MINUTES OF COMMUNITY COUNCIL

2nd Draft Monday 3rd October 2011 in the school

Members Present: - Margaret Vass, Alan Hutton, Willie Oswald, Marian Lever, John Gray, Richard Arnold, Philip Graves, Fiona Murray, Elspeth Posnett. In attendance: - Cllr Colin O’Brien, PC David McNally & Gordon Ash SCDT. + 18 members of the community.

(SC = Council. CC = Community Council. CDT= Community Development Trust * Denotes an action)

1. Welcome from Chair and apologies: Margaret welcomed all to the meeting . Apology received from Mike McNulty

2. Conflict of interest for noting: - there were no conflicts to note.

3. Minutes of August meeting: Approved WO and seconded EP.

4. Matters Arising – None.

5. Police Report – from PC David McNally The past month had been relatively quiet. There had been a car theft from Campsie Dene Road and a break in and theft from a car at S. Lodge car park. Do not leave valuables in cars and certainly not in view. Drug users detained at Mugdock Park. Attempted break in at Inn and door at Netherblane vandalized. Scams included “Council Workmen” requesting access to rear garden while accomplice stole elderly resident’s handbag, and a leaflet deliverer abandoning his task to steal a bike and ride off (cursing a pursuer in an foreign language!). Beware of bogus callers!

Issues raised with PC McN. Were the ongoing problems with the quarry and mud on the road and the extremely slow progress of a roadsweeper to remove the mud. This was going to give rise to an accident with drivers’ dangerous overtaking. This has been necessitated by the lack of a wheel wash which was a requirement of the planning consent. WO would take this up again with SC Planning Dept, Lynn Currie is in charge of enforcement. JG also advised that SEPA, based in Greenock is looking into the quarry issues and possible contamination worries in respect of loads coming in or out. AH also raised the poor condition of the water track to after Cantywherry cottage, which was nearly impassable due to timber operations and mud. Ah to contact Scottish Water and Duntreath Estate.

6. Strathblanefield Community Action Plan – from Margaret Vass. An article written by MV about this issue had, for some reason, not been published in the recent issue of the Blane. It is attached to this minute (Appendix 1). She went on to give the flavour of some of the ideas for the presentation the

1 CC and CDT had discussed regarding a “wish list of help” that we would request of the Community Planning Partnership. The key issue was that, in common with the majority of residents of the village we wished to ensure that its character was maintained. The CC and CDT still had a huge amount of work to do for the as yet incomplete proposals for this presentation which it would give to the Community Planning Partnership on some yet-to-be-defined date in October. Once proposals had been finalized they would be placed on the website prior to the meeting. It was commented from the floor that an unamended version of the CAP was still being shown on the website. It was agreed this would be amended.

7. Health and Social Care Issues – from Marian Lever. The NHS Forth Valley Annual Review will take place on Monday 7 November 2011 in Forth Valley Royal Hospital. It will include a public question and answer session. Members of the community raised several questions, such as the difficulty of public transport access from the western villages. Anyone with questions to add (not about specific patients) should contact Marian Lever and she will try to obtain answers. AH said thtat reassurance was needed re access to Glasgow hospitals since public transport to Larbert was very difficult (4hrs). A letter of reassurance about this had been received by Alan Morris saying that there was no problem about going to Glasgow hospitals as a preference. Ambulances, however, may come from the Stirling area and may not know the route. A copy of this letter would be sent to ML.

The reshaping of older peoples’ care was a topic discussed at the recent Rural South West Area Forum. In future access to services should be easier as a team of dedicated workers will operate the receiving service enabling better continuity of services. Other improvements include the provision of a re-enablement programme, a six week period of intensive support and assessment with the aim of enabling as many people as possible to return home from hospital with an appropriate care package, this being most peoples’ preferred option. Its success has meant a reduced demand for long stay residential beds, with the Council purchasing 58 fewer in March 2011 than in March 2010. There will be changes to the shopping service from November 2011. It will now be open to all those over 65 year olds for a fee. The contract for this is with Food Train. Finally concern was expressed about proposed changes to the meals service from February/March next year. The proposal is to purchase a fortnightly frozen meals service. It is not yet clear whether this will apply in Strathblanefield, as a meeting with Council representatives and some of the volunteers before the summer seemed to suggest a local solution might be possible. Feedback on this is needed urgently as a further local meeting will be held in mid October. There are similar concerns in all the local villages as there are good local schemes in operation currently. The forum was told of the intention to continue to support lunch clubs despite the proposed changes. This situation will be closely watched in the meantime.

Much discussion followed about worries regarding the proposals which are totally opposed by Cllr O’Brien, who thinks SC may be unaware of the existence of lunch clubs and the good work they do. Personal regular contact is most important for the elderly and

2 vulnerable. He stated that the council was, however, under immense pressure from the Scottish Government to achieve a cumulative saving of £30 million over 3 years so there were pressures an all budgets which officers are charged to investigate for savings. Following their submissions the issue would escalate to become a political matter. Concerns were raised during discussions about the possible poor quality of contractor– supplied meals and that many older people had old inefficient and inadequate freezers. Some may find the use of a microwave difficult. The village needs to campaign to enhance and preserve a service that is the essence of the community. The community had been providing a meals on wheels service provided by volunteers for many years at a current cost of £1.80 per meal. It is hard to see how this could be bettered. Cllr O’Brien will progress feedback from Maureen Dryden re meals on wheels.

