www.strathblanefield.org.uk

MINUTES OF COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Monday 1st December 2014 in the Primary School Final for approval

Members Present: - Margaret Vass, Alan Hutton, Richard Arnold, Elspeth Neill, Avril Keen, Marian Lever, Willie Oswald, Philip Graves, Julie Hutchieson.

In attendance: Robert Davy (CDT), Cllr Graham Lambie, PC Derek Burn, Stewart Smolarek, Scottish Water + 10 residents.

(SC = Council. CC = Community Council. CDT= Community Development Trust * Denotes an action)

1. Welcome from the Chair and any apologies MV – Apologies: Sue Rand & Richard Begg. Smith Art Gallery trustee’s event last Thursday, it was interesting and well attended; would recommend going and having a look. Sheena McDonald, Chair of Blane Residents Association was presented with a special achievement award. Sheena thanked, CC for write up in the Blane Valley Bulletin, said the residents wouldn’t have got there without CC support & that MV had set the ball rolling .She and Fiona Murray could not have managed without her contacts & knowledge. At the time the effect of the issue had been devastating.

2. Declaration of interests – None

3. Scottish Water update. – Stewart Smolarek Stirling Council identified 4 areas of banking caving in, these will be fixed, will also be doing repairs to bridge. The access road within the site is going to be reinstated with tarmac. Cable laying will start 8th December, will take 2 weeks approx. up to main road. There will be an excavator to dig the road and a dumper truck. Will have to submit a road works notice for excavation in the main road and will need feedback from council when work can start - hopefully just after Xmas/New yr. Will excavate road and install extra duct. AH - Track along top of Football Park not in good condition, Stewart said they might not go directly on the path, might go on grass. Stewart will ask Morrison construction to put signs up for dog walkers etc- there will be access. Will fix potholes and level off. Complaints: Speeding - If you see anyone speeding, report it. Heavy traffic - by February there shouldn’t be too much large traffic: March there will be large vehicles again, all works will, hopefully, be completed by May. Scottish Water will sponsor the January issue of the Blane Valley bulletin and there will be an update on progress in the Bulletin. There will be an opening ceremony once completed, this will be discussed nearer the time, no photos to be taken. A total of 7gigawatts will be produced per annum, 4 Strathblane, 3 Ross Priory.

1 www.strathblanefield.org.uk 4. Minutes of November meeting and matters arising: The minutes were proposed by Philip Graves and seconded by Avril Keen. Matters arising: ML raised the matter of Discharge from hospital. Cllr Muirhead had has been in touch with Val de Souza, Head of Social Work. Multiple issues are involved and she would be willing to come to a meeting in the New Year to describe the process and how care packages are arranged. This is difficult in rural areas compared with urban. EN - Cllr Muirhead has written to roads dept. regarding Craigenlay Avenue, no response yet. There is a multi-coloured map of the condition of all the streets in the village, MV - Blair Armstrong represented the community council at Allander Halt meeting. There was a report in the Milngavie & Bearsden Herald – provision is looking slightly more hopeful. MV thanked Blair for going along.

5. Police Report – PC Derek Burn, (PC Graham is the community PC for this area) Info received regarding telephone and IT frauds - people calling saying they are a bank, asking for bank details, then when you hang up the phone and pick the phone back up to call the bank, they are still on the line unbeknown to you; also people calling saying your computer is running slow and ask for your bank details to pay for a fix.. Never divulge bank details requested in these ways. The cash machine in has recently been tampered with; a reader is inserted into the cash line, your card is retained, you think it’s been swallowed. Also, they put a gadget in the cash eject slot and your cash doesn’t come out. If you see a couple of tabs/wires coming out of the cash slot or card slot then it has been tampered with, also go online to see what else to look out for. There was an attempted break in at the Post Office Balfron, they didn’t gain access as the alarm went off. When going on holiday don’t broadcast on social media, leave lights on, and don’t leave clues about your absence. You can log your valuables at www.immobilise.com, and register bikes at www.BikeRegister.com.

MV pointed out that houses which were highlighted on the map to receive the Smartwater trial haven’t received the Smart water letter. PC Burn will report back. WO - when you purchase the Smartwater you get stickers to put on front & back doors windows etc., this is a deterrent to burglars. Resident asked PC Burn at what sort of event should warrant a call to the police. PC Burn replied if someone is breaking the law or acting suspiciously call 101. For full police report see Appendix I at www.strathblanefield.org.uk

6. Priority Based Budgeting – see Appendix II at . www.strathblanefield.org.uk For details of council proposed cuts to service and the CC comments and responses. People to email MV any comments regarding this ASAP. With regards waste uplifts, grey bin 2 weekly collection will continue, but during summer months brown bins will be collected only 4 weekly, although a second bin can be requested. This will be trialled first. John Gray commented that the council roads gritting teams should be aware of topography and not only geography when deciding on schedules. AK thanked MV for all the work she has done. 2 www.strathblanefield.org.uk

