Banff, Macduff and district Community Planning

02/02/2026

The Met Office has issued a yellow weather warning for snow during Tuesday and Wednesday which could bring some further disruption to Aberdeenshire.

Rain feeding into eastern and northern Scotland will increasingly fall as sleet and then snow - by Wednesday we could see 1-3cm above 100 metres, with perhaps up to 5cm in some places. There may be 10cm above 200m and some higher areas could see up to up to 20cm.

Strong winds at times will lead to blizzard conditions and drifting of lying snow, especially in the north of the warning area.

Snowy, wintry weather can cause delays and make driving conditions dangerous. Keep yourself and others safe by planning your route, giving yourself extra time for your journey. Check for road closures or delays to public transport and amend plans if necessary.

If driving, make sure you have some essentials in your car in the event of any delays (e.g., warm clothing, food, water, a blanket, a torch, ice scraper/de icer, a warning triangle, high visibility vest and an in-car phone charger).

Be prepared for weather warnings to change quickly: when a weather warning is issued, the Met Office recommends staying up to date with the weather forecast in your area.

To see the council’s planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes

You can view the latest weather warnings here https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings

29/01/2026

The Banff and Buchan Coastal Communities fund is now open! for further details, see below and for application and full information, visit https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/funding/banff-and-buchan/ Deadline for applications - 5pm on Friday, 20th March 2026.

The Banff and Buchan Coastal Communities Fund is now open for applications from constituted community groups situated in the coastal areas across Banff and Buchan. Grants are available for 100% of project costs up to £5,000, thereafter 90% of costs up to £25,000. Both capital and revenue projects may be supported.

This funding must be used for the benefit of coastal communities and can support projects linked to the following themes:

👉supporting the development of active travel routes along, to and from the coastline;
👉developing the coastal economy and sustainable tourism;
👉creating or enhancing community, leisure and recreational facilities;
👉safeguarding, restoring or enhancing the coastal environment.

Projects must be led by constituted groups and be able to demonstrate a tangible link to their community, coast or the sea, for example;

👉helping people to develop skills related to coastal or seafaring pursuits, activities or enterprises, for example sailing, fishing or boatbuilding;
👉celebrating the heritage of rural and coastal communities of a place and interest, for example a coastal or fishing village or township, historic boatbuilding, or relevant clubs or organisations;
👉improving access to coastal areas or rural pathways, for example upgrades to paths and viewpoints;
👉improving the coastal environment, for example applications to establish and support community groups looking after their coastline;
👉improving community-controlled infrastructure such as harbours, boathouses and buildings.

For an application form or for further details, email banffandbuchanamo@aberdeenshire.gov.uk or call 01467 530700.

Applications should be submitted by 5pm on Friday, March 20.

19/01/2026

Yellow warning issued for rain

The Met Office has issued this YELLOW Warning of Rain affecting Grampian. For details: https://t.co/tgyj1u65RQ

13/01/2026

Aberdeenshire Council's weather status overview for overnight conditions👇

We’re expecting more rain and sleet this afternoon – and maybe even some more snow on our higher roads. Evening showers will die out to leave a dry if breezy night and road surface temperatures will be well below zero with the risk of ice and hoar frost.

The Met office has also issued a further yellow warning for ice over large parts of inland Aberdeenshire between 6pm tonight and 10am tomorrow, however SEPA has confirmed its earlier flood alert is no longer in force.

All our primary routes will be treated from 6pm this evening and again from 5.30am tomorrow morning, followed by secondary route and priority footpaths treatment.

To see the council’s planned gritting for each day, go to: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/gritting-routes

You can view the latest weather warnings here https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/weather/warnings-and-advice/uk-warnings

13/01/2026

REMINDER It's Aberdeenshire’s Registration Week for September 2026 Primary 1 admission. Registration runs from Monday (Jan 13) to Friday (Jan 17), further details below👇

UPDATE: All families living in the Kinneff School and Tullynessle School catchment areas are still entitled, if interested, to select their catchment school as an option on the P1 admissions form even though these schools are currently mothballed

Aberdeenshire’s Registration Week for Primary 1 admission is Monday (Jan 13) to Friday (Jan 17).

