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CC MINS JAN/FEB 09
. . . . . . . . . Knockbain Community Council Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 20th January 2009 at North Kessock Present: Owen Smith (OS), Willie Paterson (WP), Tony Morey (TM), Kate MacKay (KM), Jill Tilford (JT), Elaine Jones (EJ). Apologies: Mrs Biggar. Visitors: None. 1. OS welcomed everyone and opened the meeting.
The Minutes of the meeting held on 18th November 2008 were proposed by TM and seconded by WP.
OS confirmed that Linda Martin would continue to look after the finances for the rest of the financial year and produce the accounts for the AGM in April. A new Treasurer would be needed following the AGM. OS suggested that managing the financials could be done as part of each monthly meeting.
The next Forum will be held at Culbokie School on Thursday 5th February at 6pm. The main topic will be Woodlands and Community Use. The lead speaker will be David Jardine, Forestry Commission District Manager. The main areas of woodland within Knockbain were identified as including:Ø Ord HillØ Drumsmittal WoodØ Allanglach WoodØ Bogallan WoodØ The woodland by Woodend Kennels (woods split by the A9)Ø Drumderfit HillØ Littleburn WoodØ BalmaduthyParts of Gallow Hill and Woodhill (East side of Munlochy Bay) were also identified as possibly being within Knockbain.OS and EJ will attend the Forum to represent Knockbain. There was a keen interest in the topic and others were encouraged to attend as the meeting is open to members of the public. A poster has been displayed on the North Kessock notice board and TM agreed to find locations to display posters in Munlochy area. Action: TM. Suggested possible locations for displaying posters were Munro Nurseries; Munlochy Post Office; and the Munlochy Spar shop.
(a) Bellfield Development: OS confirmed he had not yet received notification of any planning application for the commercial development or for the sheltered housing and he will be contacting the Planning Office to see if they are aware of when any plans for Bellfield will be submitted. Action: OS. The current activity on the site is an archaeological investigation. EJ handed out the drawings from the architects in respect of the planned sheltered housing development for Cairn Housing Association (these plans have been displayed on the notice board). The proposed housing would consist of:Six 2-bedroom flats for LiFT (low-cost initiative for first-time buyers);Eight 2-bedroom flats for rent; and Four 2-bedroom bungalows for rent. (b) Arpafeelie: OS reported he had received a copy of the plans for the erection of an extension to the Bishops House, St John’s Rectory, together with erection of an extension to the steading (listed building consent). No other plans had been received but high level details from the Planning website included the following: (c) Paulfield, North Kessock: Application for the demolition of steading and erection of house and garage at Paulfield.(d) 30 Bellfield Road: Application for the erection of house in garden ground.
Wicksteed Playscapes Leaflet (outdoor equipment).· Houses in Multiple Occupation: Supplementary Planning Guidance available at http://www.highland.gov.uk/NR/rdonlyres/35554687-C344-4F74-85A0-6C2D1BBC5136/0/HMO_Dec_08_web.pdf· Making Places Development Plans Update: Newsletter on the progress of the work carried out by the Development Plans Team at Highland Council.· Licensing (Scotland) Act: Licence conversion application for Black Isle Brewery.· Association of Scottish Community Councils: Invite to Regional Meeting for all community councillors. Taking place on Saturday 21st March at Elgin.· Association of Scottish Community Councils: Nomination form for Area Representative.· Lease of Forestry Commission Estate: Letter from Rhoda Grant MSP expressing concern about the Scottish Government proposal to lease at least 25% of Scotland’s FC estate for 75 years. A website has been set up which includes a petition at http://saveourforests.org.uk Action: EJ to display the letter on the North Kessock notice board.· Highland Council Planning Department: Letter requesting that all submissions from Community Councils in respect of planning applications are clearly identified as such (to avoid them being mistaken as a submission from a member of the public).· Dog Warden: Notification that Nel MacDonald-Rolfe, the new dog warden is happy to attend a Community Council meeting or to visit any sites that have a problem with dog fouling. It was agreed that North Kessock would benefit from having bins for dog-waste to encourage individuals to dispose of bags in the bin rather than leave bags in bushes etc which is happening currently. OS noted that some areas now have bins that can be used for both dog-waste and normal litter. It was suggested that Nel could be invited to the AGM, alternatively, it might be more appropriate to invite her to the March meeting which is being held in North Kessock.· Police Shift Patterns: OS reported that he had received a letter that unfortunately did not identify who had sent it. The letter expresses concern at the new shift patterns for police officers that are due to be implemented mid-January. The letter suggests that Black Isle police officers could be re-assigned at times to cover shortages at Dingwall, leaving virtually no-one covering the Black Isle. It was agreed that this should be raised at the next Ward Forum. Action: OS.