7. Stirling Council’s Proposals for Community Engagement

MV updated community engagement, will have more info for next meeting. There is another Community Conversation meeting scheduled for Saturday 13th December , WO will check if he can go with MV. The key change is that Area Forums will be held on a quarterly basis being retitled as Citizen Assemblies. The idea is to try and attract more people to go to these but this may not be easy when there is difficulty getting people to come to community council meetings, WO people don’t really engage in discussing issues if they think their contribution won’t be listened to. SC is making strong signals of support for community councils. At a meeting in Balfron, a lady informed that she had been a delegate at the 1st meeting of the Rural Parliament in Oban; the message coming out of it was community councils are broke and a different model is needed. The effectiveness of CC’s was patchy throughout . Community engagement team in Stirling council has lost some staff. Community Engagement will be an agenda item for next couple of meetings. Review of community action plan: Information from the various village groups and organisations has been sought and feedback is awaited. (We have links with the community development trust,) A review of the Community Action Plan is required. Much of this already addressed. AH updated the meeting on the 7 action plan priorities: 1. Developing footpath & cycleways - we have achieved a lot in past three years and plan more in 2015/16. 2. Parking – to remain priority. Parking availability important for tourism. 3. New Primary school.

4. Housing – made some progress (on current local plan). House building at the site in Campsie Road should start in the spring. 5. Activities for young people - progress has been made to park, playground, and pump track. 6. Using public body assets for the community. – takeover of gravedigger’s bothy at the church almost completed 7. Speeding in the village – traffic calming; pelican crossing, mini roundabouts, change of speed limits on approach roads. This was a reminder of Action plan/Priorities, if anyone thinks of any other priorities, please let AH know. Saturday 21st February - a meeting planned for all voluntary groups, Stirling council will be supporting this. Priorities and new ideas arising will go in Blane Valley bulletin for consultation with Community.

8. Christmas Festivities. WO – Duntreath Estates will donate a Xmas tree, will be delivered on Friday morning. Person delivering will need help off loading, WO will do this. Tree will be going up this Sunday 1.30pm. Lights switch-on Tuesday 9th December 7pm. WO asked that it be stated at event that the tree has been donated by Duntreath Estates.

8. Elected member report - from Cllr Graham Lambie see Appendix III at www.strathblanefield.org.uk 3 www.strathblanefield.org.uk

Handed out copies of report. AK John Muir Way will come out at Inn then will turn left, back onto forestry track, there is currently a 60 mph speed limit there. Hazardous for walkers! Feedback on charging for parking, Strathblane community council support the charge, suggest £3 - same as Forestry Commission.

10. Planning and licensing -from Avril Keen a) Domestic hydro scheme, Avril will bring back to another meeting. b) Garage & Granny flat at Mugdock village, Mugdock Lodge – Acceptable to members of CC so long as a permanent tie to the house is a planning condition. c) Pre-application consultation on Edenmill Farm - owner Mark, now coming to us in advance. AK & MV went up to have a chat - he wants to open the cafe full time. He would be happy to come to January meeting to answer any questions; also looking for any feedback from this meeting, to be ready with his planning application for January. He was thinking in future to have somewhere for people to stay - wigwams etc. WO - primary reservation is lack of upgrading of junction with the main road (A809 the third most dangerous road in Scotland). Feedback is required from SC roads department.Cllr Lambie to let us know roads position by January. Decision on application likely to be made in February, please pass any questions to Avril.

11. Community comments – EN received a phone call from lady dog walker – saying that the leaves are dreadful in the village & asked if anything can be done about it. Leaves clearing team were out, but didn’t clear all. MV- the more people report this to Stirling the better. The Police sign is still pointing to the tennis club. Resident – Old Mugdock road is often blocked by cars and delivery lorries outside the Coop. Complaints have been made to staff in co op, but not taken seriously. WO will follow this up. AH we need to establish who owns which parts of land. Also, the disabled space in the Coop car park is too wide. A resident raised concerns about reporting of incidents to the Police. He is still getting mixed messages about what was applicable to call the police about and had raised the matter personally with PC Burn.

12. Finance– No report Members agreed CC to donate £50 to the pipe band, also agreed donation to Wind Ensemble- £50.

13. Correspondence - None Strathblane website on Facebook- businesses have been told they can’t post more than once a week, MV will post to page.

MV wished everyone all the best for Christmas and the New Year.

14. Date of next meeting – Monday 5th January 2015 in the Primary School.

Blane Valley Bulletin Copy date 19th January 2015.

4 www.strathblanefield.org.uk Contact us at [email protected] . Telephone numbers for Community Councillors are on the notice boards, in the library and in the Blane Valley Bulletin

Appendix I on line only at www.strathblanefield.org.uk Police Report Antisocial Behaviour

We are investigating a number of instances of vandalism in the village involving spray paint. We have a line of enquiry and one individual has been interviewed, however at this 5 www.strathblanefield.org.uk time, there is insufficient evidence to charge anyone. We have requested information on Social Media and via local media. It is likely that a local is responsible and the answer to this lies in the community. Any information can be reported by phone on 101 or by phoning Crimestoppers on

A car had the door mirrors knocked off in Milndavie Crescent and on the A809, Carbeth, a bus had a window broken.

Reported damage at the Primary School was investigated and found to be old, however on officers attending, 6 young persons were searched and a quantity of alcohol recovered from them. The source of the alcohol is being investigated.

2 people were found in possession of Cannabis

We received one call of youths causing annoyance in the village but the youths had moved on Police arrival. Can we ask that any disorder is reported at the time by phoning 101

Road Safety

We received a tip-off that a driver may drive after drinking at local licenced premises. He was spoken to by officers and walked instead.

