Fetlar Community Council

MINUTES OF A MEETING HELD IN COMMUNITY HALL, ON TUESDAY, 25TH FEBRUARY 2020 AT 6.15PM

PRESENT IN ATTENDANCE Murray Cooper Joseph Bashford, Transport Planning Mike Fogarty, Vice Chair Frances Browne, Community Development James Rendall, Chair Neil Grant, SIC Development Directorate Tom Thomason Nina Hogmo, Community Development Janet Kelly, Fetlar Resident Kathryn Lomax, Community Mediation Service Elaine Park, Transport Planning Dave & Lisa Sumner, Fetlar Residents Bridgette Thomason, Clerk

1. APOLOGIES Apologies were received from Michael Duncan, PC Angela Manson and Emma Perring.

2. MINUTE OF THE PREVIOUS MEETINGS Minutes of the previous Meeting held on the 17th December 2019 had been circulated and were taken as read and adopted. Proposed – Tom Thomason, seconded – James Rendall.

3. DECLARATIONS OF INTEREST No declarations of interest were made.

Agenda items 4.1, 4.2, 4.7 & 4.10 were discussed first on the Agenda to allow those attending time to leave for the ferry at 7.40pm.

4. ONGOING BUSINESS 4.1 Islands with Small Populations (4.2/12/19) At the October Meeting a discussion surrounding health and social care on the island had taken place with the potential use of Attend Anywhere in Fetlar raised at the Drop-in Session. Attend Anywhere is a web-based platform that helps health care providers offer video call access to their services. It was agreed that the use of Attend Anywhere could help overcome the cost and time implications of folk having to travel to either Yell, or outwith Shetland for healthcare, mental health and consultancy appointments. Mr Bokor Ingram agreed at the October Meeting to investigate trialling Attend Anywhere in Fetlar, which has a requirement for consistently good bandwidth across several appointments, which it was felt would not be an issue owing to the good broadband on the isle. It was also agreed it would be useful to include these options in the circular to residents (Minute 13th August also refers) to help raise awareness within the community. In November, Mr Bokor Ingram had apologised for the delay in responding, which had taken longer than envisaged, however, he felt it was important to get the right outcome, which at that time he felt should hopefully be finalised around the beginning of December. Ms Perring had contacted Mr Bokor Ingram and Edna Mary Watson prior to the Meeting regarding Attend Anywhere and the notice for residents with nothing further to report.

The ongoing issues with delays in getting new medication prescribed by the Doctor on the fortnightly visit are still ongoing along with an option for residents to have repeat prescriptions posted out to them, if that is their preferred method. Mr Bokor Ingram had agreed at the October Meeting to follow up on this and had advised earlier in November that a plan to put different arrangements in place was being discussed surrounding governance arrangements and new costs associated with the changes identified. Mr Bokor Ingram apologised for the delay, however, confirmed that new arrangements should be in place by December.

4. ONGOING BUSINESS 4.1 Islands with Small Populations (4.2/12/19) Emma Perring had again raised the ongoing issues surrounding prescriptions prior to the Meeting and had been advised that residents are asked to take responsibility for ordering repeat prescriptions, being mindful of having at least 2 weeks supply alongside being able to order 2 months’ supply at a time. This will ensure that there is always a supply and the current delivery route can be used.

There is an understanding within NHS Shetland Pharmacy and Pharmacy (which is not within the NHS), that there may be issues with the speed folk are receiving acute or new medication prescribed by the GP on a Friday. There are options to improve this, including postage or by ensuring secure delivery from Brae or Yell onto the ferry across using the delivery route to . However, the pharmacist at Brae felt that the first step to resolving the issues would be to look into this in more depth, such as the type and scale over a time period. The Brae pharmacist had offered to contact the District Nurse to see if some form of monitoring could be put in place for a period of time in order to establish where the problem is and then the right solutions can be found.

The Community Maintenance Handyperson post had been advertised in November, owing to illness, the interviews had not taken place and Ms Perring had advised in advance of the Meeting that the short listing was now complete and interview dates had been set.

