2008
Visitors find closed doors
23/12/08 11:12 Filed in: Granite Chips
So we have these relatives from America coming to stay over Christmas and New Year. But nothing seems to be open. Are we missing a trick by not showcasing what we have to offer to our visitors? You bet we are! Read More...
Third world roads
09/12/08 16:48 Filed in: Granite Chips
Recent frosts have turned the roads of Aberdeen City and Shire into a network of car breaking potholes. Read More...
What do we offer for Festive visitors?
09/12/08 08:50 Filed in: Granite Chips
We have relatives coming from the USA for Christmas and New Year. But what visitor attractions are open? Not a lot that I can see. Read More...
Older employees offer experience to ride out the recession
06/12/08 10:07 Filed in: Granite Chips
The settlement of £250,000 from channel Five in Selena Scott’s action over age discrimination flags up a serious issue. Read More...
Safe drivers are made, not born
04/12/08 18:03 Filed in: Granite Chips
Speaking in a Members’ Debate in the Scottish Parliament on Alison McInnes’s motion ‘Safe Drivers are Made, Not Born’ Dr Nanette Milne, Conservative MSP for the North East said that in her time as a North East MSP, it had become clear that the area has a major problem with road accidents. Read More...
Road accidents in 2007 at all time low
24/11/08 13:36 Filed in: Granite Chips
Scotland’s road accident statistics just released for 2007 show yet another reduction in deaths and injuries on Scotland’s roads. Read More...
Sir Ian Wood's city centre plan
12/11/08 21:59 Filed in: Granite Chips
Sir Ian Wood has pledged £50 million to re-kindle interest in the plan to create a new civic square at street level in Union Terrace Gardens. Read More...
Trump's £1bn golf plan is go
03/11/08 14:50 Filed in: Granite Chips
You could almost sense the corporate sigh of relief from Aberdeen City and Shire when word came through this afternoon that the £1 billion Trump International Golf Links Scotland plan had been approved. Read More...
Politicians - let's have a new approach?
25/10/08 12:29 Filed in: Granite Chips
I found the short-lived consensus approach to the financial crisis quite refreshing. Suspension of the usual school-playground ‘ya boo’ style of name-calling was good while it lasted. Read More...
Paper mill future under threat
21/10/08 18:48 Filed in: Granite Chips
There have been several times in recent years when we have held our breath over the future of the Inverurie Paper Mill. Tonight it seems that our worst fears may be founded. The mill’s owners, International Paper, based in Tennessee, has said that the mill is “unprofitable and not financially viable”. Read More...
Credit crunch bites
15/10/08 12:43 Filed in: Granite Chips
Ever since the Credit Crunch took hold and grew into one of the biggest financial crises of our time, there have been a succession of journalists taking the shuttle to Aberdeen to present stories about the city that ‘escaped the crunch’. Read More...
Bus lanes fines increase? Let's have a rethink.
08/08/08 09:48 Filed in: Granite Chips
So Aberdeen City Council plans to increase fines for driving in bus lanes to £80. What is the justification? Where is the proof that by strangling traffic flow on our arterial routes we are providing benefit for our citizens... the electorate? Read More...
Road works nightmare again, 18 months later
05/08/08 19:09 Filed in: Granite Chips
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 – particularly those who found themselves trying to conduct a business in the middle of the chaos. Read More...
Scots road casualties lowest for more than 50 years
26/06/08 19:43 Filed in: Granite Chips
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. Read More...
Scotland in surplus say Scottish Government
24/06/08 19:52 Filed in: Granite Chips
Figures just released by the Scottish Government show Scotland had a current budget surplus in the last two financial years. The most recent surplus is said to be £837 million, compared with a UK deficit of £4.3 billion. Read More...
Haudagain action? But is it flawed?
19/06/08 19:20 Filed in: Granite Chips
Are we actually going to see some action over one of Scotland's worst traffic black spots? The infamous Haudagain roundabout has been accused of costing the country between £15 and £30 million in lost time, delayed deliveries and wasted fuel, let alone the undoubted diversion of trade away from Aberdeen. Read More...
Trump headlines first day of golf inquiry
11/06/08 21:20 Filed in: Granite Chips
Donald Trump added an element of show business to the normally staid atmosphere of a public inquiry. 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. Read More...
Unity needed to rebuild Aberdeen's reputation
29/05/08 15:58 Filed in: Granite Chips
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. Read More...
Have fun with money
29/05/08 13:21 Filed in: Granite Chips
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. Read More...
Funny how Chancellor and PM find the way to Aberdeen when they need oil
28/05/08 12:06 Filed in: Granite Chips
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? Where were they when the industry was calling for help to extend the life of the North Sea? Where were they when the industry was pleading for an equitable tax regime? Where were they when we were pleading for investment in our infrastructure to support the industry? Read More...
A modern parable?
27/05/08 13:28 Filed in: Granite Chips
I normally don't pay a huge amount of attention to email funnies, but this one I did like. See what you think. Read More...
Let's show Aberdeen has a heart
22/03/08 12:53 Filed in: Granite Chips
The rally yesterday - albeit organised by the Labour Party - cannot be dismissed as purely a political stunt. It shows the depth of anger in the city about the £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 £320 less per head than any other local authority in Scotland. Read More...
Unfair system squeezing Aberdeen finances?
13/03/08 09:46 Filed in: Granite Chips
It seems there is more to these £27 million cuts in Aberdeen City than meets the eye. 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. Read More...
Aberdeen cuts deep into support for society's most vulnerable
07/03/08 19:01 Filed in: Granite Chips
Aberdeen City Council's announcement of £27 million of cuts in its budget has caused shock tremors throughout the city and further afield.
The initial headlines concentrated on the loss of the Bon Accord Baths and the Lynx Ice Rink. However, as time has gone on, there has been growing shock at how deeply the cuts may impact on Aberdeen's most vulnerable citizens. Read More...
The initial headlines concentrated on the loss of the Bon Accord Baths and the Lynx Ice Rink. However, as time has gone on, there has been growing shock at how deeply the cuts may impact on Aberdeen's most vulnerable citizens. Read More...
Trump saga takes another turn
29/02/08 20:48 Filed in: Granite Chips
You have to hand it to the politicians. They really know how to screw things up good and proper sometimes. Donald Trump is clearly not a man known for having endless patience. He wanted to build "the world's greatest links golf course" here in the North East of Scotland.
I'm sure that even he would not have expected the proposal to get the green light without due scrutiny. But he could never have expected to get lost in the dither and prevarication that is the British planning system. Read More...
I'm sure that even he would not have expected the proposal to get the green light without due scrutiny. But he could never have expected to get lost in the dither and prevarication that is the British planning system. Read More...
EU oversteps its mark again
30/01/08 19:58 Filed in: Granite Chips
Patio heaters are the latest target for the beuocrats in the EU. Apparently they are not environmentally friendly enough. But, are there not issues about restricting personal freedom? Read More...
The vitality of the oil industry
26/01/08 16:14 Filed in: Granite Chips
Which is the bigger oil producer? Kuwait or the UK? The answer may surprise you. It also raises questions about why our politicians are not supporting and sustaining the North Sea industry for the future.
Read More...
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Aberdeen drops off Edinburgh's radar
22/01/08 19:10 Filed in: Granite Chips
The National Planning Framework has gone out for consultation. It identifies nine infrastructure developments of national significance. Guess what? None of them are in Aberdeen City and Shire! Read More...