CROMDALE & ADVIE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MINUTES OF MEETING of Weds 6th Feb 2013 at 7PM Village Hall

Present Apologies Non –Apologies Iain Reid (IR) Suzanne Mayle (SM) Ann Whiting (AW) Mrs Yvonne Simpson (YS) Dougie Gibson (DG) Northern Cllr Jaci Douglas (JD) Constabulary (NC) Ralph Newlands - BEAR (RN) Carl Stewart -public Pat Fowler - public Pam Gordon - public John Robson - public Jenny Robson - public Pam Brand - public

7:15pm Meeting opened - in the absence of a Chair, IR chaired the meeting.

Minutes of Previous Meeting The minutes of the meeting held 5th December were retrospectively agreed by Suzanne Mayle and seconded by Dougie Gibson.

Office Bearers: Iain Reid has received a letter of resignation from the Community Council from Ivan McConachie, effective immediately. JD advises that a Chair will need to be selected from the ELECTED Members prior to the upcoming AGM. The make-up of the Community Council now has 3 vacancies, however there are 3 residents willing to get involved - Carl Stewart, Ewan Grant and Rosemary Shreeve. The Community Council will take steps to approach these people and co-opt them prior to the AGM.

Matters arising/ongoing items

1. Police Issues - the regular monthly report had been submitted by NC via email. It does not breakdown statistics for the parish as such but seems to include them within the Grantown-on-Spey figures. IR has emailed Inspector MacLeod to see if Cromdale & Advie can be presented with statistics for the parish separately.

2. Bank Account – SM advised via email that the balance of the accounts currently stood at £3807.07 and that the new signatory regime has been put in place. SM to revise signatory listing following Ivans departure and to include co- optee’s when necessary

3.. Christmas Lights – have now been taken down and are located outside the village hall pending moving into the pavilion when the works to sort out the water leak have been undertaken. It was agreed that a working party would be formed when the leak is sorted to clean out and tidy up the pavilion and re-locate the xmas lights.

4. Battle of Cromdale Brochures – a draft will be available at the next CC meeting (scheduled for Feb 2013) - ongoing DG.

5. Future meetings A list of Comm Council meetings and AGM’s throughout 2013 has been produced and will be displayed in the appropriate places and on Whats On In Cromdale Facebook page. IR to display at notice board, village hall and WOIC page.

6. Paulhill Wind Farm Applications - None received - the fund sits at £32,970.17 which is available until 30th June 2015. Pam Gordon, on behalf of the Village Hall Committee, was given a wind farm fund application form. It had been previously agreed that the fund would pay for the architects drawing and planning application for the works to the village hall roof. At a later date there may be additional funding available from the fund to cover part of the works but a separate application would be needed at the appropriate time. JD advised that there may be funding available particularly for village halls and she will look into this. JD to advise on village hall fund.

7. Advie Car Park – Recycling facilities – RN advised that some road planings may be available when surfacing repairs are carried out on the A95 east of Cromdale that could be used. He will look at the site and advise accordingly. JD to liaise with AW to get a plan overview of the site and RN to advise possibility of planings etc

8. Mrs Whiting’s driveway onto A95 –no further update - ongoing with Bear. RN advised that the road level had not been increased following works and that measurement info was available to substantiate this. He did however kindly offer to look at the site and see what solutions may be available. RN to advise.

9. Grit Bins - JD confirmed that the Advie bin would be moved to the bottom of the hill when empty. Request for a grit bin at junction of Tom an Uird and Haugh Road - on grass verge outside of “Mosslea” and either grit bins or a grit dump on the Balmenach Road. JD to liaise with TECS as above. IR had received literature through the post on Emergency Winter Planning which includes an application form to Council for supplies. IR to read through info and see if there is anything that CACC can apply for.

10. Bridge Balustrades @ Advie – AW had been told by Highland Council that the balustrades were not their responsibility - it was responsibility of the landowner - JD has brooched with Neil Gilles, Director TEC Services who will look into the matter and advise accordingly.

