CONON BRIDGE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Transcription

1 CONON BRIDGE COMMUNITY COUNCIL Minutes Of Meeting held on Wednesday 9th September 2015 in The Staff Room at Ben Wyvis Primary School at 7.30pm PRESENT Fiona MacKintosh (FMK), Jim Attwood (JA), Hazel Bushell (HB), Jock Comloquoy (JC), Antony Smith (AS), Jane Attwood (IJA), Sgt Karen MacPherson (KMP), Cllr Graham MacKenzie (GMK), Cllr Alister MacKinnon (AMK), Cllr Angela MacLean (AML), Cllr Margaret Paterson (MP) and three members of the public. WELCOME Chairperson. Fiona MacKintosh welcomed everyone to the meeting and stated that the minutes were being taken and recorded by Jane Attwood who was acting as interim Minute Secretary. The tape would be cleared after the minutes had been agreed. No objections were made. 1 Apologies No apologies received 2. Minutes of the previous meeting Item 10. Conon Gala. 5.30pm -7.30pm should read 5.30pm -7.00pm. Adoption of the minutes was proposed by Jim Attwood and seconded by Hazel Bushell. Fiona apologised that the minutes of the previous meeting had not been sent out to some of the members of the committee; this was due to the address list defaulting to a previous member of the Community Council. The matter has now been rectified. 3. Police Report Sgt Karen Macpherson opened by apologising that there had not been a police representative available to attend previous Community Council meetings, but that had been due to long term sickness. Karen had now taken over the post and in future should be able to attend Community Council meetings. Karen continued with her report which was categorised under three main headings: 1. Road Safety 2. Anti social behaviour 3. Alcohol/Drug Abuse. In total, 41 incidents had been recorded between 09/08 and 09/09/15 in Conon Bridge. These included complaints on driving behaviour, abandoned vehicles in village, one report of vandalism, two reports of internet scams which were followed up by a media release alerting the public to 1

2 these incidents, suspicious activity and noise from houses in the area which included 3 out of 5 reports coming from one house. A copy of the Police Report is attached to these minutes. Karen concluded by stating that the Police are always grateful to receive any information, regardless of whether it is relevant or not. Jock Comloquoy asked whether these incidents were typical of a small community. Karen replied that as far as the police were concerned the crime rate is very low which was good and as such they are very pleased with the results. Antony Smith said that this was all very positive. Karen then went on to say that they were aware of the problems in School Road with it being used as a race track and they are recording incidents. Fiona also mentioned cars racing through the centre of the village especially the noise and back firing of certain vehicles. Concern was also raised about Leanaig Road, with cars parking on the pavement. The Council have been advised that this is a police matter and as such they would deal with it. The yellow lines have now been repainted on the Leanaig Road but there is one vehicle in particular that is causing an obstruction, especially when buses are trying to negotiate the narrow corner. It is also of great concern that cars are parking on the pavement outside the Spar shop, causing problems for wheelchair users and people with baby buggies etc. Karen advised that the police would look into these matters. 4. Matters arising Both Cllr MacKinnon and Cllr MacKenzie advised the meeting that Tina Luxton, Community Services, was aware of the matter regarding the need for strimming the vegetation at the side of the railway footpath and they were assured that someone from Community Services would look at it before the end of September. Work on the roundabout at Leanaig Road and School Road has now commenced, albeit later than the expected commencement date of 29th June. Cllr MacKinnon is due to attend a meeting with the train operating company again with regard to the number of trains failing to stop at Conon Bridge due to the late running of services from the North and West. At this point mention was also made with regard to buses failing to stop in the village, in particular the service to Inverness not stopping, as it was full. This happens on numerous occasions. JC also mentioned that the 4.36 service last Friday did not turn up. These failures were noted and the Councillors have stated that the message needs to get out to the general public to report each and every time that these occur so that they can be reported to the appropriate company. 2

