Minutes of the Braemar Community Council meeting held on Monday 17th August 2015 at Braemar Primary School at 7.30pm.

SEDERUNT: Councillors: Mrs Carole Paterson, Mrs Joanne Morris, Alasdair Colquhoun, Michael Holley and Mrs Caroline Hadley Smith. Also Cllr. Katrina Farquhar and Cllr. Geva Blackett.

In attendance: Brian Wood (CNPA), Laura McMeekin (Braemar castle), Julian Fennema (BTG), Angus McNicol (Invercauld Estate), Susan McGregor (Community Learning & Development) and twelve members of the public.

APOLOGIES: Mrs Selena Hill, Mrs Sue Sherrard, John Torrance, Graeme Mitchell and Nick Mardell.

MINUTES FROM THE MEETING HELD 15th June 2015:

The minutes were approved. Proposed by Caroline Hadley Smith and seconded by Michael Holley.

MATTERS ARISING FROM THE MINUTES OF THE MEETING OF 15th June:

Community Action Plan: A copy of the report done by the Small Communities Trust has now been given to Alasdair Colquhoun. If anyone would like to look at it please speak to Alasdair.

Coach Park across from the Fife: Carole Paterson is waiting for Aberdeenshire Council to come back to her. Cllr. Blackett will try and find out.

Alex Finlay, Invercauld House Artist: Carole Paterson informed the meeting she was going to invite him to come along to one of the BCC meetings to tell us about some of his ideas for signage in the village.

Cobbles outside the Pharmacy: Carole Paterson has spoken to the Roads Dept. at Aberdeenshire Council. They will inspect the cobbles and if they feel they are unsafe they will tar over the area.

Clunie Bridge: Carole Paterson has received an email from Graham Lee in the Roads Dept. He confirmed it was not a case of just painting the bridge. He confirmed that it had been budgeted to be repaired in 2016.

SUSAN MCGREGOR (SENIOR COMMUNITY LEARNING AND DEVELOPMENT OFFICER):

Susan McGregor introduced herself to the meeting. She explained that she is new to the area and wanted to come along and introduce herself. She advised the meeting that her role is to support and work with young people and adults in order to improve their life chances. She is currently involved with developing the Marr Area Youth Action Plan and would be keen to hear the views of 12 – 25 year olds. She also was keen to sit in the meeting tonight to find out about the issues Braemar Community is facing.

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POLICE:

PC Hall was not present at the meeting. Carole Paterson advised the meeting that someone had called at a holiday cottage on Chapel Brae saying they wanted to put a new phone line in the property. The property already had a phone line and the person was not allowed in. BT confirmed that they did not send out an engineer. The Police have been informed.

REPORT FROM BRAEMAR COMMUNITY LTD:

Laura Mc Meekin reported:

Corriemulzie Hydro Scheme: This is now fully subscribed which is excellent news and building work can now begin.

Braemar Castle: The visitor numbers for this season so far is 7,131 compared to 5,920 for the whole of 2014 season. The Jacobite weekend was a great success. Work is continuing on the conservation plan and the good news is that only one thing has been categorised as Category A (urgent). Work is also continuing with archiving items.

Auchtavan: There is a Land rover Safari and BBQ at Auchtavan on Friday 21st August. There will also be an Open Day on Sunday 23rd August and the “Lost” exhibition which was previously on display at the Castle will be on display in what was the Queen Mother’s House at Auchtavan.

Outdoor Access Group: As a result of the Community Action Plan a group of 11 people have come forward as being interested in forming an Outdoor Access Group led by one of the BCL directors, Rea Turner.

St. Margaret’s: Two events have been held since the last BCC meeting; a Jacobite concert featuring Sheena Wellington and Paul Anderson and a performance by AIYF Kiryat Ono Youth Band from Israel. Also a public information/consultation day was held on the development of the project. Sixty people came along to hear about the final Jura report and talk to members of the design team. Feedback from all these events was overwhelmingly positive and encouraging.

On Sunday 6 Sept Paul Mealor will again bring the Aberdeen University choir to St Margaret’s for a cabaret style performance. This event will be recorded and broadcast by Classic FM.

On Friday 18th Sept they are hoping to hold their first Schools’ Choral Festival.

On 19th and 20th September there will be a “Doors Open Day” with tours of the tower and boards illustrating the proposed developments.

PROJECT UPDATES:

Braemar Play Park: Joanne Morris advised the meeting that the play park committee is still awaiting draft plans from one of the three companies. The committee has also applied for a community prize of £25,000 being offered by Crerer Hotels but it will be several months before they know the outcome of the application. Joanne also met with Angus McNicol from Invercauld Estate to discuss the options for disabled parking.

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REPORTS FROM REPRESENTATIVES OF OTHER GROUP:

Nothing to report.

REPORT FROM C.A.P:

Unfortunately Mr Geddes was not in attendance as he had another meeting this evening.