All children who reach their fifth birthday by February 28, 2026, are invited to register for Primary 1 for admission in August 2025.

Parents/Carers of those children due to commence attendance at school in August 2025 should now register their children for the appropriate local primary school.

To register for a primary school place, for a school within your catchment area, please complete the online application at: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/applyForSchoolPlace

It is usual practice for children to attend their local catchment primary school, however you do have the right to apply to place your child in a school other than your local one.

You should still register your child in a school in the area in which you live until you know the outcome of your application.

The Out of Zone request form can be found at: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/schools/school-info/admissions/out-of-zone-school/

13/01/2026

Community Appointment Day in City on 20th January focussing on Women's Health. Look out for information coming soon on a Community Appointment Day focussing on Mental Health and Wellbeing in Fraserburgh on 6th March 2026

📣 Women’s Health Community Appointment Day – 20th January 2026

We’re excited to share details of the upcoming Women’s Health Community Appointment Day, taking place on 20th January at the Aberdeen Vaccination & Wellbeing Hub, Bon Accord Centre.

⏰ Drop in anytime between 9:30am – 4:00pm

This event offers women the chance to access accurate, evidence‑based information and support on a wide range of women’s health topics. It’s a great opportunity to build confidence in self‑management and connect with both local services and community supports.

🌸 What’s happening on the day?
✔️ A full programme of talks
✔️ Support stalls from local organisations
✔️ Guidance on menstrual health, pelvic pain, menopause, contraception & more
✔️ Free community refreshments
✔️ Fun activities including a Teddy Bear Hospital for kids
✔️ Seated Pilates session (12:30–1:30pm)

There are lots of spaces still available, so please help spread the word.
Feel free to share with community groups, colleagues, friends, and family who may benefit.

📞 To secure a place for a call‑back, please phone 08085 202030

📎 See the poster below for full details.

NHS Grampian Aberdeenshire Health & Social Care Partnership - AHSCP

13/01/2026

Today's (Tuesday 13th) update on waste and recycling collections following the adverse weather disruption

Waste and recycling teams have gone above and beyond during the recent adverse weather to service accessible routes, keep recycling centres open, and support snow clearing efforts across Aberdeenshire—and they are not stopping. The team has a range of plans in place to help communities get caught up.

👉 We are doing our normal collections schedule
👉 We are preparing to put on extra off-schedule routes – to prioritise black-lid bins missed during the recent adverse weather
👉 We are doing short-notice ad-hoc collections where we can.
👉 We are accepting extra waste or recycling where we have not yet caught up on your bin.

🗓️ Our normal scheduled routes

We are back to our normal collection cycle. So please take out your bins as you would normally on their scheduled collection day.

Because we recognise the quantities of waste at properties, if your bin was missed on its scheduled collection day, you can put out extra alongside that same bin on its next scheduled collection day. Extra/side recycling or waste must match the bin being collected that day. Extra recycling or waste can be presented as follows:

⬛ The black lid bin (non-recyclable materials) in additional black bin bags—please double-bag if necessary to prevent splits.
🟦 The blue lid bin (paper, card, and cardboard only) in cardboard boxes. Please try to keep them clean and dry.
🟧 The orange lid bin (metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil, food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays) in non-black bags to help crews know they can safely decant the contents into the emptied orange lid bin for re-emptying.

➕ Extra off-schedule routes

We are finalising a plan just now to put on additional off-schedule collections towards the end of this week. These extra collections will prioritise black-lid bins missed during the adverse weather to help get collections back on track. It is likely these will take place on Friday and Saturday but that is to be confirmed.

These extra off-schedule collections will be communicated across our channels soon so please allow our contact centre to focus on other urgent calls.

