August 2023 Minutes

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PART 1 : WELCOME AND PROCEDURES

Introduction
MM welcomed everyone to the meeting and advised that Gordon Addison was attending as an Associate member of CCC. He has been carrying out research into tour
buses visiting Callander in the early morning (to 10.30am) to assess numbers to establish if it is worth approaching local businesses to open earlier to meet demand.
GA will be an Associate member for the duration of the project.
MM also passed on the sad news about the death of Susan Holden. Susan was the previous chair of CCC. She passed away on 21st July, after a long illness. Susan was a member of CCC between 2018 and 2023 and Chair from October 2020. She was able to maintain CCC during challenging times when the statutory membership was below the statutory minimum. She instigated the joint meetings to improve communication
between CCC and CCDT, all for the betterment of the local community. She will be much missed.
Paul Fraser has decided to step down from CCC due to family and work commitments.
He feels he can't give the role the time required but is happy to be involved in any future projects where his skills as a Marine Biologist can be utilised.

Recording
MM advised everyone that the meeting was being recorded for the purposes of minute-taking and Chris Marzella from Stirling Observer was joining online.

PART 2 : MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING

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PART 3: MATTERS ARISING

Action

Callander Flood Group (CFG)
There has been a meeting of the group since the last CCC meeting. LG advised that during the meeting attendees were split into smaller groups to look at a range of issues. Due to lack of resources at SC, they are still behind with the WSP survey on Surface Water Flooding in Callander.

Local Place Plan (LPP)
CF provided an update and advised that communication about the LPP is the priority.
Those involved are looking at methods of communication and how they can be used to raise awareness. They are also keen to look at individual projects and how people
can get involved in each of these. CF advised that funding is in place for the initial project of securing a local physical communication hub. The LPP survey had indicated a strong demand for a community hub and information centre for the LPP.
A joint workshop between CCC and CCDT was held on 16th August to familiarise the attendees with the LPP. The workshop prioritised the projects identified in the LPP for ease of achievement and local impact with a view to drafting a plan to achieve its
contents.
A possible event will be held in Ancaster Square on 16th September involving CCDT and CCC as well a range of other organisations coming together to launch the LPP and
to provide information on what each organisation does and who is involved. They are keen to welcome as many people from the local community as possible. Further
information will be available in the Ben Ledi View.
There then followed a discussion about the potential community hub in Main Street.
There was an email vote by CCC following a request for support for CCDT to apply for funding for a Community Hub and votes were submitted to MM. There were concerns about the transparency of the process as some CCC members replied directly to the Chair. There was also a question asked about why the specific property had been
chosen. RB was keen to raise her objection specifically to the property chosen. RJ also raised concerns that the NP were not involved in communication as they are also
looking for premises in Callander. DM stated that the NP’s CEO had indicated that the use of the present Main Street premises was only short-term.
In the item on the vote for CCC to support the trial of the community hub, there were three people who withdrew from the voting. RW proposed that the project should go
ahead for the initial 6-month pilot period. Of the 12 members present:
DK declared a conflict of interest, MM and DM abstained from the vote due a
perceived conflict of interest by some CCC members. Of the 9 persons voting, 7 were in favour and 2 were against supporting the trial of the community hub.
(PLEASE NOTE, post-meeting clarification of this vote)
Some Community Councillors stated at the September meeting that they
misunderstood what was being voted on in this motion. They thought that the vote was on the premises itself, which they were not in favour of, rather than the pilot for the Community Hub, which they were in favour of).

Local Bus Service
RB advised that, as schools have returned, this means there is a reduction in drivers available, leading to cuts in other services, as school runs are given priority. New vehicles have been rerouted to retain services where possible. There are also issues
with the Stirling routes due to cycle lanes being constructed, which means buses are not running on time.

Public Toilets

There is no update on public toilets. EW has raised the issue with SC that the toilets at St.K should be reopened. SC has been heavily involved in the UCI Cycling
Championships, but staff are now back in the office dealing with other matters.
EW & ME have sent a reminder to Economic Development at SC and will keep CCC updated. They are keen to get an options paper for St. K from Finance and Economic Communication of which EW is a member. There was a request from CCC to see that copy of the building options report. CCC will write to SC asking for a copy of the
condition report.

Citizen of the Year award
DM provided an update on this. Responses have not been received from everyone, therefore, CCC is not able to announce a winner yet. DM asked if everyone could get their vote back to him asap. FB and MM are working on a written process and will
circulate for comment.

