GULBERWICK, QUARFF & CUNNINGSBURGH COMMUNITY COUNCIL - MEETING ON TUESDAY 7 MAY 2013 IN THE CUNNINGSBURGH SCHOOL AT 7.30PM AGENDA 1. Apologies 2. Shetland Islands Credit Union – Representative to attend 3. Approval of Minutes of Meeting held on Tuesday 26 March 2013* 4. Matters arising from Minutes 5. Police Report* 6. Finance 7. Cunningsburgh Notice Board 8. Applications for Grants 9. Planning 10. Refresh of the Blueprint Update 11. Surface Dressing and Re-Surfacing Programme 2013* 12. Living Lerwick – Fair Isle Event* 13. Community Service* 14. AOCB 15. Date of next meeting – Tuesday 18 June 2013 *denotes papers attached GULBERWICK, QUARFF & CUNNINGSBURGH COMMUNITY COUNCIL 3 MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 26 MARCH 2013 IN THE CUNNINGSBURGH SCHOOL AT 7.30PM PRESENT Dr A Titheradge Mr G Malcolmson Mrs L Johnston Mr A Ockendon Mr I Jarmson Mr R G Feather Mrs T Chivers EX OFFICIO Mr B Fox Mr A Duncan (part time) Dr J Wills (part time) IN ATTENDANCE Mrs J Clark Chief Inspector Angus MacInnes (part time) John McDiarmid PC 194 (part time) Louise Thomason (part-time) CHAIRMAN Dr A Titheradge 1. APOLOGIES Mr E MacPherson Mr J A Nicolson Mr P Campbell Mrs P Christie Mr G Smith Mr C Smith 2. Chief Inspector Angus MacInnes, Police Scotland Angus MacInnes introduced himself as Chief Inspector at Lerwick Police Station. He advised members that he was in the process of visiting all Community Councils to advise them on the imminent changes to the police force in Shetland. The main points are as follows: The Northern Constabulary will cease to exist on 31 March 2013 and Police Scotland will be effective from 1 April 2013. Staffing There will be the same number of police stations and officers after the change. There are no plans to reduce the number of posts in Shetland. There are 41 posts in Shetland but 7 of these are currently vacant. The recruitment process is ongoing. Lerwick Police Station Lerwick Police Station front office opening hours will be 8am to 8pm. Outwith these times there will be a box by the door with two buttons. One for emergency and one for non- emergency. These will be answered by an officer as appropriate. Emergency calls All calls to police will be answered in Inverness. Calls to 999 will be answered in Inverness (as they have been for many years) within 10 seconds. Non-emergency calls will be answered within 40 seconds. Local police station contact numbers will be replaced with 101 which is a Scotland-wide contact number for police. These calls will also be answered in Inverness but will then be routed to the best person to deal with the call. Police officers’ radios can also take phone calls so it is possible to be put through to the officer who is closest to the area of concern. Community Contact Vehicle A new vehicle is due to be delivered which will act as a point of contact for members of the community. The van will maintain the police presence in the community and can be used as an on-scene office in the event of an incident. Police Board The Police Board will cease to exist on 31 March 2013. It will be replaced by a Community Safety Board on 1 April 2013 which will continue in the same way as the Board. Elected members of SIC will continue to sit on the Committee. Performance The current detection rate in Shetland is 75%. Crime is down 17% from last year with fewer thefts and reports of vandalism. Violent crimes have increased but action is being taken by a significant increase in the number of visits to licensed premises. More breath tests but more drivers under the influence are being caught. It was stressed that performance statistics continue to improve despite the number of vacancies. Concerns Councillor Duncan expressed concern over the potential for confusion with calls being answered in Inverness and the operative having no local knowledge. Mr MacInnes advised that local documented information which was kept in the Lerwick Police Station is now available electronically for the Inverness call centre operatives to access. Councillor Duncan acknowledged the work that Chief Inspector MacInnes and his staff are doing to continue to make Shetland a safe place to live but the 7 vacant posts is a concern. It was explained that it was difficult to attract police officers with families to move to Shetland as the housing prices are high. There is a shortage of police houses but those that remain are being improved. It is hoped that hostel accommodation will be provided to attract single police officers. Councillor Wills also expressed his concern in local calls being diverted to Inverness. He also highlighted the issue of speeding in Gulberwick and asked for the smiley-face speed check signs to be considered. The 20mph zone at schools was mentioned. While the flashing lights are effective, they can prove difficult to see in bright sunshine. Mr MacInnes to raise the issue with Phil Crossland, Director of Infrastructure Services, at a Road Safety Meeting on Thursday 28 March 2013. Mr MacInnes concluded by assuring members that the change to Police Scotland will not have a negative impact on the isles. 