3 Jim Attwood asked about the position with regard to the bike racks which should have been installed at the car park adjacent to the church. The Highland Council are in possession of the bike racks. An installation date is required. Cllr MacLean advised the Community Council that she had received a letter from the Dingwall Angling Club requesting that a rubbish bin be sited at the car park at the riverbank. The anglers clear up the litter that is left at the side of the river, but they are conscious of the amount of dog poo that is not lifted by dog owners along the riverside path and felt that if a rubbish bin was provided at the end of the path this might help to alleviate the problem. Cllr MacLean has asked if the Community Council would also add their support to this request and this was agreed. Antony Smith raised the matter of out of date timetables at bus shelters. Jim Attwood replied that he had already been in contact with Ivor Sutor at The Highland Council advising him that the timetables were out of date and that there was only one route displayed at the War Memorial shelter. New timetables had come into operation on 17 August. Jim also made the suggestion that the Community Council could put up the timetables if they were supplied to them by the Council. The Community Council were advised that the bus shelter opposite the Conon Bridge Chinese and Fish and Chip takeaway was to be replaced. The suggestion was made by a member of the public present at the meeting that a shelter similar to the black and gold shelter at the War Memorial would be in keeping with the centre of the village, especially if the village notice board could be replaced with one in a black and gold livery. However, cost might be prohibitive. Cllr MacLean also mentioned that Ivor Sutor was looking into the possibility of the Smiddy bus stop on Leanaig Road being moved to the school drop off zone. This would allow better bus access and the possibility of a bus shelter being installed as there would be more space. The Highland Council are keen for this move to take place. At the last Community Council meeting the Community Council were asked if they would help find new premises to store the Christmas lights. Jim advised the meeting that he had heard that a Committee member of the Amenities Association had been able to source a container but the door required repairing. Should the container be found to be suitable to buy, it was agreed that the Community Council and the Amenities Association would jointly fund the purchase. 5. Notice board Fiona is in receipt of a catalogue for the purchase of the replacement notice board at the Spar shop. It is hoped that the replacement will be in keeping with the design of the bus shelter at the War Memorial. A potential supplier of this type of notice board is a company called Malcolm Lane Ltd. Cllr Paterson stated that this type was of a good quality and it will last. No further information is available at this time but Malcolm Lane Ltd. are suppliers to The Highland Council. 6. Playing Field Jim Attwood expressed concern with regard to the area between the goalposts and the burn being waterlogged. Also the steps leading down from the car park to the field required a handrail to be provided as there was a safety risk and Health and Safety state that a handrail is required if there 3

4 are more than three risers. Rubbish bins were also required. It was also pointed out that bins were required at bus shelters. The question was raised with regard to the council employee who picked up the litter in the area and where he collected rubbish from. The Councillors said that the person concerned covered the area of Maryburgh and Dingwall as well as Conon Bridge and collected it from the schemes and estates in all three areas. A member of the public present at the meeting said that before the football team could start their training they had collected a black bin liner full of rubbish from the playing field near to the play park. The members of the Community Council and public wondered if there was any way of policing the area and fining the culprits concerned. It was decided that to move forward, an article could be written for the Conon Craic advising residents of the fines payable if caught dropping litter to see if that would alleviate the problem. 7. Railway Footpath Jim Attwood advised the meeting that the Dog Warden had supplied him with stickers about the disposal of dog waste. These stickers had now been put on the bins at the railway footpath, one at the railway station and the other in the car park at the church. A member of the public present at the meeting said that even though notices had been erected in Top Street, the problem had still not gone away. 8. Ferintosh House and Lodge FMK advised the meeting that she had been unable to attend meetings since June due to work commitments and she would let Jim Attwood advise the meeting of the progress that had been made with regard to Ferintosh house. Jim continued by stating that he had attended 3 meetings since June including a presentation which had been chaired by Diane Campbell of the Community Ownership Support Service (COSS). In July, focus groups were set up to see what they could find out about the needs identified by the community for the community and to find out how these needs were met in other areas. No feedback had been reported to date. Discussions had also taken place regarding possible organisation structures to take the project forward. The Community Council has its own views on what can be done. It was the Community Council's idea to take over The Lodge only with the Highland Third Sector Interface (HTSI) taking the larger building for offices, training and meeting room facilities. Another option discussed with COSS at the presentation in August was for the council to demolish the buildings, use part of the area for affordable housing and set aside part of the area for community use. The next step would be to select a Project Leader. Jim Attwood suggested that FMK might like to lead until the end of October then Jim would take over with a view to getting a business case submitted by December. It was thought that one of the members of the public present at the meeting might also like a greater involvement. An application had been made to the Ward Discretionary Budget for funding for a feasibility study to be carried out and a reference number had been received for this. 4

