Minutes of Kirkpatrick-Juxta Community Council meeting held on 12 th October 2016 Present In attendance Apologies M Brown (Chair) Cllr. Stephen Thompson P.C. John Cowan Alex Borthwick Graeme Gardner Peter Dutton Tony Couch Karen MacGregor John Holmes Hazel Dutton Dougie McBain Emily Mathieson Fiona Lessels David Rafterty Kevin Bowie Stephen Bunyan 1. Minutes of the last meeting The minutes were approved by all who attended the meeting 2. Scottish Power Networks Cables Martin welcomed the representatives who introduced themselves as: Karen MacGregor, Community Relations SPEN, Dougie McBain, O’Connors, David Rafterty, Programme Manager SPEN, Kevin Bowie Planning Manager SPEN, and Stephen Bunyan, Project Manager SPEN Martin had received 83 pages of invoices from Scottish Power and had gone through 3 stages of their complaints procedure, and was still awaiting a phone call from them. Karen said that her and her colleagues were from the Network Cables division so they were not responsible for this part of the company but if Martin gave her the name of the person he was dealing with she might be able to help. Martin explained that it was impossible to get the same person if you contacted them. Martin referred to an e-mail from Karen which suggested that they were unable to offer the community any monetary compensation for the disruption but they may be able to deliver a small project. It was suggested that where the cabling had been put in from the 30 mph sign south at the park towards Broomlands which would be suitable to convert to a footway which would complete a missing link around the village. David said that he would contact Dumfries and Galloway Councils Ronnie Bell to discuss if this idea would be feasible. Martin said that there was a problem with many HGV’s going through the village and asked if they could use the north end of the village and go along the A701 to minimize noise and disruption through the village. SPEN said they had planned the works across from the school to take place during the school holidays to minimize disruption. Martin said that village life had been disrupted on several occasions because of the previous works at Bearholm, along the cycle path and Camphill. Hazel said that a dumper truck was up and down the village with flashing lights on from 6.45 a.m. the day before. A bed and breakfast had also been disrupted. Karen said she would like to give an update to the meeting, she said that O’Connors were contacting people individually and gave out a leaflet for distribution to the community. David said that the works at the substation were hoped to be finished by March next year. A large transformer would be moved to Bearholm early in November, Police Scotland would take the lead on this. Tony said there had been a road access issue with Rob Graham who was the spokesman for those who are affected, Karen said they were unable to talk about this in public because of land owner issues. There had been several issues raised at the public drop in meeting that had all been dealt with. Martin said that just past the roundabout to the side of the cycle path the ground hadn’t been reinstated properly. There was supposed to have been 100 trees panted, but out of the 12 planted only two had survived as the ground was too rough and filled with rocks. It had been handed back to Transerv from SPEN directly but the Community Council hadn’t had a say in it. Martin also said that The Dragoons Pool area hadn’t been reinstated properly. The course of the burn had been changed as the water now doesn’t go through the original stone culvert anymore and the picnic area had been lost as the burn now goes in three directions causing a massive wet area. David offered to take Martin to both the areas so Martin could show him what the problems are. Stephen said he would contact Ronnie Bell the following morning. SPEN are happy to help with bulb planting once the work across from the school is completed. The contractors also said they would help with the planting of the Daffodils once their ground work was completed by the park Stephen left the meeting at 7.40 pm. SPEN representatives left the meeting at 7.45 pm 3. Correspondence 1. A&E Area Committee Agenda 28th September – Annan 10.00 am – next meeting 26th October 2. Regular Road Works Reports – 4 e-mails 3. Moffat & Beattock Community Action plan – e-mails 4. Various e-mails to SPEN Community Relations 5. E-mails to Oliver Mundell +replies 6. Other relevant e-mails have been forwarded 7. Craigielands wood notification of sale – closing date 8. D&G – Meet the director of Communities – Derek Crichton - 10th November Johnston Centre 4. Matters arising from last meeting ➢ Beattock Station Nothing to report, although Martin was interviewed by the