Contact: dave.fallows.cllr@highland.gov.uk

Tel: (01479) 851264, 07543 643413  

Cllr Dave Fallows.

For more detail on Dave's work in Badenoch and Strathspey and details of surgery dates and venues, visit his website (www.saltire.net)

Sign of the Times 25/10/09

I was astonished and dismayed to read of the ban imposed by Scotland Transerv on behalf of their masters at Transport Scotland on signs, flower tubs and apparently anything else that doesn't move quickly enough from the shopping streets of Newtonmore and Kingussie. Quite apart from the fact that both TranspostScotland as the agency of government charged with responsibility for trunk roads and Scotland Transerv as the roads maintenance company said that they wanted to establish good communications with the area councillors (no, of course they didn't let us know what they were planning...) this action is senseless beaurocracy with no positive outcomes whatever. I do not believe that there have ever been any complaints to either authority about pavement hazards apart from residents complaining about their lack of maintenance, that is, and do not accept the pathetic bleatings of the spokesman who said 'the purpose of removing signs is to achieve a network which is safer; less visually cluttered and demonstrates a consistent approach to tourist signing'. This is gobbledegook. Less visually cluttered means 'with nothing and nobody on the pavements'. Consistent approach means 'simplify it - let's not have anything anywhere'. For years, the tacit approach to what, admittedly, is a technical breach of planning law, has accepted the reality that businesses in small villages in particular struggle to survive and need to do all they can to keep their villages thriving. This action is a serious threat to all that. Giving small businesses 100% rates relief was a huge leap forward. Make no mistake, this is as big a leap back again and must not be allowed to pervade the streets of every village that has the misfortune to be on a trunk road, from Dalwhinnie and Laggan, to Brora, Golspie and Ullapool, all the way down Loch Ness side and across the Isle of Skye. Frankly, I'm amazed that there hasn't been an outcry in other villages yet. Is this, I wonder, because Newtonmore and Kingussie have been the first to be singled out? If so, isn't that yet more commercial disadvantage. So, I say to the government agency responsible for this idiocy, come on TransportScotland - let's have a wee bit common sense in this, and let sleeping dogs once again return to their slumbers before the streets of Newtonmore and Kingussie make a nice qiuet place for them to do so.

Outdoor Classrooms and the Curriculum for Excellence: 17/09/09

I welcome the news that Highland Council's Education, Culture and Sport Committee have agreed a £10k contribution towards a Cairngorms National Park Authority initiative to create a two year post to develop new teaching methods, ideas and projects to enhance and facilitate development of outdoor learning.

It was over a year ago that I first had a conversation with the CNPA Convener, David Green, on the problems and obstacles to effective use of our natural outdoor assets toward the curriculum for excellence and how our Ward Discretionary Budget might be used to help with delivery. A conference was subsequently held at the Lecht to explore both the possibilities and the difficulties,

The principe outcome of that conference was the agreement that across the various Loacal Authorities and other funding partners across the Park, efforts would be made to fund resources to creatively facilitate new models and templates to make organisation and delivery of outdoor learning easier for schools to take part in.

This is a pioneering first step joining together the Local Authorities across the Park, and seeks to deliver not just for schools in the Park, but across The Highlands and the wider Nation. A small acorn towards our children's future that, with has the capacity to become a mighty oak.

Boundary Commission Update: 04/09/09

The news that the Boundary Commission have completely ignored representations made from Badenoch and Strathspey, from our MSP, Fergus Ewing, from myself and from The Highland Council and made no changes at all to their recommendation that Badenoch and Strathspey be carved up for electoral purposes between Inverness and Lochaber in a pathetic blind adherence to the numbers game is nothing short of an utter disgrace.

Despite this being about the boundaries of the Scottish Parliamentary Constituencies, the decision is a reserved matter and will be made by Westminster's poodle in the north, The Secretary of State for Scotland, not by our own Parliament.

The breathtaking and dismissive arrogance that denies us even a local inquiry hearing into our grievances is yet more evidence that devolution is an increasingly unsatisfactory half way house. How is it possible that a raft of clearly expressed views, including unanimity across the political divide in Highland Council, can be ridden over roughshod by an undemocratic bunch of numpties reporting to an anachronism from the past?

Campaigns:

Dave has worked on many issues and continues to work hard for both local constituents and the Highlands.

He has been involved in the provision of new NHS dental facilities in Grantown; a new Primary School for Aviemore and improvements to Grantown Grammar.He continues to press for improved facilities at Kingussie High School.

He has, for many years, been a strong supporter of initiatives to extend the Speyside Way to Newtonmore and continues to press for implementation of this final link in the long distance footpath.

Dave has a considerable interest in public transport infrastructure and is working to establish an effective audit of services across the ward and improve availability, access and integration of services across different modes and operators.

As a member of the Council's Housing and Social Work Committee, he has taken a particular interest in the recently introduced team working structures in Social Work and the introduction of Care at Home teams, where he continues to press for full resourcing and implementation and effective monitoring of the changes, especially in respect of how they impact on rural communities like Badenoch and Strathspey.

As a member of TEC Services Committee, he has been successful in extending provision of recycling facilitites for plastics to the recycling centres in both Grantown and Kingussie. He is also now a member of the Council's PED Committee, and has been appointed to the Land, Environment asnd Sustainability Strategy (LESS) Group.

As a Council nominated member of the Cairngorms National Park Authority, he is also member of that organisation's finance committee and is a Director of the Cairngorms Outdoor Access Trust, working to provide new paths and maintenance to existing paths throughout the National Park Area.