Comrie and District Community Council

COMRIE AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of Meeting held on Thursday 9th February 2012

Comrie Community Centre at 19.30

Apologies and Attendees

Community Councillors:

Andrew Finlayson (Chair), David Robertson, David Adams (Treasurer), Phil Gill,

Judy McDowall, Gillian Brock, Gordon McCartney.

Other Attendees:

Local Councillors - Helen McDonald, Anne Younger & Anne Cowan

Police Officers - Ross Buchan and Arlene Anderson

Press – Lynn Duke of the Strathearn Herald

Apologies:

Sandra McRitchie (Secretary)

Agenda:

1. Welcome and Introduction

CC Finlayson welcomed those present to the meeting.

2. Police Matters

Ross Buchan and Arlene Anderson informed the meeting that no crime had been committed in the area since the last meeting in January. However, there have been a couple of accidents – one on the Langside Road and another, more unfortunate incident on the A85.

There were no questions from the floor.

CC Finlayson thanked Ross and Arlene for their attendance.

3. Comrie Extreme Sports Group

Gerry and Cameron from the Extreme Sports Group were in attendance and gave an update regarding progress with the skate park. The cost of the skate park is £60,000. The Group have already raised £3,000 and they plan to double that with fundraising activities. They are also going to apply to Awards for All for £10,000, sportscotland for £20,000 (on the conditions that the skate park is made of concrete), and approach the Rotary, the Gannochy Trust and Stagecoach.

In an effort to get more young people involved the Group is running a ski trip and a surf trip in April. At present there are about 15 – 20 young people involved aged between 10 and 17.

CC Finlayson congratulated the Group on their work so far and re-stated the Community Council’s support for the Group. CC Finlayson then asked the floor if there were any questions.

There was a question regarding the size of the skate park – it was stated that it would tennis court sized and the Group were unsure if it would be fenced off or open.

As the skate park now had to be made of concrete rather than have a concrete base with wooden ramps as originally envisaged, did the Group have to change their planning application? This was uncertain, however the Group did need to seek approval from the Laggan Park Committee regarding the new design. There was concern that the whole structure being made from concrete might have more of a visual impact.

CC Finlayson thanked Gerry and Cameron for coming to the meeting.

4. Matters Arising from Previous Minutes

Andrew explained that there had been a bit of a mix up with the minutes from the previous meeting and stated that the following process would now be followed:

• Emma to e-mail all CCs the draft minutes.
• All CCs to e-mail comments / amendments to CC Finlayson.
• CC Finlayson to liaise with Emma regarding the comments / amendments.
• Once amended the draft minutes will be circulated.

The minutes of the January meeting had been published before a couple of amendments could be made. CC Finlayson to speak to Emma regarding this.

The minutes of the January meeting were then approved.

3.3CC Finlayson has forwarded the Police circular to CC McRitchie.

3.3Neighbourhood Watch - CC Robertson will contact Neighbourhood Watch Scotland on behalf of Ross residents. Any other resident considering such a scheme for their area should consult aosnw.co.uk for further information.

4.1Cemetery Water - CC Finlayson explained to the meeting that Property are waiting for a report from Scottish Water and has mentioned that the CC may be willing to partner them on managing the water supply at Comrie Cemetery.

4.2Melville Monument - CC McDowall and CC Gill explained that Peter Dundas had been approached, however given his family position did not think it appropriate that he write to the people named in the document discovered by CC McDowall. Peter Dundas has however offered to contribute to a Committee charged with resolving the issue of ownership and maintenance of the Melville Monument. CC McDowall was invited to accept a refund from the CC for her payment to the Land Registry however CC McDowall declined and asked the CC to accept it as a donation.

4.3Pedestrian Crossing - CC Adams updated the meeting regarding progress on the potential pedestrian crossing in Comrie stating that the original site (opposite Bumblebee Square) was not favoured by Transerv. CC Adams went on to say that he had written a letter to Transerv asking four specific questions:

• Would Transerv’s assessment of the location of the pedestrian crossing be different if there was housing in the site (rather than Bumblebee Square)?
• Are there markings or lines that can be considered as an alternative to a pedestrian crossing?
• If housing goes ahead at Tomperran, Bumblebee Square and on the Stevens site how will these proposed developments impact on pedestrians on Drummond Street?
• In the Local Development Plan there are policies to do with safety and parking in a conservation area, where can the CC find regulations on safe places to cross the road?

This letter was sent on January 30th and CC Adams is currently waiting for a response.

4.4Fallen Trees -CC McDowall mentioned that the branches from the fallen trees at the top of Dalginross had now been removed.

4.6 &.7 to be dealt with under ‘Roads’ - Item 6 of the Agenda.

