Oor Graham on the propaganda trail - " 'Number 1' to get things done for Nairnshire"?

Oor Graham has been out and about with a massive A3 size "Focus on Nairnshire" newsletter. A copy was given to the Gurn by a co-conspirator in Broadhill. Will this endangered species be consigned to Nairnshire polictical history or will he be the May election's comeback kid? The leaflet proclaims that he is 'Number 1' to get things done for Nairnshire and presents a load of articles where he claims to be achieving things locally.

You can offer to send the local LibDem mannie a donation or pledge your support on May 3rd. You can even tick a box to get a "Support the bypass" sticker for your car. See what you make of it for yourself here (it was too big to scan in a oner, hopefully you will be able to read it). This observer would contend that Graham has a bit of ground to catch up (remember this Gurn article) but a week is a long time in politics.

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Facebook election? Snp4nairnshire

Earlier today this observer mentioned the SNP beginning their campaign for the May elections in earnest with a leaflet drop. These days there's an internet side to politics however and Liz has had a prescence on Facebook and twitter for sometime. Now Colin Macaulay joins her in cyber campaigning. Here's Snp4nairnshire Colin J Macaulay. Will the other candidates join them knocking on the virtual doors?
Could Oor Sandy, Graham, Laurie or the unknown Labour mannie show up in Nairnshire cyberspace too? If you are a prospective candidate or a sitting councillor standing again for the Nairnshire ward and have an internet presence please tell the Gurn. We now have a wee box in the sidebar to link to you all.

Riverside Cludgies find new homes

The redundant cludgies down at the Riverside that had been daubed with obscene graffiti. (finally removed thanks to Oor Graham) will shortly be moving to new homes. The bigger one is off to the Allotments at Sandown and the wee one goes along to Mill Road. NAS will be paying the cost of removal and installation themselves. The allotment society failed with their funding bid with the Royal Bank of Scotland but relief will soon be on the way.

Oor Graham gets to grips with Graffiti

Looks like Cllr Graham Marsden went away from the recent River CC meeting that heard complaints about Graffiti and swung into action. Today the more prominent and offensive graffiti on the Riverside toilets was being painted over. There are still wee bitties elsewhere along the riverside walks but this is a great start.

Crumbling roads, in the Fishertown, across Nairn and the Highlands

Gurnites will have seen the recent material in the Nairnshire Telegraph about Cllr Andrew Purkis’s call for action on the state of the roads in the Fishertown. There was a wee follow up to that at Tuesday night’s meeting when Liz announced she was having a meeting with Andrew to look at some of the problems he has highlighted in the Fishertown.

Oor Graham mentioned that an additional million pounds was to be allocated to road repairs across the Highlands. This seems a bit at odds with information in the Courier today – that article is gathering quite a stream of comments from angry Council Tax payers but maybe Graham’s information hasn’t reached the Inverness mainstream media yet.

Andrew remarked that that million pounds wasn’t going to go very far. Graham said a bit later on in the debate that to get all the roads in Highland into the condition they should be would cost 150 million pounds, around 73 million pounds should be spent every year too but only 50 million pounds is being spent. Graham admitted that this “just didn’t happen yesterday.”

Stephanie Whittaker, herself a Fishertown resident, agreed with Andrew over the state of the Fishertown but argued that the rest of Nairn wasn’t too good either.

Obviously a problem that has been building and maybe one that will probably get worse in the short term no matter who forms the next council administration, they will inherit a crumbling road network in the Highlands. Has anybody got any ideas how this problem could be solved?

Bill Young gathers support for Common Good proposals from River CC

West Councillor Bill Young spoke to the River CC at the meeting in the Community Centre las night (Tuesday). He reiterated the argument he presented to his West colleagues last week, which is to get the Common Good fund under local control. See here and here for further details. He said:

“This is not an attack on the Councillors, they have a very difficult job to do, but trying to square off the books for an area the size of Belgium and trying to deal with the Common Good Fund, the two are not necessarily compatible. I can see no reason why we couldn’t get it back under the local control of Nairn.”

Later as this subject was being debated Liz said: “ I was relaxed about how the Common Good was being managed but now you’ve got a Council that is no longer run by the members it is a political council and the point that I’m trying to make here is that there’s everybody chasing budgets and it’s not going to be people aligned to areas so much. It’s going to be people aligned to political groups. I’m a political councillor but I’m just concerned that will there be the protection of the areas within the political structures[…]We’ve always been comfortable that all councillors looked after their own areas but now it is a different ball game.”

Graham Marsden said he thought Bill was right and there was an opportunity to look again and see if there are other options.

The River Councillors seemed very supportive of Billy Young’s presentation and Tommy Hogg said he wanted the matter raised at the joint Community Council meeting that will be hosted on the 31^st in the Academy by Suburban CC.
This observer wonders if Oor Graham will now also call for no sale of any Sandown land until the Common Good is back in Nairn control? Or will it simply be platitudes all the way to the ballot box?