At the October Meeting, John Smith had confirmed that further work was being done with succession planning for the Ferry Service; island-based crewing, training programmes, flexi/phased retirement, all of which were being considered. Mr Smith had confirmed at that time that SIC Ferries would be in a position to move forward with this relatively soon. Nothing further to report.

Those who had attended the Isles Event held in September had all agreed it had been very successful. The event had discussed topics such as jobs, transport, connectivity, tourism, housing and other services with all islands wishing to see an increase in their population. The following suggestions and points had been raised at the event in relation to Fetlar:

 Local lettings housing policy  Free travel for commuters  Discounted ferry tickets for residents  Desire for Fetlar based employment opportunities at the new salmon site proposed for the Wick of Gruting (4.9 refers also)  Promotion of home working and decentralisation of administrative posts within the SIC which are suitable for being undertaken in remoter locations  Land and crofting, e.g., the idea of a “gateway croft”

A notice had been circulated to all households detailing the Drop in Session held earlier in the afternoon along with an opportunity to discuss the progress and future of the Islands with Small Populations Project at the CC Meeting.

Ms Browne passed round the Consultation Document (Appendix A) and provided background and progress to date on the Islands with Small Populations (IWSP) project and noted that the current draft had been pulled together from information provided already throughout the project, with the purpose of further discussion to ensure the points raised are correct, current and that nothing had been missed. The 5 outcomes and next steps outlined on the Consultation Document were discussed in detail and agreed by Members with the following points raised:

 The IWSP project has been very successful and has seen a huge benefit with very positive impacts within the community

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4. ONGOING BUSINESS 4.1 Islands with Small Populations (4.2/12/19)  Establish “Champions” for each island within each Directorate of the SIC, with service issues being the responsibility of the relevant person within the Champions network and the creation of a virtual island desk. The Working Group which was set up a number of years ago to consider the breakwater and ferry terminal at had proved very successful  Continue circulating information about service communications by way of the email list and copies to all households, with details of the Community Involvement & Development Officers, organisations and services included in correspondence  Initial ideas for the next Isles’ event – explore further previous suggestions and points raised at the event held in September alongside healthcare, possible use of surgery for Attend Anywhere and resolving the issues surrounding medication outlined previously  Waste services – staff working on the bin lorry will be retiring shortly and there is uncertainty about the arrangements for the service going forward. Would this be part of the community maintenance person’s role and how would this work? Further clarification is to be sought and then residents can be made aware of waste service provision plans going forward  Bulky waste collection – further information on bulky waste/white good collection to be sought and details circulated to residents  Whilst appreciative of the circumstances and recent illness which had delayed recruitment of the Community Maintenance post, Members felt this should have been passed onto another relevant person within the Service to deal with  Transport – explore and resolve issues including timetabling issues with Yell and Unst  Redesign services and use of resources – continue working together with Council Services and other organisations alongside development of an Island Plan. The Community Maintenance Post will provide a very diverse role and see very positive outcomes undertaken locally  Ferry service – further exploration and discussion surrounding succession planning for the Fetlar ferry  Housing – there are a number of void SIC housing properties on the island, explore how they could be utilised and linked in with transport and jobs in order to increase the population

Mr Grant advised that work on running fibre cables to Unst and Yell had begun with short microwave links being put up to cross Yell and Bluemull Sound which should see greatly improved broadband coverage in the . It is then hoped, the SIC’s, ICT Dept will then replace the current microwave link that serves Fetlar (this link currently goes from Sellaness to Fetlar which is a fairly long route) and once the fibre gets to Yell, they can then build a new microwave link from Yell to Fetlar which is fairly close and so should improve the band-width and possibly the reliability.

Mr Grant also advised that the “essy” carts had been gathering evidence on “not spots” which would be very useful in ascertaining and gathering information on areas in Shetland with no/poor mobile coverage for future development.

Ms Perring had forwarded on the Scottish Governments - The Proposed National Islands Plan which was made available at the Meeting.

