May 2022 Minutes | Stirling Council

This meeting took place in Lochearnhead Village Hall at 7:50 p.m. on 30 ^th March 2022.

Present: David Johnston (DJ), Ruth McLusky (RM), Andrew Poulter (AP), Carolyn Brooks (CB).

Apologies: Donald MacLaren (DM), Daniel Jarrett (DJT), Angus Cameron (AC), Cllr Evelyn Tweed (ET), Cllr Martin Earl (ME), Stirling Council; PC Heather Campbell (HC), Police Scotland.

Also Attending:

Cllr Jeremy McDonald (JM), Stirling Council; William Dalziel (WD), Strathyre; Paul Hicks, minute-taker.

1. Approval of previous minutes

It was proposed by DJ and seconded by RM, that the minutes of the meeting on 30th March 2022 should be accepted and th3s was approved unanimously.

2. Declarations of Interest

None made.

3. Election of new member

DJT was unable to attend the meeting so this item was held over to the next meeting.

4. Police Report (1 Apr – 3 May 2022)

During this period, in terms of road safety, there were seven incidents involving motor vehicles. A car left the A84 road at Lochearnhead and had to be recovered but its driver was uninjured. Two vehicles were struck by passing vehicles, causing damage, but insuﬃcient details were obtained in either case to trace the oﬀending vehicle. On 17^th April, a collision occurred on the A84 at Strathyre, necessitating a brief road closure to recover damaged vehicles. On two occasions, reports were received of animals on the road, but in neither case was any animal found. On 28^th April, police discovered an oil spillage in Lochearnhead and Bear Scotland attended to deal with it. There were two instances of vehicle breakdowns near Lochearnhead and police attended to ensure safety for passing traﬃc.

On 16th April 2022, police were called to Ben Ledi to assist with a mountain rescue. One male was found deceased and recovered from the mountain by the Mountain Rescue Team (MRT). On 30th April 2022, police were called to Stuc a Croin to assist with a mountain

rescue. A female with a head injury was assisted oﬀ the hill by the MRT and taken to hospital for treatment.

Since the completion of this report, further information had come to light about bogus traders operating in the area, with at least one incident of fraud reported. There had also been several thefts of heavy oil (diesel) in and around Killin.

5. Matters arising from previous meeting

Litter/Fly-tipping. On 1st April 2022, Evelyn Tweed, MSP, responded to item 10a of the minutes from the meeting on 30th March 2022. The item concerned litter and ﬂy-tipping and ET acknowledged the seriousness of the problem with the tourist season about to begin. She requested permission to contact both Stirling Council and the Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (LLTNP) about it as a member of the Scottish parliament. This was approved and it was agreed that RM would contact ET to conﬁrm this.
Stronvar bridge repair. On 1st April 2022, Stephen Bly (community liaison oﬃcer for Stirling Council) responded that someone would visit the bridge on Monday 4th April to assess the situation. In the meantime, temporary barriers would be erected on the bridge as a safety measure. This duly happened but the barriers were unable to withstand the wind and kept blowing away. AP asked if a reminder could be sent to Stirling Council about the need to repair the bridge.
Ukrainian refugees. The adults and children ﬂeeing from the war in Ukraine who were being hosted in Callander by the charity, Dnipro Kids, had spent three weeks there before moving on to accommodation in Edinburgh. Stirling Council's Chief Executive, Carol Beattie, had paid tribute to all those in the local communi ties who had given generously of their time and talents to welcome the refugees and to provide a series of local visits and activities for them.
Motorcycles in Strathyre West Forest. On 5th April 2022, Shirley Leek of Forestry & Land, Scotland responded to the report from the community council about motorcycles being ridden in Strathyre Forest West. She stated that this incident would be reported to the police and asked that, if any local residents were to come across similar activity in future, would they please report it immediately themselves (by telephoning "101") so that immediate action could be taken.
Information sign, Lochearnhead car park. On 4th April 2022, Stephen Bly (community liaision oﬃcer for Stirling Council) responded that he

would notify the relevant service within the Council, but stated that the sign may actually belong to the LLTNP. If that proved to be the case, he would pass on the request for a replacement board to that authority.

Siting of grit bins, Strathyre. WD stated that his understanding was that members of the community would be asked to look after the grit bins but nothing more had been heard. AP asked whether Stirling Council had contacted the community council about bins, but nobody was aware of any such enquiries. WD also mentioned that the Council had oﬀered to supply piles of grit in places such as Keip Road. Several likely locations for piles of grit had been identiﬁed and WD oﬀered to liaise with the Council about It was agreed that RM would contact the Council to arrange this. She would also ask about the possible purchase of grit bins on behalf of the community.

6. MacGregor's Landing

On 2nd April 2022, DJ and AP attended an online, multi-agency meeting, chaired by LLTNP, to coordinate a response to the activities at this site. As a result, several agencies were taking action: Stirling Council will address ﬂy-tipping; the Fishery Board will provide contact details for the reporting of possible ﬁshing oﬀences; Police Scotland will ensure ongoing monitoring by the community police team; NatureScot will be undertaking a survey of the aﬀected area and LLTNP will address temporary sediment retention with the Scottish Environment Protection Agency and use ranger patrols to monitor further activity at the site. A temporary "Stop Notice" has been served and a media statement has been published.