5 At this point, FMK stated that we should know the condition of the buildings before we go any further as the longer the buildings lie empty, the more they will deteriorate. Fiona believed that a survey should be done to determine the exact condition of the buildings. A previous grant of 2000 had been made from the Ward Discretionary Budget. It was thought that about 350 of that had been spent by HTSI on promoting the project. Fiona believed that the sum remaining should be used to fund building condition reports. Cllr Paterson stated that she was surprised at the amount of disrepair in the building, in particular with the ceilings. It was agreed that the way forward was to get building surveys done to see whether it was worth the risk of taking the buildings on. Jim Attwood volunteered to get a survey arranged. At the meeting in May it was thought that HTSI would be taking the larger building, but they seem to have walked away from this. Cllr Paterson felt that it would be quite a challenge to take on. A project in Ardnamurchan was mentioned. Funding would need to be applied for before any income could be raised. The Community Council then decided that a survey should be carried out before any further action was taken. 9. Gala The Gala Committee were very pleased with how the event had gone. It had been a worthwhile exercise and had been well supported by the community. Letters are being sent to everyone who donated prizes to the raffle and tombola. Had the Gala Committee known earlier about the very generous donation of an ipad Mini, tickets could have been sold prior to the event, thereby generating more income. The next meeting of the Gala Committee will be on 26 October when a new committee will be formed and hopefully the Amenities Association will take the lead role in organising next year s Gala. 10. Conon Craic Jock Comloquoy has already drafted the front page for the November issue. Ongoing sponsorship from Tullochs is on an edition by edition basis. One of the articles included in the August issue was about forthcoming Community Council elections. It was hoped that this article might generate sufficient interest for residents to stand for election to the Community Council. A member of the public present at the meeting said she would forward a picture of the Ladies Football Team taken at the recently held tournament which was attended by about 100 people. 11. Planning Jim Attwood wanted to know what the implications were for the former Q8 and Pescanova sites following the decision to allow 3 houses to be built in Riverbank Road. The Highland Council Planning Service had stated that any new houses granted planning permission in that area would not be considered as being protected by existing flood measures due to revised SEPA guidelines. Councillors stated that each planning application would be considered on its merits. Jim stated 5

6 that he was aware that objections had been made to the development of the former Pescanova site but the Community Council had only made comment regarding increases in traffic volume and any impact the development may have on the Safer Routes to School scheme. Cllr MacLean commented that the river bank from the railway bridge to the road bridge was not up to the standard it required to be for a 1 in 200 year event on both sides of the road bridge. 12. Core Paths Jim Attwood had been in contact with Cllr MacLean with regard to the overgrown vegetation on the pathway from Riverbank Road via the former Pescanova site and the riverbank to High Street, requesting that the vegetation be cut back to make the pathway a respectable width to walk along. Part of the route had been cleared between Riverbank Road and Garrie View. A member of the public had also expressed concern about Ladies Walk on the other side of the road bridge also being completely overgrown. Cllr MacLean explained that resources were stretched within the Council but with the implementation of the Community Empowerment Act, this might be something that the community could consider as a project. Jim had contacted Phil Waites at the Council. Grants were available for such projects from various organisations such as Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH). It was agreed that the Community Council would look at funding for such a project early next year. 13. Men's Shed At the moment there was not much more to report. Jim Holden from The Highland Council Community Services had looked at the Council owned mason s yard in Leanaig Road and was concerned about the Health and Safety of his own staff using the yard and building and therefore could not recommend the use of it by the Men's Shed. The yard could not be used at all and the site will be cleared and vacated and then looked at for building houses as it will be surplus to requirement. It was suggested and agreed that the Community Council put forward a proposal for the Community Council to use the site for a Men's Shed and would write to the Council expressing their Notification of Interest in the site. Jim Holden had also suggested after visiting the yard that the Men's Shed could look at the play area at Logie Place to see if something could be done there. 14. AOCB A thank you card from Donald Campbell who retired from the Community Council in June was passed round those present. Winter Resilience Programme Correspondence had been received from The Highland Council asking for volunteers to assist with this programme. It was felt by the Community Council that it would be unlikely that there would be enough volunteers to carry out this work. The question was raised at this time of who would fill the grit bins situated around the village. 6

7 Forthcoming Events Jim Attwood advised the meeting of a Fairer Scotland Event for Community Councillors that was being held in Edinburgh on 16 September 2015 and a Community Empowerment Roadshow being held in Dingwall on 22nd September 2015 between 5.30 pm and 8.30 pm. A poster advertising the Community Empowerment Roadshow has been displayed on the notice board at the Spar shop. Community Council Election Timetable A poster detailing the election timetable is displayed on the notice board at the Spar shop. Data Protection Act It was agreed that the Community Council should register with The Data Protection Act should they go forward with the plan to hold a list of vulnerable people within the village. Vodafone 3G This project has been ongoing since October So far one property has been signed up, one is awaiting the result of planning permission, the decision for which will be given by 18 October and on Thursday 10 Sept, Jim Attwood is meeting with another property owner in the centre of the village with a view to getting the owner to agree to having Vodafone equipment installed at that property. More information will be given at the next meeting. Treasurer's Report Antony Smith advised the meeting that the balance of the account stands at However, this balance includes income being held on behalf of the Gala Committee. Retail Units at Braes of Conon A question was raised regarding the retail units which are planned for the new development. Cllr MacKinnon replied that Tullochs are currently looking for an investor to take over this part of the site. It had been hoped that the Co-op would invest in the site, but due to the current economic climate, this was no longer the case. Councillors advised the meeting of the next Local Development Plan meeting which would be held in Dingwall on 11 November between 2.00pm and 5.00pm and a meeting on 10 November about the future of buses in the area. Date of next meeting Wednesday 21 October