Action – Ms Browne to forward on the Consultation Document to the Clerk for circulating to residents so that those who couldn't manage to come along to the Meeting have the opportunity to forward on any comments or any additional points alongside details of waste collection and options for bulky waste removal when that is clarified.

4.2 Locality Planning – North Isles and Shetland Partnership Plan (4.3/12/19) An update had been received in August 2019 which recalled meetings during the development of Shetland’s Partnership (SP) Plan 2018-28 in February and March 2018 to gather views on the draft Plan. During those conversations the content and direction of the Plan had been discussed. Since SP’s Plan was signed-off in summer 2018, SP had been working as a Partnership to develop the key projects and activities that were felt would begin to improve outcomes as identified in the Plan in the short to medium- term. This led to the development of a number of resources that had set out how partners would support delivery of Shetland’s Partnership Plan over the next three-years and beyond.

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4. ONGOING BUSINESS 4.2 Locality Planning – North Isles and Shetland Partnership Plan (4.3/12/19) The SP Delivery Plan 2019-22 provides a high-level summary of the partnership projects that will be delivered over the next three years which is supported by a set of Project Charters, which offer further detail on the projects and will be kept live and updated as work progresses.

The Outcomes Improvement Framework will set out how the SP will support the delivery of improved outcomes in Shetland, how progress will be monitored and reported to communities and partners. The framework also describes how the SP structures and processes to support and uphold effective community planning. These resources are designed to change and improve over time through learning and feedback from partners and communities, with the Annual Report published by the end of September and circulated thereafter.

Ms Browne advised this work was still ongoing and it is hoped a further update will be provided later in the year. Members agreed to therefore defer this Agenda item for the time being.

4.3 Energy Isles Statkraft (4.4/12/19) A Meeting had previously taken place with the 5 development groups in the North Isles which had agreed that Unst Partnership (UP) would be the community body who would proceed with a bid for the Enablement Grant for a study into Shared Ownership in the EIS project for the time being. All North Isles Community Councils had been asked if they would be willing to send letters of support for the application and FCC had offered their support for an enablement grant to cover legal and financial advice at the stage of the initial investigations previously. A press release had been received in early October announcing that Statkraft UK had been chosen as a development partner to help progress the project. The full planning application had been submitted, which if successful, should see the project delivered by 2026.

The November Meeting of the Community Liaison Group (CLG) had discussed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) and a draft MOU had been circulated for comment and feedback. The MOU is a brief document confirming the intention of Statkraft to deliver £5,000 per MW installed in line with the Scottish Government’s best practice guidance. It is hoped that the MOU will establish trust within the North Isles and provide assurance that Statkraft are committed to the original intentions to the project to deliver a Community Benefit fund.

The CLG had also discussed a letter from the Shetland Community Benefit Fund enquiring about the community benefit proposals for the scheme. The Meeting had agreed that the CLG would decide how the fund is distributed and the area of benefit that has always been discussed is within the North Isles. The SCBF were asking for it to be distributed through the whole of Shetland. The CLG are to discuss the letter and discuss within their Community Councils with a response to be agreed.

Action – Clerk to advise that FCC feels the community benefit proposals for the scheme should be distributed Shetland wide, with consideration given to working out the distribution of such funds, rather than for example, being calculated on the basis of population for each area.

4.4 Shetland Community Benefit Fund (4.5/12/19) Chris Bunyan, Shetland Community Benefit Fund (SCBF) had previously provided background information relating to the SCBF and had asked what the priorities would be/is targeted with the funds the SCBF would receive if the Viking Wind Farm goes ahead. Correspondence and Minutes of SCBF Meetings held on the 22nd January and 19th February had been circulated in between Meetings alongside details of the next Meeting planned for 25th March.

SCBF had also circulated proposed changes to current rules for further consideration along with details of the SCBF website which has been launched in an initial attempt to publicise its work and will be improved and added to as resources become available.