REPORT FROM CNPA:

Cllr. Farquhar advised the meeting that the “Scenic Route Layby” competition has now been reopened and hopefully this time there will be a successful winning design. The CNPA has a new convener, Cllr Peter Argyle. The Cairngorms Leader will be launched at the Lecht on 16th Sept at 3pm. Also the meeting of the Association of Cairngorm Communities will be held between 12.45 and 2.45pm.

REPORTS FROM ABERDEENSHIRE COUNCILLORS:

Cllr. Farquhar advised the meeting that there had been changes in the bus services. (Please see attached revised timetables).

Cllr. Blackett advised the meeting that Aberdeenshire Council now has a new administration. Currently councillors are working within the various policy groups. At the end of next week they will all meet together and will have to look at cost cutting measures. Cllr. Blackett advised that she had been very forth right about the need for low cost local housing.

PLANNING:

APP/2015/2063: Craigellachie, 4 Chapel Brae. Extension to dwelling house. No objections raised.

APP/2015/2223: Land to the west of Braeview, Braemar. Change of use from Agricultural to Domestic garden ground and formation of parking area. Alasdair Colquhoun commented that he was unsure about natural land being artificially landscaped, but was prepared to go with the majority. Nobody else had any objections.

APP/2015/2253: Darnaway, Castleton Place, Braemar. Alterations & extension to dwelling house. No objections raised.

APP/2015/1962: Plot 7, Middleton of Canmore. Change of house type. No objections raised.

APP/2015/2336: River Dee, Mar Lodge. Removal of waste and reprofiling of 90m of river bank. No objections raised.

APP/2015/2492: Siting of composting toilet to serve existing fishing hut at Crathie. No objections raised.

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VILLAGE SIGNAGE:

It was agreed that the signs in the village need moving, cleaning and updating. Also the signage in the car park needs to be clearer; showing clearly the entrance and exit. Cllr. Farquhar passed around some photos she had taken of the existing signs for the Council members to put their comments/suggestions on. She will then liaise with the roads department.

FIFE ARMS:

Carole Paterson was pleased to report that the weeds outside the Fife had now been cleared and the outside was looking much better. Highland Hospitality Ltd have confirmed that they will put placards in the windows of the Fife depicting the history of the Fife Arms and Braemar.

SPEED MONITOR:

The speed monitor in the village was installed by the Police as part of a speed monitoring initiative. The monitor has now been taken down.

GLASS RECYCLING:

Carole Paterson has met up with Gavin Forrest (Recycling – Aberdeenshire Council) to discuss extra glass recycling bins. We can get extra but we would have to have 3 (brown/green & clear). Carole Paterson asked for suggestions where to put them. It was suggested to place them by the side of the Co-op on Fife Brae, by the side of the Mews in the coach park or by the Mews near to the telephone box. Carole also asked Gavin if it was possible for the skip that goes to Ballater to come to Braemar, maybe once a month. Gavin agreed to put our case forward.

REPORT FROM ANGUS MCNICOL (INVERCAULD ESTATE):

Strachan’s building: The Open Evening to explain the plans to convert the building into a pub went well. The Estate has had costings done and are looking to put in planning /licensing applications as soon as possible. Angus McNicol also advised the meeting that Tony & Debbie Gaze, who are planning to lease the building, are going to put a marquee in the back garden of Strachan’s for 3 days over the games weekend. They have got an alcohol licence for this. Hazel Pirie who cleans the public toilets in the car park asked what provision Tony and Debbie Gaze have made for toilets for their customers over the Games weekend. She advised that the toilets had been over used this year and as a result were repeatedly needing repairing. Angus will speak to Mr & Mrs Gaze about this matter.

Balnellan Lane: Angus advised that he visited Balnellan Lane earlier today to look at the state of the road. The road is owned by Invercauld Estate and is used quite heavily by the public travelling between Balnellan Estate and Glenshee Road. The street lights on Balnellan Lane were installed by Aberdeenshire Council, but Aberdeenshire Council refuse to adopt the road in its current state. Cllr. Blackett advised that the Lane needs to be made to an adopted road standard before Aberdeenshire Council will take responsibility for it. Cllr. Blackett asked Angus McNicol if the Estate would be

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prepared to put the road into an adoptable standard. Angus thought not. Cllr. Blackett suggested a meeting between Invercauld Estate and Aberdeenshire Council and agreed to facilitate this.

Litter on side of the Golf Club Road: Carole Paterson advised that she had noticed a lot of rubbish left behind by campers on the side on the Golf Club Road. Michael Holley confirmed that this was a regular occurrence. Carole suggested that we arrange for litter bins to be placed along the roadside. Joanne Morris was not in favour of this as she felt it sent out the wrong signals to campers. They should take their rubbish home with them. She advised that for many years Invercauld Estate had been trying to discourage wild camping along the Clunie and this move would encourage it. It was agreed by the Council members that they would ask Neil Middleton to collect the rubbish.

