Howwood Community Council

HOWWOOD COMMUNITY COUNCIL MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 08 SEPTEMBER 2015

PRESENT Linda Smith (Chair), Millar Leon (Vice Chair), Bill David (Secretary), Douglas Paxton (Treasurer), Norma David, Jackie Mackenzie, Gordon Weir, Joe Graham, Dawn Michael, Willie Shaw, David Bottomley, Billy Caldwell, Robert Scarsbrook, Brenda Whitelaw

IN ATTENDANCE Cllr Iain McMillan, Cllr John Caldwell, Cllr Stephen McGee, Alistair Campbell,

APOLOGIES Cllr John Hood

The meeting opened with Linda Smith delivering a tribute to Christine Scarsbrook who very recently and unexpectedly passed away. Linda praised the tireless, extensive amount of work that Christine undertook on behalf of our community. Her attention to detail was second to none. Christine will be and is, sorely missed by us all. Linda Smith also passed the Community Council’s condolences to Cllr McMillan on the loss of his mother and Norma and Bill David on the loss of Norma’s mother.

1. PREVIOUS MINUTES (08/09/15) Adopted – Proposed Bill David, Seconded Joe Graham.

2. POLICE REPORT Area Commander Simon Wright in attendance. 2 reported crimes:  1 house breaking with intent  1 theft, Bowfield Hotel  1 person acting suspiciously in a garden with householder making citizen’s arrest.  We were advised that there is a huge opportunist threat in our area and reminded to ensure doors are locked, windows closed, car keys kept well away from doors, letter boxes etc. Area Commander Simon Wright also requested that the police be called right away if anyone was spotted acting suspiciously.  Our concerns regarding speeding traffic were again raised. Area Commander Simon Wright agreed to find out and advise us on Speedwatch Initiatives, if any in our area. Dawn Michael expressed her grave concerns as we had raised this issue again and again, to no avail. Traffic is still speeding in our village. Jackie Mackenzie asked whether it might be possible to have speed monitors installed on Main Street to record the speed of traffic.  Area Commander Simon Wright agreed to email with an update on what he has been able to do regarding the speeding issues.

3. MATTERS ARISING  No items

4. COMMUNITY EVENTS

 Family Ceilidh was a sell-out and very successful. Thank you to everyone who contributed. We raised £615 for Community Council funds. A special thank you was given to Linda Smith and Bill David for the tremendous efforts they put in in arranging the event.  Street Stuff is happy to come back next year. Cllr McMillan advised that it is early days for Street Stuff and that they were learning from the events held to allow them to develop their programme further.  Next Newsletter is being planned for end of September. Bill David asked if everyone could try to contribute and pass articles to him as soon as possible.  Broadband campaign still underway as only part of our community has access to fibre optic service. Bill David recommended contacting new MP to invite her along to a meeting to seek her assistance in progressing this matter.  Local organisations – proving difficult to establish links but we will try to get a contact in each group.

Howwood Community Council Minutes 08/09/15 Page 1 of 3  HCC 4 yearly elections to take place in September and our AGM is 13 October.  Christmas light switch – Friday 4 December. A village Christmas tree was proposed by Brenda Whitelaw and Alistair Campbell kindly agreed to donate one. It was agreed that costs to provide and connect lights would be reviewed to see whether this would be feasible.  We have still not received a satisfactory response to our request for one free village hall let for a community event a year from Renfrewshire Council. The person reviewing the letter sent appears to have missed the point and failed to address the issues satisfactorily.  It was noted that the steps from Main Street to Bowfield Road were not being maintained as agreed by Renfrewshire Council recently.  A request was made for a litter bin on Main Street by Linister.  As yet no satisfactory response from Renfrewshire Council regarding the changes made to the original planning application submitted by the Howwood Inn.  Concerns were raised about the role of Howwood Primary School in our village, particularly as there is yet to be a new head teacher appointed. Cllr McMillan advised that there is an issue country wide at present in finding suitably qualified, quality head teachers and that Renfrewshire Council should be trying again to recruit a permanent head teacher.  We are still waiting for the grant award letter from the LAC for the defibrillator cabinet.  Cllr McGee advised that Renfrewshire Council have no definite plans as yet to tackle dog fouling.

5. HEART  Next meeting to be last Wednesday in September. Joe Graham advised that he intended to review the plan at this meeting and requested that committee members re-read the plan before the next meeting.

6. ENVIRONMENT & ROADS  Drain& road collapse, Mayfield Drive now repaired.  All blocked drains not yet fixed.  Cllr McGee has taken photographs of the issues around the village and passed these onto Renfrewshire Council.  Alistair Campbell confirmed that there were still blocked drains at the top of Bowfield Road near the hotel.  There is no change to the condition of the right of way path adjacent to the church.  Brenda Whitelaw raised concerns regarding the forestry tree planting on the hill. Bill David suggested getting a forestry representative to attend one our meetings to discuss further.

7. INFORMATION/WEB  No updates

8. PLANNING / LICENSING  No updates.

9. COUNCILLORS’ ISSUES Cllr Iain McMillan advised:  Renfrewshire Council has already agreed to take Syrian Refugees. Doors are open but difficult at present to say what numbers will be.  Poverty Commission Leadership Committee - £6m to address poverty in Renfrewshire area.  Health and Social Care Partnership – fully developed but won’t be taking effect until April.  No update as yet re finances – Council Tax  No update on Midton Road planning application  Sale of the old St Cuthbert’s School site has been agreed with Persimmon Homes.  Consultation has started around St Anthony’s school with Renfrewshire Council proposing to shut the building housing pre 5 centre and move it to St Anthonys. Traffic issues have been raised as all traffic will now be concentrated to one site.  Some controversy around Johnstone High School. Last education committee meeting had everyone committed to helping the school get back on track.

Howwood Community Council Minutes 08/09/15 Page 2 of 3 10. CORRESPONDENCE – Full details available from Bill David  HCC election details  Social Science research  Digital Scotland – wish to run case studies on properties that have fibre optic cabling into them.

11. AOCB  Linda Smith gave her thanks to the elected councillors and Derek our hall keeper for their assistance over the last 4 years.  Linda Smith also encouraged our HCC members to participate fully in Community Council activities as well as meetings. She advised that we do make a difference, citing the playgroup as an example, and that to be a successful Community Council we all need to contribute and participate.

NEXT MEETING  AGM Tuesday 13 October 2015 @ 7.30pm in Howwood Village Hall.  Thereafter: Regular monthly meetings 2nd Tuesday every month.

Contact Details

Aircraft Noise Telephone line 0141 848 4644 (answer machine) Warden Services 0300 300 0380 (Dog Fouling, Graffiti etc) Glasgow Wind Band, 01505 704083 R Scarsbrook Fly Tipping 0141 842 4448

Minicoach Tours [email protected]

Police 01505 404000

Renfrewshire Council 0300 300 0300 www.renfrewshire.gov.uk R.C. Roads email address [email protected]

Roads & Lighting Faults 0300 300 0300

Scottish Water Contact 0645 601 8855 0845 600 8855 (EMERGENCY)

Secretary, Bill David [email protected] (Howwood Community Council) Village Web Site www.howwood.com

Youth Nuisance Help Line 01505 325030

Howwood Community Council Minutes 08/09/15 Page 3 of 3