Community Councillors Profiles

Community Councillors are all volunteers and do not receive any fees or salaries for the work they conduct within the Community Council.  Councillors will be reimbursed for the costs incurred whilst attending to their Community Council obligations, subject to available funding.     

Community Councillor Vacancies

Crathes - 1 Vacancy
Drumoak - 2 Vacancy
Durris - 2 Vacancies
To find out more about becoming a Community Councillor or to simply volunteer to help please see the information on this page below.
Contact us at: crathesdrumoakdurriscc@gmail.com 
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​David Reaich

Chairman 

Drumoak
​David grew up in the North-East of Scotland and lived in the central belt for many years.  He moved to Drumoak in 2014.

David is new to community engagement but is passionate about the importance of Community identity.  David currently supports the other councillors and the IT needs of the Community Council.
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Marion McNeil

Councillor

Drumoak
Marion was previously  a Community Councillor for several years whilst living in Central Perthshire.
 
​Marion has experience in the roles of Deputy Chairperson, Treasurer and Secretary.   Marion's link to the Drumoak & Durriss Community Group is an important link for the Community Council.
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​Peter Renwick

Treasurer

Crathes
Peter has been a resident in Aberdeenshire for more than 30 years and is fairly new to community engagement and development.

Peter accepted the position as Treasurer for the CDDCC for 2015 at the December 2014 AGM.Peter has been instrumental in assessing many of the large planning applications that have been made in the area.
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James O'Flynn

Secretary 

​Crathes
To be updated
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Emma Windle

Social Media

​Drumoak
To be updated
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David Morrish

Planning

Crathes
To be updated







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Mark Ansel

Wind Farms

Durris
Mark has been resident in Aberdeen and the Shire for nearly 30 years, having previously spent time working for the Council.

Mark joined the Community Council in 2014 and splits his time between Wind Farm Funding and Road Safety.  He is always keen to hear from Community groups looking for support with funding. 

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Community Councils - What is Our Role

Community Councils are voluntary bodies, which exist within a statutory framework, and which have been granted statutory rights of consultation.  The general purpose of a community council is to ascertain, co-ordinate and express the views of the entire community within its agreed boundaries. Community Councils can help ensure that Aberdeenshire Council is as fully informed as possible about the circumstances, needs and wishes of local communities.  
Many Community Councils also involve themselves in a wide range of other activities including fundraising, organising community events, undertaking environmental and educational projects and much more.   There are currently around 1200 Community Councils in Scotland, all of which are composed of elected volunteers from the community.

Community Councils are non-party-political and non-sectarian in their discussions and in their decision-making.

Community Councils, unlike other community organisations, are statutorily included in the consultation process for all planning applications affecting their area. There are also specific powers in relation to licensing. 

Following consultation with the public, Aberdeenshire Council finalised the Scheme for the Establishment of Community Councils. This Scheme came into effect on 1st April 2001.  All Community Councils are required to operate within the terms of the Scheme.  Further information is available via the Aberdeenshire Council's website on Community Councils, click here

The work of Community Councils varies from council to council, as does the method of operation. Some Community Councils have demonstrated a great deal of imagination in interpreting their role in the community, carrying out tasks such as: 
  • Environmental projects.
  • Organising local galas.
  • Printing and distributing local newsletters.
  • Representing Community Councils on other organisations.
  • Providing lunch clubs for the elderly.
  • Campaigning on local issues.
  • Conducting local surveys.
  • Organising public meetings on major development proposals or the Local Plan.
  • Carrying out Planning for Real exercises.

It should not be forgotten, however, that the main purpose of your Council is to represent the views of your community.

Source: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communitycouncils/CChandbook_000.pdf

Am I Eligible?
To become a Community council member you must qualify to be nominated to stand for election to a specific Community Council. A person seeking election to a Community Council must be 18 years or over and either:
  • be resident in the Community Council area for which he/she is being nominated.  This will be verified as their details need to appear on the Electoral Roll for that Community Council area at the date of being proposed for membership of the Community Council (will need your electoral number - on your last voting card); or 
    • have during a period of at least three months preceding date of nomination had their ordinary or principal place of residence within the Community Council area; or
    • the owner of a business located in a Community Council Area, although not personally resident there
  • not be an Elected Member of a local authority or parliament
  • not be subject to any other disqualification e.g. bankrupt or convicted with a sentence of more than 3 months within the last 5 years
Each candidate shall be nominated by a Proposer and a Seconder (neither of whom shall be the candidate), both being persons whose names appear at that time in the said Electoral Roll for the respective Community Council’s area, or sub-division of that area, where applicable,
No person shall be entitled to nominate or second more than one candidate.

A Helping Hand
We also have a need for general volunteering where local residents who do not necessarily wish to commit to becoming a community councillor, but who is happy to give whatever skills they have within whatever time they can spare.
Specific areas of interest we are seeking is:  
  • Fundraising (sourcing funds, writing proposals, researching data and writing reports).
  • Database (sourcing information and compiling spreadsheets).
  • Researchers (any University students looking to do some field work with an interest in Social Development, local history etc.  You could include this as a field project in your studies?).
  • Distributors (conducting local mail drops - door-to-door within any/all three areas of Crathes, Drumoak & Durris).
  • Writers (anyone capable of helping with press releases, articles, reports).