May 2021 Minutes

CAMBUSKENNETH COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING

MINUTES

Monday 24 May 2021
Online

 

Members Present: Ross McGregor (Chair), Tessa Carroll (Vice Chair), Barbara McElhinney
(Treasurer), John McCallum, and Elaine Turner

In attendance: Councillor Jim Thomson, two residents

Apologies: Linda Jones (Secretary), Councillor Susan McGill, Councillor Ross Oxburgh
Minutes were taken by Tessa Carroll.

  1. Adoption of Previous Minutes (26 April 2021)

    Correction under 14. Maintenance of footbridge ‘A resident has contacted Scottish Gas
    Network about the exposed gas pipe.’ Corrected to ‘A resident had contacted Scottish Gas
    Network about the exposed gas pipe in the past’.

    Minutes of the meeting of 26 April 2021, with this correction, were approved. Proposed by
    John, seconded by Elaine.

     

  2. Treasurer’s Report

    The Treasurer’s report was taken at the beginning of the meeting, as Barbara had to leave
    early. There is not much change in the CC finances: total just under £5,000 with £2,500
    ringfenced for the hall and park; £264 deficit in 2020-21. A donation of £20 was received at
    the end of April. She will pass the 2020-21 accounts to Alan Loughray for auditing.

    Barbara and Ross are in the process of setting up internet banking for the CC account.

     

  3. Matters Arising (not covered below)

    None.

     

  4. Hall & Park Update

    Ross asked Councillor Thomson if there was any schedule for reopening village halls etc; not
    yet, was the answer.

    Action: Councillor Thomson has still to ask council officers about maintenance of the picnic
    benches and tables in the park.

     

  5. Phone Box

    Elaine had spoken to the painter & decorator resident who is willing to paint the phone box.
    He will order materials at cost through his business. She has started preparation by clearing
    the soil away from around the box and will liaise with him about preparation for painting.

    Another resident has offered to powerwash the box.

    A resident had contacted the CC suggesting a defibrillator for the phone box, with detailed
    information about this, including cost and funding possibilities. Various suggestions, including
    a defibrillator, were received last year when the phone box was adopted, and the group
    agreed that the community needed to be consulted before making a decision. Linda had
    offered to organise a vote on this. The group also discussed the village hall as possibly a
    more suitable location for a defibrillator, which would leave the phone box for an alternative
    use; permission from Cowane’s Trust would be needed. Elaine suggested it would be an
    opportunity to offer CPR training.

     

     

    Action: Elaine will draft an information/feedback sheet to be delivered to residents to obtain
    as wide a range of views as possible.

    Action: Barbara has still to phone the insurers about including the phone box in the CC
    cover.

     

  6. Traffic

    Speed Limits - Ladysneuk Road & village

    The signs have been changed to reduce the speed limit to 30mph for the whole of Ladysneuk
    Road to the village entrance, where the limit changes to 20mph. However, 40mph signs
    painted on the road remain; a resident had spoken to the team working on the signs and been
    told that those will be updated soon. The resident and Ross both noted that the speed
    reductions seem to have had little effect, although people may not yet be aware of the
    reduction on Ladysneuk Road.

     

    Parking on corner of Ladysneuk Road and South Street

    A resident had expressed concern about parking at the top of South Street / Ladysneuk Road
    obstructing the view for traffic turning onto Ladysneuk Road. Ross agreed that there are such
    problems in a small village with narrow streets, but there is not much the CC can do, apart
    from encouraging people to park considerately. A resident thought that part of the problem
    was that some of the pavements had historically been wider than standard before being
    adopted by the council and that extra width had been retained.

     

    Traffic on Alloa Road

    Alloa Rd is currently open to eastbound traffic (using the westbound lane) from just beyond
    the Ladysneuk Rd junction. There have been many reports from residents about near misses
    caused by cars moving to the wrong side of Alloa Rd before the junction or overtaking cars
    trying to turn right into Ladysneuk Rd. Ross asked why the one-way system had been set up
    that way; Elaine and a resident suggested moving the boundary of the closed lane further
    along Alloa Rd. Councillor Thomson said Carlyn Fraser had been out to investigate speeding
    at the other end of the lane closure and he would ask her to contact the CC direct.

