East End Ward

I am glad to announce that the City Development departments transportation team will be reviewing the accessibilty issues within Dundee as has been pointed out in the Courier today.

I have had many lengthy discussions with the team over what has been the biggest change in the bus network over the past 20 years or so and it has caused a lot of anger and frustration. Understandably so.

Meetings have also been held with National Express where we have expressed concerns and given them a team view of where we see missed opportunities and obvious gaps. These meetings have been confidential so I cannot update the blog as too the content however what was evident is that we are looking to help National Express do what is best for the public transport network in Dundee.

Change is sometimes hard to accept and sometimes when decisions are taken with the best of intentions, it leaves people frustrated and angry. I totally agree that we will need to look closely at how services are provided and what can be done to fill the gaps and this process will start in November.

I find myself at odds with colleauges of other parties over this board. We are presenting an ideal opportunity for members of the opposition to become involved with the budget preparations but they do not seem to be interested.

Why I wonder!

We are approaching matters in a way never seen at Dundee before but they still think we are hiding things. This is an ideal opportunity for all members to become involved but as they have no control within the council any longer they do not wish to know about it.

Oh how things have changed in the last couple of years.

We are more open and transparent than they were but we are still accused of hiding things - how ironic!

2010 - Dundee International Book Prize

This is the UK's premier prize for emerging novelists and the final four have been announced. This is the biggest award in the UK for an unpublished writer and after more than a hundred entries were received from around the world, four have made the cut.

Dundee is committed to supporting innovation and the City is a hub of creativity - whether that's in the arts, digital gaming or music. The book prize shows that we are serious about recognising and celebrating that talent. The book prize is a fantastic way of discovering new writing talent and the fact that the judges have chosen four finalists this year instead of three shows the breadth and scope of the talent out there.

Extracts of the final four have been published at
www.literarydundee.co.uk/bookprize.htm

From tonights tele,

"Summer festival

On June 22, there will be a summer festival in Douglas and we are looking for volunteers to help out.

Are there any people who are willing to come on the day to give us a hand? We would be very grateful and you might enjoy taking part. We can be contacted c/o Community & Library Centre, Balmoral Avenue, Dundee. — Douglas Festival Committee."

I'm sure that Jim and his team who are organising this years festival will be more than happy for any help that can be given. Their will be a parade, stalls, refreshments and contributions from local groups (cadets etc if I remember correctly) so anyone that can help please get in touch with them.

Have to admit I haven't posted for a while so feel quite guilty as really should be keeping all who read this updated with the work that both Christina and I do.

However on many occassions the work of a Councillor is actually quite personal.

Ok, I could report every pothole, missing street sign or unemptied bin on this blog but I don't think that is the point and it would become very boring very quickly.

Also as I have said a lot of the work is personal which would mean divulging information which people who have come to me would not want divulged!

However, I will try to update this as often as possible and appreciate any feedback that is given.

One last bit of (belated) good news. The ABB factory is finally coming down. The protective fences have gone up and have been painted (why paint a fence for demolition - I don't know but I am not going to complain about it) and I was quoted in the press recently as saying "are they blowing it up? Can I press the buton?" - Good news indeed -

some images below from the factory including ones from people who have actually managed to enter the building which was apparently under the watchful eye of security all the time.

Asda have recently confirmed that they have taken on a contractor who will now come out on their behalf a few times a month in order to collect the abandoned trolleys. Finally a success! However Christina has informed me that she has had more trolleys reported in the old Pitkerro part of the ward than ever before. The problem seems to have moved! However we will keep an eye on the problem and keep on top of Asda.

Glad to welcome this at committee tonight, basically the city council are planning to change the current street parking at Hunter Street with a multi story car park which will accommodate over 400 cars compared to the current 130. For those of you who do not know where this car park is, it is in the Westport area close to Session Street and immediately behind Mickey Coyles.

This to me is an excellent idea. The area is heavily used by students, residents, businesses and those wishing to use the incredibly popular cultural quarter. My only fear is that with the amount of building work going on, I asked for assurance that free traffic flow will be allowed with the amount of building work that is due to take place (or is taking place) in the area.

We have the Tay Road Bridge ramps being re-routed, the car park being built, the planned extension to the Overgate could technically start at any time, Dundee House the list seems to go on and on, however with all this going on, the free flow of traffic in the Westport and Nethergate is crucial to allow our City to function. The Convenor gave me these assurances and said that a full traffic impact assessment will be undertaken, however, I will watch with interest.

The City Council have informed me of a proposal to install a new recycling station in Westcroft Place. It is proposed that this be installed on the large section of pavement in front of the two parking bays (on East side of the road).

The council will also send letters to nearby households at least one week prior to installation to provide occupants with an opportunity to comment.

Nearby householders will also be provided with an information leaflet and reusable jute bag to carry recyclables to the bins.

Each Neighbourhood Recycling Point will consist of 4 steel containers for recycling each of the following materials: Paper, Clear glass, Green glass and Brown glass.

With recycling being something that many of us are trying to do more of, I welcome this proposal. As with the other recycling centres in the are both myself and Christina will be watching the containers to ensure that they are not vandalised. Thankfully, I have not heard of any being vandalised as of yet.

