Balquhidder, Lochearnhead & Strathyre
Community Council Minutes – 11th September 2024
This mee ng took place in Strathyre Village Hall at 7:30 p.m. on 11th September 2024.
It was chaired by Carolyn Brooks.
Present: Carolyn Brooks (CB), Ruth McLusky (RM), Andrew Poulter (AP), Webster Inglis
(WI), Angus Cameron (AC), Bob Wells (RJW).
Apologies: Mar n Mackenzie (MM), David Johnston (DCJ); David Fe!es (DF), Loch
Lomond & The Trossachs Na onal Park Authority (LLTNPA); PC Heather
Campbell (HC), Police Scotland;
Also A!ending: Maida MacLaren (MML), resident of Balquhidder; Cllr Gene Maxwell (GM),
S rling Council; Paul Hicks (PH), minute-taker.
Item Content Ac on
- Approval of minutes from 31st July 2024
It was proposed by RM and seconded by AP, that the minutes of
the mee ng on 31st July 2024 should be accepted and this was
approved unanimously.
- Declara ons of Interest
There were no declara ons of interest by members present.
- Police report (31 July to 10 September 2024)
During this period, there were no incidents involving an -social
behaviour in the area. On 19th August, an a!empt was made to
break into a shed at Drummond Fish Farm and entry was forced to
a caravan parked on the site. There were six incidents related to
traffic on the roads, the most serious of which was a collision
involving three vehicles near Strathyre on 19th August. There were
no serious injuries, but the road had to be closed for some hours in
order to recover the vehicles. One driver was reported for driving
without due care and a!en on. On 7th August, an allega on of
dangerous driving on the A84 in Lochearnhead was made but the
offending driver and vehicle could not be traced. On 17th August,
an allega on of erra c driving on the A84 and A821 was made but,
again, it was not possible to trace the offending vehicle. On 10th
August, a report of a caravan abandoned in a layby near Strathyre
was received. The owner could not be traced but S rling Council
arranged for it to be removed it from the layby. On 31st July, a
report of ca!le straying on the A85 near Lochearnhead was
received and police a!ended but could not trace the animals. On
6th September, a van overturned on the A85 near Lochearnhead.
Police a!ended but the driver was not seriously injured and no
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offences were disclosed. The vehicle has since been recovered. On
3rd September, the Fire Service and Police were called to a house
fire in Lochearnhead. The fire was soon ex nguished. Nobody was
injured and no offences were disclosed. The Junior Road Safety
Scheme has con nued with Primary Year Six in Strathyre and police
patrols are regularly carrying out speeding checks locally. The
"pop-up" police officer has also been deployed regularly.
- Full membership of community council
This item was postponed to the following mee ng because the coopted
member to be offered full membership was unable to be
present.
- Ma!ers arising from previous minutes
a)
The Broch Field, Strathyre. DF had liaised with Ma! Buckland,
Visitor Opera ons Manager for LLTNPA, who had asked for further
informa on as to what was needed in rela on to the car park
beside The Broch at Strathyre. He is happy to chat with a
representa ve from the community council about signs and the
management of motor-homes.
b)
Ballimore, Balquhidder. DF had established that LLTNPA is s ll
awai ng manufacture of the access advisory signs for either end of
the path diversion. As soon as they become available, the Land
Opera ons Team will install them, with some addi onal waymark
posts to keep people on the route.
- c) Loch Voil, Balquhidder. DF had advised the Secretary that the
update on the access and visitor management proposals (as
outlined at the previous mee ng) was as follows:
: The sign at the Craigruie passing place had s ll not been installed
by S rling Council. DF had contacted them several mes and, on 1st
August 2024, they reiterated their agreement to install it.
: Three addi onal Camping Management Zone (CMZ) signs and ‘no
access’ signs are ready to be installed. These signs will be sited
between Dhanakosa and Rhuveag.
: Agreement had been reached with two of three landowners for
the display of access advisory signs, with messages tailored for
specific loca ons and issues. The Land Opera ons Team had
agreed to undertake this work and was just wai ng for the final
landowner’s approval. These signs will be installed at the same
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me as the CMZ signs and the hope is that this will be done by the
end of August 2024.
d)
Glen Ogle Trail. DF had reported that Dave Robinson, Recrea on
and Access Adviser for LLTNPA, had offered to replace the missing
decking boards on the bridge and to replace the ladder s le with a
stockproof and deer-proof, self-closing gate. However, LLTNPA was
not in a posi on to take over liability for all the small trails within
the Park. He asked if the BLS Development Trust might be able to
take on the maintenance of the bridge and gate? Nobody was
available from the Trust to respond to this, but the query will be
referred to DCJ.
e)
Pavement Parking Prohibi ons. The Transport (Scotland) Act,
2019, introduced a na onal ban on parking on pavements which
took effect on 15th July 2024. Further details, with links to the
government legisla on, had been published on the community
council website. (www.blscc.org) There had been numerous
complaints about the effects of this legisla on locally, but similar
reports appear to be widespread throughout the country and
people need to raise concerns directly with local councillors and
members of the Sco%sh Parliament.
