Judges arrived in the town in August 2009 to be greeted with the sight of numerous colourful baskets and troughs of flowers in bloom, thanks to the exceptional work of the volunteers of the Stonehaven Horizon group.

At the recent award ceremony at the Beach Ballroom in Aberdeen, John Summers OBE, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, paid tribute to the local people who have worked tirelessly in their free time for the benefit of others.

The Horizon Group are to be congratulated for their excellent efforts in enhancing the town of Stonehaven and they deserve their recognition.

Welcome to Stonehaven Guide News. This is our first post to our new Blog.

A NEW golf course designed by “Golden Bear” Jack Nicklaus will be the centre of attraction at a £40 million hotel and resort development in Stonehaven. On 12^th July 2007 Edinburgh-based FM Developments announced that Ury Estate in Stonehaven is to become home to only the second Jack Nicklaus signature golf course in Scotland. The golfing legend, the winner of 18 golf majors has promised to create a beautiful course covering around 160 acres of the Mearns countryside.The family firm Nicklaus Design has already designed 315 courses in 30 countries with 58 ranked in various national and international top – 100 lists.

 FM Developments was granted planning approval last year to create the golf course. Its latest plan includes proposals to restore Ury House as the clubhouse, complete with function and conference facilities. A series of four hamlets across the periphery of the estate is also included in the plans. Other leisure pursuits proposed for the estate include shooting, horse riding, tennis and fishing.

As current Chairman of Stonehaven it’s Special Tourism Group I personally welcome this news and Visit Scotland Area Director for Aberdeenshire has said  “ the exciting development at Ury House would be great for the whole area”. American tycoon Donald Trump is also planning a £1 billion golf resort on Menie Estate outside Aberdeen which is about a 45 minute drive from Stonehaven. Could these developments establish the North East of Scotland as a Golfing Mecca? Time will tell but the prospect is exciting.

Stonehaven Highland Games atrracted a large crowd on Sunday 15th July and the weather was very kind to all those involved, resulting in a record attendance. The highlight was a spectacular free-fall parachute jump by the Army’s Golden Lions display team from Edinburgh. The event attracted visitors from Canada, Japan, China, USA and Sweden as well as from the UK.The Folk Festival last weekend was a great success with all concerts sold out and many more musicians attracted to the ‘pub’ sessions.

Local Community Radio, Mearns FM has now been granted a licence to broadcast again. Mearns FM will serve the people of the Mearns, which is a distinct cultural area of south Aberdeenshire. It will be a socially inclusive station and channel of communication for the region.

The last two weeks has been an exciting time in Stonehaven.

George McGillivray
www.stonehavenguide.net
www.webecommarketing.co.uk