I got back into my car, turned the ignition and on came the news. There were three items about lack of money for public projects. It all made for extremely depressing listening.

How have we got ourselves in this mess?

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Tags: government, politics, councils, economy

A group of architectural students at the Robert Gordon University, have produced a series of designs which they believe shows the true potential of City Square.

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Tags: City Square, city centre, development

The attempts to blame utility companies for the state of our roads, simply won’t wash. Some of the damage may result from utility works, but the bulk of the current epidemic of potholes is down, surely, to lack of maintenance. Read More...

Tags: roads, councils

It does seem as though there are double standards, when the Glasgow and Edinburgh both have government support for their exhibition centres and Aberdeen is left out in the cold. Read More...

Tags: government, AECC

The City Square proposal has been described, with some justification, as the most ambitious project for Aberdeen since the vision in 1799 to bridge the Denburn Valley with the viaduct that we now know as Union Street.

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Tags: development, city centre, City Square

How would you like to own the biggest hole in Europe? Recently Rubislaw Quarry in Aberdeen has come on the market, with an asking price of £30,000. Read More...

Tags: granite

When it comes to central government support, Aberdeen is at the bottom of the Scottish league, once Edinburgh’s capital city bonus is taken into account.


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Tags: government, councils

The Aberdeen by-pass has finally been given the green light, but the Scottish Government’s announcement does seem to be back-pedalling on the commitment to build the AWPR by the Transport Minister’s date of 2012.

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Tags: roads, AWPR, by-pass, government

Sir Moir Lockhead, chairman of the Aberdeen-based international transport group First, has called for action to get Aberdeen’s roads unblocked.

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Tags: transport, roads

So the £275 million Union Square shopping centre has been open for a month and has already clocked up a million visitors, according to the developers.

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Tags: shopping, planning

The fatal accident yesterday on the B977 underlines, yet again, the increasing pressure that is being put on totally unsuitable roads west of Aberdeen as we wait, and wait, and wait for the promised Aberdeen by-pass.

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Tags: roads, transport

Work has started on Trump International Golf Links Scotland. After three years of sometimes painfully slow progress through our convoluted planning system, now the dream has come true for Donald Trump.

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Tags: trump

Stand by for traffic gridlock in the centre of Aberdeen as the Union Square development opens tomorrow. Thousands of shoppers are expected to descend on the new retail park over the coming days. Read More...

Tags: transport, roads

Aberdeen could get its first car share lane under proposals being discussed by NESTRANS.

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Tags: transport, roads

The Green Fiscal Commission, an independent policy body, has recommended that the Government should triple fuel tax and impose hefty home energy taxes.

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Tags: transport

“Now the clocks have gone back, we’ll all suffer gloomy evenings to keep Scotland happy.” So gripes Victor Keegan in the Guardian.

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Tags: time

There would be few who would disagree with Councillor Bill Cormie when he calls for a radical solution to the alcohol fuelled antisocial behaviour in the city centre.

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Tags: alcohol, city centre, bars

Like most citizens, I suspect, I am totally confused about the situation with the First Bus strikes in Aberdeen. The messages are so obfuscated that I have no understanding of the arguments. Read More...

Tags: transport

"By 2020, 10% of all journeys taken in Scotland will be by bike." Realistic or not?

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Tags: cycling, transport

There were probably many, like me, who sat and chuckled as the panel members on ‘Have I Got News for You’ joked about government plans to tax people’s view from their homes. But, the warning bells are ringing that this is not such a far-fetched story.

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Tags: politics

Something seems to be going badly wrong with road safety in the North East of Scotland. While nationally in Scotland and the UK the numbers of deaths and serious injuries is at its lowest for 50 years, we seem to be seeing a spate of accidents in this area.

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Tags: roads, safety

The news of a £30 million retain hotel, commercial and retail development beside Aberdeen harbour is to be welcomed. Read More...

Tags: development, hotel, shopping

Aberdeen-based serviced suite operator, The Spires has brought some positive financial news into the recession hit accommodation sector by posting a strong performance for the 2008-09 financial year. Read More...

Tags: hotel, business

The renewed call for an oil fund from the Finance Secretary is bound to strike a chord with many Scots.

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Tags: oil, politics

Steven Black, from Peterhead, has been appointed as Scotland’s youngest tenant assessor.

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Tags: housing

The Aberdeen Red Kite Project are offering a chance for you to name the two red kite chicks that have become the stars of the Aberdeen CCTV. We have one female and one male chick. Read More...

Tags: wildlife, competition

Aberdeen City and Shire features little in the Scottish Government’s new National Planning Framework 2, published today.

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Tags: transport, energy, development

Nanette Milne MSP, Shadow Minister for the Environment, has demanded a meeting to urge the SNP Scottish Government to think again and review home Energy Performance Certificates.

