Minutes of Lochwinnoch Community Council Meeting held on Tuesday 6th June 2017 in Lochwinnoch Bowling Club

Transcription

1 Minutes of Lochwinnoch Community Council Meeting held on Tuesday 6th June 2017 in Lochwinnoch Bowling Club CC PRESENT: David Arthur (Chairperson), Morag Thow (Vice Chair), Jane Owens (Treasurer) Yvonne Ross (Secretary/Minutes), Kerry MacKendrick, David Fowles, Duncan Adam, David Bain, Sybil Simpson, Jim Bryden, Morna Coote, Christine Gibson, Stan Kerr. OTHERS PRESENT: Councillor Emma Rodden, PC Eilidh O'Hanlon (Police Scotland), Richard Graham, Crawford Andrew. APOLOGIES : Cath McLachlan, Christine Brown, Jack Richmond, Councillor Derek Bibby, Councillor Andy Doig, Councillor Bill Binks. INTRODUCTIONS Chairperson, David Arthur, made introductions and offered congratulations to our new Councillors Emma Rodden, Bill Binks, Derek Bibby and Andy Doig. The Chair welcomed Councillor Rodden to the meeting and brief introductions were exchanged. The Chair also paid thanks to outgoing Councillor, Chris Gilmour, for his help, support and dedication to our community over the past five years. It was agreed that Chris had done a great job for all in the community. INTIMATIONS OF AOCB FROM THE CC : David Fowles Report from Renfrewshire CC Forum meeting on 22 May 2017; Morag Thow - Lochwinnoch Dementia event, community flower planting project, CC Logo and input from Lochwinnoch Primary School; Jane Owens - Lochwinnoch Gala Day; Yvonne Ross - Councillor Doig's Report; Jim Bryden - Litter Pick. INTIMATIONS OF AOCB FROM MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC: None.

2 APPROVAL OF PREVIOUS MINUTES K MacKendrick requested a correction to the date of the next meeting of the West Renfrewshire Village Network on page 6 of the May minutes. The next meeting will take place on 29th June. The minutes had recorded a date of 18th July, as stated in Jack Hastie's report; it was confirmed that this relates to the date of the Brookfield Appeal hearing. The minutes were approved, with this change. Proposed - David Fowles, seconded - Jim Bryden. MATTERS ARISING No matters arising. POLICE REPORT - PC Eilidih O'Hanlon attended from Police Scotland and presented the report for the period 2nd May - 6th June Reported crimes recorded were 17, with 3 crimes detected, as follows: Crime Number Detected Common Assault (in garden) 1 0 Theft by shoplifting (alcohol) 2 0 Theft of goods (electronic goods, sailing equipment, security 4 0 camera, clothing) Criminal Justice Act 2010/Breach of the Peace (house) 1 1 Fraud (phishing) 1 0 RTA Offences (dangerous driving and other offences) 1 1 Communications offences (domestic threats) 1 1 Attempted housebreaking (garage, house, communal building 4 0 and shed) Theft of Motor Vehicle 1 0 Theft from motor vehicle (vehicle wheels) 1 0 Vandalism Total 17 3 PC O'Hanlon has spoken with a security company, who will see what they can do to secure the St Joseph's site. In the meantime, the Police are carrying out extra patrols and advising youngsters to keep out of the St Joseph's site. Y Ross added that Councillor Doig has contacted the Council regarding the safety concerns over the buildings on the St Joseph's site. Renfrewshire Council planning officers intend to take action, as the site is a risk to the public. M Thow raised the issue of the burnt-out car in the car park at the top of the Johnshill. The police confirm that this is considered to be an abandoned vehicle and they have reported it to Renfrewshire Council, for the Council to uplift. The Police will check with the Council regarding this. A member of the public asked if police officers would be able to run a surgery in the village for locals to drop in for an afternoon each month as a trial as is done in Kilmacolm. It was also 2

