TWO of the major Community Councils in the Mearns have issued an urgent appeal for more members.
Both Stonehaven and Portlethen Community Councils have expressed fears that if more people don't join the organisations they could face being disbanded.
Plans for the biennial elections to Stonehaven and District Community Council were announced th
is week, and Chairman David Fleming urged people to get involved.
He said that nine of the existing Community Council members are due to retire in rotation, and can stand again, but there are still nine vacancies to fill in order to bring the Council up to its full compliment of 20 members.
Mr Fleming emphasized that members are only obligated to attend one monthly meeting and any resident in the town can stand for election.
He said: "Being on the Community Council means that you can make a real difference to the town that we love and that we live in. There are many issues at present, particularly with the process of re-writing the Local Plan, so if you believe in a better Stonehaven for the future, now is the time to think of joining the Community Council."
Mr Fleming added: "If we get less than 12 people as a result of this activity then technically we have to stop being a Community Council - we would have to wind the organisation up. That would mean people had no real voice in the community and would be reliant purely on the representation by the four shire councillors.
"It also means that a lot of initiatives such as Horizon, the Future of Stonehaven group and other hard working groups wouldn't have a way of being born."
He said: "I am worried about this happening. Community Councils are struggling to survive right across the shire at the moment, and the lower the numbers, the less representative we can be, meaning we are liable to come to biased decisions."
Mr Fleming also said that there are currently no female members of the Community Council and appealed to women and the town's younger demographic in particular to get more involved.
Meanwhile Portlethen and District Community Council have also been appealing for new members to keep them out of the danger zone. The PDCC was stopped for over a year after it lost a number of members in 2006.
Chairman Gordon Munn said: "We have a capacity for 20 members, and at the moment are running on 12 or 13. If we drop below 10 that's below the minimum number we need to be allowed to function as a Community Council. This really does concern me.
"All we are asking of community councillors is for them to represent their area. You only need to attend one meeting once a month to raise the issues and concerns of residents. You don't need any qualifications, just enthusiasm for the area.
"It will also give you an opportunity to see new planning applications in advance, and you would get to find out new issues first."
He also added that he would "dread to think" what could happen to Portlethen if there was no community council to represent the locals' needs.
Mr Munn said: "Portlethen could easily double in size. Many potential building sites have put areas like Portlethen Moss in danger, one even wanted to relocate the golf course. We need to be there to represent the community."
If anyone wishes to find out more about becoming a community councillor then visit www.pdcc.org.uk for contact details, or go along to the next meeting on Tuesday February 23 at 7pm at Portlethen Academy.
The Stonehaven Community Council elections will be held in early April, but only if there are more candidates than vacancies. Nomination forms are available from Alistair Lawrie at 1 Westfield Avenue, 01569 762 586 or via any member of the Community Council.
