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CC Mins Apr/May 09

Knockbain Community CouncilMinutes of the Meeting held on Tuesday 21st April 2009 at Munlochy

Present: Owen Smith (OS), Angela Biggar (AT), Jill Tilford (JT), Kate MacKay (KM), Tony Morey (TM), Willie Paterson, Elaine Jones (EJ), Linda Martin (part).

Apologies: Isobel McCallum

Visitors: None.

1. OS welcomed everyone and opened the meeting

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting: The Minutes of the meeting held on 17th March 2009 were approved – proposed by TM and seconded by WP.

3. Action Reports from Previous Minutes and Items not Covered in Agenda:

(a) Craigton Road: It was agreed that OS should contact Highland Council to seek a Contingency Plan to be drawn up so that it is in place should the road to Craigton need to be closed at short notice. This should include the identification of alternative means of access for emergency services. A meeting with Craigton residents could then be arranged to discuss the draft Contingency Plan. Action: OS.

(b) Craigton Site: It was noted that work is continuing at the site being cleared and water is now running off the site and down the road. Action: OS to contact Planning for advice.

(c) Annual Clean Up: OS reported that notices have been displayed advising volunteers to gather at 10.30am. There may also be a team starting around 8.30am with a vehicle if there are any volunteers – OS has asked individuals interested to telephone him. Possible sites to visit were discussed - these included the woods by the Knockbain Junction with the Tore Road; and both play parks. There were few other locations identified that were in particular need of clearing up and there was concern that the undergrowth is already too long for much of the litter to be found easily. Locations would be decided on the day and equipment has been requested. Filled bags of rubbish will be collected by the Council.

4. Finance: There was no financial report as the annual accounts would be discussed at the AGM immediately following this meeting.

5. Black Isle Ward Forum:

(a) SNH: OS and JT reported back on the key items that had been discussed at the Ward Forum which was held on 16th April. The main topic was Scottish National Heritage. Items included the following:- Countryside Ranger (Martin Hind) is keen to get folk to undertake survey work (eg identifying /counting species). - Some people expressed concern about the excessive number of Pine Martens on the Black Isle.- Some debate about the Red Kite population and why other release locations have been more successful than the Black Isle.- Following the change in shift patterns, an additional police team will be out and about in locations on Friday / Saturday evenings (usually in a car but sometimes on foot). This was described as “old fashioned community policing”. OS suggested that Hall Committees should notify the Police in advance of functions (eg dances) being held so that they might be in the location and deter trouble.

(b) The next Ward Forum will be held on Thursday 11th June from 6pm to 8pm at Culbokie Primary School. This will be a Workshop on Climate Change.

6. Correspondence: Correspondence and literature for the following was distributed

:§ BMA Scotland: Consultation document on the way ahead for General Practice in Scotland. Details available at http://www.bma.org.uk/sc/healthcare_policy/thewayahead.jsp?page=1

§ The Crossing: Caledonian Canal Celebrations 16-20 June 2009. § Scottish Green Party: Highlands & Islands Branch are hosting a meeting for Community Council members to discuss the Highland Council’s A96 Framework Proposals. The meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 5th May at the Spectrum Centre.

§ ASCC: Invoice for renewal of membership of the Association of Scottish Community Councils. It was agreed to pay the £15 renewal. Action: EJ.

7. Licensing Board – Sunday Morning Hours:EJ gave details of a letter that had been received explaining that under the 2005 act which comes into force on 1st September 2009, any licensed premises can apply to open at any time on a Sunday morning, with the exception of off-sales which cannot open earlier than 10am. The Board are proposing the following hours:1. Off-sales – 10am. Premises can currently open at 12.30pm.2. Restaurants and Hotels providing Sunday lunches – 12 noon which is in line with current practise.3. Golf Clubs – 12 noon. Presently there are a range of hours from 11.30am.4. All other premises – 12 noon.It was agreed that a response should be sent to the Board disagreeing with the proposals. It was considered that any relaxation of hours for supermarkets and off-licenses should be opposed given the adverse publicity towards underage drinking and Scottish Parliament's attempts to control binge drinking, All agreed that any Golf Club that currently has an 11.30am license should not be required to change this to 12 noon. Action: EJ

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8. Planning Issues:

(a) Croft Downie: OS reported that he had sent a letter of objection to Planning.

(b) Changes to the Planning System: EJ explained that applicants for major developments submitted after 3 August 2009 are now required to do the following:- Notify the Council of a pending application and of their intention to consult the community. This notification must be at least 12 weeks before a formal application is submitted.- The developer must formally consult any Community Council whose area covers or adjoins the application site.- The developer must place an advert in a local paper giving details.- The developer must hold at least one public event where the public can comment on the application.A definition of a “major development” has been provided.

9. Any Other Business

:(a) Bus Timetables: OS reported that the bus timetable outside Inverness College is out of date. He queried whether other timetables were also out of date. Action: WP to check the bus timetable at North Kessock.

10. Reports:

(a) Bus Turning Area, North Kessock: the surface is once again in a poor state

.(b) Gordon’s Park: The red dog-bin has disappeared and has been replaced by a black bin bag tied to the fence. A damaged bin bag is some distance away with bags of dog mess strewn nearby

.(c) Car Park at Munlochy: The notice board has been put back in the wrong place and needs to be re-sited. It should be visible from the path and would benefit from some hard-standing (eg a couple of concrete slabs) for individuals to stand on when reading notices.In addition to the above, concern was expressed that many of the issues raised last month have not been addressed. Action: EJ to repeat the details in this month’s Report. In particular, to seek urgent action regarding the pavement at Millbank which is a safety hazard.