There were 4 minor collisions with no injuries. 3 on the A81 and one on the A891.

Police Scotland are currently working to promote vehicle road worthiness and ensure responsible use of vehicles. So far no offences have been found in Strathblane, which is encouraging.

As most will have heard, the drink/driving limit has been reduced by the Scottish government from 35ug of alcohol to 20ug of alcohol in 100ml of breath. This new limit takes effect on 5 December 2014 and local officers will be doing what we always do at this time of year and taking every opportunity to breath test drivers. We are regularly asked what this means and 'how much can I have to drink and still be under the limit?' There is no simple answer to the question and the simplest response is don’t risk it. Don't drive if you have had alcohol and if you are in any doubt, don't take the risk. The courts take a firm line with drink drivers and the offence carried a minimum 12 month driving ban in addition to a fine, may result in imprisonment and the court can take your car and have it crushed. Quite a price to pay!

Theft

2 Sheds were broken into at the allotments at Edminston Field

Community Engagement and Reassurance It is important to you to have community officers who you know, who are accessible and who address local problems

6 www.strathblanefield.org.uk On 21 November, launched a number of messages aimed at keeping People Safe in the festive period. These include

'Party Safe' - Charge your mobile when you are out; Watch your drink and don’t leave it unattended; don’t be tempted to use so called 'legal' highs. Legal does not mean 'safe'; Stick with friends and plan how you will get home; dress for the weather.

'Shop Safe' - Check cash machines have not been tampered with and hide your PIN; Don’t leave presents in your car on view; keep your bag closed and your purse safe;

'Home Safety' - Check windows and doors are locked when you are out; Protect any gifts you’ve bought for your friends and family. Get them to register mobiles, tablets, laptops and cameras at www.immobilise.com. Don’t give them a good quality bike without giving them a good quality lock, and register bikes at www.BikeRegister.com.

'Online safety' - If you’re buying your child a mobile or tablet for Christmas, think about how you can keep them safe online; If you’ll be away from home over Christmas or even just out and about, be careful about what you say on social networking sites – don’t let thieves know your house will be empty, we know that they do check!

Appendix II on-line only at www.strathblanefield.org.uk Priority Based Budgeting and responses Working with you to shape Stirling’s future – Draft Report October 2014 Community Council: Strathblane______Reference Title Descriptions Comments/Suggestions EDU017 Move Playhaven Out-of-School Care is Agree Playhaven to a located and operated out of Self-Sustainabl Community Campus. e Funding Basis Over the last two years, with support from the Education Service, Playhaven Out-of-School Care provision has been working towards being completely self-sufficient. This process has been successful and has resulted in Playhaven being in a strong financial position, therefore, not in need of the £10,000 support from the Education Service. The 7 www.strathblanefield.org.uk Education Service will continue to provide professional advice and support to Playhaven as part of the overall support to Out of School Care provisions. EDU020 Review This option proposes to review the Agree as long as service Commissioning Service Level Agreements for the maintained - Music Therapy commissioning of Music Therapy, Services from external providers such as Nordoff Robbins, and to re-negotiate the contract in order to reduce costs. EDU021 Review This option proposes to review the As above Commissioning Service Level Agreements for the - Art Therapy commissioning of Art Therapy, Services from external providers such as Artlink, and to re-negotiate the contract in order to reduce costs.

EDU022 Withdraw from This option proposes to withdraw Agree reluctantly Commissioning from the Service Level - Riding for the Agreements for the commissioning Disabled (RDA) of Riding for the Disabled. RDA has now suspended their operations as they have no facilities or accommodation to provide this service. In light of this, and given that there are no similar providers, the Service seeks to withdraw funding for RDA. EDU024 Reduction of This option proposes a reduction in No comment Additional the management team of Support Needs Additional Support Needs Outreach Outreach Service from 2 Full Time Management Equivalent (FTE) co-ordinators to Team 1 FTE. A phased reduction from August 2014 to 2018 is expected.

EDU03 Increase In Stirling, childcare can be Agree Nursery Fee purchased at extended day Charges nurseries for children aged 0-5 years. Charges are imposed for all hours that are in addition to the minimum free childcare as determined by Scottish Government. Currently, charges are set at £2.85 per hour for all children regardless of age. This option recognises that the cost to the Council of providing childcare to younger children is higher owing to the higher staffing levels required. Therefore, this option proposes to introduce the following fee structure: 0-2's £3.50; 2-3's £3.25; 3-5's £3.00. (Benchmarking with the private sector shows that charges in the private sector range from £2.80 to £5.40 for 3-5's; £4.00 to £5.05 for 2-3's; and in

