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Item
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Action
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PART 1 : WELCOME AND PROCEDURES
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Introduction
MM welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced the five new members of the community council. The new members are Ruth Barrie, Fiona Kerr, Robert MacLean,
Paul Fraser and John Kennedy.
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Recording
MM advised that the meeting was being recorded solely for the purposes of minutetaking.
She stated that if time ran out to answer all questions, the questions could be emailed to callandercc556@gmail.com. She advised that if there were any items on the agenda with which an individual stated he/she had a conflict of interest, the individual concerned could discuss and provide information on the item, but couldn’t vote on it.
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New Community Council
MM invited members of CCC to introduce themselves and say a few words on why they wanted to be on CCC, committee, as well as stating any conflicts of interest with items on the agenda.
Paul Fraser has lived in Callander for 6 years, works as a Marine
Biologist/Ecologist with an interest in nature, wildlife, and sustainability. Paul
was keen to get more involved in the local area, having moved to Callander
from another area.
David Shearer had previously worked as a maintenance surveyor.
John Watson has been on CCC twice, having previously been a member in 2019. He previously worked as an Electrical Engineer.
Fiona Kerr has lived in Callander all her life and has worked in various jobs
including care worker and Campbells shortbread factory. She states that she
has a genuine interest in Callander.
Ruth Barrie was born in Callander and works in the bus transport industry.
David King has lived in Callander since 1975, worked in the motor trade and this is his 2nd term on the CC. David may have a conflict of interest depending on the matters being discussed as he is also involved with the Round Table 41 club.
David Moore has lived in Callander for 25 years and since retiring had enjoyed working with the community.
Marilyn Moore has lived in Callander since 1997, retired in 2015. Marilyn is
also involved with Callander Enterprise so there may be a conflict of interest if
any financial issues are discussed.
John Kennedy had worked as an International Construction Manager, has lived in Callander for 25 years, but spent a lot of this time working away so felt remote from the local community.
Ray Watkins previously worked as a dentist and has lived in Callander since
1984.
Olga Watkins worked as both a GP and dermatologist, was previously the
secretary of CCC from July 2020 until now and is keen to make Callander a
better place to live in.
Robert Maclean has lived in Callander all his life and would like to get involved in community matters. He has an interest in a range of local issues.
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2: Guest– Lee Turnock (LT) – Scottish Fire and Rescue, Group commander, Stirling, Clacks and Fife LT introduced himself as the Group Commander for Scottish Fire and Rescue responsible for Stirling, Clackmannanshire, and Fife. He explained that Scottish, Fire
and Rescue had a statutory responsibility to have a senior office in place for all the areas within the network. LT is one of 4 group commanders who look after stations
from Stirling and Alloa, including Callander, and the Trossachs corridor up to Tyndrum.
LT reassured CCC on the availability and maintenance of the on-call firefighters in Callander. He discussed the rising cases of wildfires both locally and in other rural areas. He advised that it was important that Scottish Fire and Rescue works in
partnership with land owners and community groups in rural areas to try and reduce the potential of wildfires taking place. LT discussed various documents including a document on “Large Outdoor Fires” which refers to fires over 1000 square metres in
size and which captured data from January 2010 to December 2022. He explained that this document allowed readers to identify the growing trend in wildfires which could be put down to the ‘climate emergency’. He was keen to provide reassurance on the limited number and impact of wildfires locally.
LT provided information on the performance of local fire services and the calls to which they had been mobilised over the previous three years. There had been a reduction in the number of incidents over this period. In 2021, they were called to
104 wildfires, and this had reduced to 80 in the period 2022-2023. LT stated there remained a need for fire services in the local community, but the reduction of callouts was likely due to the prevention, protection, and resilience work that Scottish, Fire and Rescue was involved in. He stated that there was a lot of preventative work
taking place with community groups and schools to provide education, with Rangers helping to promote fire and water safety messages. Between 2022 and 2023 the local fire station responded to 80 calls, of which 21 were for fires, 23 were for special
services ranging from car accidents, assisting people in the water, animals and livestock. There were also 36 false alarms - these included unwanted fire alarm signals and aerosols being used near smoke detectors. 21 fires were in buildings and 8 were outdoors fires. LT stated that Callander did not have large fires on a regular basis.
