Welcome to Kintore Community!

The ‘Kintore - It's Your Neighbourhood’ Project

The objective of this Community led initiative is to help put pride back into Kintore by pulling together the community with a focus on cleaning, tidying, and rejuvenating the look and feel of areas within our town that we feel as a community could and should be improved.

These areas are selected on the basis of visibility and what impact they have as a first impression by visitors to our town and to our residents. Six areas within Kintore that would benefit from litter picking, weeding, tidying, painting, planting, repairing, cleaning and maintaining will be selected from the list below. An Action Plan for each area will be agreed, the objectives set and deadline placed before work starts.

Local Community Groups and volunteers will be identified and invited to help with delivering these objectives within the timelines given with input in the planning process and delivery of the project. We feel that this will also further enhance the Community Spirit which already exists within our Town of Kintore.

Photographs of the selected areas will be taken before work is started, updated photos of the work getting carried out, photographic evidence of the improvements will be saved to add to the Kintore portfolio.

Areas for improvement:-

Town House & Town Square Area

This area houses our iconic Town House which is looking tired and screaming out of some much-needed basic refurbishment and maintenance to enhance the look and feel of the heart of Kintore. The catalyst for the ‘Kintore- It’s Your Neighbourhood’ initiative was the Town Square clean-up during Summer 2023. Along with the refurbishment of the Town House benches these had such a positive effect on the community, something we wish to build on.

1.  Repair , Refurb & Painting of the Town House doors

2.  Painting back on the detail of the Millenium Stone- coat of arms and the text

3. Painting of the Coat of Arms on the Town House

4. Repair of some of the tarring around the bollards and the trees.

5. Pressure washing and removing of moss and green from tar , walls and slabs etc 

6. Cleaning of the Fountain, Make sure it’s back up and working , repair the leak and replace the missing pebbles etc 

7. Weeding /Weed killing of the cobble stones in front of the wall at the square 

8. QR Code Information Tiles for tourists and visitors to find out more about Town House and square 

Area in front of Kintore Kirk

Another iconic and historic building with such a fantastic eye-catching frontage of granite and despite looking okay from a distance this area would benefit from a refresh. Including the refurbishment of the two community wooden benches that sit outside the entrance.

1. Benches have both been refurbished

2.Walls have been professionally power washed /cleaned 

• Clean and weed the tarred area beside benches

3. QR Code Information Tiles for tourists and visitors to find out more about the Kintore Kirk and the Ancient Pictish Stone 

Approach to Kintore from North A96 slip road & exit Kintore onto A96 slip road.

Those drivers who choose to exit the A96 using the first slip road to Kintore are met with roadside rubbish, old trees and weeds. The 30mph sign on the right has a temporary sign which has been in use for almost 4 years, so not so temporary!  The roundabout itself is a disgrace with broken lock block on the edges and the whole roundabout resembles a mound of weeds. It's certainly NOT the 'look’ we want visitors to Kintore to be met with. This ‘look‘ continues down Northern Road with an overgrown hedge on the left, broken and displaced Herris fencing and weeds growing along the roadside. So much more can be done with these areas to improve them without major cost. 

In its defence the area does have two ‘stand out features’  Firstly the brand new ‘Welcome to Kintore’ sign which finishes off the small dyke beautifully and will be a highlight when the flower bed behind the dyke is in full bloom this year, adding more colour to the welcome that all visitors receive. Secondly the privately owned ‘Bridgend’ house which belongs to Monarch and is always so immaculately maintained. 

1.  Both Roundabouts , ( Tams Forest Roundabout and Tavlety/ Kintore Station Roundabout) both to have untidy grass cut, edged and the weeds removed from the sides, with repairs to the stonework – by the Landscaping/Roads departments , Aberdeenshire Council 

2. The new ‘Welcome to Kintore’ sign are planted with perennials and summer flowers to give maximum colour and height to welcome visitors, 

3. The large/high hedge leading from Kintore Station entrance to Station Garage to be cut back, trimmed, and tidied up, to give maximum impact of clean lines as visitors and residents enter Kintore. Monarch Builds , Kintore and Aberdeenshire Council have ownership. 

4. The electronic 30mph sign to be cleaned and moss/green free

5. Fences and grass area to be maintained

6. Seating area at end of Lochburn to be maintained, weeded, and tidied up. Planted with perennials and the areas generally brought to life , to add colour and a place where people can sit , relax and people watch. 

7. The area all the way into Kintore requires the residents to ‘step -up’ and keep weed free any area which leads onto or seen from the pavement or road.

8. All Bus Stops to be cleaned and Graffiti & Weed Free. 

Streetside frontage of Kintore Primary School / Castle Walk

The entrance to Kintore Primary School has bent metal traffic bollards which would benefit of straightening. At the foot of each bollard the tar is broken and leaves an ideal area for weeds to grow, which they do annually with great vigour. The end of Castle Walk which is adjacent to the school entrance is not much better and when not covered in old leaves it has a constant battle with litter. Across the road the opening to East Park Road has never looked worse than it has despite the colour which appears with the vibrant flowers in the wooden tubs, part of the Kintore Floral Display. 

