Balquhidder, Lochearnhead & Strathyre
Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021
This meeting took place online via Zoom at 7:30 p.m. on 25th August 2021.
Present: David Johnston (DJ), Andrew Poulter (AP), Ruth McLusky (RM).
Apologies: Donald McLaren (DM), Angus Cameron (AC), William Dalziel (WD), Jim Heron
(JH); Cllr Martin Earl (ME), Cllr Evelyn Tweed (ET); PC Heather Campbell (HC),
Police Scotland.
Also
Attending:
Cllr Jeremy McDonald (JM), Crawford Bell (CB), Community Development
Manager, Stirling Council; Paul Hicks (PH), minute-taker.
Item Content Action
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Approval of previous minutes
It was proposed by DJ and seconded by RM, that the minutes of the
meeting on 14th July 2021 should be accepted. The minutes had been
circulated previously to all members and no objections had been
raised, so publication was approved. -
Declarations of Interest
None made.
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Police Report
None available.
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Matters arising from previous meeting
National Cycle Network Strathyre - help from Citizens' Advice
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Bureau. WD was not available to report on this and RM noted that,
since the matter had now been resolved, it would be appropriate toremove it from the agenda. This was agreed.
National Cycle Network Strathyre - core path – signs . Dave Robinson,
Access Officer for the National Park Authority (NPA) had reported
having liaised with Sustrans about the signs. An order has been placed
for a new, two-sided, finger-post blade and the "Share with Care" sign -
previously agreed by members as being more suitable. Produc tion of
the signs may take several weeks. In the meantime, the existing
waymark from the post just off Keip Road can be removed and the "7"
on the current finger-post blade can be covered up.Attendance of Stirling Council officers at meetings. DJ welcomed CB
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to the meeting and explained that he had been invited to attend
because the new system of liaison with Stirling Council was notworking ideally at the moment. CB explained that the new system had
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Balquhidder, Lochearnhead & Strathyre
Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021been set up to deal primarily with matters of strategic priority.
Stephen Bly was in place to support these priority business matters,
but Community Development Officers would still be available to deal
with other matters of community development. He would also be
available himself, if required. He apologised for any shortfalls in
service but noted that council resources had needed to be priori tised
for the Covid response since that began.DJ accepted this but noted that there were some areas that were
causing particular concern, notably timber transport and waste. A recent response on proposed road improvements for
the C33 road in Balquhidder had been well-nigh unintelligible or
simply wrong - which was unhelpful. It had failed to address concerns
over the Balquhidder Broadband infrastructure. ME had requested
further clarification but had been told that it would be too difficult
and that more time was needed. The community council had earlier
offered to work with Stirling Council departments on this
development but the offer had not been taken up. Nothing more had
been heard and this was unacceptable.With regard to waste management, glass boxes had not been
collected recently in Balquhidder. An enquiry had been made but no
response had been received. JM had then taken up the complaint on
behalf of the community and received a reply, but nothing was copied
to the community council. A similar situation occurred over a question
about blue bins. Again, CB apologised on behalf of S tirling Council and
undertook to follow up these problems and resolve them. He asked to
be notified directly if further problems should arise in future. JM
added that, since the work on the C33 is imminent, it would be useful
to organise an urgent meeting and undertook to arrange this.CB to pursue complaints regarding waste management and JM to organise meeting regarding C33.
Alcohol bye-law signs. Stephen Bly, Community Council Enquiry
Coordinator for Stirling Council, had confirmed that the council had
produced these signs in 2017 but, following changes in staff, it had not
been possible to establish who had installed them, who had been
responsible for arranging the installation or who had paid for them. In -
addition, the alcohol bye-laws had since changed and all of the
original signs now needed to be replaced. The Council will undertake
this work and will also install new signs at locations where they had
been removed. This will be a significant project and time-scales are
not yet available, but Mr Bly will provide updates on request.Taken by Paul Hicks on 25 Aug 2021 - A
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Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021Motor boats on Loch Voil. Mr Bly had also reported that there are no
National Park Authority (NPA) bye-laws covering the recreational use
of power-driven craft for either Loch Voil or Loch Doine. The only such
bye-laws within the national park are for Loch Lomond. Any guidance
in connection with the use of power-driven craft sits with the various
riparian owners for a loch. Historically, riparian owners for many of the
lochs in the national park have come to collective decisions as to the
type of activity that is considered appropriate for their respective
lochs and this can vary from loch to loch. To establish the situation on -
Loch Voil, it will be necessary to contact one of the riparian owners
and ask for information of any existing agreements. It may be that
some landowners are willing to allow the use of power-driven craft
and permit others to launch from their property. Unless the activity on