Links School building worries return

Liz revealed to the River CC meeting earlier tonight (Tuesday) that the Health Service had indicated to Highland Council that they will be terminating their lease of the Links Clinic from the 31st of March. The struggle will now be on to find new tenants for the building and fears were expressed that the building may be sold off by the Council and knocked down to allow development. Tommy Hogg said:
"That place is close to the heart of the Community and it is a big issue."

Liz said she had several representations from clients of the services at the Links Clinic. The services provided will now be moved up to the Hospital. Oor Graham indicated that he had previously had talks with COVASS and they had shown an interest in the building and it was now his intention to go and have a chat with them. It was pointed out by Liz that COVASS's funding from Highland Council was now in jeopardy however. This was an issue we reported on in the Gurn recently.

Once again the future of a Fishertown landmark and a valuable piece of heritage is facing an uncertain future. Anyone out there need a suite of offices and meeting rooms? Please contact Highland Council if you do.

Oor Sandy and Graham hit the campaign trail?

Letters in the Nairnshire this week from the Convener and Cllr Marsden. Sandy has come out fighting, stating in reply to recent material in the paper that Nairn has had a good deal out of Highland Council over the last 16 years. Oor Graham has a suggestion on how citizens can cope with icy pavements.

Could both these gentlemen be starting their re-election campaigns already? Lots more in the Nairnshire this week including a "happiness" feature plus postcode delivery rip-offs. Also an in-depth analysis of the shattering defeat suffered by the Wee County at Mosset Park. Where was Santa? And the Highland Plan, reaction and analysis. The Nairnshire Telegraph, Christmas wouldn't be complete without it!

Graham's campaign for real venison in Sainsbury's Nairn

Oor Graham (aka Cllr Marsden) tells the Gurn that he has been campaigning to get "real venison" on the shelves at Sainsbury's. He added that sales of venison are important to jobs in the Highlands and also to the Scottish economy. So far he has tried to push his point via both the local manager and the national feedback department at the supermarket but wonders if Gurnshire could put a little pressure on too?

Graham says that processed venison and burgers are available but not "real venison". C'mon Sainsbury's let's have some for those that want it. This autumn this observer was in Ireland and remembers one supermarket chain "Supavalu" that showed charts of how many products produced in Ireland they sold as a percentage of their total sales. Maybe supermarkets trading in Scotland could start doing the same?

Could Nairn's LibDem mannie be in the bin come May?

The Gurn poll is closed now but we asked Gurnites which Councillor they would most like to see lose their seat in the May Highland Council elections. Oor Graham came out well on top. It was a surprise to see Laurie come second but Sandy wasn't far behind him. Liz just isn't binnable at all however, and the only question that this observer would suggest will arise when she stands again (is she so wishes) is whether she gets more votes than all the other candidates put together or not. You can see the results of the poll on the graphic below - the picture should enlarge.

308 votes were cast. It is worth noting however that 11.04% wanted all four of them in the bin and 3.25% didn't want any of them in the bin. 0.32% didn't know and 1.34% didn't care. It's all unscientific of course and the only votes that will really count will be yours in May 2012.

New Social Work office in the Fishertown

Rumours persist of a new social work office opening up in a shed somewhere in the Fishertown.

Sandy no cap - Graham 300-350

Back to the forthcoming Sandown consultation exercise for a moment. There is an article in the Nairnshire this week with some pretty upbeat stuff from oor Sandy. He wants the community to be very much involved in this. The Nairnshire reads:

He remains confident that the Council and the community will come up with something imaginative for the lands which are owned by the Common Good.

"If we're going to do something like this. I hope to see plenty of the public participate. I don't want to see just half a dozen people coming along the public meetings."

Hopefully Sandy will get his wish and the citizens of Nairn will participate in the exercise. There is one small thing that causes a little confusion in the mind of this observer. Again the Nairnshire states:

However, Cllr Park thinks it unlikely that a cap will be imposed on the the number of houses that may be allowed in the new brief.

"That's what public consultations all about. You couldn't cap how many houses you can put on a piece of land."

Sandy gave the paper a bit more on the subject, grab a copy of the Nairnshire and see for yourself on page 5. Sandy is saying no cap but Graham Marsden has a figure in mind. As we reported earlier he is quoted in the Courier:

"We want something which is attractive and relevant to this place," said Nairn councillor Graham Marsden. "We will be looking at something in the region of 300 to 350 houses ultimately, but whether we have a business park or not has to be decided." Full article here.

When Graham says "We" does he mean the Council, the people of Nairn, or everyone together?

Did he come up with the figure of between 300-350 houses by himself or in discussions with officials and other councillors? Perhaps he'd better touch base with Sandy and sort it out.

Oor Graham misses a bit of litter

Come on Councillor, how could you miss this on your regular patrol? Thanks to the Gurnite who sent in the picture.

Oor Graham's Page 3 spread

The Courier seems to be paying more and more attention to Nairn matters these days. Graham Marsden receives the Page 3 treatment in the Tuesday Courier complete with picture: "Nairn beach's one-man litter buster leads the way". The Gurn had previously revealed how he cleans up the harbour now it seems our LibDem mannie is fighting them on the beaches.