(a) Point Road & Haul Road: No action has yet been taken to cut back the bushes that are intruding over the road, this is particularly bad between houses 19 to 22. (b) A832 / B9161 Junction: Bushes are dangerously obscuring the view of drivers wishing to turn right from the B9161 at Munlochy onto the A832 towards Avoch. These need to be cut back to the fence line. (c) Old A9: The stretch of road between Woodend Kennels and Glachbeg Croft has a constant stream of water running down it which is a particular hazard when it freezes and can also cause flooding at Allanglach. This could be resolved with the introduction of some off-lets along this stretch. This route is used by both school buses and public buses. (d) Littleburn Road: The pothole by Richard Fraser’s Yard has not been filled and is growing even bigger.
(a) Grants: OS reported that contractors were apparently being grant-funded for clearing up litter and suggested they could be asked to clear the shoreline. Action: OS. Grants for a wide variety of uses are available from numerous sources, including the LEADER programme and OS urged everyone to consider possible funding opportunities for discussion at future meetings. Suggestions were: § Information boards at key locations (these would not necessarily need to be expensive display panels); § Improving safety at Gordon’s Playpark by fencing-in an area around the play equipment (to keep dogs out), this area would need to be larger than the current surfaced area. The addition of some seating would be welcomed. It was also suggested that the wire fence along the edge of the park could be replaced with something more substantial to form a better barrier to stop young children accessing the road. § The land along the shoreline from Charleston Burn to the Burn at Lettoch could be landscaped (this land, including the small football pitch is leased on behalf of the Community Council for a peppercorn rent). § The trees at Gordon’s Park are to be thinned out by Conservation Volunteers. OS suggested that this thinning could be done more substantially and some hazel trees planted which, once they are mature, could be ‘harvested’ for nuts and coppiced by locals wanting to use the wood.Details of grants can be found at http://www.grantsonline.org.uk (b) Ord Hill: Timber is currently being felled in various areas of Ord Hill. To assist the felling operation a turning area has been cleared and marked with large stones. OS suggested that this area could be kept, with the addition of some timbers for seats. This would form a kind of auditorium (which has been suggested before) and continuous wooden bench seating could be installed in such a way that it was also suitable for mountain bikes.The timber felling is also opening up the area where the steps lead down to the shore towards Kilmuir. All agreed that a new circular walk would be welcomed for Ord Hill which would provide an additional route to the existing tracks which are becoming overused. The existing permanent Orienteering course at Ord Hill will need to be revised once the felling operation is complete. This could also be extended into the area now being opened up. Action: OS to raise these suggestions at the Ward Forum on 5th February and EJ to raise the question of re-mapping Ord Hill with Inverness Orienteering Club. (c) Munlochy Car Park: The car-park has been almost complete for a while but there is no sign of the remaining work being carried out – the back edge has not been kerbed, the white-lining needs to be done and the lighting needs to be completed. Action: OS to chase progress. Once the car-park is in use, all agreed that there should be parking restrictions applied to the main road, especially the stretch between the school and the Spar shop. (d) North Kessock School 20mph zone: OS reported that he had seen several drivers who failed to reduce their speed to 20mph when the lights were flashing. He was also concerned that the speed restriction did not come into effect early enough for children attending pre-school club activities. Action: OS to check with the school. (e) AGM: OS asked everyone to think about ways to encourage a higher attendance from members of the public at the AGM which is scheduled to take place on 21st April. To be discussed at the next meeting. To include greater publicity, including the local press. 10. Dates of Future Meetings: (3rd Tuesday each month at 1930hours)Tuesday 17th February 2009 at MunlochyTuesday 17th March 2009 at North KessockTuesday 21st April at Munlochy (short meeting followed by AGM). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Knockbain Community Council Minutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 17th February 2009 at Munlochy Present: Owen Smith (OS), Jill Tilford (JT), Angela Biggar (AT), Elaine Jones (EJ). Apologies: Tony Morey (TM), Kate MacKay (KM). Visitors: None. 1. OS welcomed everyone and opened the meeting. He confirmed that the required number of nominations had been achieved to enable the community council to continue. Members are now as follows:From North Kessock ward: Owen Smith (current Chairman); Willie Paterson; Angela Biggar; and Elaine Jones (current Secretary).From Munlochy ward: Tony Morey; Kate MacKay; and Jill Tilford.These are the minimum required and Owen stressed that nominations from additional individuals would be most welcome.