4.8Lednock Dam - CC Finlayson called John Sinclair (Factor of Invergeldie Estate) regarding the issue of access to the Lednock Dam who appears amenable to the suggestion that the gate could remain open during the Comrie Fortnight / Canadian visit with volunteers from the CC intermittently checking the area for rubbish. If this was a success we might thus develop a working relationship with the Estate to enable broader access.

6Stevens Development - CC Adams updated the meeting. At present there are no timescales for the planning application at this stage however residents’ concerns have been noted regarding ownership issues of the road. CC Adams encouraged everyone to respond to the Local Development Plan within the consultation period (until 16.00 on April 10th 2012). The CC will be responding on behalf of the community however this response will only count as one response. Therefore individuals should respond as well.

7CC Finlayson to write and thank the hill walkers for their £30.00 donation.

5. Twinning – Anniversary Celebrations

CC Finlayson reported to the meeting that the CC had received a letter from Canada regarding the Twinning Anniversary this year. CC Finlayson then introduced George Lees who gave a brief history of the Twinning between Comrie and Carleton Place and said that between four and eight people will be coming to Comrie at some point during the Comrie Fortnight and that the student exchange will take place at a later date.

George has been invited to Carleton Place for a celebration in September 2012 and has accepted. This will be a big celebration and George suggested that Comrie should do something in return especially as it is the 20th Anniversary of the Twinning. A formal Ceilidh, possibly on the middle Saturday during the Fortnight, in the marquee during the Comrie Fortnight was suggested – more discussion can take place once the dates for the visit are confirmed.

George explained that he had received a letter from Perth and Kinross Council (P&KC) regarding Twinning and getting a formal Committee together. This Committee would fundraise for Twinning events / student exchange visits, however there are only two people at present interested – the Committee needs about ten people to participate.

Action: CC Finlayson to respond to the letter from the Mayor of Carleton Place.

Action: George to leave information with the CC for copying.

Action: Information regarding the Twinning to be circulated to the Strathearn Herald and Strathallan Times.

6. Roads

CC Brock updated the meeting regarding the following road issues:

• Safer routes to school – CC Brock has written to Fiona and is waiting for a response.
• A letter has been received from the lady that fell on the Dalginross Bridge. CC Brock will gather info from CC McDowall and write again to PKC.
• The street lights on Queen’s Road have not been working and CC Brock has been contacted twice regarding this matter – SSE will be doing work on February 20th.
• Meeting with PC Bell regarding the B827 has taken place and it was suggested that the road category be amended. This would in turn affect the priority with which the Council view it and therefore gritting etc. At present the gritting gets done c.09.00. It is being used as a commuter route and by heavy vehicles, therefore signage and barriers should be erected to prevent serious accidents.
• Logging – there have been a lot of heavy vehicles on the Langside road and this has had a detrimental effect. It will be getting re-surfaced and there appears little chance that heavy vehicle use will decrease particularly with the start of work to the Beauly Denny Line affecting the east end. CC Gill worries that bringing too much attention to a particular B road might actually encourage the Council to enforce intermittent closure.
• CC Brock has spoken to Sarah-Jane and Ross Buchan regarding parking on double yellow lines and there is nothing that the Police can do other than take details and pass them on to Traffic Wardens.
• Double yellow lines – P&KC have no money to re-paint and the Police cannot prosecute therefore there is little deterrent.
• Ross Bridge – to date there has been no response from the Roads Department.
• Accident Investigation Prevention Team (AIP Team) have been contacted regarding the A85 in terms of signage and the anti-slip surfacing however, they have stated that the accidents have occurred on this particular stretch of road due to human error.
• CC Gill has followed up the Milton Bridge issue and there is something in the pipeline for April this year. It is low priority but it should be relatively easy to fix.

Action: CC Brock to pursue action on the Langside Road and the Ross Bridge.

7. Bumblebee Square

CC Finlayson updated the meeting regarding developments in relation to Bumblebee Square stating that the Friends of the Square have issued a letter and questionnaire to the village. The Friends had originally thought that they would be able to access grant funding to contribute to purchasing the Square, however this has latterly proved not to be possible. It transpires that if the community intend to offer anything over the valuation then no funding agencies are willing to support the project. The developer needs a return on his investment and has therefore offered a price that he would be willing to accept but which is considerably over the lowest current market valuation. It appears therefore that all the money will have to be raised privately and this is a task of a different dimension to first envisaged. Feed back from the questionnaire and public meeting may reveal more positive options for the way forward.

The developer has expressed an interest in building 18 affordable flats in lieu of building 10 luxury flats as originally envisaged though within a broadly similar building envelope.