3 suggested that the Police contact some of the local groups and possibly consider a leaflet drop locally. PC O'Hanlon will raise these items with PI Cassie Glass. A request was raised for officers to drop in to the Elderly Forum meetings, to speak re doorstep crime. PC O'Hanlon informed those present that this has already been arranged and Police will be attending at the end of the month. SECRETARY'S REPORT The May Correspondence list had been circulated round CC members prior to the meeting. Some items will be raised by CC members later in the agenda. The Secretary will forward Councillor Doig's (item A760 road resurfacing ) to S Simpson for follow-up. The dates of CC monthly meetings for 2017/2018 were circulated to CC members prior to the meeting. Those present were content with the proposed dates and the Secretary will pass on the dates to interested parties. The dates are listed in Appendix A to these minutes. A further had been received from Eadha Enterprises with a proposal and brief information for tree planting in Lochwinnoch Public Park. Further details have been requested, before this can be put on the agenda of a future CC meeting. As agreed at the May meeting, the Secretary had drawn up a short-list of possible speakers for the October AGM. Brief information was provided regarding the activities of Engage Renfrewshire, Renfrewshire Community Economic Development team and My Guide Service Renfrewshire and the length of time each would require for their presentations. In addition, M Thow and J Bryden suggested inviting Mr A White of the community payback team as his teams have undertaken many tasks in our community recently. After further discussion, it was agreed that the Office Bearers would select and organise the speakers for the AGM. TREASURER'S REPORT J Owens presented the May Accounts to CC members and a summary of monthly transactions for both bank accounts is shown below: NO 1 BANK ACCOUNT Balance brought forward at 1 May , Add advertising income Interest 0.12 Less K MacKendrick Printing expenses Balance c/forward at 31 May , NO 2 BANK ACCOUNT Balance b/forward at 1 May Less Contribution to the Friends of the McKillop Group Balance c/forward at 31 May

4 Expenses have been paid to K MacKendrick for printing costs in relation to planning work. The Chair asked CC members to submit any expenses claims as soon as possible, so they may be reimbursed prior to the year end on 31st August Due to changes made by RBS to the type of bank account operated by the Community Council, the direct debit for the annual ICO subscription was cancelled and will now be paid by cheque. COUNCILLORS' REPORTS A number of AOCB items were addressed under Councillors' Reports. Councillor Doig's Report. The Secretary had received a report from Councillor Doig, who was not able to attend the meeting. The key points were read out to those present and the full report appears as Appendix B to these minutes. Councillor Emma Rodden The Chair welcomed Councillor Rodden to our community. Councillor Rodden is a member of various Renfrewshire Council panels and boards, including Clyde Muirshiel Park Authority (CMPA) Consultative Forum, CMPA Joint Committee, Depute Convenor of Johnstone and Villages LAC and Depute Convenor of the Regulatory Functions Board. Councillor Rodden gave some background on herself and her work, and is keen to make contact with local people. Councillor Rodden will be holding regular surgeries and is reviewing suitable venues. PLANNING CONVENOR'S REPORT Johnshill Appeal Planning Convenor, D Adam, confirmed that no Reporter has been appointed to handle the Johnshill Appeal. The appeals for Brookfield, Howwood and Bridge of Weir will be heard at a meeting on 18th July. The Lochwinnoch CC response to the Local Development Plan (LDP) and Main Issues Report (MIR) Consultation was submitted to Renfrewshire Council on time. The Chair thanked D Adam, D Bain and K MacKendrick for all the work they had done on the response from Lochwinnoch CC. AOCB - CC MEMBERS AND THE PUBLIC The Chair congratulated M Thow and R Murray on receiving an invitation to the Queen's Garden Party in Holyrood in July. 4

