September 2022 Minutes

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This meeting took place in Strathyre Village Hall at 7:30 p.m. on 7 ^th September 2022.

Present: David Johnston (DJ), Ruth McLusky (RM), Carolyn Brooks (CB), Daniel Jarrett (DJT), Donald MacLaren (DM).

Apologies: Angus Cameron (AC), Andrew Poulter (AP).

Also Attending: Cllr Martin Earl (ME), Stirling Council; David Fettes (DF), Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park (LLTNP); PC Heather Campbell (HC), Police Scotland; two residents of Balquhidder; Paul Hicks, minute-taker.

1. Approval of previous minutes

It was proposed by RM and seconded by DJ, that the minutes of the meeting on 27th July 2022 should be accepted and this was approved unanimously.

2. Declarations of Interest

 

No declarations were made.

3. Police Report (28 Jul to 6 Sep 2022)

During this period, in terms of anti-social conduct, there were six reported incidents. One concerned damage to two bus stops on the A84 near the Kingshouse (Mhor 84) and a crime was recorded. The others alleged various problems, ranging from drunkenness and disorder to suspicious behaviour, but none of them warranted arrests or further police action. There were nine reports of incidents on the roads, three of which concerned parking offences. Three incidents involved minor collisions; a fourth collision was reported but no trace could be found of the vehicles involved; in one incident a driver had reversed a vehicle down a bank and required assistance to recover it. The final report concerned damage caused to a vehicle in a car park at Lochearnhead which resulted in a crime report being recorded. Speeding checks were carried out (with two fixed penalty notices being issued) and the “pop-up police officer” was used in both Strathyre and Lochearnhead. Further dates have been arranged for speeding checks to be carried out by pupils at Strathyre Primary School (in conjunction with police officers). On two occasions, police officers assisted the Mountain Rescue Team, with one person needing hospital treatment after a successful rescue. A visitor reported having lost a dog that wandered off whilst walking with its owner. At the time of this report, the dog had not been recovered.

There was some discussion around the use of the “pop-up police officer” which had proved remarkably effective at deterring speeding motorists and ME suggested that the community council might be able to produce its own version, using skilled, local people. DJ added that a complaint had been received very recently from a local resident in Auchtubh, Balquhidder, about speeding vehicles along the C33 (Balquhidder Glen) road. HC offered to visit the person concerned to hear the concerns raised.

4. Matters arising from previous meeting

Litter and fly-tipping . On 7th July, Colin MacKay, Service Manager for “ Land Services” at Stirling Council, responded that there had been much debate over the years between local authorities and Transport Scotland regarding responsibility for litter management within contracts for trunk road operators. To date, no clear conclusions have materialised. Currently, local authorities have responsibility to manage

a) litter on the trunk road network under national legislation that designates local authorities as the responsible bodies for collecting litter from verges and lay-bys. No payment is made by Transport Scotland to local authorities to assist with the associated costs. The annual programme of works scheduled by Stirling Council’s "Land Services" is to service bins and lay-bys three to four times a week and to uplift litter from verges on an infrequent basis for the trunk roads in the area.

Report from Cllr Watterson . ME stated that Cllr Watterson was unable

b) to attend in person but had passed on appropriate details of Council Officers to contact about the matters in the report.

5. Lochearnhead toilets

On 15th August, Owen Munro, Team Leader for "Property Management and Compliance Infrastructure Delivery" at Stirling Council, reported that an initial condition assessment had been carried out by a maintenance team. Following this, the Building Surveyor was instructed to carry out a detailed survey. On 22nd August, Cllr Earl was notified of a programme of remedial works and actions that had been determined to improve the state of the toilet facilities. In the first year (2022-2023) damaged windows and timber sills plus defective internal doors and fittings would be replaced and a full assessment and test of electrical fittings would take place. In the second year (2023-2024) all internal surfaces, plus external facias and soffits would be repainted and weather-proofed. The first stage of work was scheduled to take place immediately.

6. Speeding in Strathyre

On 5th August, Richard Perry of Transport Scotland responded to a letter from DJ and offered to meet with the Community Council to discuss this issue. He indicated that it would be useful for representatives from the police to be present as well, to discuss concern over compliance with speed limits and he undertook to liaise with the police regarding potential dates. He also mentioned having received a second approach from another group in Strathyre with similar concerns and asked if the Community Council would be content to arrange a single meeting for all parties concerned. DJ stated that he had replied to Mr Perry and was arranging a suitable date.

7. Grit bins in Strathyre

On 17th August, a meeting took place in Strathyre village to discuss the provision and siting of grit bins and grit in preparation for winter. The meeting was attended by Cllr Earl, Eric Wilson and Gary Neill from Stirling Council "Roads Department", Wullie Dalziel (who had done considerable research to identify icy trouble spots) and Ruth McLusky, Secretary of the Community Council. The group walked round the village discussing Wullie’s map of possible sitings for grit and grit bins and agreed the following:

• A new grit bin will be sited at the village hall.

• The grit bin at the entrance to Old Station Court will be exchanged for a larger one.

• A new grit bin will be sited by the steep path to the play area opposite the entrance to the cycle track heading North.

• The grit bin at the junction with the Stroneslaney Road will remain as it is.

• The broken grit bin at the school will be replaced by the one removed from the entrance to Old Station Court.

• It is permissible for residents to take grit from the above bins for use on footpaths.

• When the grit bins need to be refilled, residents should contact Stirling Council online if possible or on the phone number displayed under the bin lid. The bin will be refilled as soon as possible, but not necessarily immediately.

