INVERKEITHING AREA

NEWSLETTER Spring 2013 SNP Councillor Alice McGarry Ward 6 Inverkeithing, Dalgety Bay, Aberdour and Hillend Shirley Currie I was greatly saddened by the recent death of Shirley Currie, Vice Chairman of Inverkeithing Community Council.

To itemise all the things she did for the Town over 3 decades would take up the whole of this Newsletter but, briefly, Shirley was a mainstay of the Community Council, the Local History Society and Concern for the Aged and was the initiator of many other projects for the good of Inverkeithing such as floral enhancement, environment groups, the cannon, the doves, Doors Open Day, the Wildflower Garden etc. etc. Over the years, she also raised many thousands of pounds for the Poppy Appeal.

Shirley gave of her time and effort willingly and without expectation of reward and she will be very much missed about the Town. Rest in Peace. Roods Square There is very little progress to report on the plans to organise the parking in the centre of the Square to allow better access for bin uplifts and emergency vehicles and increase parking etc. Unfortunately, this is still at the pre planning stage and we are waiting for drawings to be produced. Thereafter, costings will be sought and a source of funding will need to be identified. I appreciate the frustrations of the residents in the street about the ongoing delays with this project and am pressing for action. Inverkeithing Harbour and Ballast Bank I continue to press the Council to upgrade the Harbour area and make it less of an eyesore. The Council will be speaking to the owners of the yard and also to the Boat Club in an effort to address these issues. If anyone knows who is on the Committee of the Boat Club please let me know.

Following a campaign by local youngsters who use the skate-park at the Ballast Bank, this is to be upgraded and funding is being sought for the £70k makeover. The Area Committee has already given a substantial sum and requests are being made to other funding sources.

Hillfield Swifts are seeking funding for their new changing facilities which will be sited near to the Harbour and the Area Budget and the Common Good Fund will be assisting. Caldwell’s Paper Mill Now that the Mill has been demolished and cleared, it easy to see the size of the site and its potential for residential development. I understand the site is currently up for sale.

Land at Spencerfield Residents will be aware that a planning application has been submitted for around 450 houses on land at Spencerfield and that a public meeting to discuss this and also the proposed new Fife Development Plan was held in the Civic Centre recently. At some point the planning application will come before a Council Planning Committee for decision. Presently the application is contrary to the current Dunfermline and West Fife Development Plan. Old Primary School and the Library It is frustrating to see these prominent buildings standing empty and derelict.

The last I heard in relation to the school was that the owners intended to ask if it would be possible to demolish the buildings rather than convert them. With regard to the Library and Johnston Hall, the Council has been negotiating a lease of this building to an individual for at least a year. There is no indication as to when this interminable process will be concluded.

1 Police Non Emergency Contact Number Just recently, the Scottish Government agreed the use of 101 as a non emergency telephone number which can be used anywhere in Scotland. In emergency, 999 should always be used. Back o Yards The steps at Back o Yards continue to cause problems and progress to have these upgraded has been slow. The main issue has been the communal ownership of some of the flights of steps and the Council may need to take legal action to force some owners to pay their share of these essential health and safety repairs. New Council Housing Fife Council’s former SNP led Administration initiated the building of 31 new Council houses in Dalgety Bay and these will be ready in a few months. Built to a high specification in terms of fuel efficiency, these homes are being eagerly sought after. Fraser Avenue It is time that Fife Council came up with a plan of action for the demolition of Fraser Avenue. I appreciate the number of folk on the housing lists and in homeless accommodation make this a difficult process but a start has to be made soon. The headroom that will be created by the new houses at Dalgety Bay should be used to start the demolition and re-building process. Residents’ Parking Scheme The number of traffic wardens has dropped in the past year and this has led to a lack of enforcement of the Residents’ Parking Scheme. It was expected that parking enforcement would have been handed over to the Council by now but this process continues to drag on. In the meantime, the local police will try as best as they can to address parking issues but this is not an ideal situation and the police have many other competing priorities. Hillend Cemetery Following complaints about the dangers exiting the Cemetery, I had a meeting with the Burials Service who have agreed to lower a wall to improve sight lines. Cruickness Quarry The quarry is currently closed but Tarmac has been given planning permission to extract stone from the existing quarry floor and from an adjacent outcrop of rock. Town Centre It is generally agreed that the Square and its environs need a revamp and discussions are being held as to the best way to achieve this and access the funding necessary. Once a concept has been fleshed out, there will be full public consultation. Boreland Reservoir Another planning application has been lodged for this site which has been abandoned since the previous owners went into Administration. The issue of the haulage road should also be addressed by the application. Concern for the Aged After almost 30 years in the Civic Centre, Concern for the Aged has moved to a new home in the Masonic Hall. Many thanks to all those who came forward to form a new Committee to keep this very valuable provision alive.