the loch was deemed to be dangerous or reckless (in which case the
police could get involved), any action to be taken would very much
depend on the specifics of each instance. Similarly, the unauthorised
launching of power-driven craft would be a civil matter between the
relevant riparian owner and the individuals launching without
authorisation.Lochearnhead Play Park. ME had enquired about this and established
that it had been an oversight by the "Play & Maintenance" team at
Stirling Council. A contractor had installed the swing frame but had -
been unable to return and install the seats due to the COVID lock-
down. The seats have since been installed and the team leader
apologised to the community for the delay in fitting them. -
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Traffic speed in Strathyre
Richard Perry, Road Safety Manager for the "Trunk Road Casualty
Reduction Team" at Transport Scotland, had written to the community
council to confirm that maintenance and inspection of the vehicle-
activated signs in Strathyre had been carried out on Friday 6th August
2021. As a result, the brightness of the sign had been returned to
typical levels. All other vehicle-activated signs had been checked and
found to be working as required. Overhanging vegetation that is
obscuring signs was noted and will be cleared as soon as possible. He
added that, currently, there is no evidence that speed indicating
devices (SIDs) are any more effective than any other type of vehicle-
activated sign in achieving a reduction in speeds in trunk road
environments. However, a further evaluation of such products is
planned for the current financial year. Mr Perry reiterated that theTaken by Paul Hicks on 25 Aug 2021 - A
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Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021recent speed limit review of Strathyre South had recommended that
an increase to 50mph should be progressed for consistency with the
section immediately to the South, since it is recognised that
compliance with speed limits is adversely affected when there is no
commensurate change in character of the road environment.
However, with regard to traffic calming features, Mr Perry stated that
Strathyre is now at the head of the list to have enhanced "gateways"
installed at each end of the village. This should take place in the
coming financial year. It was agreed that the improvements were
welcome, although AP noted that the 40mph warning signs at the
South end of the village were not currently working. -
Payphone Box Removal (Mhor 84)
Stephen Bly, Community Council Enquiry Coordinator for Stirling
Council, had confirmed that there is a commitment from Stirling
Council to replace the telephone box in question and that an officer
has been asked to arrange things. The officer was currently on leave so
no time-scale is available at present. -
Remembrance Day, Lochearnhead
Malcolm White, a resident of Lochearnhead, has for some years taken
on the responsibility of organising an annual memorial service in
Lochearnhead on Remembrance Day. He is now in his late eighties and
suffering from poor eyesight so has had to face the fact that he cannot
continue to do so. He has asked if the community council would
consider taking on the responsibility of organising this event in future.
Traditionally, this has involved arranging for a short service of
remembrance to be led by a local minister or member of the clergy.
Individuals and representatives from some organisations lay wreaths
or personal tokens and a piper plays a lament. The entire service
normally takes only fifteen or twenty minutes but the police are asked
to provide one or two officers to manage traffic during the event. This
requires the completion of a proforma for a "march or procession",
together with a risk assessment, that is submitted jointly to Stirling
Council and the Police. Last year, the service was cancelled, owing to
the pandemic regulations in force at the time. These restrictions have
now lapsed and it is anticipated that the event will be able to resume
in November this year. AP suggested putting out a call for volunteers
and suggested contacting the British Legion for further advice.RM to contact both church ministers and the British Legion.
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Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021 -
Community Engagement Events - Waste Services Consultation
DJ had attended this event and other members had read the
associated information, but several questions remained unresolved,
notably the proposed operation of the deposit scheme for drinks
bottles and how other glass containers (such as sauce bottles and jam
jars) would be collected. -
Waste bins in Lochearnhead
On 19th July 2021, ME reported that the bins had been overflowing.
PH commented that the bottle banks are still overfull, but the bins
near the houses had been removed. -
Place Planning - Update
DJ reported that a meeting had been held with the NPA to organise
how the place plans could be implemented. Money is now available to
produce a suitable version for publication. A further Zoom meeting is
planned for 1st September 2021 from 6:20 – 8:30 p.m. on the rôle of
"Local Place Plans" in the National Park. -
Correspondence
Free school meals for Primary 4 children from August 2021 . Following
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an agreement between the Scottish Government and local authorities
in June 2021, all Primary 4 children will be entitled to free schoolmeals from the start of the new school year (18th August).
Rob Roy Mighty Hike. This is a charity event that raises money for
MacMillan Cancer Support. It will take place this year on Saturday
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28th August, starting at 6:50 a.m. in Callander and finishing at around
10 p.m. in Killin. It follows the Rob Roy Trail and involves walking
twenty-six miles.Resumption of face-to-face meetings for Community Councils.
