GULBERWICK, QUARFF & COMMUNITY COUNCIL

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MEETING ON 5 MAY 2015 IN THE CUNNINGSBURGH SCHOOL AT 7.30PM

AGENDA

1. Apologies

2. Approval of Minutes of Meeting held on Wednesday 24 March 2015*

3. Matters Arising from Minutes

4. Appointment of Vice Chairperson

5. Police Report

6. Finance

7. Grant Applications

8. Community Development Fund/Quarff Beach Road Project

9. Planning

10. Refresh of the Blueprint Update

11. Quarff Main Road Update

12. Da Voar Redd Up 2015

13. Surface Dressing and Redressing Programme 2015*

14. Prioritised Future Road Improvement Scheme*

15. AOCB

16. Date of next meeting – Tuesday 9 June 2015

*denotes papers attached GULBERWICK, QUARFF & CUNNINGSBURGH COMMUNITY COUNCIL 2 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 24 MARCH 2015 IN THE CUNNINGSBURGH SCHOOL AT 7.30PM

PRESENT Mr S Smith Mrs L Johnston

EX OFFICIO Mr B Fox Mr G Smith Mr P Campbell Mr C Smith

IN ATTENDANCE Mrs K Geddes Mr D Shearer PS M MacLeod Mr G Manson

CHAIRPERSON Mr G Malcolmson

1. APOLOGIES Dr J Wills Mr E MacPherson

NOT PRESENT Mr A Duncan Ms A Westlake Mrs P Christie

2. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 24 FEBRUARY 2015

The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 24 February 2015 were approved on the motion of Mr S Smith and seconded by Mr G Malcolmson.

3. MATTERS ARISING FROM MINUTES

Emails to SIC Councillors

The clerk sent two emails to SIC councillors who have not attended any recent meetings of the Community Council. They were invited to let us know if any other nights were more suitable for them in an effort to welcome them to future meetings but no acknowledgement from either councillor was received. Members expressed disappointment and asked that this be noted.

Shurton Bollards

An email from SIC Roads was read and noted. The email was stating formally what had already been said to the Community Council – that the type of reflective bollard being requested is only used for accident prevention in areas where accidents had already happened. They are not used to reinforce existing signage and highlight junction locations where there is no record of traffic accidents.

Members felt that there is still a strong case for the use of bollards at the junction and did not feel it was something they wanted to let rest. Cllr C Smith volunteered to follow up the email.

Damage at Quarff Kirk and Kirkyard

Mr Malcolmson had been to the kirk and taken photos of the damaged roof and the headstones which had fallen over. The photos were passed around. Mrs Geddes had already forwarded them on to SIC Environmental Services and will check on progress before the next meeting. She will also follow up the letter sent to the Quarff Kirk Trust to see if any plan is in place for securing or fixing the roof.

ASCC Meeting 18/04/15

Mrs Geddes shared details of the meeting and any member who can attend is to contact either Mrs Geddes or ASCC Administration Assistant Kate Massie ASAP.

There was some general discussion surrounding agenda items – the Local Development Plan, the Resilient Communities Fund and in particular the concerns about bottle banks and possible changes to refuse collections. Another Community Council was worried that due to various factors, there may only be fortnightly black bag collections from summer 2015 onwards. SIC Councillors present had heard nothing about these plans and doubted that fortnightly collections would be happening, but in case there was some truth in it Cllr G Smith is to investigate.

4. POLICE REPORT

PS MacLeod reported that there had been 23 incidents in the Community Council area in the last month and that most of them were Road Traffic related.

Four speeding tickets were issued in the 20mph area in Cunningsburgh. Two reports of careless driving were made – both of poor overtaking at points between Quarff and Gulberwick. There was a road traffic accident resulting in a male driver’s car going off the road in Gulberwick. There were two disorder calls – one in Gulberwick and a recent one in Cunningsburgh.

Operation Route, which is focused on Road Traffic offences, has been deemed to be very effective and statistics are up as a result. There have been two officers out in an unmarked car as part of the Operation which has had the desired effect.

PS MacLeod said that the Police Force in Shetland is up to full strength. One officer is due to be leaving soon but the recruitment process to fill the position should happen quickly.

One member asked what should be done if someone witnessed careless or dangerous driving but were in the car on their own at the time. PS MacLeod said they would welcome reports from members of the public but said that the more information provided, and the more witnesses, the better the chance they were able to do something. Even if the police were only able to visit the offender and offer advice on better driving in the future, then this was better than the driver not being talked to about the incident at all.

