Welcome to the website of Alvah and Forglen Community Council, Aberdeenshire
The community council meets on the last Tuesday of the month eleven times a year.
See Meetings section for dates of the next meetings.
Moira Monologues 3 – Moira in lockdown
Friday 24th May 2024 at 7PM
Alvah Hall
Ages 14+ (contains frequent and strong swearing)
Tickets (available from Bremners of Foggie, online, or at the door)
Adults: £10
Under 18s / Students: £7
Book tickets online
In this third and final installment of what is now The Moira Trilogy, Falkirk’s hardest woman, Moira Bell, faces her toughest challenge yet: surviving a pandemic with only vodka, fags and her BFF Babs on Zoom. Take that, Bear Grylls!
Journey through the highs and lows of lockdown with writer-performer Alan Bissett, returning as Moira, as she lusts after Joe Wickes, rages at Cummings and grows her own weed (might as well, seeing as the f**kin world’s ending, eh Babs?). She’s ‘the most charismatic character to appear on a Scottish stage in a decade’(The Scotsman) but this time she canny even leave the house!
“Moira’s back-to-the-wall willingness to take on all-comers is the constant powerhouse of Alan Bissett’s humour.” – 5***** – Broadway Baby
“Heart-stoppingly funny, and heart-warming, Alan Bissett has created nothing less than an hour of storytelling perfection.” 5***** – The Quintessential Review
“Hugely entertaining and strangely moving.” 4**** – The Scotsman
“Bissett’s skill as a writer-performer with Moira has always been to take a potentially one-note character and add new dimensions to her, without ever intruding upon his vicious one-liners. For his 2022 show, he excels at making Moira’s lived experience universal while keeping her edge.” – 4**** The List
“Keenly felt, dryly observed and hysterically funny.” – 4**** – British Theatre Guide
Scots are recycling more than ever before as the nation’s recycling rate hits an all-time high in data released by Scotland’s environment watchdog, SEPA.
The Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) have published the Scottish Waste From All Sources 2022 Official Statistics, which provide details on waste from Scottish households, businesses and public services.
Scotland generated 10.16 million tonnes of waste, with 62.3% recycled – the highest recycling rate recorded since the start of the current series in 2011.
This data reflects the increase in the proportion of construction and demolition waste, as the construction industry rebounded following the pandemic.
Scots also continued to reduce their reliance on landfill – with 23.2% of all wastes ending up in landfill, for an all-time low figure of 2.30 million tonnes.
Supporting the shift from landfill is the small but significant role played by energy from waste (incineration) facilities, which saw an 8.3% increase in Scottish waste being treated by incineration in 2022.
This winter, SEPA issued a record number of regional Flood Alerts and local Flood Warnings to the public. A total of 720 messages were sent between 1st September 2023 and 16th February 2024. The previous record of 714 was set over autumn and winter 2015/16.
Since Potentially Vulnerable Areas (PVAs) were first identified in 2011, SEPA have worked together with partners including local authorities and Scottish Water to plan and deliver actions to manage flood risk in the places where it is needed most.
Based on the National Flood Risk Assessment, PVAs are updated and published by SEPA every six years as required by the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009. The designation of PVAs takes into consideration past, current and future flood risk from rivers, the sea and surface water using recorded events, observations and strategic flood modelling.
SEPA are now consulting on proposed updates to PVAs for 2024. The review will focus on smaller, community-based target areas set within wider zones of influence to provide clearer information on how flood risk is tackled in Scotland.
Once the PVAs are formally designated by Scottish Ministers, SEPA will then prepare FRM plans to set objectives and actions for reducing flood risk. The local FRM plans published by each lead local authority will then provide more detail, including timescales and funding.
Helping communities at greatest flood risk
One community that has historically suffered from flooding is Stonehaven, which has been designated a PVA since the first cycle in 2011.
Several actions have since been identified and delivered through flood risk management plans developed by SEPA and Aberdeenshire Council, with input from the Stonehaven Flood Action Group and the wider community.
These include the completion of the Stonehaven Flood Protection Scheme which is designed to protect against flooding from the Glaslaw Burn and the River Carron, and benefits around 370 homes and businesses by reducing fluvial flooding. Other actions that have been delivered for Stonehaven are a new coastal flood warning system, updated coastal flood hazard maps and the completion of the Stonehaven Bay coastal flood study.
Have your say on PVAs
Whether you have previously been affected by flooding or have concerns about potential future impacts for your home, business or community, SEPA want to hear from you. Your views on the proposed PVAs will inform essential future flood risk management work so they can improve flooding resilience together and best prepare for a changing climate.”