The Square is currently leased until March 31st 2012 and can be extended at the convenience of the developer. The lease is with the CC and, from previous undertakings, responsibility for the maintenance of the parking area lies with the CC. The CC currently holds funds for the Square, however a new charitable organisation has been set up for the Square and funds raised since November 1st will be transferred to the new account.

There will be an Open Meeting on Wednesday 15th February in the White Church at 19.15 to discuss matters further.

8. Treasurer’s Statement

CC Adams explained to the meeting that there was no Treasurer’s Statement as the new mandate to change the signatories is still in the RBS system. There will be an update at the next meeting and will forward a Statement to be included as an end note with the minutes of this meeting.

9. Councillor’s Reports

CC Brock – would like the CC and the meeting to acknowledge the support from David Galpin at the Post Office for opening / closing the public toilets and to thank him for his time and effort. Councillor Ann Cowan is currently pursuing funding to revamp the inside of the toilets to match the spruced up look of the exterior. CC Gill offered to donate some toilet seats and it was suggested that local trades people could be approached to undertake the work on the interior.

CC McCartney – would like to thank Gary and Moira Matthews for clearing pavements.

Action: CC Finlayson to write a letter of thanks.

CC McCartney mentioned the state of the grass verges on the South Crieff Road in relation to dog fouling. Ann Cowan has been in touch with the Dog Wardens but they need to know specific times of day / location so that they might catch those responsible. If anyone knows these details please pass them on to Councillor Ann Cowan.

CC McCartney expressed concerns that the Core Path from Comrie to Crieff has been adopted and that landowners affected by this have not been informed. Councillor Anne Younger explained, that all landowners affected had been visited by the Reporter and that 84% of the proposed routes have been agreed. It was questioned as to whether landowners had been written to explaining that the Core Paths had actually been adopted – this was not known. However, Councillor Anne Younger suggested that it might be an idea to invite Brenda Clark along to the next meeting or to write to the Ombudsman regarding this issue.

Felicity Martin, a member of the community, commented that there had been a lot of local support regarding the Core Path from Comrie to Crieff and expressed surprise that the CC hadn’t been in support of the proposed route. Felicity also mentioned that all of the relevant documents could be downloaded from the internet including the responses to any objections made.

Action: CC Finlayson to invite landowners and the Reporter to the next meeting.

CC McDowall – Nan Doig is 100 years old on February 23rd and CC McDowall suggested that it might be a lovely idea to send her a Birthday card and some flowers.

Action: CC McDowall to purchase card and flowers on behalf of the CC.

CC McDowall said that she’d like to reinforce what CC Brock is doing in relation to the road and pavement issues around Comrie. In particular CC McDowall is concerned about the Dalginross Bridge pavements. P&KC have said that they inspect the pavement every month, however there have been two raised bricks for the last two months and they have not been replaced. In total 17 bricks have been replaced with tarmac (not like-for-like as previously stated by the Council). CC Brock stated that there should be a meeting on-site between the CC and the Council to try and resolve this issue.

Councillor Ann Cowan mentioned that a case had previously been brought against the Council however this had been withdrawn. There is a lot of evidence on record and the CC should maintain dialogue with the Council about this issue.

Action - CC McDowall to e-mail CC Brock and Councillor Ann Cowan with information relating to the DalginrossBridge.

CC Gill – questioned if there was a weight restriction on the Dalginross Bridge but if there was there should be signs stating this.

The LagganPark fence is in a terrible state of repair and the hedge has been eaten by rabbits. The Committee currently has no funds to rectify this situation and has previously received a donation from the Comrie Fortnight Association and from the football and cricket clubs. CC Gill suggested a rylock fence and that the CC make a donation towards these costs. CC McCartney will get a quotation for the fence for consideration.

Action – Laggan Park fencing to be discussed further at the next CC meeting.

CC Adams – nothing further to report.

CC Robertson – has suggested that the CC should thank Moston Morgan from the Ross for their generous donation of Christmas trees to the Church Hall, Primary School, White Church, and Bumblebee Square.

Action – CC Finlayson to write a letter of thanks.

CC Robertson also mentioned that there would be a lot of timber extraction from the Aberuchill Estate in the coming months and that this would mean additional lorries on the roads.

CC Finlayson – informed those present that there would be a meeting at Fowlis Wester hall on Tuesday 14th February regarding the Mull Hill wind farm. Force 9 Energy would be present. The CC had been invited to attend.

RTS have been given the go-ahead to plant 73 hectares of woodland on rough grazing land on the Locherlour Estate – Comrie Woodland Creation. A plan of the proposed planting area was circulated around the CCs.

Action – CC McRitchie to upload this plan onto the community website.

The CC has been written to by P&KC asking us to help identify locations around the village for on-street, small glass recycling bins. The CC’s first reaction is that current recycling areas are broadly adequate and no immediate suitable areas spring to mind.