8 www.strathblanefield.org.uk excess of £5.00 for 0-2's. Further benchmarking with a sample of local authorities shows that charges range from £3.00 to £4.60). Therefore, the proposed fee structure remains competitive and sits at the low end of charges imposed by other local authorities. It is noted that charges will be subject to annual review. EDU037 Re-design of The Council employs a central Very concerned about this Nursery team of 7 full time equivalent option and ask that more Teaching nursery teachers, who provide all thought is given to possible Provision (Pre three and four year olds at nursery transformational options that -School) access to a fully qualified teacher. may be available as The team covers all 11 extended highlighted at the Balfron day nurseries, 18 nursery classes meeting. How does this and 15 private and voluntary match Scottish Government providers. At the moment, each policy? establishment is visited by a teacher for a block of 4 weeks per academic year. Teachers are not part of the adult:child ratios in nursery, so they are in addition to the minimum complement of staff in nurseries. This option looks to redesign the way in which three and four year olds receive access to a nursery teacher by reducing the number of teachers in the central team. Given the level of redesign required, it is anticipated that any savings will be realised from August 2016. EDU054 Review delivery This proposal seeks to support We are deeply concerned of the Music class teachers to deliver a quality about this proposal. Music is Service in music experience for all primary a very important part of Primary pupils that will ensure a structured child development and not all Schools and coherent programme is in primary teachers are musical place for children across all or can play an instrument. curricular areas in primary schools. We wish this service to It is the role of the individual continue. primary class teachers to design the curriculum for each of their pupils, including the delivery of music. In the proposed revised model, music would be taught by class teachers, as with the other components of Expressive Arts - for example, art and drama. Already, many class teachers include music within their learning and teaching programmes, with visiting specialists providing additional support. Class teachers have access to curriculum guidance, a range of resources and exemplification of standards for all curriculum areas including the Expressive Arts subjects to

9 www.strathblanefield.org.uk support them in their professional duties. Savings will be achieved by the re-deployment of the specialist team of Music practitioners, ensuring that skills will be maximised within their respective schools and learning communities. EDU055 Review delivery This proposal seeks to upskill class While not liking this proposal of the Physical teachers to deliver a quality in the current situation of Education physical education (PE) finding savings we do believe Service in experience for primary pupils, that it is possible for teachers Primary thereby ensuring a structured and to deliver PE Schools coherent programme is in place. It is the role of the individual primary class teacher to design the learning intentions for each of their pupils with regards to the delivery of physical education. Through the national PE initiative, class teachers will be upskilled by helping them to timetable 2 hours of quality PE. The process will be driven by Education's PE Manager, who will ensure class teachers have the necessary skills to deliver a robust and exciting physical education programme. Savings will be achieved by the re-deployment of the specialist team of PE practitioners ensuring that skills will be maximised within their respective schools and learning communities EDU065 Maximise This option proposes to operate Reluctantly agree Primary Class schools with the minimum number Sizes of teachers to maximum numbers of pupils within classes P1 - P7 from August 2016. There will be an annual review of teacher and pupil ratios thereafter and will be in line with actual pupil rolls and the Scottish Government's recommendation for class sizes (Primary 1 - 25; Primary 2 & 3 - 30; Primary 4 to 7 - 33; Composite classes - 25). EDU069 Transforming This is a proposal for We need to find out more approach to Transformational Change based about this but there does Secondary on a review of the Senior Phase seem to be some merit in Education timetables to enable consortia pursuing this further. The working thus affording greater Balfron high pupils who were personalisation and choice for at our table seemed very young people. It enables a interested in this option. focussed delivery of the Wood Report findings (Education Working For All) through better facilitation of work based learning opportunities/apprenticeships as well as vocational training opportunities. It will enable the

10 www.strathblanefield.org.uk delivery of a more efficient timetable model which will maximise teacher contact time, leading to staff savings as well as providing the entitlements to Physical Education, Religious Education and Personal & Social Education. This also enables flexible learning via IT solutions which will further support curricular personalisation and choice for young people. EDU072 Review Currently, education services are Agree Governance delivered as part of a shared Arrangements service with another local for Shared authority. This option proposes to Services increase opportunities for further enhancement of shared services for the provision of strategic management of education functions. It is expected that resources can be streamlined through maximising opportunities within the support services in education and as part of the shared services agenda. The Service will engage with a consultant to develop the business case for this proposal which will then assist in ascertaining what savings can be made. EDU073 Reduction of The central Additional Support Very concerned that this Additional Needs (ASN) budget currently could have the potential to Support Needs supports 10.6 Full Time Equivalent disrupt education of other Teachers in (FTE) ASN teachers within pupils. We are also very Secondary Secondary Schools, helping to concerned that this would Schools fulfil the commitment to impact negatively on the mainstream education for all education and potential of children and young people. This those pupils in receipt of option proposes to reduce the Additional Support Needs current allocation of 10.6 FTE to 8.6 FTE across the Secondary Schools. EDU086 Additional This option proposes to combine Seems sensible Support Needs and develop the current Outreach Outreach Services model within the Shared Service – Services. It seeks to increase Shared opportunities for further shared Services services to enable Education to continue to meet the needs of children and young people with additional support needs (ASN), specifically for those who benefit from ASN Outreach Services. Within a shared services model there are opportunities to unify systems and processes; thereby, providing greater scope for staff to maximise their skills, knowledge and experience. This option would

