April 2012 £1 The Bridge The Community Newsletter for Doune & Deanston Health Centre on the Critical List With the deadline fast approaching for Doune to secure any reasonable hope of acquiring a new Health Centre, action is desperately needed if the only suitable site in the village is not to be lost. Cramped, ill-ventilated, lacking privacy for patients and space for staff and stores, the existing, 40-year old Doune Health Centre is no longer fit for purpose. The need of our rapidly expanding community for the long-promised new facility is brought sharply into focus by the letter from Dr Phil Rose, published on page 14. As Dr Rose points out, under the terms of the Planning Consent which, in 2008, allowed Miller Homes to build the housing development now known as Doune Riggs, a site was reserved for a new Health Centre for a period of five years, to allow the Health Board to purchase the land. Doune was assured by Forth Valley Health Board that the proposed new facility was categorised as a priority. The Planning Consent which protects the site expires in March 2013, less than a year’s time. During the past five years, despite repeated representations from the Kilmadock Community Council, Doune seems to have slipped well down the NHSFV priority list; at first we were told that all available funds had been spent on the Callander Medical Centre and on the new hospital at Larbert. In June last year a spokesman for NHSFV reported in The Stirling Observer that ‘finite resources were pretty much allocated. For a three-year period it is understood there’s no money for capital developments…’ Continued on page 2 Triumph for The Bridge Let’s hear it for The Bridge, recently named winner of the coveted Community Newspaper of the Year Award! The Stirling Community Newspaper Forum, made up of all the community newspapers in the area, held its annual Awards Ceremony on Friday, 23 March at the Raploch Community Campus. Pauline Roberts, Community Publicity and Development Officer, who is a great help and support to The Bridge, welcomed everyone to the event before announcing award winners in the first three categories including Most Original Front Page. This was followed by guest speaker, Jack Webster, journalist and author, giving us an insight into his Scoop! The Bridge makes its own front page. Representing us at the Awards fascinating career which has included interviewing Ceremony were (front row, l-r) Diana Bishop, Gwen Trelfa and Inger-Johanne Charlie Chaplin, Ginger Rogers and Sophia Loren. Pollock; behind them are Pauline Roberts, and guest speaker Jack Webster. Continued on page 7 1 These are straitened times but, even if there is no immediate NHS Forth Valley (NHS Board): money to build a Health Centre, funds should surely be Tel: 01786 463 031; email: FV-UHB.YourHealthService@ found to purchase and secure the site before it reverts to the nhs.net developers. This is a line of argument taken up by the KCC whose chair, Jimmie Innes, together with other members of Stirling Council the Community Council, attended a meeting in Stirling on Claire Milne, Principal Planning Officer:milnec@stirling. 13 March with Tom Steele of NHS Forth Valley and Lesley gov.uk Malkin of Stirling Council, when they requested an update Stirling Councillors: Trossachs and Teith Ward on plans for the site. Fergus Wood: [email protected] Paul Owens: [email protected] Jimmie told The Bridge: “We were encouraged to learn Tony Ffinch: [email protected] that Tom Steele will be in touch with Miller Homes and the District Valuer within the month to try and resolve this Candidates standing for Council elections, issue. We are hopeful the site can be purchased before the on 3 May: present Section 75 expires in March 2013. The KCC will Martin Earl (Conservative) [email protected] be keeping in touch with MEDCO (Moray Estates) and Alycia Hayes (SNP) [email protected] NHSFV to advance those issues and will keep The Bridge Gerry McGarvey (Labour) [email protected]; informed”. Jimmie further assured The Bridge: “The KCC blogspot: http://gerrymcgarveyfortrossachsandteith.blogspot. will not let this go”. com/ Fergus Wood (SNP) [email protected] Asked by The Bridge about their plans for the long-promised new Health Centre, NHSFV sent the following statement: “We are aware of the accommodation issues at Doune Health Scottish Government Centre and improving this facility remains a priority. We are Nicola Sturgeon [email protected] currently working with partner agencies across Forth Valley (make clear you want to contact her as Minister of Health) to maximise the use of existing publicly owned buildings and Bruce Crawford: [email protected]. land. This includes work with Stirling Council to review any uk opportunities that may exist to provide additional capacity for the Health