My other concern at the moment is the road layout at the Claverhouse Junction, especially at Fintry Road and Fountainbleu. The reader's letter page of the tele has had some worrying letters in it recently indicating that drivers feel this particular junction is an accident waiting to happen. I have to agree.

Prior to these letter going to press, I spoke to the Director of Planning and Transportation raising these concerns. The basic crunch issue is this. On approach to this junction, their is only one sign indicating which lane you should be in. Blink and you miss it. It is not the first time I have been in the correct lane for a driver to cut me up.

Ok, it always takes time for people to settle in to a new junction and sometimes I think it is easier for out of town drivers as they will generally be paying more attention as the layout is unfamiliar to them. However we have become very used to the old junction and simply do not know what to do when we approach something new. I say this from experience as the first time i got to this junction, I didn't have a clue and ended up in the wrong lane myself!

Along with Christina and my SNP colleague's in the North East Ward, we will be asking for immediate improvements to be made before an accident does happen.

Press release recieved from colleaugues in the parliamentary office today, certainly something well worth welcoming.

Support For Voluntary Sector Welcomed

Dundee MSPs today welcomed details of how more than £30m from the Third Sector Development Programme is to be allocated.
Shona Robison and Joe FitzPatrick today welcomed the announcement that the network of 57 Councils of Voluntary Service (CVS) will receive £11.85m from the Scottish Government over the next three years for Third Sector development.

The role of Volunteer Centres in enabling people to find volunteering opportunities has also been recognised with a £11.5m award. In Dundee, the CVS, known as Dundee Voluntary Action, and Volunteer Centre Dundee share premises in Constitution Road.

Joe FitzPatrick said: "This extra funding will enable CVS like Dundee Voluntary Action and Volunteer Centres to develop their roles and work with central and local government to grasp the opportunities that lie ahead."

Shona Robison added: "John Swinney previously announced a 37% increase in Third Sector Development Funding in November and £63 million is allocated in 2008-11 for development of the sector. It is intended that the CSV network will use this £30m funding to work with community planning partnerships to provide local advice and support to the third sector under the theme of 'Thrive and Connect' - the joint business plan."
£3.7m has been allocated to the Dunfermline-based Voluntary Action Fund to encourage volunteering. A further £4m has been allocated to help the Third Sector become more enterprising and deliver more public services.
In making the announcement, Finance Secretary John Swinney said:
"The third sector has a massive role to play in helping to make Scotland a more successful country. More than one million people contribute to their community through volunteering, often helping to transform the lives of some of the most vulnerable people in society.
"The Scottish Government will be providing local government with record levels of funding - and the Third Sector will reap the benefits.
"Local authorities will in future have increased flexibility and will be able to divert any efficiency savings they make into local priorities. This presents a real opportunity to enhance, not diminish, the delivery of Third Sector provision.
Dr Alison Elliot, Convener of the Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), said: "SCVO welcomes this investment in local infrastructure which helps the voluntary sector make such a difference to the people of Scotland. This is a really welcome vote of confidence in the work of the voluntary sector. We hope that this will facilitate further serious voluntary sector engagement in Community Planning."
George Thomson, CEO of Volunteer Development Scotland, said: "Together with the network of Volunteer Centres in each local authority area, we appreciate the Scottish Government's recognition and investment in our services.
"Through our partnership with the Scottish Government and local government, we will also ensure that Scotland retains its world-class reputation for excellence and innovation in volunteer development."

The city council have informed me of the following roadworks set for the Arbroath Road. This is a particularly busy junction and whilst this will cause considerable delays and inconvenience, I trust that the work is over relatively quickly.

Dundee City Council propose to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating works for the installation of hydro electric cable. The Order is expected to be in force for four weeks from 31 March 2008. Its maximum duration in terms of the Act is eighteen months.
The effect of the Order is to prohibit temporarily all westbound vehicular traffic in Arbroath Road from Scott Fyffe Roundabout to Craigie Avenue.
The right turn from Montgomerie Crescent will be prohibited for the duration of the closure. Access and egress from Noran Avenue/Gannochie Terrace/Balgavies Avenue to Arbroath Road will be prohibited for the duration of the works.
An alternative route will be available via A92 Greendykes Road and Craigie Avenue.

Dundee City Council met on Thursday to set the Council Tax rates for next year. I am extremely pleased to report that as a Council, we have been able to freeze the amount that Dundee's citizens will have to pay.

This has been brought about by a concordat signed by the Scottish Government and CoSLA (Convention of Scottish Local Autohrities). The good news for the Council is that it is no longer tied into having to ring fence money. One of my greatest hates over the last few years is that we were given money by the previous Scottish executive and it had to be spent on specific things. We had no leverage in deciding on where this money would be best placed. Thankfully this has now finished. We were also given more money as a council through the agreement.

My only great concern is that whilst the council have been able to stop any increases, Scottish Water are in the process of increasing the water charge for the area. If recent newspaper reports are too be believed this will be to the tune of about £11 a month. i'm sure that particular report is wrong, but I will watch with interest over the next few days.