f)
Water provision in Balquhidder. This had previously been raised at
item 14A of the minutes of the mee ng on 19th June 2024 and
related to Sco!sh Water regularly transpor ng water by road to
supply local houses in Balquhidder. The community council had
requested further informa on and Denni Kinnear had responded
on behalf of Sco!sh Water to advise that this opera on was taking
place because of a burst pipe in the network that had yet to be
located. In view of addi onal, new houses wai ng to be connected
to the water network, DCJ had emphasised the urgency of the
situa on and asked for further informa on on how the search for
the leak was progressing. Sco!sh Water had since responded a
second me to advise that the leak had not yet been traced but
the community council would be kept apprised of progress. MML
stated that the addi onal water is required because the current
capcity is insufficient and there could be problems if the tankers
were prevented from delivering - for any reason. CB suggested that
the local MSP could be asked to intervene if no informa on is
forthcoming from DCJ's enquiry.
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g)
Disposal of waste from chemical toilets. DCJ had also raised a
ques on with Sco!sh Water concerning a report of mobile home
owners disposing of waste from chemical toilets in the public
toilets at Lochearnhead. This had been tabled as a separate agenda
item. (See item 7B below.)
6 Forestry and mber transport
- a) Felling Permission Applica on, Balquhidder. An applica on had
been made for selec ve felling of 927 trees at Gardener's Co!age
Woods, Balquhidder (Ref: FPA-11476). Comments are invited via
the public register at Sco!sh Forestry.
- b) Muirlaggan Estate, Balquhidder. The estate is preparing a Long
Term Forest Plan (LTFP) and is currently at the second (scoping)
stage. Sam Holub-Swindell, Forest Planning Manager, had no fied
the community council that feedback regarding the proposals is
sought and can be submi!ed online via their website at
"www.highfield-forestry.com/muirlaggan/" by 6th October 2024.
- Correspondence
- a) Complaint regarding mber transport in Balquhidder. On 5th
August 2024 a complaint was received from a resident of
Balquhidder regarding a mber transport vehicle travelling in
excess of the agreed speed of 20 mph on public roads and 10 mph
on the unmade Stronvar track. The resident was able to provide
dash cam footage to support the allega on. The complaint was
referred to the Timber Transport Management Plan coordinator
(Claire Glaister). The mber transport vehicle in ques on was
traced and its tracking informa on confirmed that the vehicle had
been driven in excess of the agreed speed limit (although not as
fast as the complainant had alleged) on the public road. Similarly,
on the unmade track, the vehicle had travelled at between 3-18
mph, occasionally exceeding the agreed limit. Ms Glaister said that
the company (H&R Gray) had been reminded of the importance of
keeping to the speed limits agreed. In its response, the company
commented that the driver concerned had been a replacement for
the regular driver.
- b) Toilet waste from campervans and caravans. At the beginning of
August, a resident of Lochearnhead raised a concern with S rling
Council (Environmental Health Department) about owners of
mobile homes emptying the waste from chemical toilets in the
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public toilets at Lochearnhead. The community council was also
no fied and asked to be informed regarding the prac cal and legal
consequences of such ac ons. Following liaison with both the
Sco!sh Environment Protec on Agency (SEPA) and Sco!sh Water,
it was apparent that such a prac ce was ac vely harmful for any
private waste water treatment plant u lising a sep c tank or
biological treatment. It could also be harmful in smaller public
sewers. Caravans and campervans have toilet waste holding tanks
and should never be emp ed anywhere other than a designated
area at a campsite or a motorhome service point. Public toilets are
not appropriate loca ons to empty toilet casse!es as there are no
facili es available for cleaning up spillages. The Council had no
jurisdic on or power to prevent such prac ces, but would take
steps to put up signs at all its public toilet facili es to advise that
disposal of waste from chemical toilets was not permi!ed and any
abuse would be reported to SEPA and Sco!sh Water. DCJ had
thanked S rling Council for taking this ac on and suggested that
councils throughout Scotland might pe on the government for
the appropriate powers to enforce a similar prohibi on throughout
the country.
- c) Rural S rling Housing Associa on. The Associa on had informed
the community council that it would be holding its annual general
mee ng on Thursday 12th September 2024 at the Callander Youth
Project, 3 Bridgend, Callander, FK17 8AH. The mee ng will start at
7 p.m.
- d) S_rling Council’s libraries. The Council had no fied the community
council that it was currently conduc ng an online survey about its
library service and all local residents are encouraged to respond.
Further details are available via the community council website.
(www.blscc.org)
- e) Temporary Prohibi on of Traffic, C33 road, Balquhidder. S rling
Council had no fied the community council that part of the C33
road in Balquhidder Glen will be closed temporarily on Friday 20 th
September from 8 a.m. un l 6 p.m. to facilitate public u lity works.
