June 2022 Minutes

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This meeting took place in Balquhidder Village Hall at 7:30 p.m. on 15 ^th June 2022.

Present: David Johnston (DJ), Carolyn Brooks (CB), Daniel Jarrett (DJT), Angus Cameron (AC).

Apologies: Donald MacLaren (DM), Ruth McLusky (RM), Andrew Poulter (AP).

Also Attending:

Cllr Martin Earl (ME), Stirling Council; Paul Hicks, minute-taker.

1. Approval of previous minutes

It was proposed by DJ and seconded by CB, that the minutes of the meeting on 4th May 2022 should be accepted and this was approved unanimously.

2. Declarations of Interest

AC declared an interest in item 12c (Highland Games) as a member of the organising committee.

3. Election of new member

It was proposed by DJ and seconded by CB that DJT should be co- opted as a full member of the community council. This was approved unanimously.

4. Police Report (4 May - 15 Jun)

No report was available for the meeting and ME commented that no police report had been available at two other community council meetings that he had attended recently. He suggested passing comment to Inspector Andy Bushell of the Community Policing Team about the lack of support. It was agreed that DJ should write to Inspector Bushell.

Note from Minute-taker : It later transpired that a report had been sent to the Secretary on 15^th June but, because RM had been away from home, she had been unable to forward it immediately. The contents of the report were circulated to all members the following day and are included here in the interests of keeping local residents fully informed.

During this period, in terms of road safety, there were ten incidents involving motor vehicles. Three of these involved collisions but only one (between a car and motorcycle) resulted in any injuries and these were not life-threatening. In a second (minor) collision, one of the vehicles (heavy goods) drove off without stopping and in the other collision, the injured party (a deer) ran off, also without stopping. A variety of other incidents included inappropriate parking, a fallen tree, a couple of breakdowns and a misunderstanding over the whereabouts of a parked vehicle. On 27th May, officers carried out a road traffic initiative in Lochearnhead and various motoring offences were identified including a vehicle seizure. On 13th June, officers carried out a road traffic initiative in Strathyre. Various motoring offences were identified with one male being reported to the procurator fiscal for speeding.

On 28th May, the police were contacted regarding people fishing without permits in Strathyre after a long-standing agreement had come to an end. After some negotiation, an agreement was reached by the landowner and fishermen with no requirement for police involvement. On 15th June, police attended a report of theft and associated fly-tipping in Lochearnhead. A crime was recorded and enquiries are ongoing to trace suspects.

5. Matters arising from previous meeting

a) Stronvar bridge repair . No update on when the repair would take place had been received. It was agreed that DJ should query this with Stirling Council (SC).

b) Litter/Fly-tipping . With reference to item 5a of the minutes of the meeting on 4 ^th May 2022, RM had contacted Evelyn Tweed (ET), MSP, to confirm that the community council would like her, in her official capacity as a member of the Scottish Parliament, to raise the ongoing problem of litter and fly-tipping with SC and the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (LLTNP). DJT asked if anything more could be done. ME said that SC is responsible for litter management, both on highways and in the Park itself. LLTNP Rangers do have some limited powers to deal with littering, as do the police. It was agreed that DJ would contact ET to query why Transport Scotland (through its agent BEAR Scotland) doesn't handle this.

c) Siting of grit bins, Strathyre . DJ reported that a meeting has been arranged to agree on suitable locations for grit piles and to discuss the possible purchase of grit bins for the community in Strathyre.

6. Matters for discussion regarding local roads

The community council had previously contacted SC with a request that an officer from the Roads Department should attend to discuss a number of queries concerning local road maintenance. An official had responded with comments to the questions listed but had declined to attend the meeting in person. CB expressed surprise at this and ME commented that, despite the Council having agreed that officers from departments should attend such meetings, this simply wasn't happening. This was due in part to a lack of officers, because several senior managers had retired recently and cover was being provided in the interim by officers from Falkirk Council. Replacement officers are due to be taking office over the next weeks and months. It was agreed that DJ should write to the Department, requesting a face-to-face meeting with the new Head of Service, once an appointment had been made. DJ then went through the list of ques tions, together with the written responses that had been provided.