Glad to hear the news that Gillian Gibbons has been pardoned in this recent of news stories, but I am extremely saddened to hear in the press the repercussions that have happened within our City.

In case you weren't aware, several vehicles in the city were vandalised in a mindless and selfish attack on a family who has nothing to do with case.

I fully support the police in the action that they will take to catch the people responsible for this mindless act of vandalism and ultimately racist attack. This sort of racist attack has no place in our City or society.

We have had the pleasure of introducing a new Councillor to our offices.

You may or may not know that one of our sitting Councillors, Nigel Don, was also elected as an MSP and decided to stand down from the Council (reluctantly, I hasten to add) to concentrate on the Scottish Parliament.

Alan Ross was our victorious candidate and the whole group have welcomed him to the City Council. In what was once a labour heartland Alan's victory is even more dramatic by beating the Labour candidate hands down.

It has been a steep learning curve for Alan as there is a lot to take in but with the support of the whole group he is settling in nicely. Alan will be a wonderful Councillor for the people of the Lochee Ward and we wish him all success.

Surfing various other blogs this evening I came across the blog of Osama Saeed and reading the posts found this. Like many others I was astonished and very angry about the thought of a teacher being arrested and imprisoned for what seems to me to be nothing more than an minor error. I have copied the blog posting below.

http://www.osamasaeed.org/

Spent an interesting day with SNP colleague's at our National Council meeting today. For those of you not up on politics, it's a mini conference where we meet, discuss and vote on issues which have arisen between our main Spring and Autumn conferences.

It was a meeting which was different to those in the past. The hall in the Dewar's Centre at standing room only, smiles on all of the faces and unusually a guest speaker. One of the debates was on the Scottish Independence Convention and we were addressed by Elaine C Smith.

Now many of you will know that Elaine is an SNP supporter (not member) and for those of us old enough Rab C's long suffering wife, but many of you will not be aware that she is chair of the Scottish Independence Convention.

This is a body which encompasses those who believe in Independence for Scotland and they welcome everyone, regardless of party political affiliation, who shares the vision of Scotland being a free and democratic independent state.

Elaine's message was quite simple. It was about the fact that we, the Scottish People are being denied a say in our future by a group of parties because they dinnae believe in it! This organisation is quite simply about bringing the debate back to the people. She mentioned various things about how this will be carried out and what they have in mind. Too much to put in this blog so I have included a link to the website http://www.scottishindependenceconvention.com/index.asp

Interestingly enough, the blog on the home page at the moment is from a lib dem peer
Jamie, Earl of Mar and Kellie. Just in case the introduction has gone from the page when you get there, here is his introduction on the website;

This weeks blog comes from Lib Dem peer Jamie, Earl of Mar and Kellie. Jamie is a staunch supporter of Scottish independence, and is a card carrying member of the Independence Convention. His views are at odds with the leadership of the Liberal Democrats, but we suspect his views are shared by many others in his party.

Some updates on ongoing projects / issues in the ward,

The building work at the new Claypotts Castle Primary School is on schedule and has a provisional completion date around April 2008. The newly merged Rowantree Primary School in Mid Craigie is operating from the Mid Craigie Primary School site. Work on the new building is expected to start soon.

Craigie High School hosted the Annual Review Meeting of NHS Tayside. This was attended by the Scottish government Minister, Shona Robison and the Chief Executive of NHS Tayside. Staff are being encouraged to car share and pupils encouraged to cycle or walk to school. This fits well with the Health Promoting School ethos as well as easing traffic problems in the area. The school is looking at ways of improving attendance at parent contact evenings by having one in the local community centre.

Staff in the Hub Library and Learning Centre are awaiting a start date for the work which will transform the building.

Douglas Community & Library Centre continues to play host to a variety of opportunities for people in the area. A Christmas Coffee Morning is to be held on 8 December. The art group have been asked to do another mosaic - this time in the City Chambers. Next year is to be the Centre's 40th Birthday so a series of celebratory events are planned.

The CRF funded skatepark (Finlathen Park) is now complete and used extensively by young people with bikes, skateboards and other blades. Discussions are being held regarding safety improvements.is now complete and used extensively by young people with bikes, skateboards and other blades. Discussions are being held regarding safety improvements.

Community Safety. A major review is underway and a report is being prepared on its findings. So far, the overwhelming response by those surveyed is "that people believe wardens make a difference to their communities and in particular their high visibility presence on the street offers reassurance." Statistics also show that the Wardens are much in demand and involved in improving many aspects of community life.

Information regarding road layout changes below. Again as this junction progresses, please be patient. At Mondays committees I asked for assurance that this phase of the works will be completed on time. The completion date is scheduled to be the 21st December, however Morrisons are confident that they will have the work completed by the 14th.

Info below.........

Work at the new Claverhouse Junction continues at pace. We intend to change over from contraflow to fast lane closures tonight. This will allow completion of the central reservation work, barriers and traffic lights. The side roads will have to remain closed for safety and completion of traffic lights however this should help with traffic flows through the works.