---PS MacLeod left the meeting at 7.50pm---

5. FINANCE

Mrs Geddes verbally reported on the finances of the Community Council. The bank balance at 24 March 2015 was £5,062.94. Extra outgoings this month were:

Both the Cunningsburgh and the Quarff Senior Citizen Groups cashed their £50 cheques towards their Christmas Lunches. This money came out of the £100 provided by the Rotary Club for festive events for senior citizens.

£85 was paid out to Voluntary Action Shetland for £25 membership and a £60 administration fee.

The Shetland Times advert inviting grant applications was £33.

Stationery, stamps and postage for several receipts dating back to November came to £45.59.

The Garriock’s bill for supply and delivery of road materials came to £1643.58.

6. GRANT APPLICATIONS

A letter of thanks from the Quarff Public Hall for a grant application made last year was read and noted. The receipts for the painting and new kitchen equipment were included.

Only three new grant applications were received and members agreed to award funds to each of them.

The Gulberwick Community Hall was given £2000 towards a new floor and to improve disabled access. The Quarff Public Hall was awarded £1000 towards a new heating system. The Shetland Community Cafe and Soft Play was awarded £1000 towards renovation costs and architect and lawyers fees.

7. COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT FUND

Investigation by various members into a possible application for a ‘project’ for the beach road at Quarff had been made and it was discovered that plans by one of the boat owners to improve the road were in fact of a smaller nature than had originally been thought. An option to get a small truck and 20-30tonnes of road materials ‘tip-spread’ was a new idea broached so Mrs Geddes to talk to the grants department about taking this forward.

8. PLANNING

One application was discussed:

2015/074/PPF To erect new dry-stone boundary wall to replace existing timber fence | Fjael, Upper Setter, Gulberwick, Shetland, ZE2 9JX.

Members noted that the architect notes states that: “The work to be carried out is to be done safely with particular care taken whilst building the section of wall running parallel with the main south road. No materials or equipment should be set down on the verge area to the north side of the crash barrier running parallel to the main road.”

Members would like a comment passed back to the planning department stating that in the interests of road safety for vehicles and pedestrians, they have no objections to the application as long as this condition is strictly adhered to.

9. REFRESH OF THE BLUEPRINT UPDATE

SIC Councillors present stated that there was nothing new to report.

10. QUARFF MAIN ROAD UPDATE

An email exchange between Cllr Fox and SIC road engineer Colin Gair was read and noted. The visibility distance studies which have been holding everything up have been passed to the Design Section and the study should be completed by 10 April. Cllr Fox to contact Mr Gair again after this date for a further update and hopefully a way forward.

11. FLOOD RISK MANAGEMENT PLAN CONSULTATION

Information on SEPA’s national public consultation was read and noted. Cllr Fox gave further information on the background of the consultation, and the role of Shetland in it, encouraging those present to go online and have a look at what has been done so far. Some of the areas of concern for Shetland included possible coastal flooding at School, around and at the north bridge at Mail, Cunningsburgh. Landslips following heavy rain were also identified as a risk. There is central funding available but it is likely that smaller projects like those in Shetland will probably be quite far down the list compared to larger areas on the mainland already experiencing major flooding problems.

12. Da Voar Redd Up

An email from Sita Goudie, Environmental Improvement Officer, Shetland Amenity Trust was read and noted. The date for this year’s Redd Up has been set for 25th and 26th April. Redd Up groups have been informed that due to budget cuts Community Councils may not be able to sponsor them to the same level as previous years. It was decided that a decision on the level of sponsorship by Gulberwick, Quarff and Cunningsburgh will be made at a future meeting when more information about the number of groups taking part is known.

12. AOCB

Retained Duty System (RDS) Firefighter Recruitment Campaigns A letter from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service dated 3 March was read and noted. The Service is asking the Community Council to help raise awareness of the recruitment campaign for retained firefighters. The only fire station within the Community Council area affected is Sandwick, and members agreed to pass on the information to anyone who they thought may be interested in applying.

13. DATE OF NEXT MEETING

The next meeting will be held on TUESDAY 5 MAY 2015. The meeting will be held at 7.30pm in the Cunningsburgh School.

CHAIRMAN OUTSTANDING ITEMS

Bad Weather Contingency Plan – awaiting draft plan (January 2014) Gulberwick School Transport – awaiting feedback on pick up points (January 2014) Speed Limit at North Gulberwick Junction – awaiting traffic count results (January 2014)

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