e9e1773-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/78352747ed24ac56db84f90b8e9e1773-8.html#unique-entry-id-8</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As Aberdeen City and Shire looks to build on its role as a global centre for energy, what better boost could we have for our economy than the best golf complex in the world?


...One thing is for sure, Mr Trump's "go getting, no nonsense" style and our slow, grinding planning system were always going to be at odds. 


Local businesses have been complaining for years that they cannot plan their businesses when it can take two years or more to get answers to planning applications.   The First World Headquarters proposal is a case in point and any organisation less determined to stay in Aberdeen would have been off down the road to London or Leeds in a flash, given the drawn-out decision making process.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Don&#x27;t let us have a North/South battle</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-05-30T10:47:31+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ef9c36914828188edb12a8f43cab2143-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ef9c36914828188edb12a8f43cab2143-9.html#unique-entry-id-9</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The suggestions (probably mischievous) that the Scottish Government is planning to ditch the massively expensive plans for trams and a rail link to Edinburgh Airport in favour of dualling the A9 road to Inverness have been orchestrated to try and create conflict. 

...I simply cannot see it being of huge national significance that I could get a train from Aberdeen to Edinburgh Airport when I can hopefully fly most places I want to go out of Aberdeen!   Even if I did decide to go to Edinburgh Airport, am I likely to want to spend three hours on a train getting there, when I can drive there in two?


And even if you put on your environmental hat, if I fly from Aberdeen the chances are that I am reducing my carbon footprint compared to travelling to Edinburgh before even stepping aboard the aircraft.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Teenage Deputy Provost for Aberdeen stirs comment</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-05-17T10:49:36+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a4321698593938815fd0becb82efdb5b-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a4321698593938815fd0becb82efdb5b-10.html#unique-entry-id-10</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The news that Aberdeen is to have a teenager as deputy Lord Provost and that two other councillors in their early 20s will take control of powerful committees on Aberdeen City Council has produced a froth of coverage in the media.


Given that one of the intentions of the shake up of Scotland's councils was to get new, younger councillors, then Aberdeen's planned appointments are surely spot on proof that the intention has been achieved. 

...These appointments certainly breathe new life into a council which, like so many around Scotland, has tended to be dominated by older people who have reached a position in life where they are able to give take time away from their employment to serve on the council. 


...I know it's asking a lot of our new younger local politicians, but I hope they can stay away from the attitudes of "that is how we do things, because that is how they have always been done".
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The people have spoken&#x2c; don&#x27;t defy their will</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-05-15T10:51:11+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/62775b93305c20254a186dc736de7215-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/62775b93305c20254a186dc736de7215-11.html#unique-entry-id-11</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As Scotland looks forward to the appointment of a new Government, following one of the most exciting election battles for years, the Lib Dem spokesman this morning took a swipe at the SNP. 

...The SNP has made it crystal clear that they do not see their election as a mandate for independence, but a mandate to hold a referendum for independence. 


...But many of them may not want independence (much though the reactionary utterings of Gordon Brown, the Lib Dems and others might start to make them change their minds). 

...If the Lib Dems, or Gordon Brown, or Westminster, or anyone else tries to defy the democratically expressed will of the Scottish people it will bring the whole political process into disrepute. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Politicians need to focus on sustaining&#x2c; not milking&#x2c; the oil and gas industry</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-05-13T10:52:13+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/c6bb5ed04138440e09664303dfd1f8d6-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/c6bb5ed04138440e09664303dfd1f8d6-12.html#unique-entry-id-12</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[I mention that, because so many people in the UK seem to be ignorant about the oil and gas industry's importance to them in their every day lives and politicians seem cavalier about its future.


...But the fact that this industry has helped to sustain UK plc for four decades and now needs a little support back, seems to be lost on our political leaders in Westminster (for it is there, for the moment at least, that our tax regime is decided). 


...Now, when the return on oil in the North Sea is already less attractive than most other oil producing regions in the world, that is a very strong incentive to turn your back on the UK and head elsewhere. 

