Aberdeenshire Council Plan 2024 – 2029
Aberdeenshire Council works with and for our communities.
We will provide essential local services and additional help to those who need it most.
Aberdeenshire is a great place to live and work - with proud, resilient communities and thriving, diverse businesses. We don’t take this for granted and recognise our role in maintaining and building on that success, working in partnership with communities and businesses across Aberdeenshire.
Aberdeenshire Council must adapt to significant demographic changes and financial constraints. Our funding is not keeping pace with the growth and changes in our communities, along with their needs and expectations. By 2030, Aberdeenshire’s population over 65 will rise by 28%, while the working-age and young populations are projected to decrease by 2% each. Additionally, a decline of up to 7% is expected in the school-age population across 11 of 17 school clusters. All this means we must review our priorities and focus on where we can make the greatest impact with the money we have.
A sustainable economy
We will support a strong and diverse economy by attracting people of working age to our region, complementing our highly skilled local workforce.
Read more about sustainable economy.
Connected communities
We will work with communities and partners to enhance the sense of connection among our places. This includes supporting communities to come up with innovative solutions to ensure our places are resilient and vibrant.
Read more about connected communities.
Living well locally
We will encourage and support our residents to lead healthy and active lives and contribute meaningfully to their communities. We will make proactive choices that will allow us to cater to the needs of our increasingly ageing population.
Read more about living well locally.
How we will work with communities
Everything we do will consider the impact on our places and will be informed by the voices of our communities. We will involve communities and service users in shaping our services, including how and where they are delivered. We will work with local people to actively shape the places they live and work in, through supporting volunteering and helping them to make the best use of the assets and resources in their area.
Climate change
Climate change and the drive to net zero will be at the heart of how we make decisions and deliver services to support the delivery of our strategic priorities in the long-term. Our decisions will be informed through the lens of climate change to support our communities to have a sustainable future.