8. Emergency Plan – MV said that this was not yet available. Due to non-publication of the CC News in the Blane, community groups would not be aware of the proposed plan. This will delay the finalization of our work to the plan.

9. Financial matters – from Treasurer Fiona Murray. An admin grant had been received of £416.71 and had been banked. The Current account stands at £633.57 and the Gold account at £ 2720.17.

10. Current Planning applications – from Planning Correspondent John Gray a) 11/00582/FUL - New, modern, eco-design house planned for the site opposite Milndavie stables. No comments against the proposals – agreed by CC. b) 11/00548/PPP - 3 houses on ground behind Auchencraig – raised at the last CC meeting. JG and PG met up with client’s agent who claimed they were trying to “enhance” the area. As there are currently no signs of a change to the green belt policy, rejection of the application is expected. JG, assisted by PG will draft CC comments and objections to the proposals. There is a meeting on 11th October at Mugdock re the issue at which CC members are welcome to attend. c) Local Development Plan – The first stage consultations were undertaken by SC a year ago. The CC submitted comments at the time re such issues as where we wanted houses and businesses; what we want protected etc. The plan is going forward to SC for approval or otherwise, with a further consultation period between 24th Oct and 16th Dec this year. This may require additional public meetings with the CC, but dates will be advised. Some items already hinted at which are reassuring e.g. green belt policy to be retained as is; no proposal to change the status of Mugdock to a village; proposal to realign the green belt to the centre of A81 as it rises south out the village at the “devils elbow” so that the adjacent pine woods are out with the green belt. A possibly controversial proposal will be to permit a small number of houses, 50% of which must be “affordable” in the Singh field. A cemetery is also proposed which would define a definite boundary to the village to the east. Cllr O’Brien said that this was now a proposed plan, not a draft plan and the council are being invited to comment on whether this is a fit document to be submitted for consultation, It is hoped that the final submission will occur in March 2012, where after it will be submitted to government. The plan should be available at the library after Thursday 6th October, but can be seen now on the Stirling web site.

3 Other planning issues - parking at the distillery for access to Dumgoyne. JG said that we could use the distillery car park pending construction of additional parking facilities on ground adjacent.

11. Issues from the community Jane McCallum a village resident expressed her concerns about the recent issue of the Blane magazine which she said was biased and vindictive towards the CC and the CDT. She was puzzled why this should be and requested clarification about the relationship between the two bodies. She also went on to say that the articles in the Blane , which had been, hitherto, eagerly awaited were now not what they used to be, MV responded to say that the Articles of Association of all CDT’s allowed for one CC member to be a board member of the CDT. MV was that nominated person. If there was a conflict of interest she had access to advice from Stirling Council. MV stated that she found the tone of recent articles in the Blane upsetting and has received e-mails and letters of support stating this. After airing the topic at the August meeting she and the CC had hoped that we could move on. The CC is determined to rise above the issue and innuendos, and, in the meantime, guidance has been sought on whether the legal action should be pursued. PG commented and praised the dedication and workload of the CC and that his wife who is involved with the CDT had said that negative questions were raised at their last meeting too. George McDiarmid commented about the new roundabout and pelican crossing; as an early doubter, he was now fully converted to the efficacy of the new arrangement. What further speed calming proposals were afoot? WO described some of the future plans: Proposals to install speed calming on the A81 in front of the Village Club, about which there was some opposition. At one time there had been a plan to install a footpath on the VC side of the road by encroaching upon the embankment on the opposite side. At the shops there is a proposal to restrict parking. This has drawn concerns from the community and within the CC. Creation of a roundabout at Ballewan Crescent. No designs for this had yet been started. RA suggested that average speed cameras might be an option. Electronic technology has become much cheaper in recent years.

Finally Cllr O’Brien said that the brown bin argument had been won and that the status quo would prevail in the meantime. Next year, however, winter collection may be suspended.

12. Elected Member report – from Cllr Colin O’ Brien. Much time had been spent on the Severe Weather Report with MV. The CC contribution which is under way is now awaited. The Meals service had been dealt with already. Traffic calming had been discussed already. The Local Development Plan had been discussed already. There was nothing more to add.

13.Roads Issues – from Willie Oswald. a) A letter re speeding had been sent to SC b) Vegetation is still masking the new traffic control. Have asked what is happening re this. Cllr O’Brien said he would speak to SC re this.

4 14. Environmental Issues - from Elspeth Posnett. EP had spoken to David Hopper and the brown bins issue had been successfully resolved. On Friday next the tubs would be planted with flower bulbs. The Dog Warden had been contacted, but is currently concentrating on rat and mice infestations. The issue of overgrowing vegetation hanging over footpaths was discussed. This is a problem in many areas of the village with many householders not cutting back hedges and bushes. It was suggested that a list of offenders could be drawn up and the CC could discuss the issues with those concerned. This would obviate the need of an enforcement letter from the council. The post box at the foot of Kirkhouse Road had been re-erected, but there was no hard standing in front of it. It was suggested that some gravel could be laid.

