I have always considered myself to quite safety conscious but had to admit that perhaps I should rethink that. How many of us have toasters which sit neatly on our kitchen worktops under kitchen cupboards? How many don’t bother to pull them out when quickly chucking in a couple of slices or a teacake as we run the bath, put on the shower, catch up on our favourite soap, and forget all about it until the lovely smell reminds us? Did you realise that by repeatedly doing that you are slowly building up a layer of animal fat on the underside of your kitchen cupboards and a potential fire risk. I hadn’t thought about it, I do wipe under the cupboards, but perhaps not as frequently as I need to. So what was the first job I did when I got home tonight? One fire hazard dealt with. I am now going to book a fire safety visit and have my flat assessed a service which is free to everyone. An expert and a fresh pair of eyes may spot the things I am missing.

The most common complaint of almost everyone I speak to in town is the abolishing of the free parking in the Sinclair Street car park. Many are angry at the move especially as large areas of the free part of the pier car park have been unusable because of flooding. I think we all expected the two hour free parking to go after Christmas but thought that the one hour free parking would be reinstated. However apparently this isn’t the case despite notices on the ticket machines which said otherwise. The council don’t even have to conduct a survey to find out what users think, they simply have to go into the car park during the day to see how empty it is. The problem is that people are now driving round the local streets parking in residential areas or, in many cases, shopping elsewhere. I know the weather will have impacted on local businesses regardless of the parking situation, but honestly who is going to come to the town, spend ages looking for a parking space or park at the Pier and then get soaked going to the shops. People are opting to do all their shopping in one big store where they can get everything they need and stay dry. Let’s hope someone sees sense and sorts this mess out before everyone gives up.

I understand that there are to be two loading bays in Sinclair Street for delivery vehicles to park in when delivering to the local shops. A good idea and long overdue, however I rather think that two bays in Sinclair Street won’t alleviate the problems we are currently experiencing in West Princes Street where there should most definitely be several loading bays. It is becoming impossible to drive through the town; most drivers are avoiding it, which may well have been the planners’ thinking. Did anyone think to ask the residents what the impact of this rerouting of traffic would do to their streets? If one more official tells me that it was all there for us to see at the public consultation they are liable to get a very dirty look from me! If we could have foreseen this chaos we would all be working as planners and certainly not complaining. Everyone makes mistakes, it is the owning up to them, taking responsibility for them and doing something to rectify them that counts. Our money, our town, your problem.

I have always considered myself to quite safety conscious but had to admit that perhaps I should rethink that. How many of us have toasters which sit neatly on our kitchen worktops under kitchen cupboards? How many don’t bother to pull them out when quickly chucking in a couple of slices or a teacake as we run the bath, put on the shower, catch up on our favourite soap, and forget all about it until the lovely smell reminds us? Did you realise that by repeatedly doing that you are slowly building up a layer of animal fat on the underside of your kitchen cupboards and a potential fire risk. I hadn’t thought about it, I do wipe under the cupboards, but perhaps not as frequently as I need to. So what was the first job I did when I got home tonight? One fire hazard dealt with. I am now going to book a fire safety visit and have my flat assessed a service which is free to everyone. An expert and a fresh pair of eyes may spot the things I am missing.

The most common complaint of almost everyone I speak to in town is the abolishing of the free parking in the Sinclair Street car park. Many are angry at the move especially as large areas of the free part of the pier car park have been unusable because of flooding. I think we all expected the two hour free parking to go after Christmas but thought that the one hour free parking would be reinstated. However apparently this isn’t the case despite notices on the ticket machines which said otherwise. The council don’t even have to conduct a survey to find out what users think, they simply have to go into the car park during the day to see how empty it is. The problem is that people are now driving round the local streets parking in residential areas or, in many cases, shopping elsewhere. I know the weather will have impacted on local businesses regardless of the parking situation, but honestly who is going to come to the town, spend ages looking for a parking space or park at the Pier and then get soaked going to the shops. People are opting to do all their shopping in one big store where they can get everything they need and stay dry. Let’s hope someone sees sense and sorts this mess out before everyone gives up.

I understand that there are to be two loading bays in Sinclair Street for delivery vehicles to park in when delivering to the local shops. A good idea and long overdue, however I rather think that two bays in Sinclair Street won’t alleviate the problems we are currently experiencing in West Princes Street where there should most definitely be several loading bays. It is becoming impossible to drive through the town; most drivers are avoiding it, which may well have been the planners’ thinking. Did anyone think to ask the residents what the impact of this rerouting of traffic would do to their streets? If one more official tells me that it was all there for us to see at the public consultation they are liable to get a very dirty look from me! If we could have foreseen this chaos we would all be working as planners and certainly not complaining. Everyone makes mistakes, it is the owning up to them, taking responsibility for them and doing something to rectify them that counts. Our money, our town, your problem.