5 A number of items were addressed earlier in the meeting. The remaining items were heard. M Thow stated that the next meeting involving Mark Brown from the Chamber of Commerce and CC members will take place on 26th June. The aim, to take forward the idea of networking with other organisations in the village, to try to better publicise events and inform the community of what is happening in the village. M Thow announced that there will be a presentation by Alzheimer Scotland on Wednesday 28th June. It is hoped to develop a Lochwinnoch Dementia Friendly Village group and there will also be a tea dance on 6th September at Lochwinnoch Golf Club in support of this initiative. M Thow announced that the village flower planting project took place on 3rd June with the help of 16 volunteers, 4 members of the community payback team and further volunteers assisting with hanging baskets, planted baskets and brackets, etc. The public had donated 62 for the community planting appeal via the tins in shops and further funding for the Adopt a Station project and planting boxes for railings are being planned. M Thow stated that Lochwinnoch Primary School P7 children would be designing a logo for the Community Garden and they would also be having a day out in the community garden. It was suggested that the P7 children could also design a logo for the Community Council. This received support from those CC members present. M Thow will liaise with M Coote and with the Interim Head Teacher and report back at the September CC meeting. D Fowles attended the Renfrewshire CC Forum (RCCF) meeting, which took place on 22 May RCCF members were addressed by Gordon McNeil, Head of Amenity Services, who outlined Renfrewshire Council's road programme for the coming year. (The Council's Roads Capital Resurfacing Programme 2017/18 document had been ed to Lochwinnoch CC members prior to tonight's meeting and is displayed on the CC website.) As only a few of the RCCF members appeared to have seen the published programme of works, the succeeding question and answer session resulted in members pursuing parochial matters of pot holes etc., particularly Houston CC who are still trying to push for a blanket 20mph limit throughout Renfrewshire. There were no reports from the special interest sub-groups looking into the relationship between CC's and Renfrewshire Council. The next meeting is scheduled for 21 August. J Bryden confirmed that the litter pick took place on 14th May and the village is much cleaner now since the litter picks commenced some 18 months ago. More litter picks to be publicised in the autumn. D Fowles hoped that this will encourage others to play their part in keeping the village tidy. J Bryden to look into the location of bins around the village. M Coote agreed that the litter picks have been successful but also wanted to know when Renfrewshire Council would be picking up litter again. Cllr Rodden explained that a meeting had taken place the previous day, where a range of issues had been raised, including street cleaning, the Cleaner Renfrewshire initiative, grass cutting, street lighting, etc. During July, Community Resources will dispatch teams to locations where problems have been reported. 5

6 It was also reported to Councillor Rodden that village drains are still blocked with rock salt applied to village streets in the winter months. Scotland Transerv are responsible for the collection of litter and road maintenance of the A737. It was expressed to Councillor Rodden by those CC members present, that a timetable listing Council maintenance and public services work programmes for Lochwinnoch is required. J Owens mentioned that she is planning to retire from running Gala Day soon. There appears to be no obvious successor and fewer volunteers to help with preparations and on the day. CC members put various suggestions forward to appeal for new volunteers to step forward. CC meetings, acoustics, publicity, furniture layout, venues for meetings, format of meetings, etc were discussed by all towards the end of the meeting. It was felt that information is reaching the community in CC minutes, the CC website, the CC newsletter and social media but ways needed to be found to increase numbers of members of the public attending monthly CC meetings. M Thow suggested that local groups should be invited to attend CC meetings, S Simpson felt that members of the public find it hard to hear what is being discussed due to the existing layout of furniture for meetings, S Kerr felt the CC needs to open out to the public more, M Coote felt a forum for Q&A may be a way of attracting people to air their views. As a trial, the Chair asked D Fowles to organise a U-shaped arrangement of tables and chairs for CC members, with rows of chairs for members of the public for the next CC meeting on 1st August. K MacKendrick asked about having someone from the Council attend a CC meeting on the topic of the recent LDP and MIR Consultation exercise. The Chair has asked K MacKendrick to confirm the length of presentation he has in mind and to let the Chair have a timescale for this, before it can be considered alongside other CC business at any future CC meeting. Some CC members would like to see the Community Council re-focus on a wider range of community business in the future, including engagement with local groups, children's activities, Council services and improve on the links we have built up with the community and our interaction with the community. Discussions continued on how to incorporate planning matters into monthly meetings and how to allow time, either during or after every meeting, for planning items. It was agreed that D Adam will prepare a monthly planning summary for each meeting and if there are any lengthy planning issues to be raised at future CC meetings, then a separate meeting should be called to hear those planning matters. DATE OF NEXT MEETING The Chair brought the meeting to a close and thanked everyone for attending. The next Ordinary Meeting will take place on Tuesday 1st August 2017 at the usual time of 7.30pm at Lochwinnoch Bowling Club. 6

7 APPENDIX A LOCHWINNOCH COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING DATES FOR YEAR 2017/2018 Lochwinnoch Community Council will meet in Lochwinnoch Bowling Club at 7.30pm on the first Tuesday of each month, on the following dates: 7th November th December th January th February th March rd April st May th June 2018 Summer Recess in July no meeting 7th August th September nd October Community Council AGM. 7