15. Correspondence – from Secretary Richard Arnold.& Margaret Vass a) A letter from the council re the Remembrance Day parade. It was agreed that we would purchase a wreath on behalf of the community. This could be purchased from Poppy . FM would arrange this. b) A letter and email complaining about the Blane had been received which was not read out c) A letter from the Chair of the Netherblane Proprietors Assoc re allotments had been referred to the allotment group. d) A letter was received from SC Head of Governance intimating a Seminar- Response to Severe Weather – on Sat 5th November between 10.00 and 12.30. MV already entitled to attend and EP and WO indicated that they could go.

IT Issues – from John Gray JG indicated that he would like to get the forum up and running, especially with the forthcoming discussions looming on the local Development Plan. If Alan Campbell says the site is ready he would like to go live to let everyone familiarize themselves with its use. There would be a private forum for CC use and a public forum. The requirement of moderator(s) was discussed to guard against offensive comment. Rules would have to be displayed. Other village groups would have their own sections in the forum.

Date of next meeting – Monday 7th November at 7.30pm in the school.

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Appendix I

5 Community Council News Margaret Vass, Chair Community Action Plan Your Community Council works very hard on your behalf and we were very disappointed at the criticism levelled at us in the last issue of The Blane. As with any privately run community newsletter the editor is of course in a privileged position in being able to decide what to include in each edition and in this case he has already made his views on some items in the draft Community Action Plan very clear. Whilst there may be differences of view (including amongst CC members) on some possible development proposals that emerged during last year’s extensive consultations and are now included in the CAP, we are confident that the more fundamental divisions within the community suggested —and, indeed, encouraged — by three pieces in the last issue of the Blane are imaginary. In fact the members of the CC and, we believe from all the consultation of the last 18 months, the vast bulk of village residents share the basic position of the critics. That is, we all wish to preserve the cherished character of our villages. At the same time the vast majority of us recognise that some appropriate and small scale developments within the boundaries of the existing community can help to cater better for the needs and interests of many residents and visitors. The critics worry that certain ideas expressed in the plan simply cannot be achieved without sacrificing green space, and those ideas should be ruled out of consideration. We disagree. What the consultation reveals is that we have a challenge on our hands, to meet the range of peoples’ needs without damaging the character of our environment. The longer we drift without facing up to that challenge, the more limited our options will be. (It should also be noted that other residents are perfectly happy to sacrifice some of our green space for purposes that will bring long-term benefit to the community as a whole.) Throughout the whole process, we have been concerned to take account of widely expressed opinions and to ensure that anything which goes forward reflects as far as possible the overall balance of views within the community. Accordingly before offering everyone a further chance to give us feedback in August we modified the draft plan in two important areas where misunderstandings may have arisen and a range of doubts had been raised. Remember that the community has already made it clear that any development must be small scale and within our current boundaries. I do hope that you all responded to the consultation. Busy times ahead – let your voice be heard There are other important consultations taking place or coming soon. Stirling Council is proposing to reduce the frequency of the brown bin collection for garden waste, and introduce weekly cardboard collection. Changes to the speed limits are proposed at the entrances to our villages. The formal consultation on the Local Development Plan which will set the planning context for our area for the next 20 years will take place in November and December. The Community Council will hold a special meeting in November to debate the issues and agree our response. Please watch out for the posters and respond individually if you disagree with what is proposed. Many residents have said to us that communication in the village needs to be improved and we are currently working on a communication strategy to try and address this. It is available on the village website; the library can help you access it if you need help. We have also been asked by Stirling Council to produce an “emergency plan” for our villages, following the severe weather last December. We are piloting this along with Broomridge Community Council. Although CC members will fill in the plan initially, all groups in the community will hopefully agree to help. The aim is to harness volunteers to help out and complement improved services provided by Stirling Council. Importantly,

6 communication will be improved about what the local issues are, what can be provided and when. There will be individuals identified as the main contact in the village, they will then cascade information by telephone and posters. We are likely to request a notice board for to improve access to information. We will review and agree positions of salt bins, community salt piles and refuse collection points. We will be provided with shovels and “high viz” vests, and possibly have a community pavement snow clearing machine. The Community Council has also set up a group to identify the need for affordable housing in the village, and will be working with Rural Stirling Housing Association. David Frood is vice chairman of the association and he and David Wilson another local resident who is treasurer are both committee members of Rural Stirling Housing Association. The community will be kept fully informed as this progresses. Nothing will happen quickly as affordable housing has suffered greatly from recent Government cut-backs. We are here to help anyone or any group in the villages. Please contact us. The Lunch Club did just that as they were worried that changes being introduced by Stirling Council would jeopardise this valuable volunteer service. We attended a meeting with the lunch club and Maureen Dryden from Stirling Council. Fears have been allayed, and useful contacts made which may lead to better services.

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