5. Police Report Constable McDiarmid advised members that there had been 15 incidents in the Community Council area since the last meeting. These included a driver being caught speeding at Fladdabister. **Chief Inspector MacInnes and Constable McDiarmid left the meeting at 8.20pm** Louise Thomason, NINES Project Miss Thomason introduced herself to the group as the project worker for Hjaltland Housing developing the NINES Project. Currently 235 Hjaltland homes are in line for a heating system upgrade which should improve efficiency in heating costs. New storage heaters and water tanks will be installed and the houses at Brind, Cunningsburgh, would be included in this project. A trial of 6 homes in Lerwick has proved successful with up to 15% of savings being made. Miss Thomason concluded by saying that she is available to contact with any further questions. ***Miss Thomason left the meeting at 8.35pm*** 3. APPROVAL OF MINUTES OF MEETING HELD ON TUESDAY 22 JANUARY 2013 The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 22 January 2013 were approved on the motion of Mr G Malcolmson and Mrs L Johnston. 4. MATTERS ARISING FROM THE PREVIOUS MINUTES . Gulberwick Playpark Gates Mrs Clark advised that Ian Smith, Roads, had confirmed that the closure mechanism fitted on the gates comply with the current British Standard. Quarff 50mph Speed Limit Councillor Fox advised members that a change to a 50mph is unlikely as the accident rate does not justify a change to the speed limit. Coastal Erosion at Mail, Cunningsburgh Councillor Fox explained that SIC policy states that it cannot help private land owners protect their land against coastal erosion. However, there is money identified within the existing Scottish Government budget for flood risk prevention. This could be applied to the Cunningsburgh Graveyard. Councillor Fox to meet with Michael Duncan, SIC, and Community Councillor Ian Jarmson to discuss further. Platform Shetland Ltd / Evra Energy Ltd Nothing to report. ***Councillor Duncan left the meeting at 8.55pm*** 6. FINANCE Mrs Clark advised members that there is a report going to the Executive Committee meeting on 15 April 2013 with regard to the annual grant. Mrs Clark verbally reported on the finances of the Community Council. The bank balance as at 26 March was £4,486.65. After taking into consideration prior financial commitments the remaining amount to spend is £2,600. 7. CUNNINGSBURGH NOTICE BOARD Mrs Clark reported that the Cunningsburgh Hall committee agreed in principle to a notice board being erected at the hall. However, an alternative location was suggested. At the bottom of St Clair Road there is a bus shelter and a post box. It has a slip road off the main road and is more central. Mrs Clark had been in contact with Planning regarding this possible site and was advised that planning permission would be required at a cost of £160 (excluding a 2013/2014 increase in charges). Members agreed to proceed with obtaining permission for this site. One quotation had been received for a free standing notice board similar to the ones already in Quarff and Cunningsburgh. The cost was £1,632.00. Members agreed to reserve this amount to pay for the notice board. ***Councillor Jonathan Wills left the meeting at 9pm*** 8. APPLICATIONS FOR GRANTS Members agreed to award £200 to each of the following groups: Island Games Swim Team Quarff Public Hall Cunningsburgh History Group Aithsvoe Marina Association Fladdabister & Ocraquoy Group 9. PLANNING . Weekly Lists a) An application by James Halcrow to erect a dwellinghouse at Brake, Aithsetter, Cunningsburgh is pending consideration. There were no comments made. b) An application by Susan Groat to erect dwellinghouse and construct associated access track at Site 5, Aithsetter, Cunningsburgh, is pending consideration. Mrs Clark to obtain more details on this application and report back accordingly. 10 REFRESH OF THE BLUEPRINT FOR EDUCATION UPDATE Nothing to report. 11. REVIEW OF THE REGISTRATION SERVICE IN SHETLAND An email and report dated 5 March 2013 was received from Anne Cogle, SIC. The report was circulated to members prior to the meeting and was discussed at length. Members felt that from a Gulberwick, Quarff & Cunningsburgh point of view there was no problem with centralising the service to Lerwick. Only residents in Cunningsburgh would be affected with the withdrawal of the service in Sandwick. However, members felt strongly that they are not in a position to comment on any other Community Council area and therefore are unable to choose an option.