"In these sorts of times, and indeed most of the time, it is up to all of us in the community if we see stuff to pick it up and put it in the rubbish bin."

Fair enough but how many litterbug fines have Highland Council ever issued in Nairn Graham? Why is there no deterrent?

Nairn resident and cycle campaigner Jason Rose has his picture in the Courier too but only on page 7. Jason is calling for a coastal cycle trail between Inverness and Nairn.

Graham Marsden cleans up the harbour

On Tuesday night the River CC heard a complaint from a local wildlife enthusiast about the litter in Nairn harbour, one of the Councillors had the received the complaint via e-mail. Graham Marsden told the meeting that he had been down on Saturday and cleaned up litter from both ends of the harbour. He said, "If there is something in there, then it is only from the last few days."

"You can't be more public spirited than that!" Exclaimed River CC chair and elder stateswoman of Nairn's Usual Suspects, Jeanne Tolmie.

This observer has heard that Graham Marsden may soon be heading up the river with a pair of snips to sort a few overhanging branches. What other jobs could oor Graham get up to in his spare time? Have Gurnites got any suggestions? A pick, shovel and wheelbarrow and he could get the bypass started? Gurnites will remember his previous statement that he wanted to set aboot the Regal with a sledgehammer.

Gurn caption contest

Picture donated by anonymous. Caption contest - You can win six month's free subscription to the Gurn. What did a very smug Tommy Hogg say to Graham Marsden at The Nairn Allotment Societys Open Day at Mill Road? Picture will enlarge.

More pictures from Mill Road later. Will also get round to posting today's comments soon but a few things on a the moment.

LibDem Flashback

This observer was rummaging around at the bottom of the kindling box today and came across something that was filed away for fire lighting material back in 2007. The leaflet had the usual kind of LibDem poses with oor Graham featuring heavily as part of 'A strong team for Nairnshire'. Do you think the LibDems have been strong for Nairnshire? Over the last four years more and more power seems to have dripped away in the direction of Inverness. The LibDems claim to be against centralisation yet their administration seems to be very Invercentric when it comes to Nairn.

Craig Harrow received 27.7% of the vote in the constituency overall and upped the LibDem vote by 11.5%. Fergus's vote was up by 10% as well however and the LibDem hopeful remained just that. This time round the LibDems have another candidate and what's the betting that her share of the vote will go down by at least 11% across the constituency? The LibDems seem to be the party to dislike at the moment and here in Nairnshire this observer feels there may also be some payback for the LibDem involvement in sacking popular provost Liz MacDonald. The picture will enlarge a little.

50% of Nairn's Highland Councillors now tweeting

Here's a snapshot of Graham Marsden's twitter page:

Oor Graham follows Liz's example and speaks to the digital masses via twitter. That only leaves Sandy and Laurie to share their thoughts on the micro-blogging site. You can keep up to date with the thoughts of your LibDem member here.

Oor Graham on the front page

Graham gets himself on the front page of the Highland Standard - The LibDem freebie that's going round the doors at the moment. It's got lots of pics of a wifie that thinks she's got a chance against Fergus. Her name didn't really sink in, it was only Graham's face that prevented the offending item going straight into the bin really, she was up the Ward Forum the other night too - is there an election coming or something? Perhaps the banners should say 'Save the LibDems'? They are obviously short of a few populist issues so they are highlighting the proposal to amalgamate all the Scottish Police forces - I suppose that that's better than say: "Danny - for selling English Forests but saving Scottish ones" or some other witty headline that Gurnites could perhaps come up with.
Well, LibDem bandwagon or not one wonders how it would all pan out for the Highlands and Nairn in particular if we just had one Scottish Police Force. As long as the officers could keep turning up at Ward Forums and Community Council meetings to report that crime was still going down then it would be fine but would it be like that? In their free paper The LibDems claim:

"Ministers show clear preference for centralisation, but are choosing to hide what it will mean behind a consultation exercise until after May's elections."

Wow! The Highland LibDems against centralisation? Fantastic, but perhaps they could tell us how come, if we have so many Liberal Councillors at Glenurquhart Road and Danny being a LibDem MP and all that, that we have seen so much of the civic life blood of Nairn drip away to Inverness over the past few years? They haven't exactly stood up to stop that have they?

Vice-Convenor no more - A week is a long time in Highland Politics

Last Monday night the Gurn asked Graham Marsden if he'd resigned as Vice Convener of the resources committee on the Highland Council. Rumours had been circulating Nairn but Graham said, 'I haven't resigned.'
He didn't seem his usual perky self when asked the question however ,so this observer left him in peace and sat down to enjoy the Nairn Town Centre 3-D build as you go show.

Obviously the next question should have been: 'Do you have any plans to resign?' This evening the Nairnshire reports that he is to step down in December. Obviously quitting as a high heid yin on the ruling administration has to follow protocols.
To be fair to Graham, he is resigning on an important point of principle close to his heart. One wonders for the stability of the ruling administration however, as more and more councillors examine their consciences as the Council heads for the choppy waters of brutal cuts to the work force and the services provided. More in the Nairnshire Telegraph