All in a Productive Day's Work

Beach Lane Path resurfaced
right to the end

Yesterday was a long but productive day.

I started my day early by reading some candidates' reports for the Head Teacher interviews taking place from 10:00 in Dundee House. On the way into the city centre, I dropped into Beach Lane to check that the work on the resurfacing of the muddy path had been completed. Good news that it was looking good and a jogger was out putting the path to the test.

After taking a couple of pictures, I drove along to Albany Road to follow up a constituent's complaint about the state of the unadopted pavements in his end of the street. After gathering some photographic evidence, I drove into town and parked and then walked over to Dundee House.

After three interviews (following two the previous day) and some thoughtful deliberation, we selected our 'preferred candidate' for the post.

I drove back home and took my dog Milli for a walk to Grassy Beach. This also gave me an opportunity to have a look at the progress with rebuilding the coastal pathway near Douglas Terrace and check the temporary signage as the coastal path had been closed, apparently only until the weekend.
Returning home, I had a mug of tea with my wife who had just got back from her work. I then wrote and emailed a short report for a meeting I was missing because it clashed with the quarterly meeting of the Local Community Planning Partnership (LCPP). After remembering to download agendas and papers for the two meetings ahead, I left the house and went round the corner to Grove Academy.

The members of the LCPP, with Evening Telegraph Reporter Michael Owen, convened in the Grove Academy Library. We had a very useful briefing about Welfare Reform and its implications for residents. In the light of the switch to online only applications for new claims for Universal Credit, we discussed where in Broughty Ferry one might gain advice and practical help making an online claim. When libraries were mentioned, I queried whether there would be sufficient numbers of computers in Broughty Ferry Library to cope with the  additional influx of claimants who needed help to make their claims. I also commented on the lack of spaces in our library for interviews with some degree of privacy.

I left this meeting and headed off to attend the Parent Council at Forthill Primary School arriving at 7:15 pm just after it had begun. This was a lively meeting with an extended dialogue between parents/carers and Michael Wood, Director of Education who was asked to respond to a list of twenty written questions that the parent Council had gathered in preparation for the meeting. The most pointed questions from parents were about the rising number of children in the school (current roll 561 pupils) and teh physical capacity of the school to cope; the catchment area of the school; recent budget cuts in Education and their impact on Forthill Primary and Grove Academy and the appointment of a replacement Head Teacher. There was also a discussion about road safety issues outside the school.

After the school bell rang the meeting was concluded but the discussion with parents and carers migrated into the car park. I eventually arrived home for my tea just before 10pm.