11. Pavilion: Disabled Sign at entrance to Car Park to be removed - no further update Internal water leak - Simon Mason (plumber) has keys and will attend to leak but has not done so as yet. Various maintenance issues remain outstanding and IR suggested that a Member of the CC be responsible for the pavilion/pitch to ensure that this important community asset remains in good order (Carl Stewart is willing to fulfill this role). ALL - working party to be organised (as item 3 above). ALL - a Member of the CC to take over the overseeing of the pavilion/pitch.

12. Bulbs - JD has approached Highland Council regarding bulbs for the 19 planters (4 x Advie, 10 x Cromdale, 5 x Cromdale village hall). JD to advise when costs received.

13. Speed survey for residents of Balmenach - ongoing. YS advised that best place for a survey would be at the top of the village. JD advised that TECS are happy to carry out the survey after the winter.

14. Children Crossing Sign required at School Bus drop off point on A95. RN advised that new signage is not within the remit of BEAR as this is seen as “road improvement” rather than “road maintenance” however if an old sign became available from elsewhere he would see if it could be sited. RN to advise in due course. YS enquired about the flashing speed signs that had been removed from the village by BEAR and never returned. RN advised that the company that made the units had gone bust and so it was proving very difficult to source parts. RN to chase up works and advise if repairs can be effected to the signs.

15. Dial-a-Bus: JD advised that she was looking at linking in transport availability to Moray College which may help with some sort of transport link between Aviemore, Grantown, Cromdale and Elgin. JD to update situation in due course.

16. Louise Clarke has sent an available map to IR. IR to be display in Village Hall.

17. JD provided an order form for toiletry supplies from Highland Council. YS stated that Mrs Ross would be the best person to look at the pricing to see if it would be cost effective to source supplies via Highland Council or cheaper to source as at present.

IR to discuss with Muriel Ross.

18. The office space at the pavilion could possibly be utilised. JD to forward contact details for Highlands & Islands Enterprise who may or may not have someone looking for such accommodation.

19. Following on from the discussion about the Battle of Cromdale brochures, IM stated he’d heard of a fence post in the vicinity of The Pipers Stone that is reported to be the exact joining point of 4 counties. If this proves to be the case it would be a very unusual situation and may be worth bringing to the attention of organisations involved in tourism (Visit , CNPA, etc). SM to investigate further to confirm if this scenario is in fact the case, and if so what the relevant counties are.

20. Mrs Fowler & Mrs Gordon presented a letter to the CC asking for comments relating to siting a catering trailer in the car park. The matter will also have to be referred to The Highalnd Council, BEAR, and Transport Scotland for their comments. Mrs.Fowler and Mrs.Gordon will contact THC directly. IR has forwarded a request to BEAR for comment and BEAR will also obtain Transport Scotlands comment. The CC to advise in due course.

21. YS had received enquiries about the use of the football pitch. Cromdale FC have paid the £50 deposit some years ago and it is still held by the CC so as long as confirmation of relevant insurances are provided then they will continue to use the pitch/pavilion. Strathspey Youth have also used the pitch but there is no record of their deposit or insurances so upon provision of these usage will be discussed. Another team has also enquired about usege but again without deposit or insurance a decision cannot be made. CC - may wish to draft an “Application For Usage” form for the pitch/pavilion so that potential users can officially apply and supply info/documents as necessary.

22. Balmenach bus shelter/notice board. YS advised that there is no facility for residents, especially children awaiting the school bus, to shelter from inclement weather. If a shelter was provided it could possibly provide a notice board which would be useful to the residents of Balmenach and Faebuie. Ownership of the land may be a question as to where/if a shelter could be sited. JD to discuss with TECS

23. In a move to make the CC more accessible to the public it was decided that names of CC Members be displayed upon the notice board and Village Halls along with the CC email address, IR’s phone number (as secretary) and dates of meetings. CC to undertake this following AGM as there may be a change to the office bearers at that juncture.

The next meeting was set for Weds 6th Mar at Cromdale Village Hall at 7:00pm and will be immediately followed at 7:30pm by an Annual General Meeting.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8:30pm