February 2023 Minutes

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PART 1 : WELCOME AND PROCEDURES

JW welcomed all to the meeting. He stated that he would be chairing the meeting, due to SH (Chair) being unwell at present.

Recording

OW advised that the meeting would be recorded solely for the purpose of the minutes. There was no online attendance for this meeting.

Declaration of Interest

None

PART 2 : MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING/MATTERS ARISING

MM advised that Maria Lucey was spelt incorrectly. The spelling should be “Lucey” not “Lucie”.

The minutes were proposed by DM and seconded by RW, subject to this change.

Matters arising from the minutes:

Local Place Plan

HT had submitted handover notes that were distributed to all members. The areas that were highlighted were:

·         No air quality monitor despite having agreement from contractor that this would be installed

·         No installation of free Wi-fi on Main Street. HT had suggested that the ward

councillors investigate this further. EW agreed to follow up both items

EW to follow up

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·         Follow up on community transport with some of the other villages - Killin, Aberfoyle, Doune, Deanston and Thornhill. This will need to be taken forward by CC.

·         Callander South Master Plan – the area designated for development opportunities was not included in Master Plan Draft.

EW highlighted the transport pilot scheme which has been running in Aberfoyle, with locals using their own cars for community transport. EW will update when more is known.

St Kessogs:

TC had circulated an email from SC, asking for the CC to support a feasibility study to

look at Callander Library for use as a business hub, rather than St. Kessog’s, due to the cost of refurbishment of St. Kessog’s.

Following a general discussion, it was agreed that CC would support the feasibility study. TC will take this forward.

MM requested details from EW regarding the business hub in Aberfoyle, in order to forward them to Callander Enterprise.

NHS Dental Services in Callander

RW provided an update:

·         Things were going well with discussions with the Health Board.

·         The petition had been signed by over 1000 households, which represented over 2000 people in Callander and surrounding areas. There had been support from other villages including Lochearnhead, Strathyre, Thornhill, Doune and Aberfoyle.

·         He thanked Chiara Fingland and Olga Watkins for developing the online petition.

·         He would update CCC when he had more to report.

Bracklinn Bridge

Written update provided by Murray McKellar (MMc) confirmed that the bridge was almost completed, Cambusmore Estate and NP were working to improve drainage to reduce water damage in future.

·         Contract to provide information

·         Install a new culvert

·         NPA will provide update to Bridge Group and CC as soon as path and bridge open. This was likely to be in the next week or so.

·         MMc was happy to arrange a walk over with the community once work was complete

·         Alasdair Wyllie (AW), Associate Member, had now stepped down as the project was almost complete. OW had thanked him on behalf of CCC for all the work he had done, especially in keeping the community up to date throughout the project.

EW will update when more info available

CC to support feasibility study. TC will take forward.

EW to provide details of business hub

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MMc may arrange walk over once work completed

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Update on the flooding

Letters had been sent to SC and to Marie Lucey. There had been a delay in the engagement plan and there was a lack of communication from SC. SC were planning to organise a meeting between SC, SEPA, Scottish Water and CCC, as well as some members of the local community. There had been no further update since December 2022 on this.

Local bus services

ME was leading on this. He had submitted an email to CCC on 27^th January with an update on the 59 bus service. He had had a meeting with Mr Phillips, senior

management at McGill’s where he had discussed issues with cancellation to services. He was advised that this was due mainly to vehicle reliability with the fleet. There would be a significant numbers of new buses at both Bannockburn and Balfron depots in early March. There were also issues with driver recruitment but the feedback from McGill’s was that this had now improved. The company had also increased pay to try and maintain drivers.

ME stressed to McGill’s that the bus service was an essential transport link and how important it was for people who relied on the service for work, education, and medical appointments. Mr Phillips advised that cancellations were notified via the website and app. and that the company was doing all it could with the system they had.

ME asked about compensation for people who had been affected by cancellations and who had a weekly or monthly ticket. Mr Phillips would advise the customer service department that individuals will be contacting them regarding refunds. He would also contact Forth Valley College regarding the disruption caused to students.

ME would be at the next CCC meeting when he could take forward questions from this meeting.

There were several suggestions such as posting information in the noticeboard in the Square (belonging to CE) or in the BLV and posting contact information for McGill’s buses at bus stops.

OW will ask ME if information from his email can be posted onto CC website.

MM will check if another key can be cut for the noticeboard in the Square, so that CCC has access to it.

National Park

Callander South Master plan currently has a consultation period open for people to go onto the website and leave a comment. They also had a drop-in session at the library earlier in the day.

DM attended the drop-in session and provided an update. He expressed concerns about the venue and organisation of the event. The drop-in took place upstairs in the library, therefore anyone with mobility issues could not attend. There was also only one officer from the NP present, there were no display boards, people were queuing up and several people left as they ran out of time and gave up. There were also

concerns raised about the short time scale that has been made available to respond.

OW to ask ME if info can be posted on CC website

MM will check if another key can be cut for noticeboard

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One member of the public who had also attended the drop-in session, declared that it had been a ‘complete shambles’ and this comment was repeated by several others who had also attended.

DM encouraged everyone to look at the documents online or get paper copies and respond. He highlighted some of the main issues around the plan:

·         Regarding the land on the North near the proposed new pedestrian bridge - there was a ‘strong movement’ from the cricket and football clubs for the land to be re-zoned for recreational use.

·         There had been no clarity on whether or not local services were adequate to support the development.