⚠️ Ad hoc routes

Once our crews have started their usual routes each day, the waste team have a better idea if and where they might be able to do an ad hoc run of local routes. These are last minute, and we appreciate that can be frustrating. But we are going to prioritise communicating those through the myAberdeenshire app, so download and sign up and make sure your notifications are switched on: aberdeenshire.gov.uk/my/mobile-app

📝 Other important information

Should you wish to recycle or get rid of waste sooner, our household recycling centres are available to visit.

We will accept food waste for recycling at Macduff, Ellon, Inverurie, Stonehaven, and Banchory household recycling centres temporarily.

Alford household recycling centre is open for an additional day today and tomorrow, and Insch household recycling centre will also be open for an additional day tomorrow.

We ask that all visitors to our household recycling centres check the website prior to travelling in case of closure, a change in opening times, a need to book, to see what can be recycled, and the type of vehicles that are welcomed: aberdeenshire.gov.uk/RecyclingCentres

If you do need to book, please arrive on time as entry may be refused to anyone arriving outside of their given time slot.

Commercial-type vehicles and vehicles with trailers must book to access all sites, with limits on their number of visits. Booking is required for all vehicles to access Inverurie and Westhill household recycling centres.

It will take time and great effort for our staff to catch up on collections missed after this significant weather event, and your continued patience and understanding has and continues to be greatly appreciated.

13/01/2026

Officers are appealing for information following a possible incident of sheep worrying in the area of Longhaugh, Aberchirder.

Between Friday 9 January 2026 and Saturday 10 January 2026, several sheep died and several were injured, as a result of an attack by an unknown animal.

Constable Irvine, Wildlife Officer, said, "We are asking for members of the public to come forward if they saw a dog off lead in the area at the time, or have information which may assist us in our enquiries. At this time it is not clear what has attacked these sheep, and our enquiries are ongoing to establish what has happened, but any information is greatly appreciated. If any other farmers have also had sheep attacked in this area, I would encourage them to get in touch."

"I would like to take this opportunity to remind dog owners and walkers of their responsibilities in rural and farmland areas. Livestock worrying is the phrase used when a dog attacks or worries livestock animals in rural and farmland areas. This crime usually takes place in the countryside and is a particular problem when dogs, even those that are well trained, are off their leads or are roaming without an owner or person in charge with them. In doing so, they often scare or attack livestock animals. This can have a serious effect on the animals, for example, injuries and stress can cause sheep in lamb to suffer abortion or miscarriage, livestock becoming desperate in their attempts to escape can injure themselves in doing so, or lambs chased by dogs can become separated from their mothers and die of starvation or hypothermia.
Whilst many owners are unaware of the impact their dogs are having on livestock, it is their responsibility to ensure attacks and worrying don't happen. They should ensure their dog doesn't disturb or attack these animals, otherwise there are consequences under the law if it does occur."

Anyone with information which can assist our enquiries is requested to contact Police Scotland on 101 and quote incident number PS-20260110-1753.

12/01/2026

Final update (Monday 12th January) from Aberdeenshire Council, following the recent period of adverse weather

As recovery efforts continue across Aberdeenshire, and with council services returning to regular operation, this will be our final bulletin about the recent severe weather. Service messaging will resume on our website and social media channels as usual.

⚠️ Warnings

A yellow warning for ice across Aberdeenshire and much of Scotland is in place from 7pm tonight (Mon) until 10am tomorrow, so please take care if travelling.

The majority of our priority routes are being gritted this evening, with teams on standby to take further action if required.

Work is continuing to refill grit bins that remain part of Aberdeenshire Council’s network as can be seen on the map on this page https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/roads-and-travel/roads/winter-maintenance/grit-bin/grit-bin-removals
Please note that grit bins shown as red dots do not meet the council’s criteria and are not being refilled.

By visiting Fix My Street you can see where there is an existing request for a grit bin refill. Remember, the grit bins should be used to treat roads and pathways, not private driveways.

Visit Fix My Street here https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/

♻️ Bins and Waste

All scheduled collections of bins were attempted today, and residents should return to taking bins out in line with normal schedules. Excess waste will be accepted as outlined below.