CCC to write to SC for
copies of
condition
reports.

Respond to DM asap.

PART 4: SPECIAL ITEMS FOR DISCUSSION

Action

Communications
JK spent some time gathering ideas on how CCC can improve communication to increase visibility within the community. It is felt there is a lack of understanding of the work of CCC and there were various suggestions of ways to overcome this:
 Information in the Ben Ledi View. However, only published every 2 months and it is unknown how many households read the paper. Also consider having a separate flyer with the paper.
 Have a monthly bulletin giving information on CCC and CCDT
 Have a QR code on the website for CCC, CCDT and CE.
 There was a discussion on how to reach people with no IT access including putting information on noticeboards in Leisure Centre, in centre of town such as a permanent display including photos of CCC members, in local schools and
supermarkets/shops, having noticeboards at the end of every street.
 Have members of the CCC based in the community hub on a regular basis.
 Have a mini surgery once a month prior to CCC meetings.
JK will collate and circulate all the ideas and then priorities can be decided.

Survey of local tour coaches
GA gave an update on local tour coaches visiting Callander. He has carried out 4 surveys between 13 and 28th July. He advised that there have been 10 coaches visiting Callander each day with most leaving the town by 10.10am. Over a 4-day period there were around 1800 people arriving in the town by tour coach. GA will collate all the information and disseminate to local businesses, to try and encourage more to open
earlier.

JK to collate &
circulate asap.

Part 5: REPORTS

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Vice Chair report
JK has taken on planning role from DM as well as the Vice Chair role. There is no full planning report but there has been one significant planning application for a “change
of use” to a field near the entrance to Callander. The initial application is for 4 glamping pods but there have been objections made to this as it will be located close to a residential area, and it was felt inappropriate to place a caravan park there. There has been a request for support from CCC to object to the plans. JK will look at the
request in more detail and will email everyone once more information is available.

Treasurer’s report
JW advised it has been a quiet month for him. There have been no transactions in July. He has submitted the final accounts for 2022/2023 to SC for approval and the budget for the current year’s administration grant and is awaiting a response.

Chair’s report
There has been one application made for BoD microgrant. The request was made by the Rotary Club, Callander to offer a social space once a month for both older and younger people. MM will write to them to advise that their application has been successful.
£50K funds are earmarked for a major community project. There was a discussion on using the funds to purchase land that could be used for large local events such as reinstating local Highland Games. RJ indicated that the 41 club were considering a
proposed business plan.
MM also advised that she has written to SC about the speeding strips being added to the A81 to monitor drivers coming in from Mollands. She will also write to Transport Scotland regarding A84, asking for information on size and speed of vehicles.
MM has received a letter regarding larch felling. A map of the woodland has been provided. A pre-operation surface water impact survey will take place.

Stirling Council
EW has become the ‘older persons champion’ for the whole constituency. She attends the Older Persons Assembly, which is also attended by representatives of Dementia
UK, Age Scotland and Town Break. There are plans to open a dementia cafe in Doune which will be the first one in rural Stirling. EW has joined the group to hear other voices and to provide support for people to make benefit claims.
EW is a member of the Health and Social Care Partnership which is made up of a range of a partners from the 3rd sector and GPs. EW intends to take this forward with SC through ‘Thriving Communities’ to act as signposting for people on where they can get help and make sure the information is available to everyone on how to access support.
EW discussed the rural business network. They will be holding a meeting at CYP in September with business leaders and entrepreneurs. STEP is also planning an event to
celebrate their 40th birthday. EW will provide more information on the date of this event when it becomes available. MM will circulate to Callander Enterprise. EW advised that the target is business owners.

National Park
The Callander South Master plan is out for consultation. There was a lack of clarity on the hierarchy relationship of the various NP consultations involved. Please could this be clarified so that the Callander South Master plan isn’t being looked at in isolation?
The NP Draft Partnership Plan is also out for consultation. The plan covers the next 5 years.
The NP Board will be having a 2-day strategy meeting. Attendees will include the board and executive members of staff.

Police reports
There were questions raised about the traffic speed gun at Bridgend. MM will write to police Scotland to ask for more information on why there was no enforcement and only warnings handed out.

JK to collate & further
information
when
available.

MM to write
to Transport
Scotland

PART 6: ANY OTHER BUSINESS

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PART 7: DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

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