VILLAGE PLANTS:

Caroline Hadley Smith agreed to take over organising the village plants and is hoping to involve the village school children. Joanne Morris to email her the order form which needs to be completed by the end of September.

VILLAGE DEFIBRILLATOR:

Cllr. Farquhar advised that Braemar is the only village in Deeside without a public defibrillator and wondered if we wanted to fund raise to purchase one, it would cost approx. £1200.00. We have received a donation towards the cost and Cllr. Farquhar is waiting to find out how much. Carole Paterson thought that the Highland Society wanted to give a donation towards the cost.

BALLATER- BLAIRGOWRIE BUS:

This service finished yesterday (16th Aug). Carole Paterson is to meet with Steve Walker, the MD of Stagecoach, and hopefully someone from Blairgowrie side of the hill, about the future of the service.

DRAINAGE (DARNAWAY):

Carole Paterson met with Sandy Grant from Aberdeenshire Council to check Charlie Denny’s drainage in his garden. Sandy agreed that should Mr Denny have a problem with the drainage pipe overflowing in his garden he will send someone to sort it. Whilst there Carole Paterson checked the play park and found the ground to be dry.

VILLAGE FLAGS:

The village flags are needing replacing at a cost of £453.46. Alasdair Colquhoun confirmed that BCC will pay for the replacements. Carole Paterson to ask Braemar Tourism Group if they wish to contribute.

POST OFFICE:

Carole Paterson is to meet with Linda Bonner from the Post Office, a date has yet to be decided.

CORRESPONDENCE:

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Email received 23rd July 2015 from THINC, an organisation which provides advice for residents in Grampian on the transport options available to them for Health and Social Care appointments. Joanne Morris will put up a poster in the Doctors surgery and the village notice board.

Letter received from Burness Paull solicitors dated 25th June 2015, regarding ” Lilybank” owned by Mr & Mrs Robertson. The solicitor, John Strachan, who wrote the letter was present at the meeting. At the request of the solicitor Carole Paterson read out the letter to the meeting. She then advised the meeting that as lawyers were now involved the Community Council members were unable to comment. AMENDMENT: Mr Strachan asked the Community Council if they now considered the matters referred to in the letter to be something that was to be solely resolved between his clients, Mr & Mrs Robertson, and Mr Nicolson of Mar Estate. Mrs Paterson confirmed that this was the case.

Email received 17th Aug 2015 with the dates of the Marr Community Ward Forums.

Letter received from Lesley Taylor, a resident of the new Springfield Housing development. Her house backs onto the Invercauld caravan site and she was not happy with the rubble/grass cuttings which had been piled up against her fence. Carole Paterson asked Angus Mc Nicol to liaise directly with Lesley and he agreed to arrange a meeting with her at her house to assess the problem.

AOCB:

Carole Paterson: Carole explained about the “wee blether” poster, which is a group meeting in Ballater on 25th August, aimed at helping/discussing drug/alcohol related issues.

Carole also suggested that the village holds a competition for the best dressed window display for the Games weekend with the theme of the Gathering. A trophy has been donated for the winner. The other BCC members felt it was a bit short notice to think of something.

Joanne Morris: Joanne updated the members on the stone bench which Miss Boyd’s family are wanting to erect in the banking overlooking the Dee on the Linn of Dee Road. Joanne Has told Miss Boyd’s niece that she will have to get permission from the Land Owner, in this case Mark Nicholson. Joanne has had another enquiry about a bench on Creag Choinnich and the relative concerned is going to get in touch with Angus Mc Nicol.

Caroline Hadley Smith: Caroline had been researching the possibility of faster broadband coming to Braemar. She advised that if you are connected to an exchange, as Braemar is, then you wouldn’t get the benefit of faster speeds. In order to get faster speeds it would need to be done as a Community Led Project. Cllr. Farquhar offered to look into this and Angus McNicol said he would speak to the new Chair of the Cairngorm Business Partnership, Mark Tait.

Caroline also wanted to mention the fact that parking, particularly as you enter the village from the A93, was becoming a real problem as cars were parked on both sides of the road thus blocking the flow of traffic. One suggestion was for yellow lines on the side of the road. It was agreed to put this on the agenda for the next meeting.

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Michael Holley: Michael wanted to voice a concern from a village resident, Davy Donald, about the lack of dog waste bins along Clunie Bank Road. Apparently dog walkers have been putting their dog waste directly into his wheelie bins. Also Michael mentioned the fact that the dog waste bin on the Society Bridge was full and overflowing. Carole Paterson will speak to Neil Middleton about this.

Alasdair Colquhoun: Alasdair wanted to point out that the footpath around the river has only had one cut this year, last year it had three cuts. He wanted to find out if COAT had anything left in their budget to give it another cut.

Also Alasdair wanted to advise that someone had been tipping grass cuttings on the grass verge along the Linn of Dee Road. He has advised the police.

Date of next meeting: Monday 19th October 2015.

Meeting closed at 9.20pm.

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