With conditions now improving and waste teams no longer redeployed, we are looking at our options and resources for mop-ups and catchups of missed collections—in addition to anything ad hoc—as this week goes on. This plan will be communicated in due course across all our channels, so please allow our contact centre to focus on other urgent calls.

A reminder that, if your bin was missed due to adverse weather, you can put extra out alongside that same bin on its next scheduled collection day. Extra/side recycling or waste must match the bin being collected that day. Extra recycling or waste can be presented as follows:

⬛ The black lid bin (non-recyclable materials) in additional black bin bags—please double-bag if necessary to prevent splits.
🟦 The blue lid bin (paper, card, and cardboard only) in cardboard boxes. Please try to keep them clean and dry.
🟧 The orange lid bin (metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil, food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs, and trays) in see-through plastic bags so that the crews can clearly see the contents.

🌊 Flood alerts are in place for Aberdeenshire, and felled trees and icy conditions continue to create hazards on some roads. We have flooding issues at one of our waste transfer stations which may hamper some collection efforts this week.

We will accept food waste for recycling at Macduff, Ellon, Inverurie, Stonehaven and Banchory household recycling centres temporarily from today.

Household recycling centres are operating as usual, with Alford household recycling centre open for its additional days tomorrow (Tue, Jan 13) and Wednesday (Jan 14).

During the peak of activity, waste crews and other council staff were redeployed to snow clearance, supporting the council’s existing roads team, along with 170 farmers and contractors bought in by the council to add important capacity. Now, we are back with full focus on waste and recycling. Clearing a backlog of this size is a significant task. Our teams are working extra hard to get things back to normal, and we appreciate your continued support and patience as we plan for and begin to catchup on missed bins.

♻️ We ask that all visitors to our household recycling centres check the website prior to travelling in case of a change in opening times, a need to book, a closure, to see what can be recycled, and the type of vehicles that are welcomed. When visiting, please arrive early enough to unload the vehicle before the lunchtime or end-of-day close.

Booking is required for all vehicles visiting Inverurie and Westhill household recycling centres. Only commercial-type vehicles and vehicles with a trailer must book at all other recycling centres.

If you do need to book, please arrive on time as entry may be refused to anyone arriving outside of their given time slot.

🌊 Flooding issues

A SEPA flood alert remains in in place for Aberdeenshire, with surface water expected on roads, and some areas like Portlethen, South Deeside Road, and parts of Peterhead posing challenges.

Remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. If you live in a known flooding area, please ensure you sign-up now for alerts from SEPA call the Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or visit https://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/

🏫 Schools

The majority of our schools are open again and each school is speaking to their community directly.

Decisions on school openings are back to being made locally by each school. You can view the latest decisions on our website from 4pm before any given school day: https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures

☎️ Contact and help

All of the numbers you might need and important contact details are on our website, so please head there first: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/safety-and-emergencies/weather-emergencies

12/01/2026

Yellow warning for ice this evening; Morning update from Aberdeenshire Council on latest regarding weather impacts

Whilst the council has stepped down from its major incident status last night, teams continue to co-ordinate local activity and ensure our communities are supported. There are still a few things to watch out for as we move into Monday.

⚠Warnings

Temperatures are expected to drop overnight, so watch out for ice. There is a yellow warning for ice in place overnight, in itself not unusual for this time of year.

Our gritter teams will be deployed later today but drivers are asked to drive to the conditions. There is extensive flooding on our network and with the temperatures expected to drop, conditions could be tricky.

Because of the drop in temps, teams are restocking the grit bins which meet our criteria - shown on this map https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiYTc4NDAzODMtOGFlYS00ZmQwLTliNTItOWFlZDJkODFlNDE4IiwidCI6ImZlZDk5MzA2LTRkMmQtNDQwOS05NTlkLWQwZWRiNzMwNGEwYiJ9&pageName=df9dc46855a2a61082e4&fbclid=IwY2xjawLU7uBleHRuA2FlbQIxMQABHjhcTTbvfORM2SRuLYdaLchYDaKsWfUeF19sjAF5DuBBtZKe5VJ__6DQkDKN_aem_gTLZUmr1Riiy7LRqYuOrkA (grit bins shown as red dots do not meet the criteria and are not being refilled by the Council).