Condition of roads Many of the roads in the Town are desperately in need of repair. Chief amongst these are Fraser Avenue, Spencerfield Road and Hill Street and I have asked the Council to take action. Flooding Issues Burnside and Belleknowes Fife Council and Scottish Water are trying to come up with a solution to the flooding being experienced by businesses and residents in this area. Advice has been sought from the former Mill Waterman about the Mill holding ponds to see if these could be brought back into use to relieve pressure and Scottish Water is also looking at its sewer capacity in the vicinity. Hope Street The Council has agreed to install drainage at the bottom of Whinny Hill Park to prevent flooding of the houses in Hope Street. Some snags have been experienced and costs have soared. Nonetheless, this work needs to be done. Hillend Road The Council thinks this problem has been resolved. Apparently tree roots had blocked the drains and these have now been cleared. We’ve not had any heavy rain since the work was done so here’s hoping. Preston Crescent This street continues to flood with water and sewage whenever there is heavy rain and Scottish Water is undertaking extensive drainage work at the pumping station in an effort to address this problem. Work will be ongoing for some

2 time yet. Cochrane Avenue Water from the open land behind Cochrane Avenue causes flooding in Spencerfield Road and this is another area the Council is monitoring. If flooding continues, the Council will need to address this with the landowner.

For anyone concerned about flooding from whatever source (fields, hills or watercourses), the Scottish Flood Forum can offer advice and help. Contact details 01738 448411. Their website is www.scottishfloodforum.org.

Speeding in Residential Streets Despite the now legally enforceable 20mph limit in all residential streets, I continue to receive complaints about speeding. Most complained about areas are Hope Street, High Street, Hillfield, Church Street, Townhall Street, King Street and Alma Street.

The Police have been out in some of these areas recently but the problem persists. As a consequence, it is likely that a speed hump will be constructed in King Street to try and further curb the speeders who endanger children going to and from the schools. I’m not a big fan of speed humps but in some areas it is difficult to see what else will work. Council Cuts These are heading down the line from the minority Labour Administration in Fife Council. Amongst many other cuts that will be felt locally, the Area Budget is being reduced and this will greatly affect the number of projects that can be delivered locally. South West Fife Area Committee For some reason best known to them, the minority Labour Administration has removed the planning function from the 7 Area Committees serving Fife and reduced the number of planning committees to 3. Prior to this move, all of the Ward Councillors were involved in planning decisions. The new Committee serving Inverkeithing will now determine planning applications from 9 wards and there will undoubtedly be a loss of local knowledge and accountability. This is a retrograde step taken for no good reason. Bridges at Abbot Place (Mill Brae) and Port Street Following complaints about the condition of these bridges, in particular the Abbot Place one, Network Rail has made good the defects and advised that a full upgrade of both bridges is being considered for its 2018/19 programme. Both of these bridges are well used and need to be kept in a safe condition until then. Church Street Residents have asked if it would be possible to build a ramp from Church Street to the houses (next to Fordell’s Lodgings) as some of them are struggling with the steep steps which are the only access to their homes. This is currently being considered by the Council.