Dumfries & Galloway Standard regarding a statement from Oliver Mundell who had said that the Scottish Government Transport Minister had made negative comments regarding the re-opening of the station ➢ Football pavilion and booking pitch Hazel said that Moffat Thistle will pay for the bulk use of the pitch by one cheque. Still no written agreement yet ➢ Pavement alongside Moffat Manor Holiday Park – Clear path & kerb Still not cleared ➢ Minnygap windfarm community benefit No further update yet. Letters have been issued to back village resident at Craigielands Village to claim £200 off electric bills ➢ Beattock planting – 550 Daffs Fiona was looking for volunteers to join her along with the Primary School and Nursery School on Friday 14th October to plant bulbs at the bottom of the Crooked Road and across from the school at Younger Place ➢ Hall – Update Work on the kitchen will start on 21st November for a week. New flooring will be put down the following week. It is hoped that the Business Stream water issue will be resolved soon. Martin read out a letter which said to be exempt we would need to register as a charity. A direct debit has been set up to pay £18 a month for water but we should get it refunded once we are registered as a charity. There was also a letter to say that we would be exempt from any charges for 2016 - 2017. 5. Moffat & Beattock Community Action plan update (M&BCAP) Martin reminded everybody about the event in Moffat Town Hall on Saturday 15th October between 2.00 - 7.00 pm 6. Police Matters Martin read out the following report that P.C. John Cowan had prepared: On the 25th September an 18 year old male was charged with possession of Class A and Class B drugs following a stop/search. On the 2nd October an19 year old male was charged for possession of Class A drugs following a stop/search. Initiatives ongoing: Airweapon licensing update. Applications should be submitted by 31 October 2016 to allow licenses to be processed before the end of 2016. Police Inspector Gordon McKnight has been appointed Dumfriesshire Command Community Policing Inspector and with a view to the current review of some Police stations, including Moffat will play a key role ensuring that your views, and that of our local communities are captured and more importantly listened to, as part of that consultation. Please contact Inspector McKnight through Martin Brown to ensure your concerns are recorded and addressed. Hazel was concerned that an incident that had been reported in The Old Stables Inn car park, involving a cloned car had not been mentioned in the report. 7. Local Councillors Report e-mailed from Stephen Thompson 13/10/16 Footway: Had spoken to Ronnie Bell who will meet with Kevin Bowie SPEN regarding footway on 14/10/16 Cornal Court potholes: Patching carried out. Future works planned for that location Younger Place potholes: Patching carried out. Future works planned for that location J15 road under motorway: Reported asking to sweep path clean Moffat Manor footpath: Still pursuing Roads and Hostas: Beattock was strimmed last week and the hostas have already been cleared as part of that work. Gullies work has now been instructed and passed to foreman, gullies to be attended to when sweeper is next in the area. If/when resources permit Play Equipment Danger: Reported the coping at the top of the basketball hoops in Beattock park to be repaired as soon as possible Pavilion 214: The discussion with the SLA is still ongoing with Moffat Thistle. Community Council now invoicing Moffat Thistle for the use of pitch but still a question over paid access to Council pavilion to resolve within the Council Beattock Station STAG: Undertaking a focused ‘hierarchical appraisal’ that appraises the options using the key criteria most likely to quickly eliminate options – rather then undertaking the full Part 1 appraisal for all options. The two key criteria against which options will be initially appraised are: • Feasibility – for the rail station options where it will be of importance to understand the impacts of the proposed new rail stations on the existing and future rail network in terms of timetabling, impacts to existing services and users, and freight movements; • Affordability – with a focus on commercial viability for the public transport options, and with capital construction cost the key element for the active travel options and rail station options; The outcomes of the above will be complete by the end of the calendar year and will be reported to the SWestrans Board at its January 2017 meeting. In relation to reporting to EEI committee it is intended that an update paper for noting and possibly a short presentation from Peter Brett on the pre-appraisal stage is presented to the November meeting.