a) The Strategic Timber Transport Forum (STTF) had funded work on the C33 and Stroneslaney roads which had not yet been completed as planned. The community council had requested an update on when this work might be completed. The response given was: “ Unfortunately I do not have the required information or know the extents of the funded works as these were agreed with an ex-colleague and I was on long-term sick leave at the time .”

b) Assurances had been given at the Timber Transport liaison meetings that the junction of the Stroneslaney Road and the Ballimore Road would be repaired when the final work on Stroneslaney Road was undertaken. Members had queried when this would take place. The response given was: “ I am unable to give a timescale because these works will require to be programmed and funded through the Roads Maintenance Budget as these works have not been carried out under the STTF scheme .”

c) A temporary repair to the C33 road on the approach to Dhanakosa was carried out by Stirling Council in 2021, but this section of road had deteriorated badly again and some serious potholes had appeared. Members had asked when new repairs would take place. The response given was: “ The section from Dhanakosa to Tulloch (1200m in length) is programmed to be resurfaced under the Roads Maintenance Budget, not the STTF, [during] this financial year - Feb 2023 .”

d) The C33 road to the west of Monachyle also had some serious defects which needed repair, but the planned applica tion for STTF funding for 2022 had not been submitted. Members wished to know when the necessary work would be assessed and undertaken. The response given was: “ There is a section from Blaircrech Farm for approximately 600m to be surfaced this financial year (Feb 2023) under the Roads

Maintenance Budget, not the STTF .”

e) Members also wanted to engage with the process of submitting a STTF funding bid for the C33 road for the year 2023/24 and wished to know when this would take begin. There was no response to this ques tion.

7. MacGregor's Landing

With reference to the list of actions itemised at item 6 of the minutes of the meeting on 4^th May 2022, the following updates had been received. SC was organising an enforcement patrol regarding li tter and fly-tipping, based on information and photographs forwarded by the community council; details on how to report potential fishing offences to the Fishery Board were being supplied; community police officers had been notified of the need to monitor activity at the site; DJ had requested a list of the rôles and responsibilities of the various public agencies involved; LLTNP and the Scottish Environment Protection Agency (SEPA) were looking at options to implement temporary sediment retention on the western part of the site; LLTNP was preparing a “Temporary Stop Notice”, along with a media statement and the provision of ranger patrols over the weekend; NatureScot would be visiting the site to conduct a survey. ME added that a briefing is to take place soon for the local ward councillors.

8) Alcohol Byelaw Signs

AP had asked to speak on this topic but, at the last minute, could not be present at the meeting, so DJ reported on his behalf that some signs indicating the extent of the area covered by the alcohol byelaw had disappeared or been removed and needed to be replaced. It was agreed that this could be added to the agenda for the meeting with the new Head of Roads Department.

9. Place Planning

The updated Place Plan for the local area had now been published on the community council website and the LLTNP website. https:// www.blscc.org/index.php/ filing-cabinet/fc-place-making

A delivery plan is currently being prepared and will be circulated for members of the community to review and make any comments. It is hoped that the project will be complete by the end of 2022.

10) Tree planting in Lochearnhead

DJT reported that community grants are now available for tree

planting and, in some local areas, quite a few trees were lost during Storm Arwen. He asked if anyone knew of appropriate locations in which to plant new trees, but no specific needs were mentioned. It was agreed that DJT would advertise this opportunity more widely in the local vicinity.

11. Forestry Work and Timber Transport

a) Ardveich - woodland creation . With reference to item 8b of the minutes of the meeting on 4th May 2022, Barry Harper, Senior Forest Manager for Scottish Woodlands, had responded to confirm that current guidelines for woodland creation do not allow new planting on areas of “deep peat” (that is over 50cm). He stated further that, if areas of deep peat are found any on site, they are excluded from the total area under consideration. Thus, for example, if a ten hectare site included two hectares of deep peat, funding would only be available for eight hectares. Consequently removing the peat would be of no benefit to anyone and is not being contemplated at Ardveich.

b) Harvesting operations, Stronvar Forest . Robin Smith had given notice to the community council that timber harvesting would commence in Stronvar on Monday 20th June 2022. He had supplied a list of routes to be used by timber lorries and confirmed that he had received a copy of the Timber Transport Management Plan from Barry Harper (Forest Manager) and would manage operations in accordance with the agreed plan. He expected work to continue to the end of the year and gave assurances that he would minimise disruption to local residents and restrict lorry movements to no more than four loads per day along the routes notified.