Centre. We are also in discussion with Stirling Juliet McCracken Council regarding the current planning consent at Doune Riggs which is due to expire in 2013”. The future of the Health Centre was one of the local issues on which, last September, the Moray Estates Development Company MD offered the Community Council MEDCO’s help and expertise. Andrew Howard said that the estate would be happy to explore options either for the Health Do you need a new home in any of these areas ? Board to acquire the site, or for Stirling Council to extend its Aberfoyle Deanston Gartmore Lochearnhead planning restrictions. Balfron Doune Killin Strathyre Buchlyvie Drymen Kippen Stronachlachar Not only does there seem to have been no real action from Callander Gargunnock Kinlochard Tyndrum NHSFV or Stirling Council over the past five years on this If so, Rural Stirling Housing Association may be able to help. important issue, but there seems to have been little contact between the two. The Bridge recently wrote to the Council’s The Association’s aim is to support rural communities by providing affordable good quality homes for people in housing Principal Planning Officer, Claire Milne and received the need. We currently have over 500 rented homes and around 30 following, discouraging reply: “ I do not have any firm of these become available for re-let each year. We also build view of the Council at this time and there has not to my some new homes each year. knowledge been any progress on bringing forward the new For more details and a housing application form please contact Health Centre. One option is to extend the S75 Agreement us at: timeframe but this would require agreement between both parties - the Council and the original developer, ie. Miller Rural Stirling Housing Association Stirling Road, Doune, FK16 6AA Homes”. Telephone : 01786 841101 E-mail: [email protected] As Dr Rose points out, once the March 2013 deadline is Website : www.rsha.org.uk Registered as a Scottish Charity No. SC037849 passed any hope of a new Health Centre will be set back indefinitely due to the lack of any other suitable sites in the village. It is now up to the community to make its voice Please note that we encourage all applicants to also apply to Stirling Council’s housing list (Tel : 0845 277 7000). Being on heard on this crucial local issue, to maintain pressure on the both lists is the best way to maximise your chances of being Planning Department and the Health Board, and to lobby rehoused. prospective candidates in the May elections. You could also write to the local MSP Bruce Crawford and to Health Minister Nicola Sturgeon. For contact details, see next column. 2 submissions from both Doune and Deanston. Development Plan Flags Up In Deanston, the main immediate issue remains the More Housing affordable housing allocated in Leny Road and here the Community Council is in accord with the individual comments to the effect that nothing should be done until an At its meeting on Thursday 1 March, Stirling Council alternative site is found for a playing field and arrangements approved its new Proposed Development Plan, which means are in place for a village hall. that the Plan will now go out for statutory consultation. This is the third time communities, individuals, landowners, Close examination of the papers can find little from the developers and anyone else with a point to make will have Community Council on the subject of Stewart Milne’s bid the opportunity to make their views known. As readers will to have the areas around Deanston House freed for Housing remember, at the Draft Proposed Development Plan stage, Development. It has not gone away and the submissions this community took the opportunity to make its views well which Stirling Council has received suggest some support known to the planners who endured an informative reception for Stewart Milne’s proposals; and, while there are strong and chilly temperatures in the Muir Hall back in early individual objections, there is no observation from the December. Community Council which is disappointing. While the planning view is clear that there should be no such Now we get another chance to have our say, but it is development, it is apparent that pressure will increase in the interesting to reflect on what has already been communicated future. to the Council’s Planning Officers. The documents themselves provide a worthy source of erudite material to The fact arising from all these expensive consultations is that be argued about at length by expensive learned counsel the future development planning for our part of the world is during interminable Planning Inquiries but they do not lend still a matter of debate, and communities will have another themselves to a five minute glance to see what is going on.