We are working quickly to refill them asap, with the focus on the ones where people have made a refill request first.

If you go onto Fix My Street you can see where there is an existing request for a grit bin refill. Remember, the grit bins should be used to treat roads and pathways, not private driveways. https://fix.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/around?lat=57.30906&lon=-2.35225&js=1&zoom=0&filter_category=Other(WinterMaintenance)&sort=created-desc&status=open,closed,fixed

👉Flooding issues

A SEPA flood alert is in place for Aberdeenshire so please do take extra care when you are moving around today. There is expected to be as lot of surface water on roads, and some areas like Portlethen, South Deeside Road, and parts of Peterhead are posing challenges. Any closures are being posted here.

Remember, it is your responsibility to take actions which help protect yourself and your property. If you live in a known flooding area, please ensure you sign-up now for alerts from SEPA call the Floodline on 0345 988 1188 or visit https://floodline.sepa.org.uk/floodupdates/

👉Bins and Waste

All the routes which we would normally pick up on a Monday are being attempted today, so if your waste collection is a Monday, please put out your scheduled bin today.

That assumption stands for the rest of the week, so please return to taking your bins out where you can, in line with the normal schedule. All our Household Recycling Centres are open as normal. Note, Alford and Insch HRCs are putting extra hours or days in to help with the backlog.

We are finalising the plan to catch up on missed collections. We expect to be in a position to set out the plan for how we will address the backlog shortly and this will be communicated widely through our normal channels.

👉Schools

The majority of our schools are open again today and each school is speaking to their community directly.

Decisions on school openings are back to being made locally by each school. You can view the latest decisions on our website from 4pm before any given school day: https://online.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/school-closures

👉Contact and help

All of the numbers you might need and important contact details are on our website, so please head there first: https://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/communities-and-events/safety-and-emergencies/weather-emergencies

12/01/2026

Update on waste and recycling centre opening hours

All household recycling centres due to open today are. All scheduled collections of bins will be attempted today. That assumption stands for the rest of the week, so please return to taking your bins out, where you can, in line with your normal schedule.

With conditions now improving and waste teams no longer redeployed, we are looking at our options and resources for mop-ups and catchups of missed collections—in addition to anything ad hoc—as this week goes on. This plan will be communicated in due course across all our channels, so please allow our contact centre to focus on other urgent calls.

A reminder that, if your bin was missed due to adverse weather, you can put extra out alongside that same bin on its next scheduled collection day. Extra/side recycling or waste must match the bin being collected that day. Extra recycling or waste can be presented as follows:

⬛ The black lid bin (non-recyclable materials) in additional black bin bags—please double-bag if necessary to prevent splits.
🟦 The blue lid bin (paper, card, and cardboard only) in cardboard boxes. Please try to keep them clean and dry.
🟧 The orange lid bin (metal tins, cans, aerosols and foil, food and drink cartons, plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays) in see-through plastic bags so that the crews can clearly see the contents.

🌊 Flood alerts are in place for Aberdeenshire, and felled trees and icy conditions continue to create hazards on some roads. We have flooding issues at one of our waste transfer stations which may hamper some collection efforts this week.

We will accept food waste for recycling at Macduff, Ellon, Inverurie, Stonehaven and Banchory household recycling centres temporarily from today.

Insch household recycling centre is open for its additional opening day today, Monday 12 January, and Alford household recycling centre will be open for its additional days on Tuesday 13 and Wednesday 14 January.

During the peak of activity, waste crews and other council staff were redeployed to snow clearance, supporting the council’s existing roads team, along with 170 farmers and contractors bought in by the council to add important capacity. Now, we are back with full focus on waste and recycling. Clearing a backlog of this size is a significant task. Our teams are working extra hard to get things back to normal, and we appreciate your continued support and patience as we plan for and begin to catchup on missed bins.