1. Weed areas at Kintore School Entrance- straighten bollards and add tar where required after removal of grass and weeds

2. Weed area at opening to East Park Road and maintain.

3. Remove leaves , rubbish and weeds from Castle Walk opening

4. Remove weeds from end of Nicol Road / MacAllan Road entrance and perennials to be planted up in their place.

Kintore Pleasure Park / Pavilion 

Despite not being within an area normally viewed by visitors, the Pleasure Park, the Kids Play area and Pavilion it houses are all shadows of their formers selves with some immediate work required to make this a ‘go to ‘ place again. There is a general untidiness which over the years has become an acceptable eyesore which users of the park have gotten used to, but as a first time visitor you would be disgusted. This area needs a dedicated plan of action for remedial work and an additional action plan for long-term responsibility and maintenance to ensure any work being carried out successfully now is not wasted. 

1. Identify areas to tackle

2. Contact Kintore Amateurs Football Club to gain volunteers to clean up the Pavilion and area surrounding it.

3. This is a large area to clean up, however feel that this can be done with an organised and focused group 

Bus Shelters (all bus shelters on main drive through)

The bus shelters are a disgrace. With very little work these can be cleaned up using the correct products and machinery, nothing high-tech.  A pressure washer and some ‘Wet n Forget’ would get the majority of the grime and the green mold off, making the shelters not only look cleaner for users but also for people passing.

1.  Wet and Forget – Done

2.  Weed killer – Done

3.  Pressure wash , remove graffiti and remove weeds and add tar around the bases 

It's Your Neighbourhood- Keep Scotland Beautiful

As we have already put Kintore’s name forward for this initiative it means we already committed to making a difference. The 'It's Your Neighbourhood’ judging will take into consideration all the improvements stated above and the items listed below will also have a major impact on our score.

1. Kintore’s Floral Display

2. Perennial Planting

3. Kintore’s Best Kept Garden Competition

4. 6 Areas for Improvement in Town as pointed out above

5. Community engagement , by groups and volunteers.

We would also like to welcome the visitors to Kintore by inviting them to research the fantastic depth of History Kintore holds by producing and afixing QR codes to Benches in 6 specially selected areas of Kintore, once the QR is activated, this will take the user to the Kintore.org.uk website and the dedicated  page relevant to the Historic building /area. This page will hold a depth of information about the history along with a short video which will help those who find it dificult to read , listen or view the page, ensuring an inclusive story share.

The areas selected would be :-

1. Tuach Hill panel at side of School Road. Referring to (a) how it gave the town its name (b) the battle with the Danes, the cattle and a grateful king bestowing royal Burgh status (c) gallows (d) ROC bunker

2. Aberdeenshire Canal on School Road near site of Canal Cottage (a) almost a third of length and terminus at Port Elphinstone in Parish of Kintore (b) remains visible at Rushlach and Port Elphinstone (c) wharf in Kintore (d) sold to railway company

3. Kintore Kirk referring to Pictish symbol stones, Archibald Simpson and War Memorial.

4. Town House

5. Hallforest Castle royal hunting lodge

6. Bridgealehouse

Despite this being quite an undertaking I personally feel that Kintore will benefit massively from this initiative and feel it's a project well worth getting of the ground.

The total cost of this project has not been quantified and we understand that this grant will cover up to 50% of the total, however we feel that any funds rasied through this grant would be welcomed and used to help put Kintore firmly back on the map for visitors and day trippers as well as give the community some pride in 'their place' .

Improving the Appearance and Maintenance of Towns and Villages within Garioch:-

This will be the main objective. Unfortunately Kintore has fallen into a state of disrepair over the last few years and it's very easy to allow this to slide and accept the fact it's just how it's going to look, however there is another way and we feel strongly that fuelled by all the Aberdeenshire Council monetary cutbacks recently we feel this the right time for the Kintore Community to step up with pride and take control of it's own community.

Healthier Communities:-

The individuals and groups that get involved with this project will benefit from working in the outdoors with a plan and a clear objective and will receive praise from the organisers which will result in better physical and mental health. The end results will be obvious to see and this pride will then help with getting the community involved in maintaining what they have already achieved. The work on the Kintore Pleasure Park Pavilion , The Park and the Kids Playpark will have great benefits , as it will encourage more families to attend these areas and see this more as their Town Park presented as a safe , clean and tidy environment which will encourage even more physical activity.

Connect Communities:-

Opening up more area’s in Kintore in a clean, tidy and safe manner will encourage those more vulnerable to get involved with the wider community. As we will have to set up small groups to achieve some of the objectives , this would help some individuals to meet other likeminded people without the pressure of being in a club but feel as is they are part of something larger.

Jim Reid 07/04/2024

Updated 15/05/2024