11 www.strathblanefield.org.uk enable strategic developments with other services to be utilised fully and therefore would achieve best value EDU096 Re-Design of Data gathered, by the Education Agree Summer Service, from all nine extended Provision for day nurseries of childcare during 0-5s the summer, for children aged 0-5 years, demonstrates a relatively low uptake for the provision. Whilst there has already been a reduction in this area previously, there are still opportunities for further efficiencies by re-designing the provision. EDU097 Review of This option looks to review the Agree recharges for inter-authority charges for pupils Outwith from other local authorities who Authority are placed in Stirling Council Placements establishments. Costs per place differ substantially, in particular those within Social Emotional Behavioural Needs Service with Stirling Cost per Place for Secondary Provision £22,000 per annum. A similar placement at a neighbouring local authority costs £37,460. This is a review in respect to increasing income with a target of 1 pupil placed within a Stirling Council establishment. Associated income was agreed for 2014/15 and this option is therefore to review and extend this agreement. SOC022 Introduction of This would involve financial Concerned that the costs of Charging Policy assessment of parents and carers means testing has not been for Children's taking into account income, thought through. Rural areas Services including benefits provided in could find themselves relation to care needs. This might penalised more due to include contribution towards the transport costs. Recent cost of respite, including meal research has been done that costs and transport and other care shows that these families and support offered to children struggle to make ends meet so such as care at home. we are no in favour of this option. SOC034 Creation of There is an opportunity within the Agree Joint fostering shared service approach to have a and joint fostering and permanence permanence panel across Stirling and panel Clackmannanshire. Currently there are separate panels within the 2 councils that meet every quarter and this proposal is to combine these panels into one to cover the shared service, to create a shared approach and to create efficiencies.

Theme 2 – Our environment – Roads/Car parking Reference Title Description Comments/Suggestions 12 www.strathblanefield.org.uk ENV034 Review / This option seeks to raise the Deeply concerned about this Optimisation current threshold for Priority 1 proposal as it affects rural areas. of Winter treatment (precautionary salt We would wish monitoring of any Service treatment and clearance of additional accidents and associated Priority 1 snow and ice accumulations costs such as replacement of road Routes 24hrs per day) from 800 signs. vehicles per day. This As you already have traffic counts continues to ensure that the for the road network we fail to see most heavily trafficked routes why you cannot say which roads receive the highest level of will be affected BEFORE priority treatment. The exact councillors take decisions. locations and lengths of Irrespective of vehicle accounts we carriageway this will affect would expect bus routes, routes to cannot be determined until a schools and routes that give access full optimisation exercise is to medical centres and care homes undertaken by the Service but to be gritted. the reduction in treatment will be greatest on Rural roads because they have lower traffic flows. ENV035 Capital This proposal is to increase Agree Investment in the capital investment in road Road surfacing from £4m to £5.5m Surfacing to per annum to reduce the reduce spend revenue budget for roads on temporary maintenance activities. This repairs proposal uses the National Budget Forecasting Model and Road Maintenance Condition Survey as the base criteria. The current capital budget for Roads is £3.979m, which only manages to maintain the road network at current condition levels. By investing a further £1.521m, this would allow a positive improvement to the condition of the network thus reducing road repair costs ENV037 Review / This option seeks to raise the Again we are very concerned about Optimisation current threshold for Priority 2 this. If this option is taken it is of Winter & 3 treatment from 600 and important that topography is taken Service 400 vehicles per day into account and proximity to busy Priority Routes respectively to reduce roads. Local consultation is 2, 3 & treatment route lengths by essential to avoid the risk of Footways 50%. The impact of doing this unintended consequences. We will be greatest on Rural roads understand the role that because they have lower community resilience can play. It is traffic flows. This option also important that community salt considers reduction in footway piles are provided with regard to treatment of 40%. A full route LOCAL conditions and stickers review and optimisation with a unique identifier (like lamp exercise will be undertaken by posts) with the number to call the Service should be placed on all salt bins. This could also include a reminder that the salt is for pavements and roads not private drives. ENV054 Rationalise This proposal is to reduce the Agree Council number of council owned city Owned City centre car parks, to maximise Centre Car utilisation of remaining car 13 www.strathblanefield.org.uk Parks parks, and release potential development opportunities. The closure of Viewforth and Wellgreen (surfaced) car parks would enable the redevelopment of these sites, whilst accommodating parking demands in other city centre car parks, such as Wellgreen Multi-storey where there is underutilisation. Viewforth Car Park has already been identified as a development site within the Viewforth Master Plan, however, Wellgreen (surfaced) car park could also be released. ENV075 Civic This proposal is a pilot for the Agree Sponsorship introduction of Civic We would also like you to consider Sponsorship opportunities how better signage (sponsored) within Stirling. The pilot would could help promote local tourism in focus on selected public realm areas like ours that are not in the infrastructure (e.g. National Park but have Mugdock roundabouts) to establish a Country Park which has the policy framework and test the highest visitor numbers in market for civic sponsorship in Scotland, the West Highland Way Stirling. and the John Muir Way. This may The pilot would be reviewed help our local facilities to survive. after the first year, and consideration given to expand this to other suitable assets and locations if appropriate. Civic sponsorship is common among other local authorities, although the format and location of sponsorship material and the level of income generated varies considerably. A policy would need to be agreed which maximised the opportunities, whilst addressing any planning or road safety considerations. Depending on the level of income generated, consideration could be given to how this can be used to support economic development in Stirling e.g. promotion of start-up businesses.

