Kingswells Community Council

TACKLE ROAD AND RAIL FIRST!

This article refers to the A90; but is equally applicable to many areas

STRONG calls have been made for no more houses to be built in the Portlethen area until significant transportation issues have been solved.

That appears to be the major message from local residents who have taken part in the Portlethen Corridor Capacity Study.

Planning consultants Rapleys were commissioned by Aberdeenshire Council to produce a report that will become part of the body of knowledge informing new strategic and local development plans.

As part of their research into the Portlethen corridor, which runs from Marywell to Muchalls, Raplays organised a community workshop at Portlethen Academy in late February.

Those in attendance were asked for their views on a hypothetical 100% growth in residential development in and around Portlethen, over an undetermined period of time.

Over the past fortnight, Lisa Davies, senior planner at Rapleys, has sought opinions on the initial findings from community councillors in the Portlethen and District, and Newtonhill, Muchalls and Cammachmore bodies.

She explained improving the A90 and railway links with Aberdeen had been identified by participants in the study as being vital before any further development in the area.

The major issue with the dual carriageway appears to be the Bridge of Dee, which is the main point of access into the city from the south and has become a bottleneck for traffic.

Many believe the A90 is over capacity, causing problems during rush hours for commuters.

There have also been concerns expressed over the standard of junctions on the road.

When told of those points at Portlethen and District Community Council's meeting on Tuesday night, member Ricky Skinner slated the current condition of the A90, insisting the capacity study should not even take place until problems with the road are tackled.

He said: "This study will cost a lot of money and I think Aberdeenshire Council have jumped the gun with it. The area's roads and infrastructure are like a diseased body - the A90 is an artery and it is blocked. When an artery is blocked then the heart dies.

"Until the blockage at the Bridge of Dee is rectified and the AWPR (Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route) is opened then they are looking in the wrong place. They need to get cars off the roads, make a new Dee crossing and introduce affordable rail travel. Then they can come back with the consultation."

Some Portlethen townspeople are also unhappy with the rail service they receive, believing trains stop too infrequently.

Meanwhile it was suggested a railway station should reintroduced at Newtonhill, an idea which met the approval of community councillors in the village at their meeting last week.

Rapleys will now prepare a summary of all the consultations that have taken place so far.

They believe a first draft of their report should be presented to councillors in May.

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YOUNG people in Portlethen think an over-development of housing coupled with a lack of infrastructure has left areas of their town resembling "ghettos".

A class of pupils studying geography at Portlethen Academy were consulted by Rapleys as part of the Portlethen Corridor Capacity Study being undertaken for Aberdeenshire Council.

This week, Lisa Davies of Rapleys told community councillors in Portlethen about the views of youngsters in the town.

She said: "A lot of children described areas as ghettos".

The students were unhappy with the layout of properties in parts of the town and believe the trend of adding repeated housing developments to Portlethen should not be followed in the future.

Community councillors agreed with the young people and calls were once again made for a town centre to be created.

Alex McKay said: "We need a town centre, not just for us, but for the kids as well."

Dorothy Main added: "Lots of things need to be upgraded to give the feeling of Portlethen being a town."