Outgoing Chair and Vice-Chair of Auchterarder Community Council speak to the Herald
Nov 4 2011 by Clare Damodaran, Strathearn Herald
THE outgoing chairman and vice-chairman of Auchterarder Community Council have spoken exclusively to the Herald about their time serving the Lang Toon community.
Chairman Michael Benton thanked his colleagues on the community council as well as the elected representatives of the Strathallan ward.
Reflecting on the achievements of the community council during his tenure, he said: “It has been an interesting eight years. When I joined the first windfarm in this area wasn’t in being, and it was the advent of windfarms that encouraged the community council to develop the Auchterarder and District Trust which has been good for us I think.
“The trustees of the fund are all local and are from Auchterarder and I think that sort of approach is the way things are going to be in the future - Perth and Kinross Council is going to be doing less and local initiatives are the way forward. It has been good to have been able to encourage that.
//'); //]]> “The other significant development has been the refurbishment of the Aytoun Hall. It is a source of great pleasure to me that we can meet again in the old council chamber.”
David Homewood is standing down from the community council after two terms in order to concentrate on his work for the Auchterarder Leisure and Recreation Association (ALRA).
He said: “I have found my time on the community council to be a very interesting experience. It has taught me a lot about local issues and I would recommend any public spirited individual to use thier life skills to the benefit of the community.
“There is lots of work for the community council to do, particularly when the new draft local plan from Perth and Kinross Council comes in for comment.
“It is very important that the town of Auchterarder has a community voice to represent the interests of residents and businesses in the town at a district council level. We have had good support from the ward councillors but none of them actually live in the town.
“It would also be great to see a formalised business association for Auchterarder, linked into Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, to give businesses in the town a voice on issues such as parking, the lack of which affects business growth in the town.”
Commenting on his hopes for the future of ALRA, David said: “I hope to lead ALRA into improving the running of the Aytoun Hall over the next few years and once that is achieved I certainly wouldn’t rule out sitting on the community council again in the future.”
THE outgoing chairman and vice-chairman of Auchterarder Community Council have spoken exclusively to the Herald about their time serving the Lang Toon community.
Chairman Michael Benton thanked his colleagues on the community council as well as the elected representatives of the Strathallan ward.
Reflecting on the achievements of the community council during his tenure, he said: “It has been an interesting eight years. When I joined the first windfarm in this area wasn’t in being, and it was the advent of windfarms that encouraged the community council to develop the Auchterarder and District Trust which has been good for us I think.
“The trustees of the fund are all local and are from Auchterarder and I think that sort of approach is the way things are going to be in the future - Perth and Kinross Council is going to be doing less and local initiatives are the way forward. It has been good to have been able to encourage that.
//'); //]]> “The other significant development has been the refurbishment of the Aytoun Hall. It is a source of great pleasure to me that we can meet again in the old council chamber.”
David Homewood is standing down from the community council after two terms in order to concentrate on his work for the Auchterarder Leisure and Recreation Association (ALRA).
He said: “I have found my time on the community council to be a very interesting experience. It has taught me a lot about local issues and I would recommend any public spirited individual to use thier life skills to the benefit of the community.
“There is lots of work for the community council to do, particularly when the new draft local plan from Perth and Kinross Council comes in for comment.
“It is very important that the town of Auchterarder has a community voice to represent the interests of residents and businesses in the town at a district council level. We have had good support from the ward councillors but none of them actually live in the town.
“It would also be great to see a formalised business association for Auchterarder, linked into Perthshire Chamber of Commerce, to give businesses in the town a voice on issues such as parking, the lack of which affects business growth in the town.”
Commenting on his hopes for the future of ALRA, David said: “I hope to lead ALRA into improving the running of the Aytoun Hall over the next few years and once that is achieved I certainly wouldn’t rule out sitting on the community council again in the future.”