    Action: Councillor Thomson will get Carlyn Fraser to contact the CC.

    Update 28 May: The cones have been moved around, effectively creating a chicane on the
    approach to the temporary one-way system. This forces cars to remain on the left side of the
    road until they reach the barrier and have to move to the right. It is now much safer. Thanks to
    Councillor Thomson and all involved.

    Councillor Thomson reported that a drone survey by a specialist contractor had shown
    fractured rock on Abbeycraig that needs to come down. A safe method statement is needed
    and there are no dates yet for the work to be carried out.

    Update 28 May, summarised from Stirling Council media release: The A907 Alloa road will be
    closed both ways to all vehicle traffic other than emergency vehicles and resident access for a
    minimum of 5 weeks from Monday 7 June, in order for specialist rockfall contractors to make
    safe an area of rock fall on the Abbeycraig which has occurred opposite Scot Mobility Ltd. At
    times during the descaling of the rock face, the road will be closed completely to all users,
    including cyclists and pedestrians, while large or more complicated sections are made safe.

    These durations will be kept to a minimum, both in time and frequency, but will be necessary
    for the works to progress.

     

  7. Pergola at Abbey

    Repairs on the pergola still to be carried out.

     

     

     

    Tessa and another resident had done some tidying up of the flower beds around the pergola.
    She suggested that the proposed nature sub-group could take on this maintenance work
    longer term, and the CC agreed this was a good idea.

     

  8. Wallace Monument Steering Group

    Ross reported that the group had met last week and will meet again in September. There had
    been a discussion on traffic, relating particularly to the Alloa Rd closure and discouraging
    large lorries on Airthrey Rd.

    Council officers had given a very good presentation on active travel routes through the
    university and to Forth Valley College. Encouraging active travel to the monument is seen as
    important. Councillor Thomson reported that Stirling Council is trying to get electric bikes to
    encourage this. Ross suggested rental bike parking at the abbey.

    The monument has had lots of visitors since reopening, of whom about a third are Stirling
    residents taking advantage of the free entry scheme for local residents. The shop and café
    are still owned and run by Stirling District Tourism, which previously also ran the monument.
    The shop now sells alcohol, including Stirling Gin.

     

  9. Arts projects on Sustrans routes

    Elaine reported that Sustrans has posted dates for funding applications for the next two years.
    She has written to Cowane’s Trust to clarify ownership of areas where artworks might be
    sited. She will include information about the proposed arts project in the information sheet
    about the phone box.

     

  10. Flooding in farm field next to Abbey
    Action: Barbara will follow up on this.

  11. Hanging baskets

    The CC had agreed to go ahead with the hanging baskets, based on the quote from
    Homesteads, and Martin Parry (Ivy Cottage, North Street) has ordered them.

    Thanks to Evelyn Moffat for her donation towards this year’s baskets.

    Update 31 May: The hanging baskets are due soon. If you're new to the village, or haven't
    volunteered before and would like to help, please email
    cambuskennethcc@gmail.com with
    your name, address, contact details and availability, or contact any CC member. Full training
    given! If you've volunteered before, Martin will be in touch to check your willingness/
    availability.

     

  12. Sub-groups

    Ross had contacted Riverside Naturally and is meeting one of the founders of the group to
    find out more about it. It was set up as a separate group (charity) because Riverside did not
    have a CC at the time. Having sub-groups linked to the CC would be simpler, e.g. facilitating
    use of the CC bank account.

    Action: Ross to report back on his meeting with the Riverside Naturally founder, with a view
    to setting up a nature sub-group and arranging a meeting with interested residents.

     

  13. Maintenance of footbridge

    Councillor Thomson had sent the most recent independent specialist report on the footbridge
    to the CC. A resident commented on the report, noting repeated mentions of poor repairs in
    the past and the recommendation that the netting under the bridge needed urgent attention,
    and asked if there was an action plan for repairs and when the next inspection would take
    place. Councillor Thomson agreed with the resident’s concerns and said that the current council engineer in charge of bridges is well aware of the problems and that lots of bridges in
    Stirling Council area need repair; he also noted that independent consultation is a legal
    requirement.