The condition of the car park there has also been reported and it is hoped that this will be resurfaced in the near future. The Doves The statue of the Doves, which has been out of public view for a number of years, is to be sited in the Civic Centre in part of the space recently vacated by Concern for the Aged. I had hoped it would be able to go outside but apparently it is now too fragile for that. Friary Gardens The problem of anti social behaviour by children and youths in the Friary Garden was selected by the public as a top priority at recent Police Community Engagement Meetings. Despite this, the problem persists and damage continues to be done. One family has had a memorial tree destroyed and its replacement has now also been destroyed. Balls are kicked against windows and graffiti and loutish behaviour all occur on a nightly basis. The Police know who most of the miscreants are and the next step will be to visit parents. Service Bay adjacent to St Peter’s (Inverkeithing Parish) Church Several years ago, it was agreed that a service bay should be constructed in the grassed area next to the Church to allow for the safe parking of hearses and wedding cars etc and remove the need for these to park in Church Street causing congestion. I still await plans for this. Meantime, the costs have soared.

Port Street I am really annoyed at the state of Port Street. Workers connecting a gas supply to a new house nearby ripped up the old drainage system in the street and ruined the edge of the road, which had been resurfaced by the Council just

3 a few years ago. This area is now an unsightly mess.

I have given the Council pictures of the old drainage setts as these ought to be re-instated, and discussions are taking place with those responsible to have the work done. Spittalfield Residents’ Association The Council has yet to organise another meeting to set up a Residents’ Association in Spittalfield. I am continuing to press them to do so in the very near future as there are many issues in Spittalfield that need to be addressed. “Bedroom Tax” Many Council and Housing Association tenants (under pensionable age) in this area who receive Housing Benefit will be affected by the UK Government’s proposals to deduct benefit for every “extra” bedroom the household has. Some people will lose up to 25% (around £15 pw) of their rebate and be required to make good the shortfall. Many folk on low pay or on benefits simply will not be able to manage.

The Council and Housing Associations are visiting all their tenants to advise them of their options, which are few.

The crazy thing is that if folk are forced from public sector housing into the private sector because the Council and HAs are not able to provide them with a smaller house, it will actually cost the UK Government far more in Housing Benefit as private rents are much higher (for example the Council rent for 2 bed flat is £54.90 pw and the HB allowance for a 1 bedroom private let is £80.77pw). Independence Referendum Scotland’s Independence Referendum will take place in the Autumn of 2014 and the campaign to secure a YES vote is up and running.

YESScotland has been set up to co-ordinate the campaigning for a YES vote in the Referendum. It is a broad organisation which has activists from the SNP, Greens, Liberal Democrats, Labour, Conservative, Solidarity and Scottish Socialists as well as folk of no political persuasion.

YES Campaigners have been out leafleting for months and it is their intention to also visit every home in Scotland at least once in the lead up to the referendum and provide folk with the answers to their questions. In the meantime, if you have any questions you want answered you can contact YESScotland

Online - YesScotland.net/questions Email - [email protected] Telephone 0141 221 4767 Post – YESScotland, 136 Hope Street, Glasgow G2 2TG

Problems or Issues If you have any problems or issues you want resolved, you can see me at one of my Surgeries and I can also visit you at a time to suit you. You can also make contact by phone, letter, and email or via Facebook and Twitter. Surgeries Inverkeithing Civic Centre Each Tuesday at 6.30 pm Dalgety Parish Church 7pm on the 2nd Monday of the month

Telephone numbers Home 414982 Mobile 07895039973

Email address [email protected]

Facebook - Cllr Alice McGarry Twitter - @CllrAMcGarry

Published by Cllr Alice McGarry, 37 Preston Crescent, Inverkeithing KY11 1DS Printed by Printing Services (Scotland) Dunfermline

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