SCBF had asked in early February if FCC would consider nominating a Director to the SCBF. If Viking goes ahead, SCBF will need to make some important decisions fairly quickly and they had advised it would be good if each Community Council was able to play a full part in making those decisions. 4

4. ONGOING BUSINESS 4.4 Shetland Community Benefit Fund (4.5/12/19) SCBF had also offered to look at alternatives for remote meeting, such as Skype with video conferencing not always available at their end or as an alternative an existing Director could provide updates following Meetings.

Members opted not to have a Director or observer on the SCBF, mainly owing to work commitments, distance and the time involved. It was also felt that regular updates are sent out following Meetings and any feedback or comments needed from FCC can be forwarded onto SCBF.

Action – Clerk to advise SCBF accordingly.

4.5 Fetlar Webcam (4.6/12/19) Andy Steven, Shetland Webcams had met with FCC in September to explore ways in which the existing Fetlar webcam could be replaced with a full high definition stream, with due consideration of costs and ways in which the camera could be developed to fully promote the community further. Mr Steven had put together an extensive proposal for discussion on options of who could support the replacement and ongoing running costs via a sponsorship/advertising model: https://www.icloud.com/iclouddrive/0ykb6xLrVDoewbbDhEb-p- 4MA#Shetland_Webcams_Sponsorship_Opportunity_-_Fetlar_Community_-_LowRes

Members had unanimously agreed on the positive benefits of having the Fetlar webcam and the Clerk had circulated details of the above, inviting either a local sole sponsor or a few different local businesses to get in touch who may be interested in advertising and supporting the running costs. No response had been received from within the community and a grant application had therefore been submitted to Cooke Aquaculture for financial assistance towards the project, which unfortunately was unsuccessful.

Action – Clerk to contact Maurice Henderson, SIC Development for any suggestions on how a new webcam for Fetlar could be funded.

4.6 Cooke Aquaculture – New Sites – Wick of Gruting (4.7/12/19) Suggestions and points which had been made at the Isles event held in September, had included a desire for Fetlar based employment opportunities at the new site proposed for the Wick of Gruting. Councillor Priest had approached Cooke Aquaculture following the event about the potential for the proposed new site being operated from the isle. Cooke had advised him in October, that they were not at the stage of detailed planning of how the site could be serviced and were focusing on getting the site approved, however, had provided assurance that they would be looking into what was required to base operations on the isle. Nothing further to report.

4.7 RSPB – new hide and works planned – Mires of Funzie (8.1/12/19) Kevin Kelly, Shetland Sites Manager and Martha Thomson, RSPB had attended the December Meeting to discuss the new hide and works proposed for the Mires of Funzie. The proposals should see the site restored to a lower level, with spoil offsite and a more varied structure to the edges of increased open water areas, which the RPSB feel will be more attractive to red-necked phalaropes in addition to making the site easier to graze for the future to maintain the site in ideal condition. There are also proposals for replacement of the existing bird hid at the Mires of Funzie, with current plans preliminary and dependent on budget and internal funding. Mr Kelly agreed to forward on details of the proposals to the Clerk for sharing with the community and seeking their views and comments on the plans.

Mr Kelly had advised earlier in February that planning permission had been granted for the Mires of Funzie with work progressing and that they were still awaiting an outcome on the planning for the Hide.

Action – Clerk to contact Mr Kelly following an enquiry about whether there would be any wardens during the summer this year out-with the newly appointed warden.

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4. ONGOING BUSINESS 4.8 Ferries – booking issues (8.2/12/19) Ferry users had raised ongoing issues with getting booked (even well in advance) on the 0755 ferry from Hamars Ness via Belmont at 0825hrs to . It had been noted that Unst traffic can catch either the 0800, 0825 or 0840hrs, with the main issues getting booked being from Belmont at 0825hrs in the morning. Ferry users are encouraged to book well in advance and had also been made aware that the online booking system may show as no available sailing from Hamars Ness at 0755hrs, however, if booked separate, ie, Hamars Ness to Belmont and then another booking from Belmont to Gutcher at least gets you to Belmont.