Theme 2 – Our Environment – Waste Reference Title Description Comments/Suggestions ENV005 Introduction of This proposal is to reduce We understand the reasons behind road end the number of locations this however as this was proposed collection where waste collections are last year we think a draft policy 14 www.strathblanefield.org.uk policy made on private roads. This should have been produced before would limit the majority of now so that councillors are fully domestic waste collections aware of the consequences of the to the nearest point on the decision that they are taking. We public road. Residents who have 3 private roads within our live along private roads settlement area with an excess of 25 would require to take their homes on each of them. We wish to waste to be collected at the have this type of private road designated point near the specifically excluded or pure public road. logistical reasons. ENV074 Remove The Special Uplift service This should be means tested and Special Uplift currently allow concessions could be linked to who is in receipt Concessions to OAP's. This option would of council tax benefit. We must avoid remove all concessions doing anything that has the potential from the service and allow to increase fly tipping. the service to move We would welcome consultation on towards a full cost recovery the opening hours for Balfron depot. level. ENV076 Mixed Plastic This pilot option would see We welcome this suggestion as it Segregation mixed plastics being source should preserve the 2 weekly bin for Grey Bins separated by householders, collection in line with the Producer Responsibility Principle. Initially householders would be asked to collect mixed plastics in a clear bag to be added into their grey bin. The grey bin would continue to be collected on its normal two weekly cycle. The clear bags could then be easily removed at the Polmaise Material Recycling Facility (MRF) picking line and sent to a low value market, gaining income and saving landfill costs. There is potential for the pilot to be extended to other bagged options such as absorbent hygiene products (AHP's) and vacuum cleaner dust. It is proposed that this option is trialled as an 'opt-in' for householders in a specific area (to be determined) to measure the potential impacts and benefits. ENV077 4 Weekly This option proposes to There will be mixed views on this Brown Bin introduce a brown bin but if all households can have 2 Collection collection pilot in a brown bins this should be feasible. (Trial) representative area of We are concerned that significant Stirling to provide parts of our area do not have brown management data. This boxes and food caddies. There must data would be used to be local facilities for cardboard determine whether or not during the winter months the pilot could be rolled out (Christmas) without the need to across the whole of Stirling. travel for 40 minutes with the The pilot would choose a associated costs of doing 15 www.strathblanefield.org.uk select area (rural and this,otherwise landfill will increase. urban) and see the collection of brown bin reduced to a 4 weekly collection over the 9 month season. The pilot would run for a 1 year period to inform a possible future PBB option.

Theme 3 – Community, Life & Business

Reference Title Description Comments/Suggestions ASP053 Review To review the Agree charging policy appropriateness of the to third party current charging partners arrangements to third party partners e.g. Raploch Urban Regeneration Company (RURC). The proposed increase of £12,000 is based solely on a recovery of the cost of support services provided to RURC. Other agencies will be reviewed during the pilot process with a view to determining the level of charge, the reasonableness of the charge and whether charges are being applied consistently. ASP054 Review of The proposal is to review Agree Property the Management Services Management Agreement between Stirling Arrangements Council and VALAD for the management of the former Stirling Development Agency (SDA) portfolio, when the agreement terminates on the 31st March 2018. It is considered that there may be savings in the portfolio being managed in-house, alongside other non-operational assets and this may reduce some duplication between Council staff and our current contractors. Also to consider whether both parties mutually agree an earlier termination of the current arrangement. ASP055 Payment for The Council currently Agree Lets at the charges for community and point of school lets (pitches,

16 www.strathblanefield.org.uk booking meeting spaces, etc.) in arrears. This proposal is to amend the current booking system and look to accept payments on demand, to reduce invoice costs/arrears cost and to increase Council cash flow. Consideration could be given to roll out of payments via Council internet payment scheme e.g. similar to School Music Invoices, etc. EPR049 Review of Pest To review the concession Agree to means testing Control policy for pest control Concessions visits / treatments with a (to remove view to reduce or eliminate number of the number of concessions concessions) currently applied. In financial year 2013/14, 60% of customers requesting a pest control service claimed a concession and obtained the service free of charge. GOV027 Reduce the The Council's Civic Budget Agree Civic Budget funds a variety of civic matters, from civic receptions for visiting groups to Golden Wedding gifts for local residents. A phased reduction in the Civic Budget could be achieved over a period of years HCS020 Stop taking Cash collection carries the Strongly agree with this as it cash payments highest cost of any method supports local businesses. We hope in Council of receiving payment. that if implemented it will be Offices Stopping taking cash at advertised well to promote local council offices and libraries facilities. (other than minimal transactions such as book fines and photocopying) would minimise costs while supporting local businesses as customers could still pay at Paypoints and post offices. HCS021 Payment Automated payment Agree automation in terminals could be used to Customer First accept cash and card payments for all Council services. HCS065 Registrars: Changes to licencing for Agree Growth in wedding venues, and Marriage legislation regarding Services same-sex marriages offers the opportunity to increase marketing activity around wedding services delivered by registrars, and to

17 www.strathblanefield.org.uk increase the income generated. Initially, the implementation of a refreshed, modern website for weddings in Stirling, alongside a modest marketing budget, would support increased staff engagement with communities and wedding venues to promote the service and increase wedding bookings. Every 50 weddings in addition to the 300-350 performed annually would result in an average income of £10k; therefore it is proposed that a £10k increase in income could be generated by the end of year-two. A review of registration & local offices will be conducted in 2017/18 & may result in additional or revised PBB submissions at that time.

