Retiring provost in fond farewell to 10 years at top

This week is the first in 23 years that former Provost Bill Howatson will no longer have to worry about any Aberdeenshire Council agendas or meetings.

The former Mearns councillor, who was provost for 10 years, stepped down ahead of last Thursday’s election as he “felt it was time for a change”.

He was first elected as a Liberal Democrat councillor in 1999 and represented the Mearns South ward.

But politics wasn’t always the main focus in his life.

Before joining the local authority he was The Press and Journal’s farming editor and columnist.

Mr Howatson said: “I did that for 12 years or so and I had great fun writing a column. I continued writing columns for The Courier in Dundee for a few years and then I got merged into politics so the writing had to go by the wayside.”

Before joining The Press and Journal, Mr Howatson worked at a local newspaper in Dumfriesshire before moving to the north-east.

In 1999 a friend who had been involved in politics raised the impending local elections and encouraged Mr Howatson to “take a chance”.

After joining the Lib Dems, he stood in the Aberdeenshire elections and secured a seat.

He retained it in every election since and said the role of councillor had been a “very interesting and rewarding position”.

Mr Howatson became provost for the first time in 2007 and held the title until 2012 when he passed the baton on to former councillor Jill Webster, who became the region’s first woman provost.

And he donned the chain of office again following the 2017 election.

Mr Howatson admitted: “I had always had an interest after the first spell and I never thought for a minute I would go back for a second term but when we were discussing the administration five years ago I realised that we would obviously need a provost.

“I spoke to one or two colleagues and they said: ‘Well you’ve done it before so have another shot.’

“A friend of mine phoned up the day after I was appointed and he said: ‘For goodness’ sake why don’t you give someone else a chance?’

“But it was too good a thing to miss.”

As provost he represented the region at local, national and international events.

He said: “I opened at least 30 major building projects and I think that’s a testament to the council for its ambitious capital programme which is also providing local jobs and trying to boost the local economy.”

One of his highlights included hosting the Inspiring Aberdeenshire awards, one of the council’s biggest annual events.

He said: “It yielded remarkable stories of community work and it really defined for me the spirit of Aberdeenshire.”

Reflecting on his two terms representing Aberdeenshire, Mr Howatson said: “It’s a great honour to serve as provost playing host to royal visitors, business leaders, learning more about our communities, showcasing all the qualities of Aberdeenshire – the unique and wonderful place that it is.

“We mark the Armed Forces Day each year and it’s always an honour to be part of that.

“We also mark important days in the civil calendar like the Holocaust Memorial Day, International Workers Memorial Day and Commonwealth Day, showing our commitment and respect.”

There had also been “difficult times that affected us as a community” with one particularly tough moment being the Stonehaven rail disaster in August 2020.

Driver Brett McCullough, conductor Donald Dinnie and passenger Christopher Stuchbury lost their lives when the train they were travelling in left the tracks at Carmont, near Stonehaven.

Mr Howatson said the crash was “truly a heartbreaking situation”.

He added: “How the local community came together to support those families directly affected and also by the support of the emergency workers, I was very proud to see that in action.”

The pandemic had been a “challenge” for the council but Mr Howatson said he was “proud” of the collective work by both his fellow councillors and local authority staff for allowing the democratic process to continue uninterrupted by moving online via Skype and Microsoft Teams in a bid to keep business running as usual.

Mr Howatson has some words of advice for the next provost: “Sharpen those scissors for all the official openings and ribbon cuttings – they are always more challenging than they appear to be.

“Listen to the stories of the people that make up our communities and celebrate with them, and have a firm but fair hand when chairing the meeting of the full council.”

Looking ahead to the future he hopes to get back into writing and added: “I have a whole pile of books that I want to get through, I want to travel a bit and maybe do a bit of work for the community as I go along.”

THROW OFF THE CHAIN: Bill Howatson at the unveiling of the renovated Ballater Station and, right, at home in St Cyrus where he plans to still be involved in the community.