There were several concerns raised by members of the public, including:

·         How did people know the drop-in was on?

·         Were landowners consulted?

·         There were also concerns raised from businesses on the industrial estate on the North side of the bridge that this area was being seen as a development opportunity.

EW will discuss with ME. She advised that the plans were passed by the NP in December and put out for consultation in January. She also stated that ME did not know about the drop-in session that had been organised at the library.

It was agreed that the plan should be rejected by CCC and that CCC should go back to NP to advise that the consultation was not ‘ fit for purpose’. It should be extended to allow the opportunity to answer questions from individuals and businesses.

EW stated that CCC should advise ME and RJ that they rejected the plan.

EW to discuss with ME

CCC to advise ME and RJ that they rejected plan

PART 3 and 4: SPECIAL ITEMS

Co-option of new member

Loucas George gave a short summary as to why he wished to join the community council as a co-opted member. He had recently moved to the area and his residency application had been confirmed by SC.

DM formally proposed, MM seconded - the vote was unanimous for Loucas George to become a co-opted member of CCC.

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5. REPORTS

Chair

JW stepped up in SH’s absence and advised that the current CC was now coming to an end. The next meeting in March would be the last one before community councillors stepped down in April and members would then go through the process of applying to join. Applications would be open to everyone in the community who had an interest in joining. The period for submitting nominations was from 3^rd to 17^th April. People from the local community would be encouraged to attend the March meeting of the CC to find out more about the role of the CC and what they, as individuals, could offer.

It was agreed a request would be put to SC to ask an officer to attend the meeting on 20^th March to answer questions and give information on what being a member of a community council would involve. OW will also inquire how many councillors will make up the new committee.

An article on this will be included in the next addition of the Ben Ledi View, and notices will be posted around the local community to raise awareness. Application packs are not yet available.

Secretary

Written report submitted.

OW to take forward

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OW provided an update on the work she had done since the last meeting. This included responding to 89 emails both from residents and visitors, dealing with 166 email chains, writing minutes of the previous meeting and so on.

OW stated that the workload was unacceptable and needed to be addressed, either by CCC or by SC , especially as it was a voluntary, unpaid role. She felt the work could be split amongst three CCs, to make it less onerous for the next secretary.

Treasurer

Written report submitted

MM advised that it has been a quiet few months. She was involved with 2 transactions, a payment to CYP for the December CC meeting and refreshments.

MM stated that the use of microgrants has been approved by the BoD directors and FS. Individuals could now apply from unconstituted organisations for a grant of up to

£250 (up to £2000 would be available per year in total). Decisions about to whom the grants were awarded would be made by CCC. Any decisions about larger grants would still need to be financially ratified by BoD and FS. These could only be awarded to fully constituted organisations.

Planning - DM

Written report submitted

5 new applications since last meeting. Mostly low scale and not controversial.

DM highlighted one of the applications - the kennels at Invertrossachs Road, which included a listed building. The application was for change of use and extension and also a listed building consent.

MM asked if there had been any feedback from NP on accessibility issues for the bridge such as individuals with vertigo.

Police Scotland

Written report submitted – it will be put on website along with approved minutes. Highlights included:

·         School-based officer carried out a joint bus safety operation with DVSA and SC where they found that 2 of the school transport buses being used to transport McLaren High pupils had defects, causing them to be deemed unroadworthy.

·         There had been an increase in burglaries locally over the Christmas period.

There was a discussion around the increase in burglaries over the previous 8 weeks. OW will contact Police Scotland for comments.

Stirling Council - EW

No written report submitted, due to SC Budget not yet being finalised.

EW had been working on the Budget for the previous 4 weeks. The Budget would shortly be announced.

EW requested that Richard and Mary Johnson be thanked by CCC for organising the Christmas switch-on of lights in 2022, their contribution to the OAP Christmas party and the presents for children in Ukraine which they organised. On behalf of CCC, JW thanked them and all present agreed.

OW to contact Police Scotland for comments

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NP - RJ

RJ was unable to attend the meeting but had submitted a report on the local development plan and an update on motorhome management. A drop-in session had been organised for members of the Visitors Management Group on 23^rd February which OW would attend.

Roads Report: DS

A written report had been submitted

DS highlighted pavements that needed to be refurbished:

·         Finish resurfacing A821

·         Box Junction re-marking at traffic lights

·         Meeting on 3^rd March Budget coming, ME would also attend

SC – Martin and DS would meet to discuss SC footpaths and roads on 3^rd March.

There was a discussion about the poor condition of the car park surface at McLaren Leisure. It was confirmed that the car park belonged to SC but that it was not responsible for its maintenance. It was the responsibility of PP contractor. DS advised that SC were not responding to any queries.

There were questions raised about the budget that had been set aside for the work that was due to be completed on the pavements in Main Street in October. DS advised that BEAR worked on priorities, so would now need to wait on the new budget before any work was completed.

OW to attend drop in on 23^rd Feb

ME/DS to take forward

PART 6: ANY OTHER BUSINESS

AOB

An article will be written for inclusion in the April Ben Ledi View, asking for nominations for Citizen of the Year and this will be taken forward by the new CCC.

MM asked if the Highland Games would be taking place in 2023. DK stated that nothing was planned, due to issues with identifying a venue.

DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING

Monday 20^th March 2023 at 7.30 pm in CYP, Bridgend, Callander The meeting finished at 9 pm