Internal Efficiencies Reference Title Description Comments/Suggestions ASP051 Reduction in Management Team previously Agree use of External agreed to adopt a protocol Venues and regarding use of external and maximising the partners space for training, use of Council meetings etc. The Council uses facilities a variety of training, learning (including and development and meeting catering) for space venues including our meetings and own, other public sector training partners and private facilities. Last year the Council spent £81,000 on hire/catering. This PBB option recommends that the Council improve its internal/external booking systems, update systems with adequate information to ensure that people can book venues that meet their requirements across all Council buildings. The use of non-council space should only be utilised if there

18 www.strathblanefield.org.uk is no space available internally, and the Council would then support other community partners (eg community halls) premises and public sector agencies premises (NHS FV, Stirling University, Forth Valley College etc). Only if there is no availability within any of these premises would private sector facilities be booked, as a booking of last resort. Additionally, where Council meeting space is utilised the use of catering and hospitality should automatically be sourced from the Council in house provider - Deli Fresh, using surplus capacity, rather than from outside caterers. ENV023 Create a This proposal is to merge the Agree Corporate four vehicle hire desks across Vehicle Hire the Council into one within Hub Fleet Management Services (FMS). It is proposed to transfer the vehicle hire arrangements for Land Services, Roads Maintenance and Housing Services to FMS. FMS vehicle hire desk currently hires vehicles for all other Services with the Council i.e. Education, Social Care, Assets & Support & Economy, Planning & Regulation. This will require one G7 grade post to be created within FMS. As some of this post's duties are already being done within Services this would be advertised internally therefore will not increase the organisation’s head count. These tasks are currently carried out by G5 administrators, the cost difference between these two grades is £4370 GOV021 Invest in a This option relates to the Agree Records Council investing in a Centre System web-based Records Management System that would allow a greater degree of “self-service” provision by Council Services and staff for the retrieval of records from the Records Centre at Back O'Hill. GOV058 Savings The new Strategic Support as long as common sense Resulting from Procurement Service to be is applied by which we mean the established will be responsible that costs can increase for small items which can be bought more 19 www.strathblanefield.org.uk Establishment for all procurement activity cheaply on the internet. of a Strategic across Stirling Council. The Procurement new Service is to be Service established as early as possible in 2015, but not later than 31 March 2015. The establishment of the Service will result in: - Increased procurement capability, with procurement skills and knowledge significantly increased; - Implementation of a market facing category management approach to planning and activity; - Wider application of procurement/commercial principles and practices; - Increased potential to deliver savings; and - The ability to actively measure procurement performance. COR014 Increase use Examine the potential for Surprised it is not happening of Intranet for greater use of automated already internal electronic processes for Council internal Council-wide processes information flows. For example, this might include completion of all staff travel expense claim forms via electronic means. SOC037 Review Currently Social services are Support Governance delivered as part of a shared Arrangements service with another public for Shared sector body. This option Services - proposes to increase Social Care opportunities for further shared services for the provision of strategic management of social services thereby maximising opportunities to streamline resources as part of the shared services agenda. An external resource will be commissioned to develop the business case for the lead authority for Social Services. Support services form an integral part of the business case.

Suggestion: Has any consideration been given to redesigning services that are delivered from Stirling? Travelling to our area takes 45 minutes which is a 90 minute round trip. There must be savings from having more locally based staff on different types of contracts that would help local employment in rural areas and provide more responsive services designed with communities.

Statement of Intent

20 www.strathblanefield.org.uk The following options are expected to generate savings, but need to be developed and worked on further to produce firmer proposals and therefore identify associated savings. Reference Title Comments/Suggestions GOV05 Cross-Council Savings This is a proposal to review and reduce 7 from the Procurement influenceable contract and non-contract costs Activity across all Council Services through the application of various procurement practices and principles. Uninfluenceable spend in specific markets will be excluded from the scope of spend to be reviewed. The practices and principles will include: - re-specification of existing essential contracts and re-negotiation of existing contract costs; - terminating existing non-essential contracts in compliance with termination conditions; - allowing existing contracts to run down to the end of the contract term and not replacing; - applying demand management across specific categories of contract and non-contract spend; - application of price control/cost avoidance across all contract spend. Council Services will be directly involved in progressing this option in collaboration with the Strategic Procurement Service. ENV011 Pilot for the use of Solar This proposal is for the introduction of a pilot for Compactor Litter Bins the use of 20 solar compactor litter bins within the rural area. These litter bins mechanically compact the litter within the bin, maximising the capacity of the litter bin and reducing the frequency of emptying the litter bins. The litter bins are fitted with remote monitoring which analyses the usage of the bin. This information can be used by the service to maximise the efficiency of the collection routes in real time. EDU078 Resource Allocation Group Review of the commissioning of external care provisions for supporting fostering, residential and education, and secure care for children up to 18 years of age New Active Stirling Review of Service Level Agreement

General comment: We do not find it helpful to comment on the principle of agreeing to proposals without being clear about the policy of how they will be implemented. The arguments put forward by officers at the Balfron meeting were “we do not develop the policy until the elected members have taken the decision on which proposals to accept”. How can elected members take decisions without knowing the consequences of their decisions? Finally we were promised an extra meeting to discuss the education proposals further. We received less than 9 hours notice of that meeting which is just ridiculous. For next year the PBB team must have communication structures in place that do not rely only on the community engagement team who are not always at their desks. Community Councils should be at the heart of this structure.