...There are said to be more than 300 international oil companies based in Aberdeen and businesses in this sector are now said to be doing 40% of their business overseas. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>E&#x26;M closure is sad news for Aberdeen</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-04-25T11:43:20+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/6e2c4bf18f339c80b0c0d3e0a615159f-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/6e2c4bf18f339c80b0c0d3e0a615159f-13.html#unique-entry-id-13</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[E&Ms has been a local institution for more than a century and was Aberdeen's last remaining department store with real local roots - albeit that it had been bought out of local ownership by Owen & Owen, only for that company to crash into administration.


...Looking at shopping not just as a necessity but a recreational activity and provide street entertainment, street cafes, bars and restaurants to bring life back to our city centre streets.


...But, if our city fathers 200 years ago had not made bold and imaginative decisions, like investing in a grand plan to bridge the Denburn Valley with a viaduct called Union Street, Aberdeen might not have existed.


...You don't even have to look back 200 years to see the sort of vision and forward thinking that would make you just about weep at the state of our city in 2007. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Summer in April </title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-04-14T11:45:42+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/f38dd27a9e437a00f971cda1157e3b19-15.html#unique-entry-id-15</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/f38dd27a9e437a00f971cda1157e3b19-15.html#unique-entry-id-15</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Aberdeen City & Shire was the hot spot of the UK and one of the hottest spots in Europe today with temperatures in the city topping 20C and going even higher in some places.


It really was a case of "Smile you are in Aberdeen" as the posters above Union Street proclaim!
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Think local when filling your car</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-04-11T11:44:54+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9b193d075f39bf4cd6a0904a3c9c8e10-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/9b193d075f39bf4cd6a0904a3c9c8e10-14.html#unique-entry-id-14</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Remember when getting a loaf of bread or a pint of milk meant just a short walk if you lived in any North East town (or a short drive in Aberdeenshire) to the local corner shop? 

...The only remaining non-supermarket filling stations I can think about in the central part of Aberdeen are BP on North Esplanade West and the Ruthrieston Filling Station on Holburn Street - and it has a 'For Sale' sign on it, so it probably won't be long until it becomes more houses.


...It's bad news for people like me who hate queuing, because - as the number of filling stations dwindle - the only ones remaining get busier and we have to queue for the privilege of filling up our cars. 


...But we feel good that we are supporting a local business that supports local businesses (have you noticed how hard they promote local newspapers and magazines like Leopard?).
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Haudagain needs a flyover</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-03-27T11:46:45+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/86d9c93f1e3fd6d0f64a802e3d156520-16.html#unique-entry-id-16</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/86d9c93f1e3fd6d0f64a802e3d156520-16.html#unique-entry-id-16</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In response to the Evening Express transport survey in which 55% of all respondents identified the Haudagain roundabout (junction of the A90 south, A90 north and A96) as the worst traffic blackspot in Aberdeen and the call by 75% of respondents for a flyover or underpass, the paper reports Transport Minister Tavish Scott as saying that the option is being considered.


...It's been estimated that this junction alone costs the local economy between &pound;15 and &pound;30 million a year in delays and an upgrade is long overdue.


There have been suggestions of a sticking plaster solution (which frankly sounds as though it would make things worse rather than better), involving two additional traffic light controlled junctions and a short section of link road.


...This is a critical junction which is not only causing delays on trunk roads, but is single-handedly diverting trade away from Aberdeen.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Trevipark automated parking step in right direction</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-03-26T11:47:44+01:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/05afba7f00006dac691e8add86822324-17.html#unique-entry-id-17</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/05afba7f00006dac691e8add86822324-17.html#unique-entry-id-17</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[It potentially solves the problem of the unsightly clutter of parked cars in one of Aberdeen's most magnificent squares, while also providing much-needed additional parking to help re-vitalise our city centre.


...The designers of the system - first used in Rome (hence the Trevi name) - say that your car is returned to you in just 50 seconds. 

...The reality is that, if Aberdeen city centre is to prosper, people need to be able to get there easily, park quickly and efficiently and do their business. 