♻️ We ask that all visitors to our household recycling centres check the website prior to travelling in case of a change in opening times, a need to book, a closure, to see what can be recycled, and the type of vehicles that are welcomed. When visiting, please arrive early enough to unload the vehicle before the lunchtime or end-of-day close.

Booking is required for all vehicles visiting Inverurie and Westhill household recycling centres. Only commercial-type vehicles and vehicles with a trailer must book at all other recycling centres.

If you do need to book, please arrive on time as entry may be refused to anyone arriving outside of their given time slot.

The relevant links for more information can be found in our profile bio.

11/01/2026

Aberdeenshire Council confirm 'Major Incident' status no longer in effect.

Aberdeenshire Council has taken the decision to end its ‘major incident’, which it stood up last Tuesday as a result of major snowfall affecting all parts of Aberdeenshire, but the Council remains alert to the on-going needs of communities in a heightened state of emergency response.

The decision to declare a major incident, largely an administrative action, allowed the Council to redeploy resources to focus on supporting communities, predominantly through restoring connectivity, supporting particularly vulnerable individuals and warning and informing people to prepare and respond to the emerging weather conditions.

During the peak of activity, waste crews and other Council staff were redeployed to snow clearance, supporting the council’s existing roads team, along with 170 farmers and contractors bought in by the Council to add important capacity. Major snow clearing equipment was received from Amey as part of a mutual aid request, along with a snow cutter from Tayside Contracts and other smaller snow clearing kit also being brought in from other councils who have been less affected by the current weather conditions. A Care for People Group focused on ensuring the most vulnerable people in our communities were safe and supported, and that activity will continue, working alongside families, carers and neighbours as we return to business as usual.

With many schools and health care services expected to reopen on Monday, the Council feels the worst of the impacts are now over. Whilst the major incident has now been brought to an end, the Council is still supporting an emergency response in terms of the level of additional activity still underway, with more staff redeployed to clear paths, fire exits and car parks around schools, care homes, very sheltered and sheltered housing complexes to enable them to operate safely. Council activity will begin to move towards business as usual through this week, with a focus on getting on top of waste collections which have been severely impacted since Hogmanay.

Warnings are also in place from the Met Office and SEPA for snow melt and high winds. Property owners are responsible for the protection of their own property, and action is essential to reduce the risk of damage.

Chief Executive, Jim Savege explained the reason for moving away from a major incident at this time. “We have responded to five amber weather warnings in very quick succession, resulting in snowfall, freezing temperatures and a prolonged period of winter weather. What we have experienced over the past 2 weeks has far exceeded what we would consider as part of our routine winter maintenance programme and it has required an extraordinary effort from the Council, our partners, farmers, contractors, communities and individuals. As ever, our residents have shown remarkable resilience and have supported each other throughout this period. The declaration of a major incident supports us in reallocating resources to where the need is greatest, along with making mutual aid requests to other agencies and councils.

“Whilst we have stood down our major incident, we are still very conscious that there is more to do before we are back to normal. There is a significant risk of flooding on our networks as the snow melts, and there is a forecast for more snow, rain and high winds – all this means the Council will continue to work with a heightened state of emergency response. But with all communities now reconnected through our main roads network, and good progress on clearing smaller routes and opening access to our smallest settlements, we have returned the snow clearing kit to Amey and others. The focus now moves onto the use of smaller machinery better suited to clearing residential streets and pavements.

“Our winter maintenance arrangements remain in place and we will continue to deploy our extensive fleet of road and pavement gritters in response to emerging weather conditions, including activating contracted assistance from our network of Farmer and Agri Contractor ploughs, particularly as we anticipate more snow, rain and high winds in the coming week.

“Our most sincere thanks go to everyone for their perseverance and support over the last few weeks, the response and community resilience to this weather has been, and continues to be, truly a team effort.”