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Tags: energy, homes, environment

So, according to a UK Government report, Scotland’s economy would still be in deficit even with the oil and gas revenues from the North Sea.

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Tags: oil, scotland, politics, economy

The Transport Minister has launched a new ten-year road safety framework for Scotland, which sets what are claimed to be the ‘toughest’ targets in the UK for for reduction of injuries and fatalities. Read More...

Tags: safety, roads

If you have tuned into Northsound 2, today (or Northsound 1 after 7 pm), you may have wondered what happened to the familiar voices and why the DJs are talking about Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow as much as they are about Aberdeen.

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Tags: Media

AREG (Aberdeen Renewable Energy Group) today welcomed the vision for a new city centre heart as a potential location for its world-class, state-of-the-art Energy Futures Centre. Read More...

Tags: energy, citycentre, development, City Square

The Artists Gallery – an Aberdeen business that provides training and work opportunities for people with a disability – is the only gallery in Scotland offering signed copies of the ‘War of the Worlds’ album cover artwork. Read More...

Tags: entertainment, arts, social enterprise

According to The Sunday Herald, the Scottish Chambers of Commerce have called on the government to revert to plans for a wider replacement Forth Bridge with light rail potential and a motorway approach.

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Tags: transport, roads

The first outline designs for the creation of a new city centre for Aberdeen have been unveiled today. The plans reveal a six-acre civic space, at the level of Union Street and Union Terrace, built over the Denburn Valley and Union Terrace Gardens.

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Tags: citycentre, development, City Square

When we were assimilating the seriousness of the international money crisis at the end of last year we were warned that these were unprecedented times and that no-one really knew what the future held for us. Read More...

Tags: politics

It is almost three weeks since we commented on the MPs expenses row. Since then, the on-going revelations have been quite shocking. Yet, here is evidence that, ten years ago, Westminster decision makers knew that the system needed changed.

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Tags: politics

The Press and Journal is running a story today that Google is interested in using part of the former Inverurie Paper Mill as a Scottish green-powered data centre. Read More...

Tags: google, Inverurie

All the headlines quote Conservative leader David Cameron as saying he would “rule Scotland with respect”.

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Tags: politics

The proposal to create a new city centre focus in the centre of Aberdeen is gaining momentum.

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Tags: Union Terrace, citycentre, development, oil, City Square

At a time when young couples are finding it difficult to afford a homes, when families are cutting back on non-essentials and those approaching retirement age are realising that their pensions are going to be worth a fraction of what they expected, some of our MPs show themselves to be out of tune with the times by awarding themselves frankly ridiculous expenses. Read More...

Tags: politics

What were the spin doctors at No 10 thinking?
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Tags: politics

I was given an iPod Touch for my birthday, three months ago. So far I have never used it for playing music.... here’s why. Read More...

Tags: blog, technology

A top Aberdeen oil executive has sounded a warning in The Herald today that the North Sea oil and gas industry faces a disastrous decline if the government does not take action on the tax regime. Read More...

Tags: oil, north sea

As the news breaks that the helicopter which crashed last week had suffered a catastrophic failure in its part of its main gearbox, details have been announced of the memorial service that is to be held next week. Read More...

Tags: oil, north sea

Aberdeenshire Provost* Bill Howatson is to follow the Czech President in the choice of official limousine.

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Tags: aberdeenshire

The helicopter crash in the North Sea this week has been a reminder that the economic miracle of North Sea oil, which has bolstered the UK economy for 40 years, comes at a price – on this occasion, a very human one. Read More...

Thos of us who use roads in the North East of Scotland (and that is the vast majority of us), tend to drive longer distances and greater miles. In future, you may find that many of these journeys are limited to 50 mph. Read More...

Tags: roads, transport, politics

An Aberdeen school, which has been recognised for its sector-leading standards in special needs education, is to adopt a new name and new identity as it develops its services to meet a growing need.

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Tags: education

Happy 100th birthday to Aberdeen and District Motor Club. They are celebrating this Saturday with a dinner dance in the Ardoe House Hotel.

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Tags: sports, club, Motor

Banchory Gallery, a social enterprise that provides training and work opportunities for people with a disability, opens a new exhibition of children’s illustrations this Saturday (March 14). Read More...

Tags: events, children

We are in a claim and counter-claim situation over the Inverurie Paper Mill. Was there, or was there not an offer to buy the mill? Read More...

Tags: business, Inverurie

Within minutes of the helicopter accident in the North Sea last night the first reports of the incident were reverberating around the globe on Twitter, the internet short messaging phenomenon. Read More...

Tags: Media, Internet

The news of International Paper’s decision to close Inverurie paper mill may not be unexpected, but the actual announcement is still a heavy blow for the local economy with a loss of 371 jobs.