The peak months for callouts were April, July, and February. LT reassured the meeting that there was an operational crew in Callander, even though there had been personnel turnover in recent months with a reduction in availability. This was the case not just in Callander but nationally, as the majority of people were ‘transient’ in their workforce habits - they didn’t always work in the town they lived in. This caused
issues for daytime availability. He stated that the service was a predominantly on- call service. Scottish, Fire and Rescue relied heavily on local availability of able-bodied
individuals who could commit their time but this meant that the service needed to work with primary employers to ensure availability. There were recruitment strategies in place to increase availability and access exposure to local population.
There had recently been 54 individuals given the on- call watch command role. These individuals worked for cluster stations, which helped to increase availability during day time hours.
There are 5 firefighters based in Callander. The minimum required was 4 for a crew, although 5 was the optimum number required to ensure a safe system of work. LT explained that once a call was received, they aimed to be mobilised to an incident within 10 minutes of being informed. It would be the first 5 available at the station
who would attend. LT explained that the skillset based at the station needed to be considered in these instances, such as was there a driver available and if they had ‘incident command competency’ to take charge of the situation. There was a 3-year
probation period for new entrants before they were considered competent in the role. LT confirmed that all the skillsets required were available in the team at Callander station. There were now 3 individuals in the recruitment pathway “PREP”
which allowed them to bring people through pre-employment checks - they would then enter into the 3-year programme. LT explained that Scottish Fire and Rescue needed to enhance the recruitment strategy to get more interest and then carry out
employment checks.
LT was questioned about the strategy in place for wildfires. He stated that Scottish, Fire and Rescue chairs the Scottish Wildfire Forum. Various Government bodies and invested parties also sit on this forum including Forestry Commission (now FLS) and
Visit Scotland. There was a lot of vested interest for each party on how the global climate crisis was managed. The forum identified ‘Wildfire Danger Assessment’ strategy, working alongside the Met Office. Scottish Fire and Rescue supported local
community groups to provide information and communication on preventative measures as well as working with landowners to look at housekeeping and having suitable measures in place. There was a discussion on ‘cool burning’ of farmland. LT confirmed that the service recognised the important of moor burns and worked with landowners to ensure they did this in the correct manner and that any fires didn’t get out of control.
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3: MINUTES OF THR PREVIOUS MEETING
The March draft minutes were accepted without amendments, proposed by DS and seconded by DM.
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4: MATTERS ARISINF FRPM THE PREVIOUS MEETING
NHS Dental Services
RW provided an update on the local NHS dental services. He recently had a 2-hour meeting with Forth Valley Health Board representatives and stated that plans were still on track for a 3-person NHS dental surgery based in Callander Health Centre. The Health Board will make any announcement of further developments when the time
was right and RW was hopeful of an update by August.
Flooding plan
Iain McCourt (IM) spoke about the local flood group. The group was set up by those in the area impacted by flooding . There are representative from across Callander including Main Street, Ancaster Road etc but the group were keen to get as many
people involved who had been impacted by flooding. The group were also keen to get representation from CE and CCC, as well as Callander Resilient Group to ensure that there was an ongoing voice within the community and to present the case to SC. The group was keen to get the message over to the wider community about flooding and not just those impacted by flooding directly. The group had a meeting with Dot Reid, Senior Officer at SC on 18th May, regarding a report presented to CCC last November
which had caused some concerns about the flood protection proposed for Callander.
There were 27 options suggested for flood protection in Callander and SC would outsource these suggestions to their consultants WSP. They will then carry out a multi criteria analysis. Due to ongoing staffing issues in the Council, it was unlikely that a
decision would be made before March 2024. SC advised that the community were stakeholders. IM
referred back to the 2009 Flood Act which stated that the community was not seen as stakeholders. SC’s 10 year strategy did not show any funding in place for flood protection in Callander. There was £50,000 allocated for the multi criteria analysis. SC needed to go back to Scottish Government to request more for funding for flood protection. IM was happy to provide any more information and also for a
representative from CCC to attend the flood group meetings in future.