On 10th April, DJ had circulated a second letter to various additional agencies to notify them of the situation and the action being taken. He also asked Stirling Council to re-establish several notice boards and information signs that had suﬀered damage or been removed altogether. These included signs to indicate that no parking is allowed in designated passing places and signs to indicate that the whole area is covered by the alcohol bye-law. DJ expressed concern that ﬁfteen plots of land had been put up for sale but only one of them had access to the Stroneslaney Road. There was also concern that all of the land is located on a ﬂood plain.

7. Place Planning

The new “Place Plan” for the local area has now been published on

the LLTNP website and the Community Council's own website. 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. JM mentioned that conﬁrmation had been received that the pavement beside the A85 in Lochearnhead would be constructed during the summer of 2022.

8. Forestry Work and Timber Transport

Gartnafuaran long-term forest plan, 2021-2041 . On 6th April 2022, a formal request for comments on this plan was received from Carole Johnstone, Case Management Oﬃcer for Forestry & Land Scotland - Perth & Argyll Conservancy. DJ replied on 13th April, on behalf of the community council, itemising six, separate points: reforestation (querying the proposed balance of broadleaf to commercial conifers);

water supply (asking for speciﬁc acknowledgement of the needs of

nearby residential properties); public access (querying the lack of

designated access for recreational purposes); adjacent residential properties (asking for speciﬁc consultation with the owners of these properties and oﬀering to provide contact details); access for timber haulage (requesting a cost-beneﬁt analysis of various options for access and extraction of timber) and road improvements (for a section of the Stroneslaney Road).

Ardveich - woodland creation. On 15th April 2022, Barry Harper, Senior Forest Manager for Scottish Woodlands, contacted the community council with a request for comments about a woodland creation scheme at Ardveich near Lochearnhead. This was circulated

to all members and prompted a unanimous reaction to the proposal that the design would involve removing "areas of deep peat". Concern was also expressed over the siting of native broadleaves and the protection of water courses. It was agreed that RM would seek clariﬁcation regarding these concerns.

Harvesting operations, Stroneslaney Forest. Weronika Rapa, Forest Manager for Stroneslaney Forest, had given notice to the community council that operations to harvest timber (as outlined in their Long Term Forest Plan from 2014) would begin shortly. The woodland suﬀered a lot of damage during recent storms, causing this part of the plan to be brought forward. Forest roads will be upgraded to facilitate this work and "best practice" for the industry will be followed. If any concerns should arise over matters such as private water supplies or

protected wildlife, the council is invited to contact Weronika directly.

AP suggested responding to Weronika to ask for signs to be erected at each end of the road, warning of timber traﬃc on weekdays and to conﬁrm that there would be strict observance of the agreed times for use of the Balvaig bridge during school term times. He also asked about a date for publication of the revised Timber Transport Plan.

9. Correspondence

From a visitor to Lochearnhead. A recent visitor to the car park at Lochearnhead contacted the community council about the disgusting condition of the toilets there and expressed surprise that the local council had allowed them to deteriorate to such an extent. RM had

notiﬁed Stirling Council of the complaint and a reply was later received, stating that, because these toilets were open twenty-fours a day, they were used more extensively than most others and this occasionally led to the “Facilities Management” service being

Insurance (Stirling Council). Stephen Bly (community liaison oﬃcer for

Stirling Council) notiﬁed the community council that the insurance cover for members had been renewed and conﬁrmation documents

would be issued in due course.

10. Planning Matters

DJ reminded members that an earlier application to site a mobile snack bar at Derry near Lochearnhead had prompted concerns from the community council regarding potential problems with litter. He reported that these comments had been considered by the LLTNP planning team and, consequently, the application had been rejected.
An application had been submitted to site an aerial mast for 4G mobile signals in the area near Monachyle Mhor Hotel. It was agreed that this would be a positive beneﬁt for the local community.
An application had been submitted to construct a forest road for timber extraction at Stronslaney near No problems with this were envisaged.

11. Venues for meetings

DJ reminded members that the Village Hall in Strathyre had been used previously during summer periods and, now that refurbishments had been made, it would be good to use it again. This was agreed and it

was agreed that RM would arrange a revised schedule of meetings.

Budgets. JM reminded members that the annual budget negotiations within Stirling Council would be starting in September. He suggested that it might be helpful to start drawing up a list of areas where ﬁnancial investment is likely to be required, so that bids for funding can be submitted in line with local priorities.
Parking on pavements. Although this is a nuisance and a problem in urban areas, it has traditionally been the case in places such as Strathyre, where no formal pavements are provided and the land beside the road is often owned by adjacent householders, that no action is taken to prevent roadside parking. JM stated that Stirling Council is to review all parking on pavements throughout its area, with a view to enforcing legislation more strictly. However, careful consideration will need to be given to areas such as Strathyre. RM reminded members that the land outside the Munro Public house is not private and is available for public parking.

DJ then expressed sincere thanks to JM for all his support and help over several years and wished him well in his future projects, now that he was stepping down as a local councillor.

12. Any other competent business

CB asked if Stirling Council could be petitioned again to inspect the C33 road from Balquhidder Village Hall towards Dhanakosa and beyond and to do as much as possible to repair the dangerous condition of the road surface. DJ agreed to write accordingly.
DJ reported that the BLS Trust now owns the ﬁeld beside The Broch cafe at Strathyre, having purchased it from Forestry & Land, Scotland for general use by the local communities.

There was no further business and, at 9:00 p.m., DJ declared the meeting to be closed. The next meeting is scheduled to take place on Wednesday 15th June 2022 at Balquhidder Village Hall.