• In addition to the grit bins indicated above, piles of grit will be placed at problem sites. In a bid to prevent these piles being rendered unusable by rain, frost and snow, a couple of slabs will be laid at these sites.

8. MacGregor's Landing

On 24th August, a letter was received from John Fotheringham, Chair of the Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council. He referred to a company called "Future Auctions" that was selling otherwise worthless land in their area under the guise of parking for motor homes and other vehicles. Their community council had noticed that similar advertisements appeared on the company's website for plots of land in Balquhidder. Members were concerned that the land in their area was being sold under false pretences since it was unlikely that planning permission would ever be granted in relation to the properties concerned. They appealed for help in identifying those responsible for the advertisements and enlisting the help of local agencies and authorities to deal with the matter. DJ had replied on behalf of the BLS Community Council, outlining what information had been gleaned about those behind this company and the efforts that had been made to investigate any potentially illegal actions in our area.

On 5th September, AP had noticed that an appeal against the enforcement notice for the land on Stroneslaney Road had been allowed on 30th August 2022. The planning bulle tin in which this had been reported provided no further details or explana tion of why this decision had been reached. DF was unable to provide any addi tional information as he had only recently been made aware of the appeal hearing himself. DJ added that his understanding was that an appeal hearing had been granted, rather than the appeal itself having been resolved. Members discussed the problem at some length and DJ suggested that the best approach might be to bring all concerned parties together and to seek to stimulate some media interest in the matter. DF offered to sound out this proposal with the National Park Authority.

9. Forestry Work and Timber Transport

a) Timber Transport Management Plan (TTMP) . DJ reported that the situation was currently deadlocked. As noted at the community council meeting in July, a plan had been published, but the community council could not agree with all the points raised. ME commented that the BLS community council was unusual in having taken such an ac tive interest in timber harvesting operations locally and this appeared to have caused some consternation and uncertainty as to how to proceed so far as the industry was concerned. Hopes were expressed that the local MSP would be able to progress matters.

b) Current timber transport operations (Stroneslaney) . The operation has continued without any problems and is now almost finished.

10. Correspondence

a) Loch Lomond Byelaw Review . The Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Authority (LLTNPA) is undertaking a public consultation regarding the current bye-laws in the National Park. Six fundamental changes are being proposed to the byelaws, along with a number of other minor revisions. These are:

1. The creation of zones only for low or non-powered ac tivities, such as paddleboarding, swimming, kayaking and fishing, in order to improve safety in areas where there is a higher risk of safety issues, conflict and disturbance.

2. Amendment of the boundary of the existing, lower speed area around Inchmoan Island to make it more easily identifiable for loch users.

3. The compulsory wearing of personal flotation devices (PFDs) such as lifejackets for everyone under sixteen on all vessels (when on open decks) to improve safety for young people.

4. The transfer of liability for offences committed by a young person in sole charge of a powered vessel to the registered owner of the vessel when there is no supervising adult.

5. The introduction of a new Loch Lomond User Registration scheme, in addition to the registration of a vessel, meaning any individual using a motorised vessel must be registered with the Park Authority in advance. This is to make the identification of individuals easier in the event of a contravention.

6. The simplification of processes around businesses opera ting on lochs by changing the existing “Permission to Trade” byelaw to focus only on businesses causing nuisance.

Any local resident may submit a response to the consultation via the Authority's website ( www.lochlomond-trossachs.org/byelawreview ).

b) North-West Trunk Road contract . In April 2022, Transport Scotland confirmed the appointment of BEAR Scotland as the chosen operating company for the new Scottish Trunk Road Network Management Contract for the North-West unit until at least 2030, with the option of a potential extension of up to four years.

c) Notification of Stirling Council administration grants . On 24th August, the Community Council received formal notification of the Administration Grant and Minutes Grant due to be paid by Stirling Council for the current year 2022/23.

d) Treasurer's report . AP was unable to be present at the meeting so had submitted a short report by email. He advised that the administrative grants from Stirling Council would amount to £743.85, probably arriving in early October. Meanwhile, the current balance stood at

£1,956.28 . The changes in personnel authorised to conduct financial transactions through the Bank of Scotland on behalf of the community council had finally been put in place and AP was hopeful that full internet banking facilities should be available to the new officers.

e) Cycling Event . On 6th September, Louis van Kleeff from the Rapha Cycling Club, contacted the community council to advise of a cycling event in the area that would be taking place on Saturday 1st October 2022. Eighty riders will complete a mixed terrain course, starting and finishing at Monachyle Mhor on Loch Voil. The event will begin at 8 a.m. and is expected to finish by 6 p.m. that day. Those taking part will be allocated to teams of four and given appropriate guidance on following the countryside code. No signs will be erected beforehand. DM commented on the fact that more and more events were being organised in Balquhidder Glen and asked if there should be a ceiling on such events. ME commented that this raised a good point but he was not aware of any appropriate mechanism or forum for raising such questions.

11. Planning Matters

The only matter of general interest concerned the hearing of an appeal against an enforcement order from the NPA regarding land o ff Stroneslaney Road and this had already been dealt with under item 8 above.

12. Matters from Ward Councillors and National Park

a) Local Transport . ME mentioned that the Demand Responsive Transport scheme was experiencing problems with local operators pulling out – mainly due to the recent, huge increases in the cost of fuel and the lack of additional financing from either Stirling Council or the Scottish Government. Similar problems were occurring with school bus services and other local community transport services.