DAVIDSON'S MAINS & SILVERKNOWES ASSOCIATION
Management Committee Meeting 11 October2016 at 6.45 pm in Davidson’s Mains Primary School Library
Chairman Rod Alexander
- Apologies: Cllrs. Lindsay Paterson and Alastair Shields; Tim Mitchell
- Present: Coll Gardiner, Judith Lowther, Laura Thomson, Brian Flanagan, Seonaidh Edgar, Charlotte Cowe, Gordon McGregor
In attendance: Cllr. Norman Work, Sgt. Richard Homewood for Police Report
3.1Minutes. The Minutes for September were approved
3.2Matters arising (excluding items scheduled for later discussion)
3a. Parking round the Corbie Café (item 3a in minutes)
This item was carried forward until next month to awaita report from Alastair.
3b.State of the beach at Silverknowes (item 3c in minutes)
Rod reported that he had contacted the Scouts to ask if they were prepared to adopt a stretch of beach. It was recognised that this is perhaps the wrong time of the year to start this but we await their decision.
3c. Blue Lights at Holy Cross Church grounds(Item 3e in minutes)
Charlotte reported that she is still waiting for a reply to our letter regarding a number of issues regarding the question of purchasing new lights to replace those which had been removed.
3d. Loose slab outside Tanning Salon (Item 3f in minutes)
Brian reported that he had had further discussion with the staff who shared our concerns about the risks from the loose slab. They had raised the matter with the landlord and were still waiting for a response.
3e. Zone parking in The Green (Item 3g in minutes)
Laura reported that the problem for local residents to find parking spaces is continuing to get worse and that a significant factor was vehicles being left all day. Some residents have been asking for parking to be prohibited for part of the day (say a two hour slot) other than for residents as a means of addressing the problem. It was decided that a flyer should be circulated to local residents to explain options and seek comments.
3f. Bollards at Cramond Road South/Lauriston Farm Road junction (11a mins)
It was noted that the Environment Manager had agreed to undertake this work during the second quarter of 2017. The project would now be monitored through our Action List.
3g. Rock falls onto roadways, footpaths and cycle paths (item 11e in minutes)
It was noted that Lindsay had advised us that she was still waiting for a reply from the Council regarding the monitoring and risk assessment for such locations.
3h. Badly Faded Road Markings- Quality Street/ Queensferry Road Junction(Item 11f in minutes)
It was noted that the Environment Manager had agreed to a high priority for this work and it would be done as soon as possible but by the end of December at the latest.
- Correspondence
Charlotte reported that she had not received any correspondence other than usual email correspondence from the Council. All the relevant communications had been circulated to the committee.
5. Reports
5a Police Report
Sgt. Richard Homewood reported that there would be a change in structure from 17 October when there is going to be more emphasis on community policing. PC’s Aidan Douds and Jim Kelly have been allocated to our area with support from Jim Loosemore. There are goingto be the same number of officers but they will be deployed between the community and the response team but it is hoped that the new structure will result in more priority given to local issues. General crime numbers rose in Septemberwhich is regrettable but tends to the be the case with darker evenings. The current craze regarding “killer clowns” was raised with advice to contact the police if the problem is observed in our area. The problem of motor cyclists racing round local streets was discussed. The police helicopter is deployed to follow them until the bikesare abandoned. The topic of education was discussed as an older motor cyclist is prepared to talk to the youths to explain the dangers.
5b. Treasurer’s Report
Gordon reported that the bank balance is £5600.25. The committee approved the expenditure of £200 for third party liability insurance for the Christmas Lights on Main Street.
5c. Community Safety Forum
It was noted that the Forum remains suspended due to staff changes arising from restructuring of the Council and its future re-instatement remains uncertain.
5d. Health & Community Care Sub Group Councillor Work made mention of a number of successful events which had recently taken place during Dementia Awareness week. In particular the Festival and Kings Theatre Group have a Dementia Friendly co-ordinator who organises events in the Festival Theatre for Dementiasufferers and their carers. He also reported that there was an opportunity for Dementia Friendly training at the Hub at Clermiston and there had been requests for more material in libraries to help and advise carers.
6. Planning issues
6a. 5 Vivian Terrace
It was noted that this was on the agenda for the meeting of the Development Mangement Sub Committee on 12October with a recommendation for approval.
