I just don’t know where the time goes! We are already well into February and hurtling towards summer at a great rate of knots and I wonder what Mother Nature will have in store for us going forward?
Storms Arwen, Malik and Corrie caused chaos for many, me included. Thousands of people were without power in some cases, for nearly a week. This is very worrying especially given that we are steaming head long into a society that is going to be significantly more reliant on Electricity.
Discussions are well underway for the setting the forthcoming Council budget. Every year we seem to see more challenges placed on the finances. With house prices, utilities and inflation on an upward trend and the warning that our water bills will see rise of 4.5%, it will require some imaginative and clever measures in order to keep our Council tax in check but still keep the good level of service that we have had to date. You will be pleased to hear that we have decided NOT to implement the Scottish Government’s controversial plans for the workplace parking charge.
You may have noticed trees being felled in the Perth/Luncarty area. This is preparatory work for the cross Tay Link road. The works are being done now in order to prevent delays later on. Work would have to stop if birds were nesting in these trees, so it was decided that it would be better to clear the trees now before birds decided to nest in them. There is a programme of tree planting planned to replace these as the link road project progresses.
Last year we saw an unprecedented rise in the amount of visitors to our Lochs and countryside as people took their holidays at home rather than abroad. Although the majority of these visitors discovering our beautiful Countryside were very welcome, they brought with them other problems that we had not experienced on this scale before. Fly tipping, littering and general vandalism and damage to the Lochs and surrounding area was beginning to get out of hand. We placed money in the budget and employed seven Countryside rangers who carried out regular patrols of the worst affected areas, liaised with the Police and spoke with visitors, handed out helpful advice and made a huge difference to alleviate would was potentially becoming a huge problem. This service will be in operation again this year, if you see any of our Rangers out and about, please say hello and let them know if you see any anti-social behaviour.
On a personal note, this year sees the 40th Anniversary of the Falklands war and I will be attending many remembrance and reunion events throughout the year. I left the UK on HMS Invincible on the 4th April 1982 and returned 5 months later to meet my Son who had been born 2 days after Liberation day on 14th June. It may seem like a long time ago but I remember it as if it were yesterday. I am still in touch with most of my fellow shipmates and I am looking forward to catching up with them and “swinging a few lanterns”, reminiscing and paying our respects to those that didn’t come home.

Councillor Ian James