Local Place Plan
Chiara Fingland provided information to CCC on the Local Place Plan (LPP). CF explained that an LPP is a community plan and vision that involves local land use. She
explained that the LPP was about allowing the community to have a voice in what should happen with land use. She advised that Callander was one of the first places in
Scotland to complete an LPP, and that those involved were keen to work with local groups to ensure that the plan was taken forward. The LPP was published in December 2022. Once published, it had to go to both SC and NP to be validated, as it
involved new policy and legislation. Now, both were working out the validation process but had welcomed the process of working together. One of the key actions was to identify funding, as well as working on a communication strategy. There was an awareness that many people may not have read the LPP. They are looking at other ways to get the information across to the local community. CF explained that the LPP had a range of themes with actions attached to them. She was keen to get ideas on how to get the message across, not only digitally but also by using a physical space,
where people could find out more information. There needed to be a prioritisation exercise working with the community as well as an event to launch the LPP. CF explained that Callander should be seen as a holistic place where the community could work together, as well as having a ‘one stop shop’ where individuals could find out what was happening and get involved. CF was keen to work with the community to find out the best way to do this, as well as raising the profile of the LPP and inspiring more people to get involved in order to get different perspectives. Chiara advised that a whole range of skills were needed, including Project Management, Health and Wellbeing, Education etc. CF and other members of the group will report back on a regular basis.
Local Bus services
No update available. RJ advised that the NP was looking at a pilot for a shuttle bus either in Trossachs, Arrochar or Tarbert. It was going out to tender so would depend on which bus company won, where the location would be and what sort of vehicle would be used.
Callander South Master Plan
DM advised that there was a meeting scheduled for the next stage of the consultation today, but this has been deferred until Tuesday 27 June at 2pm. It will take place at CYP and DM encouraged as many people as possible to attend. There was also a major application coming in for the new Primary School and a housing development South of Mollands Road. It was important that the local community saw these plans.
DM stated that he thought the NP had learned from the initial consultation and were coming back to the community with better displays etc. JW asked what would happen with the old Primary School. MM advised that there had already been a request to SC for more information on the site.
Larch felling on the Crags
Following previous update to CCC on the larch felling on the Crags, several members of the public from Ancaster Road had asked what mitigation had been put in place to combat flooding. MM also advised that an email has recently been received from Lesley Hawkins confirming that some larch trees were now infected in Coilhallan Woods and there were concerns that the infection was worse than was initially thought, as well as happening sooner than was expected.
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RW to report
on progress
IM will
provide more
info on flood
group to any
interested
parties
MM to
provide an
update to
next CC
meeting
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5: SPECIAL ITEMS FOR SIXCUSSION/INFORMATION
Citizen of the year 2022/Lifetime Achievement
Citizen of the Year (CotY) award was for an individual who had given outstanding service to the community in 2022, whereas the Lifetime Achievement Award (LAA)
was for an individual who had given outstanding service to the community over many years. There had been 6 nominations put forward for the CotY award an nominations were now closed. The details of the nominations would be distributed to all members of CCC for voting on. DM advised that he was scrutinising the nomination to ensure equality of information amongst all of the nominees, as some only had their name put forward with no other details being given - these individuals may not be known to all members of CCC. He advised that. if there was no majority vote from email voting, there would be another vote between the top 3 nominees and a rerun of voting, if needed. This could be completed before the next meeting of CCC. If
anyone had nominations for the lifetime aware, this could be submitted at any time.
Best Kept Garden 2023 Competition
CCC had been sponsoring the Best Garden competition for several years. OW has been contacted by the Horticultural Society regarding the Best Garden competition this year to find out if CCC wished to take sponsor it again. OW advised that someone from CCC was needed to take this forward and DK agreed to assist the judge and visit those gardens that had entered the competition. There would be a prize for the best small garden and the best large garden. The winners of each would receive a certificate and the overall winner would also receive a trophy awarded by CCC. OW asked CF to let the Chair of the Horticultural Society know that the competition would be supported by CCC. . Anyone who wished to take part needed to apply on the Horticultural Society’s website. OW would provide information for people who had no IT access.
Public toilets
No update available on the current situation with public toilets. MM confirmed there were 2 closures over the Coronation weekend, one as the person staffing the toilets
was unaware they were to be opened and the other due to a burst pipe. There was a discussion about the possibility of getting St Kessock’s toilets back into use and if so, would SC manage them? It was agreed that there was a need for more public toilets across Callander. JW would ask for a update.
CCTV coverage
There was a discussion about lack of CCTV coverage in Callander, as a member of the public had contacted CCC due to recent acts of vandalism. OW had contacted ME, who advised that the main issues appeared to be a lack of funding needed to upgrade the current CCTV. Police Scotland had informed a local resident that there had been no operational CCTV in Callander for more than 10 years. CCC had worked with the police on the original system, and it had never worked correctly, cameras worked but images could never be used by the police. Therefore, there would need to be a new system installed. A member of the public suggested that perhaps the lump sum from
the BoD fund might be available for this purpose.