12. Correspondence

a) Macmillan (Rob Roy) Mighty Hike . A charity walk for Macmillan Cancer is planned for Saturday 3rd September 2022. It will commence at McLaren High School in Callander and finish at Breadalbane Park, Killin. Up to two thousand people are expected to take part. In addition, a "pit stop" for walkers is planned in Strathyre, using an area of grass adjacent to Strathyre Primary School. This area will be booked for use from the Friday night through until Sunday 3rd September.

b) A85 Lochearnhead - footway improvements . BEAR Scotland is planning to provide a footway adjoining the A85 trunk road in Lochearnhead, from its junction with Auchraw Brae westward as far as the bend in the road immediately before the car park. The scheme

includes an assessment of the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and horse-riders and the community council was invited to respond with comments on any particular needs. As there had been no substantive changes since the earlier review and meetings with Transport Scotland (by the previous community council) and further community soundings (taken as part of preparations for the Place Plan for Lochearnhead in 2020 and 2021), a reply had been sent to say that no additional comments were required.

c) BLS Highland Games . Notification had been received from the organising committee of the BLS Highland Games that the customary street procession would be taking place in Lochearnhead between 1

p.m. and 1:30 p.m. on Saturday 23rd July 2022.

d) Evelyn Tweed, MSP . Evelyn had written to the community council confirming that, with effect from 5th May 2022, she was no longer a local councillor for Stirling Council. She thanked members for their support and dedication in working with her to represent the community's interests, advocating improvements and resolving problems. She commended her successor, Cllr Gene Maxwell, who had been elected on 5th May and would be one of three councillors representing the Trossachs and Teith Ward. She herself had been elected as a Member of the Scottish Parliament (MSP) in May 2021 and assured members of her continuing support and availability to assist in any relevant matters.

e) Consultation on Communities Strategy for Forestry & Land Scotland (FLS) . Jayne McDonald, Administration Officer for Forestry & Land Scotland, had written to notify the community council of the launch (on 31st May 2022) of a consultation process to prepare a "Communities Strategy" for Scotland's national forests and lands. This will set out the principles and strategic priorities for how the agency works with communities and sit alongside its "Visitor Services Strategy" with a focus on how communities can get more involved in decisions concerning the management and use of the national forests and lands. A draft document is available on the FLS website and comments and suggestions can be submitted online or via email until 23rd August 2022.

f) Domestic Building Environmental Standards (Scotland) Bill . Alex Rowley, MSP, had written to the community council, inviting comments on draft legislation that he is proposing which will introduce new minimum standards of energy efficiency for all new

house building in Scotland. Further informa tion is available at: https:// www.parliament.scot/passivhaus-bill

g) Housing Market Pressures in Loch Lomond & Trossachs National Park . In April 2022, LLTNP commissioned Arneil Johnston to carry out research into housing market pressures within the park area. It is intended that the results will inform the next Local Development Plan and the Park Authority's approach to housing and planning policies, seeking to improve market operation so that the housing needs of local residents can be met and communities can continue to be sustainable. As part of this process, a stakeholder consultation workshop will be held on Thursday 23^rd June 2022 to consider questions such as affordability, house price inflation, affordable housing pressures, second homes and the opera tion of the short-term lettings sector. Members of community councils are invited to attend. DJ offered to attend this meeting on behalf of the community council.

13. Planning Matters

There was nothing new that affected the community at large.

14. Venues for meetings

DJ reported that the schedule of meetings had been revised and an updated version was available on the community council website. https:// www.blscc.org/index.php/ filing-cabinet/fc-minutes

15) New Ward Councillors

Details of the new ward councillors for SC are given below. They will take it in turns to attend at community council meetings.

Councillor Martin Earl (earlm@stirling.gov.uk) Councillor Gene Maxwell (maxwellg@stirling.gov.uk)

Councillor Elaine Watterson (wattersone@stirling.gov.uk)

16. Matters from Ward Councillors and National Park

a) A full council meeting will take place on 23^rd June. There is a large agenda but items to be discussed will include the “ UK Shared Prosperity Fund” and the “Levelling-Up Fund ”. These will mainly support initiatives within Stirling itself, but should provide a useful boost to the housing stock and facilities there.