...If Aberdeen really does get one of the first Treviparks in Britain, it will highlight the city as being an innovative, forward-thinking city that seeks out radical solutions to the need to conserve the cityscape while allowing people to use the transport means of their choice to travel into the city to support its economy.]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>A96 upgrade overdue</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-03-15T11:48:35+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/903e20f69381531be611353be3abc934-18.html#unique-entry-id-18</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/903e20f69381531be611353be3abc934-18.html#unique-entry-id-18</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As someone who will usually take roads like the Lecht over to Tomintoul rather than brave the dreaded A96, it was good to hear the First Minister Jack McConnell say that he believed the A96 should "probably" be the next priority for upgrading.   (Of course, one has to recognise the timing of his comments, just weeks before a parliamentary election at which he hopes Labour will have enough support for him to serve a new term as First Minister.)


...I know myself that the red mist sometimes descends and you have to exercise control to remind yourself of the the vital motoring moto: "If in doubt, don't!".


...Then, once the AWPR is in in place, we might finally have the basis for the trunk road network we really should have had for the past 30 years!]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Toll taxes - a reprieve</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-03-12T11:49:13+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a0019ee44bbca2123342cfcb4eef1d38-19.html#unique-entry-id-19</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/a0019ee44bbca2123342cfcb4eef1d38-19.html#unique-entry-id-19</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[In something of a U-turn (hope he checked U-turns were allowed before carrying out the manoeuvre) Tavish Scott, the Scottish Transport Minister, has apparently said that the toll tax will not fall on Scotland's road users for at least four years.


...The problem is that no-one trusts the Government when they suggest that the tolls would not be an additional expense, despite the weak suggestions that road tax (and possibly... perhaps... maybe fuel tax) would be reduced to compensate. 


...Road users have been hit with so many messages about how naughty we all are for daring to use our cars and polluting the planet that we are a soft target. 

...&bull; Public transport is not always greener (studies in Germany and UK have shown public transport producing more pollution per head and a Lancaster University study showed that - even with all seats taken - an intercity train from London to Edinburgh produced more pollution than if the passengers all drove in reasonably economical cars!)
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Road work blues</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2007-02-14T11:50:01+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/cab6aa58c1a7d8acb42d70d06a96d505-20.html#unique-entry-id-20</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/cab6aa58c1a7d8acb42d70d06a96d505-20.html#unique-entry-id-20</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[If, like me, you recall a fanfare at Christmas time about the road works on Market Street being completed, you may also have found out how much of a false dawn that was.


...How wrong I was as I sat in one lane of traffic with the centre coned off for what - if my eyes did not deceive me - looked suspiciously like the major reconstruction that we had been told was finished before Christmas. 


...&bull; Then when we get into town, we find there is no parking available and end up causing more congestion by travelling round-and-round in the vain hope there might be a space. 


...Pedestrianise Union Street by all means, but make sure that it is possible for us to get there by our chosen means of transport, quickly and conveniently... and ensure there is convenient car parking at the end of our journey.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Chancellor avoids hammering road users&#x2c; for now&#x21;</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2006-12-18T11:53:16+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ce39d513fb4f14e4486ee75598f8cda9-24.html#unique-entry-id-24</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/ce39d513fb4f14e4486ee75598f8cda9-24.html#unique-entry-id-24</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Putting 1.25p on a litre of fuel will hit businesses and hauliers in the North East very badly, but it could be seen as road users getting off lightly. 

...On the other side of the North Sea they have had low-energy homes (costing no more than a few hundred pounds per year to heat) and even zero energy homes for years. 


...If the civil liberty concerns of tracking every vehicle's movements could be addressed, road charging might be acceptable if it didn't mean an increase in taxes (in other words if fuel and road tax were scrapped). 

...Taxation may still be a matter for Westminster, but you should demand that your candidates tell you where they stand on road pricing and the balance of overall taxation on road transport. 
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Airport set for take off&#x21;</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2006-12-16T11:50:50+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/85e83b4edd9971071279eebfa76e2c62-21.html#unique-entry-id-21</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/85e83b4edd9971071279eebfa76e2c62-21.html#unique-entry-id-21</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[There is still almost as much oil to come out of the North Sea has already been extracted over the past four decades, but production figures are inevitably shrinking each year. 

...Anything that makes the connections between Aberdeen and other oil areas of the world that much more efficient, has to be good for the economy. 