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DM to email
CC with
details of
nominees. CC
to email vote
back to DM
OW to advise
horticultural
society that
CC wishes to take part. OW
to arrange for a poster to be displayed in
the library.
JW to ask for
an update
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6: OFFICE BEARER & KEY REPORTSChair’s Report
MM has circulated a document, to be completed and returned by each member of CCC, to identify areas of personal interest that they would like to find out more about.
Treasurer’s Report
MM provided an update from April to June on activity that has taken place since the last meeting of the CC. Money has been used to cover website hosting, cost of website, domain name, minute taking, zoom subscription, as well as insurance needed to be able to host events. CCC has also purchased a laptop and accessories costing £730 which was running the current meeting. CCC obtained permission to pass over the funds left in the Covid Grant to the CAB development trust to support- community hardship. The current balance of unrestricted funds is £538, and the overall balance is £3661.63. MM will pass everything over to JW before next month.
There had also been activity on the BOD account. A microgrant of £253.08 was awarded to Mental Health Matters. The Callander recovery café was also awarded
£250 for the rental costs but it had since advised that this was no longer required. It had been asked to submit another application for anything else it needed. MM
reminded everyone that funds were not paid into a personal bank account and the grants were only awarded to small, unconstituted organisations.
Secretary’s Report
OW had assisted DM with the handover of secretarial material and the transfer of some information to the new laptop.
Planning report
DM stated that there was currently a vacant role within CCC as a Planning Officer. It was important to fill this role as planning questions came up regularly. DM was happy to support anyone who was interested in the role.
Roads Report
DS advised that there were 83 issues he was currently dealing with, involving both pavements and roads. DS was due to attend meetings with both SC and BEAR to discuss the A84 and pavements/lighting on Main Street. There was a discussion on
the high numbers of motor bikers parking in Callander and raised a query about the frequent use of t Ancaster Square as parking place for motorcycles.
Loch Lomond & The Trossachs National Park Report
RJ reported that the new bridge at Bracklinn Falls had now been formally opened to widespread approval. He was lobbying for new information boards to be completed and installed as soon as possible.
Stirling Council Report
GM stated he had nothing specific to report. SC was now looking at the budget for next year and there were likely to be financial pressures due a shortfall on the budget.
There was also work on KPIs to be able to hold council to account. It was suggested that CCC requests a traffic warden to support local parking restrictions and
encourages them to recruit someone who lived locally and knew the area. There was a discussion about the condition of the local cemetery. GM advised that when the grass was cut, it turns to brown grass and SC have looked into the machinery being
changed to stop this happening. SEPA has told SC they couldn’t compost grass cuttings on site therefore they would need to go to a specialist site. SC no longer had its own composting site at Polmaise so there would be a cost involved. It was also felt there was poor general maintenance of the cemetery such as putting gravel down etc.
GM to find out if local volunteers could maintain the cemetery or if this was unachievable due to health and safety issues.
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GM to find
out if local
volunteers
can maintain
cemetery
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7: ANY OTHER BUSINESS
MM made CCC aware of a wildflower border in Ancaster Road. CCC has been asked if it could write a letter of support to SC, if people are in favour of having more wildflower gardens in Callander. David Warnock had suggested that there were a
number of questions CCC needed to consider. There were ‘making sure any adjacent house is happy, that the area is suitable, that there are no road safety issues and that the area is kept small’. It was confirmed that wildflower areas do need work but the
benefits are more wild flowers, more birds and insects and it would also provide a message that Callander had a caring, green community. MM to send a general letter to SC advising that CCC would need advice on how to manage the areas.
MM had circulated a document to each CC. Everyone is to identify areas that they are interested in learning more about and then return this to MM. MM asked if anyone was interested in finding out more about the LPP and how the CC works – PF expressed an interest. If anyone else is interested, they were asked to contact MM within the following week.
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MM to send
letter to SC
Interest in
finding out more is to be sent to MM
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8: DATE OF THE NEXT MEETING
There will be an extra July meeting on Monday 17th July 2023 in CYP at 7:30pm. It was
agreed that SC will be informed as well as ME and EW.
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