SIC Ferries had been contacted to see if there was any way in overcoming this and what capacity there is on the Bigga/if this could be worked around in any way to alleviate ongoing booking issues. Fiona Farquhar, SIC Ferries had advised that they had met with Transport Planning and operationally the current timetable does not allow any capacity to fit in extra runs and that they were also aware of the previous system where Fetlar residents were given priority and acknowledged this is not available within the online bookings system. SIC Ferries are going to monitor the bookings and traffic on the 0755 and the 0825 over the next period and will then review to see if a solution can be found. Members agreed this item could be taken off the Agenda for the time being.

Yell Community Council had met with SIC Ferries at Sellaness recently and Members felt it would be beneficial if there are any future meetings that all 3 North Isles to meet if possible.

Action – Clerk to contact SIC Ferries regarding this and ask if the Minutes of this Meeting could be shared with FCC.

4.9 Royal Mail – Sorting Office (8.3/12/19) Members had been made aware at the December Meeting that the Post Office Sorting Office is to close on the island. Royal Mail had been contacted and Bruce Crossan had confirmed earlier in February that his understanding was the issue had been resolved. Mr Crossan had provided assurance that Royal Mail are continuing to deliver six days a week in Fetlar and collect mail from the box and Post Office, with no service changes proposed. Members agreed the item could therefore be taken off the Agenda.

4.10 Active Travel Strategy – Development of Paths & Cycle Lanes (Deferred item 6.7/2/19) Robina Barton Transport Policy and Projects Officer, SIC Transport Planning had provided an update in between Meetings. Previously, SIC Community Development Officers had worked with Community Councils to compile a list of desirable pathways in their area. SIC Roads were involved for technical input, with the following areas highlighted for Fetlar:

 Stakkafletts to Fetlar Primary  Stakkafletts to Fetlar Shop/Post Office (which would also cover/include the Surgery/Clinic)  Kirk gate to the entrance door of the Kirk

In 2019 ZetTrans secured funding from Sustrans to appoint consultants to develop an Active Travel Strategy and Action Plan for Shetland. Consultants were then appointed to develop the strategy and began work in October 2019. Work to date has included mapping all the routes proposed by Community Councils to allow them to be referenced against other spatial and transport data to see connections. Public Engagement on the strategy is to be held across 2 long weekends in March (6-9 March and 13-17 March) with stakeholder workshops, drop-in events and walkabouts taking place in Lerwick, Sandwick, Brae, and . Additional to this Active Travel specific engagement, a second round of Area Transport Forums will be taking place throughout March.

It is hoped the Active Travel Strategy and Action Plan will be completed at the end of May 2020 and a period of public consultation will then follow on the draft before approval is sought from the ZetTrans Board and SIC Elected Members. It is intended that this will provide a template for future development by prioritising activities and highlighting funding opportunities. Owing to time restrictions at the Meeting, Elaine Park offered to come back to the next CC Meeting to discuss this further with Members if needed.

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5. FINANCE and ADMINISTRATION 5.1 Financial update, core funding and administration The Clerk summarised FCC’s current restricted funds as circulated via e-mail in between Meetings - FCC’s Core Running budget, Community Development Fund (CDF) and Seaside Award (SA) funds were discussed in detail.

The following invoices were approved for payment: Bridgette Thomason – Clerk’s wages – Jan & Feb - 40hrs - £540.40 (fps) Bridgette Thomason – Quarterly telephone & internet allowance – Oct, Nov & Dec - £30 (fps) Voluntary Action Shetland – 2020 Membership - £25.00 (fps) Bridgette Thomason – Out of pocket expenses – Norton Internet Security - £89.99 (fps)

The Employers Liability Certificate for 2019/2020 had been forwarded by the ASCC.

The ASCC had also provided a draft Community Council Complaints Procedure which is due to be considered at the ASCC Meeting on the 10th March. The ASCC had requested any feedback/comments by the end of February and once finalised training will be available for CC’s and Clerks to attend.

The ASCC had requested sight of all CC grant application forms so that they can be reviewed in line with GDPR legislation to ensure compliance by all CC’s. The Clerk confirmed FCC’s grant application form had been sent to the ASCC.