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Tags: business, Inverurie

Driving along a single-track country road this morning. Coming the other way as clear as could be was a Ford Ka with a young driver at the wheel. I could see him - indeed I could hardly ignore him. He could have seen me, if he was interested in anything beyond the front of his bonnet! Read More...

Tags: roads, transport

I find tonight’s story in the Evening Express hard to fathom. Apparently taxis from the airport can’t operate in the city and taxis from the city can’t operate at the airport. Read More...

Tags: transport

The Herald today runs a story about a growing demand for the reform of local government. The suggestion is that the current 32 local councils in Scotland should be cut to just ten. Read More...

Tags: politics, localgovernment

A mystified letter from Detroit in The Press and Journal this morning questions the extraordinary decision of Aberdeenshire Council not to fly the Saltire – Scotland’s national flag – from council buildings.

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Tags: aberdeenshire

Watch out. From March, the government will have a record of your visit to this website.

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Tags: politics, Internet, government

We now have the lowest interest rates in the UK. Good news for borrowers and spenders. Bad news for savers.

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Tags: economy, politics

The EU is taking control of your home lighting.

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Tags: politics, government

A cross-border battle is raging over the funding of the new Forth Bridge. But, is it worth fighting over this vital link in the transport network for North-east Scotland?

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Tags: transport, roads

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...

Tags: tourism

Recent frosts have turned the roads of Aberdeen City and Shire into a network of car breaking potholes. Read More...

Tags: roads, transport

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...

Tags: tourism

The settlement of £250,000 from channel Five in Selena Scott’s action over age discrimination flags up a serious issue. Read More...

Tags: social, demographics

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...

Tags: roads, safety

Scotland’s road accident statistics just released for 2007 show yet another reduction in deaths and injuries on Scotland’s roads. Read More...

Tags: roads, safety

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...

Tags: citycentre

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...

Tags: trump, economy

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...

Tags: politics

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...

Tags: Inverurie, business, economy

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...

Tags: economy, business

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...

Tags: buslanes, transport, roads, politics

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...

Tags: roads, transport

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...

Tags: roads

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...

Tags: economy, politics, scotland

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...

Tags: roads, transport

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...

Tags: economy, planning, trump, politics

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...

Tags: trump, councils, politics

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...

Tags: trivia

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...

Tags: politics, oil, economy

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...

Tags: politics, humour

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...

Tags: politics, councils, economy, social, charity

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...

Tags: politics, councils, economy, social, charity

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...

Tags: politics, councils, social, economy

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...

Tags: trump, politics, councils, government

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...

Tags: eu, politics

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.
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Tags: oil, politics, economy

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...

Tags: politics, government

Judging by the letters and columns in the newspapers, I am not the the only one who is watching the ever unfolding Trump saga with growing disbelief.

First Aberdeenshire Council get themselves into a total guddle, because a minority committee rejects a planning application. The majority of the councillors are apparently in favour, but the council is unable to refer the decision for ratification by the full council. Now when the £1 billion plan looks like it has been saved by the Scottish Government, other politicians now pop out of the woodwork desperate to stick more spokes in the wheel and, potentially, derail the plan. Read More...

Tags: government, councils, politics, trump

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. We can also take heart from the support demonstrated by the full council for the Trump International Golf Links Scotland development. Read More...

Tags: trump, politics, councils

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. How on earth can a council allow seven councillors to halt a £1.5 million project? That's only around 10% of the councillors on Aberdeenshire Council! Read More...

Tags: trump, politics, councils

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. Reports say he is already talking to landowners at an alternative site in Northern Ireland. Read More...

Tags: trump, councils, politics

Why would you turn down the potential of a £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? Read More...

Tags: trump, councils, politics

The Herald has come up with the answers to blast Kelvin MacKenzie's outrageous anti-Scots outburst on the BBC Question Time programme. Read More...

Tags: economy, scotland

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) is urging people to take special care following the changing of the clocks early on Sunday morning. Indeed RoSPA goes further and is calling for the Government to keep the clocks one hour forward. RoSPA claim this would save 450 lives and serious injuries each year.

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Tags: roads, safety

Kelvin McKenzie'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 racist comment that fuels the drive towards Scottish independence. Read More...

Tags: scotland, economy

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. True to form, if you are not in Aberdeen you probably don't know it is happening. That's a shame, because the role of North Sea Oil in underpinning the UK economy is something that is all too easily forgotten. Read More...

Tags: oil, economy, politics

Scottish Ministers have formally adopted the title Scottish Government to replace the term Scottish Executive as an expression of corporate identity. Read More...

Tags: scotland, government

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. Read More...

Tags: transport, airtravel

An expert group that will advise the government on road safety issues was announced yesterday by Transport Minister Stewart Stevenson. Read More...