You can respond to the consultation on PVAs via Citizen Space until 24 June 2024.
Banff Police have supplied a report for the March 2024 period to the community council which is available for download.
The Deuchries Windfarm Community Fund receives money each year which can be used for projects intended to improve the Aberchirder & Marnoch and Alvah & Forglen areas.
Applications are invited for suitable projects which will benefit these communities and should be submitted using this application form
Applications should be received no later than midday 29th April 2024 to be considered in the April allocation meeting.
Applications are only eligible from, and for, organisations within the Aberchirder & Marnoch / Alvah & Forglen areas.
Completed applications should be handed in, or posted, to:
ADCA Secretary
c/o Brian King
24 Causewayend Crescent, ABERCHIRDER AB54 7TF
in a sealed envelope.
Please ensure your application envelope is clearly marked Deuchries Windfarm Community Fund.
Download a poster for display DWCF poster – APRIL 2024
As the number of adverts on digital platforms promoting illegal waste collection services hits an all-time high, SEPA, Scotland’s environmental regulator is tackling environmental criminality in the online world.
The digital regulation pilot led by the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) has already identified that between 50 to 60% of businesses advertising on social media could be breaking the law by operating without holding the required waste carrier licence – and people handing over their waste may be contributing to flytipping and other waste crime.
Working closely with partner agencies, SEPA’s pilot work is already seeing results. So far seven social media profiles and all their associated posts have been removed from online platforms, protecting householders from inadvertently giving their waste and their money to criminals. SEPA Officers are also pursuing several lines of enquiry for follow up investigation as a result of identifying unlicensed operators on social media.
The work, supported by additional funding from the Scottish Government, is being undertaken as part of the National Litter and Flytipping Strategy which sets out a refreshed approach to tackling litter and flytipping in Scotland.
See their website for more information
Banff Police have supplied a report for the February 2024 period to the community council which is available for download.
Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell
Sunday 28th April 2024 at 7PM
Forglen Hall
Tickets (available from Bremners of Foggie, online, or at the door)
Adults: £10
Under 18s / Students: £7
Book online
Arthur Coates & Kerran Cotterell are carving out a name for themselves with their unique style, rooted in Quebecois traditional music fused with songs from around the British Isles and North America. Their creative choices and syncopated melodic rhythms are a testament to their talent and great synergy. These multi-instrumentalists and vocalists are making music that is thoughtful, conscious, and driven. They excite, motivate, inspire, comfort, and spread love and joy to all those that hear them.
Arthur Coates is an acclaimed UK award-nominated musician who began playing the Violin at the age of 7. He later attended the Aberdeen City Music School where he studied Violin and Piano. Arthur eventually found his calling for Quebecois traditional music which he continues to chase. He released his debut solo album, Focus, in June 2019, a project that heavily featured original material.
Kerran Cotterell is an energetic and melodic Guitar player who leans on his vast and varied musical experience to create timeless works of art that are refreshingly unique but are still deeply grounded in traditional folk music. He has garnered plaudits having performed on the main stage of the Cambridge Folk Festival, as well as the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall.
Together, Arthur and Kerran produce a versatile mix of sound through instrumentals and song featuring various instruments, including Fiddle, Guitar, Bouzouki and Feet Percussion. They create a sound that is often surprising to the ear but still remains true to the roots of traditional music.
Video of Arthur Coates and Kerran Cotterell playing during the 2023 Portsoy Boat Festival
Banff Police have supplied a report for the January 2024 period to the community council which is available for download.
There will be a public consultation event by Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN) at the Baden Powell Centre in Turriff on 5th March between 2pm to 7pm.
SSEN Transmission will present their proposed route options for a 400kv overhead line connection between new substation at Beauly and Peterhead, via new substations at Blackhillock and New Deer. One of their proposed routes could run through Alvah and Forglen.
SSEN will share with you their progress to date and refined routes for the overhead line between Beauly and Peterhead and seeking your comments as they work to identify alignments within these refined routes.
For their proposed new substations required to connect to the new overhead line they are also holding the first of statutory pre-application consultation events at Longside for the new Netherton substation near Peterhead, Cuminestown and New Deer for their new Greens substation near New Deer, Keith and Cairnie for the new Coachford substation near Blackhillock and Kiltarlity and Beauly for the new Fanellan substation near Beauly
The events will give members of the public an opportunity to view SSEN proposals and speak with members of the project team. This is an open-door event and they invite interested parties to attend their drop-in consultation events and provide them with feedback on their proposals
Baden Powell Centre, Baden Powell Road, Turriff, AB53 6WE
2pm – 7pm 5th March 2024
Alvah and Forglen Community Council 
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