GREENLAW & HUME COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of the Meeting Held on Monday 20th April 2015 at Fairbairn Hall .

Website : http://greenlawandhumecc.btck.co.uk/

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Greenlaw-and-Hume-Community-Council

Chairman: Gerry McCann. 7 The Avenue, Greenlaw, TD10 6XB. Tel 01361 810334 E-mail: [email protected]

Attendance/Apologies.

Jim Barnett, Neil Butterworth, Ian Caldwell, Pippa Culham, Gerry McCann (Chair), Libby Paterson Atkin, Hazel Paxton (Secretary), Carol Trotter, Elizabeth Nicholls, six members of the public. Chris Perkins, Community Liaison Manager Ecotricity.

Apologies

Cllrs Frances Renton and Donald .

Declaration of Interests.

None declared.

Minutes of Previous Meeting.

The minutes of the meeting held on 9th March were approved. (LPA, NB).

Matters Arising.

 Unsafe tree near Mansfield, East High Street, SBC have inspected it but no feedback as yet.  Bicycle rack, following a recent meeting with SBC GM reported back that possible locations have been identified, near telephone kiosk or at the Town Hall. SBC are happy to fund the cycle rack and the installation.

Police Matters

 Police Report was circulated prior to the meeting and is available to view on the CC website.  Police liaison group met with Pc Jacobs on 8th April, issues discussed included speeding and parking.  JB is no longer involved with the liaison group due to other CC commitments; therefore there is a space if anyone wishes to be part of the group.  One issue to be resolved with regards is the SBC/Police accountabilities in this area.  The Police can support Resilient Communities Planning.

 Again it was reiterated the importance of reporting anything to the Police. If it is not reported to the Police then the Police are unaware and cannot do anything.  Concern raised about commercial vehicles parking at the top of the green leaving no parking spaces for elderly church users and those who aren’t able to walk too far. - GM.

Presentation by Ecotricity.

Chris Perkins Community Liaison Manager for Ecotricity gave a fifteen minute presentation followed by questions on the proposed Inch Moor Wind Park.

Chris gave a brief introduction about the company which was founded in 1996 and outlined the planning proposal for Inch Moor. Up to 18 wind turbines up to 130m high. Chris explained that the planning application will be submitted to Scottish Government in June this year, once the application is verified it will become a live application with the standard consultation period. Ecotricty will then hold two public consultations. Details about the proposed wind farm can be found at the following http://www.ecotricity.co.uk/our-green-energy/our-green-electricity/from-the-wind/wind- parks-gallery/inch-moor-near-duns

Following questions regarding the proposal, Chris discussed that they would like to set up two groups.

 A community liaison group with members from the four Community Councils( Greenlaw &Hume, Gordon&, , Elmford&, Fogo, &Polwarth) and any stakeholders each CC would like to nominate.

 A community Benefits steering group with the idea that the community benefit money, (£5000/MW approx. £250,000/yr) will be used for sustainable projects.

Concern raised about discussing community benefits prior to the planning application being submitted. Chris was thanked for his presentation.

Councillors’ Report

Report received from Cllr Renton via email. 1. Pot holes on the Greenlaw to Hume road - Reported to the roads if this needs followed up let me know. 2. Ownership of the land at the Bridge - SBC own it 3. Fly tipping at the recycling centre - Reported to Darren 4. Manhole in Wester Row- Reported, now been patched. 5. The various lights that were out- Reported to the lighting Dept. 6. The light in the clock - the church is responsible 7. Bus Spot at the top of Duns Road - SBC traffic engineers have looked at the location and are of the opinion that vehicles from Duns would have insufficient visibility of any cars overtaking a stationery bus. It is therefore not possible to support the proposed erection of a bus stop at this location.

Projects.

Resilient Communities – PC, coordinator, is attending a meeting at SBC in May with regards to the initial stages of the initiative. PC has two deputies for Greenlaw and is looking for volunteers for deputies in Hume area.

Open Spaces – the Floral Gateway competition form has been passed to Ian Archibald to complete. Any queries regarding pots/plants and Floral Gateway to contact Ian. Two benches have been placed along Haliburton Road. The majority of time has been spent tidying up WS Happer Memorial Park. JB, IA, IC and all volunteers were complimented for their work at the Park, it was agreed that they have made an impressively positive difference to the Park.

Community Office Space – Due to some issues the lease terms have not yet been agreed. It is hoped the lease will be agreed by June.

It was asked if the signs on the green can be temporarily removed during the Festival weekend. – GM It was remarked about how unsightly the signs look and questioned as to why two are needed.

WS Happer Memorial Park – the sub group had their first meeting last week, a copy of minutes attached. JB and HP met with Hugh Chalmers of Tweed Forum to look at the river bank erosion. It will cost a lot of money to carry out any major works; it was suggested and agreed that as there is no immediate need to carry out major works a simple solution is to plant willow along the river edge on the Park side.

The sub group will meet with Jean Robertson project and funding officer SBC, on Friday 24th April to discuss possible feasible projects and funding.

Hume Core Path – an initial meeting has not been set up yet.

Planning Applications. None.

Any Other Business.

 Helen Bradd had tendered her resignation which leaves two vacant seats for Greenlaw. Maureen Chalmers intimated an interest in becoming a member. Agreed to put on agenda for next meeting. Anyone interested in becoming a member for Greenlaw are invited to contact the CC, details above.  Concern raised about the safety of people with mobility difficulties having to cross the road at the East end of East High Street especially with the current traffic issues.  Parking issues at the top end of Church Hill, asked if it possible to have marked parking spaces.  Public Access Defibrillator Scheme to be discussed at next meeting.

 HP forgot to place the previous minutes on Hume notice board, sincere apologies to all.  It was noted that the black box is in situ, but not located where it had been requested and no one had been notified. A traffic issues single plan needs to be implemented for all agencies.  The Community Councils’ Forum meeting is on 30th April, minutes and agenda circulated, GM will attend.  It was also noted that BCCF holds a Small Lotteries Licence and as members of BCCF the CC can use the licence to hold a Prize Draw, lottery, or similar provided BCCF is informed of the date of the draw.

Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on Monday 18th May at 7pm in Blackadder Social Club.