Tags: safety, roads

Transport seems to be constantly in the headlines in Aberdeen. Perhaps it is no wonder considering how our transport infrastructure was largely ignored during the period when the North Sea Oil industry baled out UK plc. Read More...

Tags: transport, roads, environment

The Scottish Government has put forward its proposals for a referendum on independence, with the launch of what it calls Scotland's Future: A National Conversation. Read More...

Tags: scotland, politics

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. Read More...

Tags: social, charity

The First Minister's decision to set up a Scottish Broadcasting Commission has to be a step in the right direction. Read More...

Tags: broadcasting, scotland

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. Read More...

Tags: roads

The news that Glasgow is likely to be the Scottish centre for the UK Government's proposed Energy Technologies Institute is completely illogical. It is like establishing an institute of crofting research in Swindon, or putting a financial services institute in Barra. Read More...

Tags: energy, oil

The announcement by the Minister for Transport, Stewart Stevenson, that the completion of the Aberdeen Western Peripheral Route (AWPR) would not now be until 2012 is extremely disappointing. But it is not surprising.
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Tags: roads, transport

Some of us in Aberdeen City and Shire wonder whether people in London and the Home Counties ever bother to stop and think what it was that built our current strong economy? Do they ever wonder where most of this country's energy comes from? Read More...

Tags: oil, economy, broadcasting

I simply cannot understand this controversy about Scottish Prime Ministers, which seems to have been whipped up at the time of Gordon Brown's elevation to the Premiership.
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Tags: politics, scotland

Do you remember summer 2007? Wasn't it great? Long hot days of constant sunshine.
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Tags: weather

The £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! Read More...

Tags: trump, economy

Remember when Scottish strawberries were a mouth-watering taste of the best soft fruit in the world? Now, if you buy them in supermarkets strawberries are tasteless and unexciting. Why? Read More...

Tags: shopping

The SNH objection to Donald Trump's proposed Trump International Golf Links must not be allowed to stop the £1 billion development. 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? Read More...

Tags: economy, trump

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. The schemes should be looked at on their merit. Read More...

Tags: scotland, transport

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.
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Tags: councils, politics

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. Basically he was sounding remarkably like Gordon Brown, in effect saying that they wouldn't work with anyone who wanted independence. Read More...

Tags: politics, scotland, government

The UK North Sea oil and gas industry, which is predominantly controlled and operated out of Aberdeen, provides the UK with 75% of its prime energy needs. By 2020 it is estimated that figure will rise to a staggering 80%. It also sustains something like 400,000 jobs in the UK. Read More...

Tags: economy, politics, oil

The news that Esslemont & Macintosh is to close with the loss of more than 100 jobs is sad news for Aberdeen. 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.
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Tags: shopping, economy, citycentre

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. Read More...

Tags: weather

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? Now you probably make a family excursion to your nearest Tesco, ASDA, Sainsbury's or Morrisons. Now think about refuelling your car. Remember when refuelling the car was something you did when the fuel light came on? Oh, fuel light on, there's a station... fill up. Read More...

Tags: shopping

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. Read More...

Tags: roads, transport

News that a new underground automated parking system is being proposed for Golden Square has to be good news. 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. Read More...

Tags: citycentre, roads

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.) Read More...

Tags: roads, transport

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. Read More...

Tags: transport, roads

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 Read More...

Tags: roads, transport

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. Certainly, all the green campaigners who have been baying for motorists to be squeezed till their pips squeaked, have been clamouring to get on the media to tell us so. Read More...

Tags: economy, roads, transport

Transport really is making the headlines recently, now with the news that Aberdeen City councillors have approved the 300-metre runway extension at Aberdeen Airport. This clears the way for a massive redevelopment of the airport to allow it to take transatlantic flights and possibly even jumbo jets. Read More...

Tags: transport, airtravel

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. In front was "white van man" driving his vehicle in a manner that only someone who wants to get home from work can.

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.

The inevitable happened. At a 90 degree left hand bend, the white van lost its grip on the road surface and slid into a car coming the other way.

The driver's fault? Of course. He was not driving within the capabilities of the vehicle and the road conditions.

But, if our authorities provided us with roads fit for purpose it would help. That includes the AWPR, but it also means improving other busy roads and it most certainly means resurfacing roads. Over years, inevitably, the passage of thousands of car tyres polishes off the stones that give road surfaces their grip. Resurfacing the road used to be carried out regularly, to ensure that grippy surface was maintained.

Now, resurfacing is a rarity. And that despite road users handing the authorities £36 billion in taxes every year.

Tags: roads, safety

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. Read More...

Tags: transport

The Eddington Review has been published and proposes, surprise surprise, a tax per mile for the roads you use. A satellite receiver in your car will track your every move and the government will send you a bill for the roads you use. You can find an e-petition on the Downing Street website.
Read More...

Tags: roads, politics

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. Read More...

Tags: trump, economy