6b. 54b. Barnton Avenue
After some discussion it was agreed to support those residents who had asked us to lodge an objection to the proposed development.
7. Almond Neighbourhood Partnership
It was noted that there is to be a conference on 10 November to discuss restructuring of services in the city and the vision for 2050. The DMSA will be represented.
8. Local Action List
Rod provided feed back on the recent meeting he and Tim had with the Locality Manager and the Environmental Manager to discuss the Action List. The meeting had been reasonably constructive in reaching agreement on realistic dates for completion of the projects on the list ,although it would remain the case that technical staff resources for project work would continue to be a limiting factor for new work .
9. Road and Footpath Maintenance
Rod reported that there had been insufficient time to discuss the capital programme for roads and footpaths at the above meeting but there was a need for discussion about the programme and he intended to raise the issue with the recently appointed Roads Manager.
10.DMSA Recurring Issue Log
It was noted that there were no additions to the log. The intention would be to keep it as a fixed item on the monthly agenda for information and to discuss the detail when additions merited some consideration .
11.Newsletter
It was agreed that the Newsletter would be delayed for about two weeks and circulated around the second week in November. There are a number of ongoing issues where the short delay would permit more up to date information to be provided to local residents.
12. Design ReviewofBarnton Avenue/Cramond Road South Junction
It was noted that Tim has the issue of outstanding remedial matters in hand and that he was liaising with the Council on getting them resolved.
13.Armistice Day Service
Charlotte confirmed that all the administrative work for the event had been completed and that everthing was in hand. It was noted that the Rev. Dan Robertson from Davidson’s Mains Parish Church had agreed to conduct the service due to Father Peter Kelly, who’s turn it had been, advising that he would not be available. It was agreed to maintain the recognised sequence for the local churches to administer the service and so next year the Rev.Dr. Russell Barr would be invited to conduct the service. Charlotte advised she would be contacting Laing’s Foundry to confirm the timing of the work for the new plaque on the Memorial
14. Xmas Lights Event
After discussion regarding the problem with the erection of new lights in the grounds of Holy Cross Episcopal Church it was decided not to proceed with an event this year. It is necessary to have lights near the switch on to have an impact. None of the lights on lampposts are near the Church so cannot be seen during the switch on ceremony.
It was decided that this would be an appropriate time to reconsider the whole question of planning and responsibility for the event in future, with consideration being given to the formation of a Lights Committee from the local community. It might attract residents who had an interest in supporting the event and is a model which works in other areas of the city. It was agreed this would be explained in the Newsletter.
15. Open Space Maintenance Policy
Rod reminded the committee of the ongoing open consultation being undertaken by the Council regarding the future Open Space Strategy for the city. The committee had raised a number of queries regarding the operation of the policy with the Local Transport and Environment Manager, including grass maintenance and weed control.
16. Local Tree Project
Rod provided an update on the local tree project . It had been been established that the trees provided by the Woodland Trust were not large enough to be used for planting in an urban environment and so it had been agreed that the trees should be split between secluded locations in Cramond and Davidson’s Mains where they would have a better chance of survival, with each of the local primary schools having responsibility for the trees in their area. The question of replacing damaged and missing trees in the area was still under consideration although cost was a significant problem.
17.Dogs in Lauriston Castle grounds
Rod apologised that the letter to the Council asking for a compromise situation regarding separating dog walkers and other Castle grounds users had not been sent. It will be sent this month.
18. AOCB.
18a. The unsatisfactory situation at the paper re-cycling bin at Tesco was discussed. It appeared that the bin was only being emptied following complaints that it was full and that there were then delays before the waste was uplifted. A complaint had been made to Cllr.Lesley Hinds as Convenor of the Transport and Environment Committee to ask what the contract specification is regarding uplift of material from the site and also what can be done to minimise the period of time on each uplift cycle when the binis full.
18b. Charlotte reported that she had been contacted by a resident who had recently moved into Lauriston Farm Road asking us for support with regard to the traffic problems on the road. The resident is concerned with regard to the large bollard on the corner with Cramond Road South which had been knocked down as well as the speed of traffic on the road. As time had run out Charlotte stated that she would circulate the emails to committee members and then a decision would be taken on what action was required.
19. Date of Next Meeting 13 November 2016 at 6.45 pm in Davidson’s Mains Primary School Library