5.2 Keep Beautiful – Seaside Award Jamie Ormiston, Keep Scotland Beautiful had provided an update following the Beach Managers Forum held earlier in December. In summary, the new award is splitting into two separate awards - the Sea Award and the Sand Award. The Sea Award is similar to the old ‘Resort Seaside Award’ and will only be open to designated bathing water sites. The Sand Award is more in line with the old ‘Rural Seaside Award’ and is open to sites which are not designated as bathing waters.

The Tresta Beach Assessment visit had taken place in mid-June 2019. Although the assessor found the beach to be clean and generally well-looked after, three minor non-compliance issues were identified during the assessment with regard to information provision, overgrown grass at the life buoys and overflowing litter bins. It had also been highlighted that access onto the beach itself had been a little tricky from the grassy shelf and that safe access to the beach award area should be provided for all so far as reasonably practicable/safe. The assessment had highlighted a longer term action to review access down to the beach/install steps or boardwalk access and to include displays of local events, promotion of local involvement through beach cleans or other activities within the notice board.

Members agreed not to apply for the award this year owing to budgetary constraints.

Action – Clerk to advise Keep Scotland Beautiful accordingly.

5.3 ASCC Meeting – 10th March 2020 The ASCC had requested Agenda items prior to the ASCC March meeting and following the September meeting it had been agreed to invite representatives of Scottish Ambulance Service to the next meeting to provide an update on defibrillators. Grass cutting in Burial Grounds along with the new Community Council Complaints Procedure and an update on the Active Travel project are also to be discussed.

Apologies had been forwarded from FCC as no one was able to attend on this occasion.

5.4 Da Voar Redd Up 2020 Shetland Amenity Trust had forwarded on the 2019 Voar Redd Up participation information and Fetlar Primary School had been contacted to submit the survey forms. Plans are progressing for the 2020 Redd Up, with details to follow from SAT in due course.

5.5 Community Ferry Hires 2020 SIC Ferries had confirmed FCC’s community late hire allocation of 4 crossings on Bluemull Sound & 4 crossings on for 2020/2021.

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6. CORRESPONDENCE 6.1 Marine Planning – Consultation – Draft Sectoral Marine Plan 6.2 National Planning Framework 4 – Early Engagement 6.3 – Burial Ground Memorial Inspections 6.4 Shetland Islands Regional Marine Plan – Consultation 6.5 NHS Health Scotland – Webinar – How Can Place Best Support Scotland’s Health and Wellbeing? 6.6 Shetland Islands Council – Community Payback Unpaid Work Team 6.7 Shetland Islands Council – Developers Workshop Nov 2019 Summary 6.8 Planning Applications: 2019/362/PPF – Planning Applications – Mires of Funzie Bird habitat management maintenance and improvement works 2020/010/PPF – Planning Applications – Mires of Funzie Demolition of existing bird hide and erect new modern bird hide in same location 2019/362/DCON1 – Planning Applications – Mires of Funzie To discharge conditions 4 – Archaeological des-based assessment and walk-over survey 2019/012/MAR – Planning Applications – Wick of Gruting To develop a new Atlantic Salmon Farm comprising 12 x 120m-circumference cages and a 10m- diameter c-cap feed barge

All other correspondence had been circulated in between Meetings.

7. ANY OTHER BUSINESS 7.1 Shetland Islands Council – Surface Dressing, Re-Surfacing & Reconstruction Programme There are no proposed improvements within the resurfacing or reconstruction programme for 2020-2021 for Fetlar. The proposed surface dressing programme noted work to be undertaken from the Velzie/Northdale junction to past the Stanesgord quarry/nearing Houbie grid.

8. MEETING DATES Proposed Meeting dates for 2020 as follows:

 Tuesday, 7th April at 7.30pm  Tuesday, 19th May at 7.30pm  Tuesday, 30th June at 7.30pm  Tuesday, 11th August at 7.30pm  Tuesday, 22nd September at 7.30pm  Tuesday, 6th October at 7.30pm  Tuesday, 15th December at 7.30pm

The Chairman thanked everyone for attending and since there was no further business the Meeting was brought to a close.

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