...If Donald Trump's plans for the "best golf course in the world" just north of Aberdeen come true, the full potential for the local economy will be more easily realised if patrons can fly directly into Aberdeen, without having to change planes in London, Paris, or Amsterdam. 


...During the second half of the 20th Century and the opening years of the 21st, Aberdeen City and Shire's future prosperity has been compromised by a transport infrastructure in which some key elements (like the Bridge of Dee!) ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>North east road death toll</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2006-12-15T11:52:25+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/1182ed997cc3b038448316db4778fabd-23.html#unique-entry-id-23</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/1182ed997cc3b038448316db4778fabd-23.html#unique-entry-id-23</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[With road fatalities now topping 61 this year in the North East, there should be growing concern not just from the public but also from the authorities charged with looking after our roads.


Last night, on the commute home I happened to be the car immediately behind a fortunately minor collision but which could easily have been much more serious. 


In the absence of proper roads round Aberdeen (roll on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route - 20 years late is better than not at all) we were travelling on a minor route from the Westhill area across to Blackburn. 

...Despite being in a modern, four wheel drive vehicle and driving reasonably quickly there was no way I could keep up with the determined white van driver.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Transport to the fore</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2006-12-15T11:51:41+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/5a514038be408a4410a6fe138e646478-22.html#unique-entry-id-22</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/5a514038be408a4410a6fe138e646478-22.html#unique-entry-id-22</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[The focus in the last few weeks has been very much on transport, with the Eddington Review, the National Transport Strategy in Scotland, the announcement of the draft orders for the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route and now the launch of Nestrans Regional Transport Strategy for North East Scotland.


The announcement on the Aberdeen Western Peripheral route follows on from its incorporation within the National Transport Strategy so now, hopefully, we can expect it to head towards the target opening date of 2011. 

...The NESTRANS Regional Transport Strategy for North East Scotland sets out NESTRANS aspirations for the next stage of implementing the Modern Transport System.   It includes reference to the long-awaited Aberdeen Crossrail which aims to have trains running every 30 minutes from Stonehaven through to Inverurie, with a new station at Kintore estimated to open in 2009.
]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>The new road tax coming to your car...</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2006-12-14T11:54:26+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/005c76468194f0cb574acd190d076fec-25.html#unique-entry-id-25</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/005c76468194f0cb574acd190d076fec-25.html#unique-entry-id-25</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[As soon as we hear that this could raise &pound;28 billion for the government, you can imagine how the momentum to install these little spy boxes in our cars is unstoppable. 

...Arrive at Amsterdam Airport direct from the dark ages of Aberdeen and you find yourself at an airport with a built-in railway station, where reasonably priced trains will whisk you into the Centraal Station in no time. 


...There are so many plans that the consultants must be very happy, but none of these have actually happened and this is now the 21st Century!


...CONGESTION: We are told that we would have to build five times as many roads as are currently proposed, if we don't introduce a mileage tax. ]]></content:encoded></item><item><title>Trump&#x27;s &#x24;1 billion Aberdeen golf plan</title><dc:creator>webmaster@aberdeen-info.co.uk</dc:creator><category>Granite Chips</category><dc:date>2006-11-27T11:55:31+00:00</dc:date><link>http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/73d7a74b69662da75f101ddda898b7d1-26.html#unique-entry-id-26</link><guid isPermaLink="true">http://www.aberdeen-info.co.uk/weblog/files/73d7a74b69662da75f101ddda898b7d1-26.html#unique-entry-id-26</guid><content:encoded><![CDATA[Donald Trump's organisation has submitted its plans for what Trump says will be the world's best golf course on the Menie site just north of Aberdeen.


...While it's true that Trump should not get preferential treatment simply because "money talks", let's just hope that the plans do not get caught in the sort of mire and small-mindedness that sometimes seems to categorise our planning system. 


...If international golfing clients can't get to and from the airport, or into the city past the Bridge of Don snarl-ups or the Haudagain disaster area, then the plan could flounder.


This is an unbelievable opportunity to build a world-class leisure industry on top of our world-class oil and gas industry.
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