The sec on of road to be closed runs from its junc on with
Stroneslaney Road through to the end of the road at Inverlochlarig.
Emergency service access will be maintained and provisions will be
made for school buses when available. The same stretch of road
will then be closed again on a daily basis from 9 a.m. to 12 noon
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and then from 1 p.m. to 6 p.m. between 23rd September and 6th
October 2024. This is to facilitate re-surfacing works. GM offered to
speak to the Roads Department about the poor signs that had
failed to indicate precisely where the road would be closed.
- Road signs in local area
The community council had received an apology from S rling
Council because work had not yet commenced on the prepara on
of the Traffic Regula on Order required to implement the 40-mph
speed limit on Stroneslaney Road. This will be progressed in due
course but, due to a lack of staff resources, it had not been
possible to have the passing place and alcohol byelaw signs
erected in the mescale previously advised. The signs are ready for
deployment and a works order is currently being prepared for
them to be erected. Every effort will be made to have this work
completed at the earliest opportunity.
- Communica ons with S_rling Council
An acknowledgement of the community council's reply to the
enquiry from Kilmadock Community Council had been received
from its Chair, Tony Farrant, thanking BLS for its contribu on. He
stated that Kilmadock intended to arrange a mee ng with the new
Chief Execu ve of S rling Council to explain the issues but was s ll
wai ng for a mee ng to be arranged. The aim would be to try to
get some posi ve changes to working rela onships and prac ces.
He suggested that it would be imprac cal for every community
council to pursue this and offered to act as the representa ve for
everyone. He set out a summary of the important role of
community councils in the democra c process that he intended to
present as the basis of his case for change, then detailed the
prac cal ma!ers that were currently impairing communica ons
and liaison between community councils and S rling Council. He
proposed to make clear to the Council that there is a general air of
frustra on and disquiet amongst community councillors in the area
which, if unheeded, could lead to the dissolu on of many
community councils for lack of local support.
- Overgrowth of vegeta on on local road verges
CB said that some work has been done in Balquhidder but rather
late. This is dangerous because there had been a significant
increase in traffic using the C33 road.
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- Visitor Experience Strategy for Queen Elizabeth Forest Park
RM summarised the responses that had been submi!ed by the
community council to Forestry & Land Scotland concerning the
Queen Elizabeth Forest Park at Strathyre. These included concerns
regarding exis ng paths, signs and viewpoints not being
maintained; sugges ons that parking, picnic sites and toilets would
be useful addi ons to encourage be!er use of the Park and the
offer of comments and advice from the local community on how
best to improve the facili es. To date, no response had been
received to these proposals.
- Community Benefit funding through SSE Networks
Pauline Allison, Stakeholder Engagement Manager for SSE
Renewables, had contacted the community council to make
members aware of poten al funding that is currently available
through SSE Networks as part of the provision towards a
Community Benefit Fund. It would be par cularly appropriate for
any larger projects that the community had in mind. The deadline
for applica ons this year is 22nd November 2024, with decisions
being made in January 2025.
- Planning Ma!ers
a)
2024/0241/PPP. An applica on has been submi!ed to build a
three-bedroom, one and one half-storey house to the North of
Vorlich Road, adjacent to the former railway line. Other proper es
had already been built there and an exis ng track to the site would
provide access. One objec on has been no fied, on the grounds
that the person making the applica on does not own all of the
land in ques on and, consequently, there would be no access to
the property. It was agreed that comment should be made about
the problem over access.
b)
Telecoms Mast, Auchraw Hill, Lochearnhead. Members were of
the opinion that this would be beneficial to local residents and
would not cause any unreasonable interference.
- Co-op on of new member to community council
A nomina on form had been sent to S rling Council for valida on.
RM stated tht 14 days' no ce could now be given for MML's
appointment as a co-opted member.
- Ma!ers from ward councillors and Na onal Park representa ve
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- a) GM stated that there had been no full council mee ng since 29th
February due to lack of staff to support the administra on. The
current leader (Chris Kane) is standing down as the leader, which
will result in some significant changes of rôle for other councillors.
GM will be a!ending the Finance Commi!ee mee ng on 19th
September and will be interested to know the current financial
situa on. He men oned two projects that are likely to be
addressed in the near future: parking and the proposed tourist
levy. These need to be pursued and the la!er should raise
addi onal money for the Council. Other ma!ers to be considered
are a shortage of housing and urgent road repairs.
- Any other competent business
There were no substan al items for considera on, but members
were informed that a mee ng had been convened that evening
concerning the Balquhidder Broadband company. If appropriate,
further informa on would be provided at a future community
council mee ng.
There was no further business and, at 8:30 p.m., DCJ declared the
mee ng to be closed. The next mee ng is scheduled to take place at
Balquhidder Village Hall on Wednesday 23rd October, 2024 at 7:30 p.m.
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