Benches and bins

I was pleased to see that the benches on Castle Approach have now been renewed. One of them had been out of action for quite a while due to damage. I’m grateful to the Environment Department for responding so effectively to my enquiry.

 

The old broken metal benches in Dawson Park, along the path from the Strathern Road entrance to the Fairfield Road entrance, have been removed and I understand these will be replaced in due course.

 

The Environment Department has also updated me on my request for additional waste bins to be located in the green space between Torridon Road and Marlee Road. Three new ones are to be provided similar to those that are in use on The Esplanade.

Electric vehicle charging points

 

I am advised that the two charging units for electric vehicles that were installed in Queen Street car park earlier in the year should be commissioned within the next week or so.

 

Dundee is leading the way when it comes to the use of electric vehicles and the provision of infrastructure. The council has the largest fleet of electric vehicles of any local authority in the UK and a growing network of publicly available charging units.

Beautiful Scotland award

The annual Beautiful Scotland award ceremony took place in Perth last week and Broughty Ferry in Bloom was presented with a silver gilt medal in the coastal town category.

 

The Beautiful Scotland Awards are run by Keep Scotland Beautiful and entrants are judged by a team of expert volunteer judges on horticultural achievement; environmental responsibility and community participation. A silver gilt medal means a high standard has been achieved which meets the judging criteria and objectives of Beautiful Scotland, including sections of exceptionally high standards.

 

Well done Broughty Ferry in Bloom.

Brown Street carriageway works

Brown Street is to be temporarily closed to all vehicular traffic from 26 September for approximately two weeks for carriageway resurfacing works from its junction with Brook Street to its junction with King Street.

 

Through traffic will be diverted via Brook Street, Fort Street, King Street and reverse. On-street parking will not be allowed on the section of carriageway being worked on but vehicular access to properties with driveways and off street parking areas will be maintained, although delays may be experienced. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained throughout the works.

 

The contractor for the works is Tayside Contracts.

Dog exercise trail

There is an item on the agenda of Monday’s Policy and Resources Committee which if approved will create a pilot dog exercising trail in Dawson Park. The trail will be a waymarked circuit of the park and owners will know how far they have walked their dog.   'Low tech’ agility features will be installed based on Forestry Commission good practice guidance and designs.

 

Dawson Park is always busy with people using the sports facilities and it is also very popular with dog walkers. The trail will seek to encourage owners to exercise their dogs in areas away from other more general areas of the park.

 

Liz Smith MSP

I attended a meeting of Conservative supporters in Broughty Ferry on Monday evening which was addressed by Liz Smith MSP. She gave an excellent talk and took part in a lively question and answer session covering a variety of topics including Police Scotland, the Syrian crisis, and the SNP plan to appoint a ‘named person' for every child in Scotland.

Meeting with David Mundell

 

I was pleased to meet David Mundell, the secretary of state for Scotland, in Broughty Ferry last week, to discuss local Dundee matters on his visit to the area.

Temporary traffic orders

I have been advised of another couple of temporary traffic orders:

 

Torridon Road

 

The driving of any vehicle in Torridon Road (west entrance, northbound between Nursery Road and Morlich Gardens) will be prohibited to allow BT duct laying works to be carried out. The notice comes into effect on Monday 14 September for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes are available via Nursery Road and Torridon Road (east entrance).

 

St. Vincent Street

 

The driving of any vehicle in St. Vincent Street (between King Street and Beach Crescent) will be prohibited to allow carriageway resurfacing works to be carried out. The notice comes into effect on Monday 21 September 2015 for 5 working days. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained. Alternative routes are available via King Street, Gray Street and Beach Crescent.

Community voice

It was great to see so many people at the Broughty Ferry Community Council meeting last night to show their support for keeping West Ferry in The Ferry electoral ward. I don’t know what the exact number was but it was certainly more than 200 residents and perhaps as many as 300, which is quite a turn out for a public meeting. Hopefully the boundary commission will take note of it.

The commission is tasked with ensuring that each councillor in a council area represents, as near as possible, the same number of electors while also taking into account other factors such as local ties. I take the view that West Ferry has a significant number of community, social and historical links with the rest of Broughty Ferry so to me it just makes sense to try and keep them in the same electoral ward even if the end result is an elector to councillor ratio higher than the norm.

Many thanks to the community council for hosting the meeting and to the West Ferry Residents Action Group for making people aware of what is being proposed.

The public consultation runs until 22 October so there is still plenty of time for people to send in comments if they are so minded. You can find out more information about the consultation on the boundary commission website which is:

www.lgbc-scotland.gov.uk/reviews/5th_electoral/dundee_city/