8 APPENDIX B Report for the Meeting of Lochwinnoch Community Council, Tuesday 6 th June 2017, from Cllr Andy Doig Apologies for the Community Council meeting tonight as I am away for a few days on a short break which I had arranged at the beginning of the year. If any CC members have any issues they wish to raise with me personally please contact me by e mail, phone, or twitter and I will take them up. A new minority SNP administration has been formed and Renfrewshire Council looks more rainbow coloured than it did before. We now have 19 SNP Cllrs, 13 Labour Cllrs, 8 Tory Cllrs, 1 Lib Dem Cllrs, and 2 Independent Cllrs, of which I am one. I am glad to be back on the Clyde Muirshiel Park Authority Board, and on the new Housing and Planning Board. My view on the new administration is very pragmatic, I will support the new SNP administration where they are proposing measures which benefit my constituents, and oppose them where they are proposing measures which do not. One of the measures which the last Labour administration proposed of which I was a vociferous critic was the 7 million Sports Amphitheatre in Paisley. I have taken the initiative and written to the new Leader of Renfrewshire Council, asking him to look at options for the cancellation of that project, and transferring that 7 million into upgrading the three village community halls in this ward which did not get funding from the previous Labour administration, that is, the McKillop Institute, the Steeple Hall, and Howwood Village Hall. This technically should be viable as although RLL now run the service, the three buildings are still owned by the Council. Planning issues locally remain very much to the fore and many CC members will be aware that the prospective developers for the Johnshill development have appealed to DEPA against the decision of Renfrewshire Council to refuse the application. The Council have made their decision so it is not subjudice for me to air my personal views on this application, and I intend to write to DEPA upholding the decision of the Council to refuse, and explain in detail why this would be detrimental to the interests of Lochwinnoch. Over the last few months I have been responding to the real concern in Lochwinnoch, as expressed at the CC, about the decline of both the Struthers site and the St Josephs site. At the end of May I gained the assistance of an independent Health and Safety advisor who did reports on both sites which I have sent to the CC Secretary. A summary of this is essentially that the Struthers site, whilst unsightly, has no fundamental health and safety issues at least relating to the externals of the building. However, the St Josephs site is a different matter, and the concerns reported were of such magnitude that the Renfrewshire Council planning officers have informed me they intend to take action on the state of the site as it is a risk to the public. 8

9 One issue that I am very active on pursuing at the moment is the anomaly where many homeowners are benefitting from the re-cladding programme currently being carried out by EON/Renfrewshire Council, if they are in a mixed tenure block where some are council tenants, but those blocks which are 100% owner occupied cannot apply for the re-cladding. This applies to many in Lochwinnoch and tangible anger is being generated by the fact that many householders were lettered by EON earlier in the year and told that houseowners could also apply. Householders in Gallowhill did get re-clad but the Council ran out of money so village homeowners are still being refused as the Council are waiting for the next tranche of money for the project from Holyrood. This is not acceptable in my opinion and I intend to campaign to get village homeowners a fair deal. In conclusion, at the end of March former Elected Member, Cllr Chris Gilmour, convened a meeting of all the ward Cllrs for Johnstone South Elderslie, and Howwood, and Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, and Lochwinnoch, regarding the campaign to upgrade the A737. It was agreed to keep the campaign going by organising an A737 Partnership Group, which would include all local ward Cllrs, and have all local CC s represented. I have spoken to those Cllrs at that meeting who have been returned, and we wish to continue this on an all-party basis, which it was before. As an Independent I have agreed to convene the Group and have recently sent an invite out to all the new ward Cllrs asking if they wish to join. My advice surgery in Kilbarchan is on the 2 nd Wednesday of the month in the Steeple Hall at 7:30pm, and my advice surgery in Howwood is on the 4 th Wednesday of the month in Howwood Village Hall at 6:30pm, then at Lochwinnoch on the same night in the McKillop at 7:30pm, excluding July and Christmas. But I am also always available to constituents who can call me on , tweet me on CllrAndy4Ward8 or me at cllr.andy.doig@renfrewshire.gov.uk. Yours Sincerely, Cllr Andy Doig (Independent), Johnstone North, Kilbarchan, Howwood and Lochwinnoch Ward, Renfrewshire Council. 9