Stephen Bly, Community Council Enquiry Coordinator for Stirling
Council, had notified the community council that the "Amendment to
the Scheme of Establishment" (published on 8th October 2020) was -
being reviewed and proposals for amendments would be presented to
Stirling Council members in October 2021 for ratification. The impact
on community councils in relation to meetings will form part of this
review. Until that time, community councils are asked to adhere to the
current restrictions and continue meeting on a virtual platform.Taken by Paul Hicks on 25 Aug 2021 - A
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Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021Consultation on flood risk management. An online consultation on
the management of flood risk had been open to residents, businesses
and other interested parties, including other responsible authorities.DJ had completed the questionnaire but thought that it was poor and
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amounted to a statement of intent rather than an actual consultation.
It will remain available until the 31st October 2021 at:
“https://consultation.sepa.org.uk/evidence-and-flooding/flood-risk-
management-plan-forth/”. -
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Timber Transport
Grant application. Stephen Bly, Community Council Enquiry
Coordinator for Stirling Council, had confirmed that Stirling Council
had received £225,000 of funding towards a project valued overall at£332,000 that would see various works undertaken at locations in
Balquhidder Glen, as identified by the local community. The work
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would include the creation of new passing places, some road
widening, edge of road reconstruction, carriageway patching, drainage
and ditching, scrub and tree removal, the widening of the junc tion at
Stronslaney Road and resurfacing of Stronslaney Road. This work is
scheduled to commence at the end of August 2021.Current activity. DJ repeated his concerns over the problems he had
encountered in trying to get a meeting of the working group
organised. He had raised this several times, as had the ward -
councillors; to date there had been no reply. DJ had intended to
propose that the CC should assume the responsibility for organising a
meeting but, because the community council was not quorate, this
could not be approved immediately, so it was agreed that the matter
should be carried forward.Proposal for community council to organise a meeting to be carried bforward.
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Planning Matters
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Ref: 2021/0254/PPP. This concerns an application for permission to
build three dwelling houses at land to the south of Forest Lodge and
the west of Maple Lodge on Main Street in Strathyre. Previous
applications to build houses on this plot of land were made in 2002,
2013 and 2015, but no work has yet taken place there. As previous
applications had been approved, including one for a larger number of
dwelling houses, there was little for the community council to
comment on. The previous applications were approved with various
constraints regarding water drainage, landscaping, restriction ofTaken by Paul Hicks on 25 Aug 2021 - A
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Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021construction hours, visibility splays, roof materials, wall materials,
access improvements, foot-way extension, bat roost protection,
woodlands, red squirrel dreys, landscaping protection and
maintenance. It was assumed that, should this application be
approved again, similar constraints would be included in the approval.
DJ had submitted some observations but had not received any reply to
date.Ref: 2021/0286/PPP. This is an application to build a detached
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dwelling on land to the West of Grianan in Balquhidder. It was not
envisaged that this would cause any problems or objections in the
local community.
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Matters from ward councillors and National Park
ET notified members that Covid numbers were currently on the
increase and raising concern for the resilience of local NHS facili ties.-
She was continuing with “surgeries” as a local authority councillor by
telephone. The city of Stirling is to launch a bid to be a “City of
Culture” in 2025.ME reported that the “Ringo” smartphone app for payment of parking
fees is being introduced from Sunday 5th September 2021 in S tirling
Council car parks and streets where charges are levied for parking. -
(The one exception will be the Wellgreen car park where technical
considerations will delay the use of the facility for some weeks.) It will
still be possible to use coins in all these locations. -
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Any other competent business
Roadworks - Glenbuckie Road. DJ reported that information had been
published in the local press regarding Glenbuckie Road. It will be
closed along its entire length between Monday 13th and Friday 17th
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September during the day from 8 a.m. in the morning un til 6 p.m. in
the evening. This is to facilitate carriageway resurfacing works.
Emergency services access will be maintained but further clarification
is being sought concerning access for local residents.Non-attendance at meetings. RM raised this, commenting on the
difficulty of progressing business when meetings were not quorate. AP -
pointed out that meetings in August were difficult, but it was
recognised that people were not attending at other times as well. RMasked if councillors could be removed for non-a ttendance? JM
suggested holding hybrid meetings if not everyone was able to attendTaken by Paul Hicks on 25 Aug 2021 - A
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Community Council Minutes – 25th August 2021but it was noted that some members did not have suitable computer
equipment for online meetings.Motorcycle noise. AP enquired whether any other members had
heard complaints about this. RM agreed that it was terrible in
Strathyre. JM mentioned that Gartmore had complained of similar
problems. He commented on trials that had taken place elsewhere -
with “sound cameras” – similar equipment to speed cameras that is
capable or recording vehicle sound levels. Unfortunately, there are
complications with this because some vehicles have legally permitted
exemptions under the Construction & Use Regulations and the
equipment is unable to identify and exclude such vehicles. It was
agreed that this was primarily a matter for police enforcement.
There was no further business and, at 8:45 p.m., DJ declared the
meeting to be closed. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on
Wednesday 6th October 2021 at Lochearnhead Village Hall (if
permitted) or online.
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