11. Dates of Future Meetings:

(3rd Tuesday each month at 1930hours)

Tuesday 19th May 2009 at North Kessock

Tuesday 16th June 2009 at Munlochy

Tuesday 18th August 2009 at MunlochyTuesday 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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Knockbain Community CouncilMinutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Tuesday 21st April 2009 at Munlochy

Present: Owen Smith (OS), Angela Biggar (AT), Jill Tilford (JT), Kate MacKay (KM), Tony Morey (TM), Willie Paterson, Elaine Jones (EJ), Linda Martin (LM). Apologies: Isobel McCallum

Visitors: None.

1. OS welcomed everyone and opened the meeting

2. Minutes of the Last AGM: The Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 15th April 2008 were approved – proposed by WP and seconded by TM.

3. Finance:

LM handed out copies of the Accounts for the year ending 31st March 2009. LM identified the key items of income and expenditure and reported that it had been a very good year for donations with a total of £1050 being paid out to five local causes for specific projects. This was a major part of the £1261 annual grant received from Highland Council, with other expenses being met from money held in the account at the beginning of the year. The current balance is now £221 plus £6000 which is being held for improvements to the North Kessock car park. Expenses include the cost of grass cutting in North Kessock and new members challenged why this cost should be met by the Community Council – it was agreed that Isobel McCallum should be approached to see whether the cost of future grass cutting can be met from other budgets, including the Ward Discretionary Budget. Action: EJ.

4. Chairman’s Report:

OS read out his report:This is the first AGM to be held since the triennial election. Five of our long serving Community Councillors decided to stand down and this is an opportunity to record the contribution they have made over the years in a variety of ways. They were all busy people and yet managed to find the time to attend meetings and to deal with the requirements of meeting the needs of the community. Replacing them was not easy; there will be a gap in the expertise of the Community Council and it took a while to meet the numerical criteria of two quora because of the two major settlements that we serve.We now have a quorum, but we have vacancies for three more members- two from North Kessock and Kilmuir and one from Munlochy, Belmaduthy and Knockbain. Although ideal regular attendance at our monthly meetings is not essential. We need to have a quorum of five members at each meeting, so a full complement of Community Councillors would make things easier than they are at the present.As long as The Community Council has 6 meetings each year, the grant will be paid and at the same time our communities maintain the requirement to be consulted by the Planning Department and other Statutory bodies.Over the year, we have spent a lot of time discussing Planning issues and passing on information to our communities. We accept that we have not done as well as we might, but we do not have the same resources as council officials or the businesses which lodge applications. We try to respond to requests for information and have again held a display of planning applications. Unfortunately not many people turned up, but we did have a better response than a display organised on behalf of Morrison Construction for a Business Park. The secret seems to be putting out information in as many ways as possible.The Sewage transportation system appears to have been finished at last, but we wait to see if the final clearing–up and continuing maintenance will take place.For many years we have been concerned at the time it takes road repairs to be carried out and short life-span of the repairs. We are however pleased to report that the car park at Munlochy is more or less complete and there are plans to repair the Ferry car park at North Kessock.The NK Amenities Association also has plans to improve the hall car park with financial help from the Black Isle Ward discretionary budget. This budget is available to local groups on the Black Isle, but this year requests in our area have only come from the NK Amenities Association. The recent reorganisation of Local Government has given us four councillors for only one ward on the Black Isle. The bi-monthly Ward Forums have been very useful with the main topic being advertised in advance. Community Councils have the chance to ask questions and discuss issues on the subject as well as receiving an up-date from the police. Members of the public are encouraged to attend and there is a 20 minute slot allocated for public questions and comment.As community councillors, we have been able to bring back some of these ideas for discussion at our own meetings, but we do not spend all our time talking about ideas from outside. We encourage comments and letters from within our community, but we do like to take as broad a view as possible. As an example we have received one or two letters about dog fouling in North Kessock. Our response has been to invite the Ross and Cromarty Dog Warden to come and speak at one of our meetings in North Kessock on the issue of the dog ownership - the responsibilities - the problems, and also for us to consider fencing off the children's play area. As always we encourage members of the public to attend our meetings held alternately in the two village halls.

5. Shared Issues:

(a) Walking paths around the area: OS explained that the national, 10 year, grant for the Footpath Trust was due to expire shortly. Core paths will continue to be maintained by Highland Council but all agreed that non-core paths would also need to be maintained. In order to monitor the situation, it will first be necessary to understand which are core paths. Action: TM to bring the draft Core Paths document to the next meeting. All agreed that it would be good to advertise local walks for visitors / newcomers to the area. OS reported that he already had details of some local walks. All agreed that these details could be displayed at the start of a walk (eg in a ‘poly pocket’) and left at the end of the walk, alternatively, details could be collected/returned to the local Post Office. OS suggested that some walks with a leader were arranged for June but it was agreed that September would be a better month. All were in agreement but some concern was expressed about the need for adequate insurance cover. Action: OS to arrange, in conjunction with Access Officer and/or Countryside Ranger.

(b) Dog issues: LM reported that the new car park at Littleburn is a problem in respect of dog mess. Action: EJ to ensure this issue is raised with the dog warden when she attends the May meeting.

Date of next AGM: Tuesday 20th April 2010 at North Kessock.

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