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Appendix III on-line only at www.strathblanefield.org.uk

Elected Member Report Forth and Endrick News - Strathblane - Monday, 1st December 2014

Arnprior Balfron Buchanan Croftamie Strathblane Councillor Lambie Report • Stirling Council Restructuring and Staff changes: The council has returned to a Director structure – the previous structure comprised – Chief Executive, 3 Assistant Chief Executives and a number of Heads of Service. A number of experienced senior officers have left the council in November including Kevin Robertson whose department was heavily involved in the remediation works. Former Chief Executive Bob Jack had his official retirement do on 26 th Sept which was very well attended - we wish him well for the future. His replacement is Stewart Carruth – a Strathblane resident and architect of the PBB (Priority Based Budgeting) strategy. (See Appendix 1) • Roads Officers: My former contacts namely Stephen Todd and Peter Turner have moved on – Stephen to New Zealand and Peter to . Their replacements respectively are Iain McDonald (Rural Team Leader Roads Maintenance) [email protected] and David Maley (Area Officer - Road Maintenance) [email protected] • PBB Meeting – Tues 25th Nov 7:00pm: According to officers this was considerably the largest turnout of this round of community meetings. The previous structure of the 3 Option categories remains – A. Transformation. B. Efficiency. C. Stop/Reduce. Savings options include – Optimisation of Winter Service Priority 1 Routes, Increased capital investment for Road Surfacing, Introduction of road end collection policy, 4 weekly Brown Bin Collection (trial), Review of delivery of Music and PE Primary School specialist support, and Reduction of Civic Budget. Note: The highlighted list prepared by Strathblane CC was very useful. • NHS Annual Review Larbert Hospital Friday 28th Nov: A wide range of issues covered and meeting ran over time. Issues covered included – transport to the hospital, response to Vale of Leven hospital report, budgets. The ongoing question of GP provision I raised with Dr Stuart Cumming (Killearn Health Centre) - Chair of the Community Health Partnerships. The attendance could have been higher for what was a very informative session. The NHS board meeting are open to the public and are held at Boardroom, Carseview House, Stirling – Next Meetings - Tues 16th Dec 09:00; Tuesday 27th Jan 2015 09:00 • Fire Station Visit – Members of the Public Safety Committee attended a full tour of Stirling Fire Station. Areas covered included – Fast Water Rescue, Vehicle Extraction Equipment and Training, and Flint the Sniffer dog. • Rural Broadband Programme: There have been concerns raised in Gargunnock, Kippen, and Croftamie re. the roll out of the programme, and there have been commitments made by BT which appear not to have been fulfilled as yet. This was raised at the last Stirling Council meeting with a request for Andy Hepburn (Fibre Programme Director, Openreach) to address the Stirling Council Finance Committee.

22 www.strathblanefield.org.uk • Strathblane - Community Issues: o Roads – Iain McDonald (Rural Team Leader): I’ve sent a list to Iain which includes: White lining delays on Glasgow Rd; Water flow onto A81 at Country Club; Water flow into garden near Smithy Gallery; Planning ahead for next phase of Glasgow Road re-surfacing; Resurfacing of Craigenlay Ave; and Request for Roads Inspection visit with Cllrs and Julie o Roads - Broken Road Sign West End of village: Photographs have been taken and roads officer notified. o Roads - High hedge at Valhalla and A81: I’ve sent a detailed email to owner but as yet no response. Have contacted Dr. Colin Watson (Scothedge) for advice - who was involved in early consultation with white paper. I’m currently looking at an individual case in Kippen (Douglas Fir) which could endanger a private house and the public road. The High Hedges Legislation currently does not cover hedges that border a public road, unless they are seen to be blocking light for a dwelling house. If proved to be dangerous to road users an individual tree or trees could be removed by invoking the Road Scotland Act 1984. The council would initially seek the voluntary removal of the trees by the landowner. o Mugdock - CC Representation: It is looking good for a CC representative on the Management Committee. I’m hoping to have this in place by either the March or June 2015 meeting. It should also include a CC representative from a Milngavie Ward Community Council. o Mugdock - Council Funding: It looks likely that there will be reductions in support grant from East and possibly Stirling. There is ongoing work with a full cost recovery model which will consider charging for the car-park, along the lines of the National Park and Forestry Commission. East Dunbartonshire are due to introduce car park charging in 2015 so this may easier to do, although not popular. One suggestion is a car-parking season ticket for regular visitors. o Police – Vandalism: Similar to incidents in Balfron a few years ago – not likely to be local residents. This has been passed to Inspector Gerry McMenemy (Community Inspector - Trossachs and Teith & Forth and Endrick) along with a request for updates on War Memorial vandalism, and church collection thefts. o Police – Cllr Patrol Attendance: I’ve asked the inspector if Cllrs can attend a patrol before Christmas to look at – impact on new drink drive limits (due to come into force on Friday 5th Dec), road safety, role of traffic police, and camera safety vans etc. Note: It looked like The Kirkhouse Inn appeared in a recent episode of Scots Squad. o Planning – Edenmill: Currently a pre-planning application and as such has not appeared on the schedule. Peter Morgan is dealing with this. Councillor Graham LambieStirling Council, Old Viewforth, Stirling FK8 2ET 0845 277 7000 [email protected]

Appendix 1: New Council Structure 23 www.strathblanefield.org.uk Chief Executive Stewart Carruth

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