    Councillor Thomson had told council officers about the exposed gas pipe (i.e. to contact
    Scottish Gas Network) but no repairs have yet been carried out.

    Action: Councillor Thomson will chase this up.

     

  14. Waterside Cottage

Councillor Gibson had contacted Abby Kelman at Taylor Wimpey, which still owns the site;
she was seeking an update from colleagues. Councillor Thomson reported that the February
2020 planning application for a mixed tenure residential development on the Kerr’s Yard site
had been withdrawn.

Recent work on the sewage pumping station on the riverbank opposite Ricoh was noted.

 

17. 2021 AGM

Barbara had heard from Jean Cowie at Stirling Council that the AGM does not have to be
held by the end of June. It was agreed to hold the AGM at the next meeting (August).

 

  1. Bins at village hall

    The grey bin at the village hall has still not been replaced from when the new bins were
    supplied. Residents who voluntarily do work on the area behind the hall and in the park need
    to use the brown bin, so this still needs to be emptied under the new permit scheme. A
    resident noted that residents near the hall put the bins out on the relevant days.

    Action: Councillor Thomson will follow up with council officers.

     

  2. Website

    The CC website continues to be hacked. Linda is working on this.

     

  3. Minute taker

    Linda had posted the request for a new minute taker on the CC Facebook page and there had
    been a few responses.

    Action: Tessa and Elaine to speak to those who have expressed an interest, aiming to have
    a new minute taker in place for the next meeting.

     

  4. Ladysneuk Road pavement

    A resident reported that horsetail/marestail is growing through the pavement (resurfaced last
    year) on Ladysneuk Road and buckling the surface, resulting in worse trip hazards than the
    previous pavement surface, which had been in place for at least 35 years. Another resident
    had already reported this and sent photos to the Stirling Council in response to a request for
    feedback on the Your Stirling, You Decide initiative, which had funded the resurfacing. The
    comments had been forwarded to the Team Leader Roads Operations, who expressed
    disappointment about the condition of the pavement and said he would send out an area
    inspector to investigate and produce a plan for the best option to address the issue.

    Action: Councillor Thomson will follow up on this.

     

  5. Fundraising/events

    Saturday 21 August is the provisional date for a village barbecue, but a decision cannot be
    made until we know about Covid-19 regulations and whether these will allow the village hall to
    be booked.

     

    Discussions of fundraising events are postponed to the August meeting, when we should
    have a better idea about regulations.

     

  6. Councillors’ Report

    Councillor Thomson had commented on all relevant issues during the meeting and had
    nothing more to report.

     

  7. Police report

    No reports of any crimes.

     

  8. AOCB

    Glass waste collection

    A resident had asked about arrangements when Stirling Council stops the glass box collection
    next year and whether a bottle bank could be sited e.g. behind the village hall. Councillor
    Thomson said that nothing will change until the deposit scheme comes in; it was due to come
    in next year but will probably be delayed because of covid-19. The council will still collect non-
    returnable glass after that, but it will go in the blue bin.

     

    CC admin etc

    Elaine asked about responding to emails to the CC email account, e.g. whether members
    should take responsibility for particular topics. As Secretary, Linda deals with most of the
    mails as well as the website and Facebook page, with Tessa as backup, but other members
    sometimes take on dealing with specific issues. It was agreed to discuss this later among the
    CC members.

     

  9. Next Meeting & AGM

 

Monday 23 August 2021 at 7.30pm, online unless
Scottish Government Guidance changes.

Details to be announced nearer the time on CC website

 

Stirling Council 01786 404040, Police non-emergency 101, NHS-24: 111

Scottish Power emergency 105, Scottish Gas emergency 0800 111999

 

Reminder: Minutes are available via the CC website and Facebook page. If you want
them emailed privately or paper copies please let us know via email at
cambuskennethcc@gmail.com or by contacting any CC member.