(a) 20mph School speed restriction at North Kessock: OS reported that Isobel McCallum had followed up the concerns regarding the times the speed limit would apply and had received confirmation that the 20mph limit would apply early enough to cover the children arriving for the Breakfast Club. OS reported that the speed limit would also apply for the school bus arriving back from Fortrose Academy around 4.20pm. Concern was expressed that this might be ineffective if the lights continued to flash for the period between the primary schoolchildren going home and the Academy bus arriving. Drivers were likely to ignore the lights if they were flashing for too long. Action: OS to check details. (b) Munlochy car-park: The car-park area is still fenced off and the notice board is still not accessible. Action: OS to chase progress. (c) Ord Hill: OS reported that the Forestry Commission representatives at the Black Isle Forum had agreed to look at the possibility of introducing new path(s) following the recent tree-felling and to look at the possibility of keeping a small ‘auditorium’ area with timber seats. They were also positive about re-introducing a permanent Orienteering course.
(a) Latest Forum: OS gave details of the main discussions at the Forum which was held on 5th February. The main topic was Woodlands and Community Use and the lead speaker was David Jardine, Forestry Commission District Manager. OS confirmed that he had mentioned the letter that had been received from an anonymous sender and the police representatives had confirmed that the new shift system had been introduced for the Black Isle. This now gives 24hour coverage but does mean that there is reduced cover during the daytime. (b) A workshop on Climate Change is to be held – the proposed date is Thursday 19th March at the Black Isle Leisure Centre Theatre from 6pm to 9pm. Details are still to be confirmed. (c) The next Ward Forum is proposed for Thursday 16th April from 6pm to 8pm at Culbokie Primary School. The main topic will be Scottish National Heritage (SNH). OS reported that TM had seen adverts for the Tain Forum on local buses and asked whether similar adverts could be done for the Black Isle Forum. Action: EJ to contact Diane Agnew.
(a) Bellfield Development: OS showed the documents for the planned sheltered housing development by Tulloch Homes for Cairn Housing Association. The proposed housing would consist of:Six 2-bedroom flats for LiFT (low-cost initiative for first-time buyers);Eight 2-bedroom flats for rent; and Four 2-bedroom bungalows for rent.These plans had been displayed at the hall (committee room) and OS gave details of the concerns that had been raised by members of the public. Written comments were as follows:· There appears to be a footpath near the lower-end, going towards the burn. Is this intended to be access to Millbank? Who will build the bridge? · Who will be responsible for looking after communal areas?· Who will be responsible for looking after amenity areas? (eg green area with trees/shrubs).· Who will be responsible for looking after fencing around the site?· The proposed ‘post and wire’ fence is acceptable as a boundary to a field, as present, but would provide no security between the new development and existing properties.· There is no indication of what form the green ‘screen’ will be (eg what type of trees and shrubs).All supported the above and also raised the question of whether the drainage SUDS area (shown as green, with some trees and shrubs) will be dry enough to be used as an amenity area. Action: OS to write formal letter to Planning.
(a) Charleston: There is a deep pot hole on the right hand side of the road as you enter Charleston (approaching from Redcastle direction); (b) Craigton: The road into Craigton, beyond the 30mph zone, continues to degenerate. The potholes were ‘filled in’ but are already reappearing and the road edges are breaking up. (c) Footway between pier and old pier: The narrow footway along the edge of the road is in a very poor state and the railings are badly maintained.
(a) Improving safety at Gordon’s Playpark: It was agreed that no action should be taken at this stage and to await the discussion with the Dog Warden at the March meeting taking her advice re fencing arrangements etc. Funding should then be sought for fencing in the play equipment and for some seating. (b) Small football pitch at Charleston: OS reported that the swing gate leading from the field to the shore and car-park may need to be repaired. (c) Cycle Routes: JT asked whether there could be a cycle path introduced to enable cyclists to travel safely between Munlochy to the A9. Possible links were discussed, opening up previous tracks that are now overgrown but none of these would provide a practical route to/from Munlochy. It was suggested that JT should contact Sustrans.
The AGM will be held at Munlochy village hall on Thursday 21st April. It was agreed that there should be some guest visitors to provide discussion topics that would hopefully encourage more members of the public to attend. Action: OS to contact BTCV (British Trust for Conservation Volunteers) at their office in Munlochy to ask if they could attend to outline what BTCV do and to discuss possible opportunities and possible local projects.Action: EJ to contact Phil Waite, Access Officer to invite him to the AGM to discuss local footpaths.
(3rd Tuesday each month at 1930hours) Tuesday 17th March 2009 at North Kessock Tuesday 21st April 2009 at Munlochy (short meeting followed by AGM). Tuesday 19th May 2009 at North Kessock Tuesday 16th June 2009 at Munlochy Tuesday 18th August 2009 at Munlochy Tuesday 15th September 2009 at North Kessock Tuesday 20th October 2009 at Munlochy Tuesday 17th November 2009 at North Kessock Tuesday 19th January 2010 at Munlochy Tuesday 16th February 2010 at North Kessock Tuesday 16th March 2010 at Munlochy.
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