Cambuskenneth Community Council
Meeting held on Monday 24th June 2024 at 7.30pm in the Village Hall
Present: Archie McIver (Chair), Elaine Turner (Secretary), Barbara McElhinney (Treasurer),
Maggie Ruddy, Graham Barrett, Catriona Taylor
In attendance: Councillor Susan McGill, one member of the public
Apologies: None
The meeting was chaired by Archie McIver. Minutes were taken by Elaine Turner.
Items for AOCB
Sign for Manor Powis footpath, FEL trustees’ advert
Adoption of minutes from meeting held on 27 May 2024
Proposed: Barbara; Seconded: Maggie
New regulations on parking on pavements – discuss and consider application for exemptions
The Scottish Government has introduced a national ban on parking on pavements, on double
parking and on parking on the carriageway adjacent to a footway where the kerb is lowered to assist
crossings, with the aim to improve access for pedestrians and especially those with mobility issues,
pushchairs or visual impairment. Stirling Council will enforce the ban from 15th July 2024 and have
begun a publicity campaign to advise the public of the ban. Penalty charge notices will be issued
from 15/7/24 with fines of £100, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. There are exceptions to the
ban, including short term essential visits for emergencies and deliveries. In addition, pavement
parking can be permitted if parking on the carriageway would impede the passage of an emergency
vehicle. Councillor Jim Thomson had proposed at a previous meeting that North St should be
considered for an exemption because of its narrow width, but no exemptions are currently in place.
We discussed that our previous request to review parking in Cambuskenneth has been passed on to
the Active Travel team as they have funding to improve safety along the Ladysneuk Rd route.
However, it is the Council Transport department which is responsible for approving positioning of
yellow lines and traffic calming measures. Given this new regulation, there is an added need to
review the best way to meet the wishes of residents who want to park close to their homes, whilst
maintaining the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and drivers passing through Cambuskenneth.
We agreed that we should approach the Active Travel team and Traffic Officers to work together on
parking options and traffic flow through Cambuskenneth to present possibilities at our meeting in
September. We agreed that we should apply for an exemption for North St to enable access for
emergency vehicles and indicate in the application that we wish this to be part of a larger review.
We would then present options to the public for consideration and feedback prior to any changes.
Action: Elaine will apply for an exemption for North St via the Council website
Elaine will ask the Active Travel Team and transport team to review parking and traffic flow in
Cambuskenneth to consider how best to meet everyone’s wishes, and present options to our
September meeting
Access for emergency vehicles on South St and North St
In conjunction with the above discussion, we noted that there had been a recent incident on 1/6/24
where a fire engine had been unable to proceed down South St to deal with a fire in a litter bin in
the park, because cars were parked on both sides of South St with inadequate space for a fire engine
to pass. Fortunately, a member of the public had been able to put out the fire with a garden hose
and the incident happened during daytime where car owners could easily have been asked to move
their cars. This could have been much more serious if a house had been on fire, or the incident had
happened at night. The fire crew which attended spoke directly to individual car owners involved.
Elaine emailed the Community Fire team to ascertain their views. The incident commander replied
and said that fire crews had visited Cambuskenneth several times since the incident and since then
had always found ample space for vehicles to pass. He attached a poster which could be displayed
locally which highlights that a fire engine needs 3.1m (10ft) to safely pass between vehicles. He
confirmed that the Council would need to be contacted to consider whether a pavement parking
ban exemption should be in place.
We agreed that we should distribute the poster by laminating and placing on lamp posts in North
and South St for information and include this incident in our submission to review parking.
Action: Elaine will laminate posters and attach to lamp posts
Which day of week is best for holding CC meetings?
Archie had indicated that he would no longer be able to attend Community Council meetings on a
Monday and we therefore discussed whether a different night was an option. Susan McGill
explained that different Councils held meetings on different nights of the week, so a change was
possible provided it did not clash with another meeting. Archie said that he was not sure at this
stage what his schedule would be in the autumn so we will continue with Monday meetings
meantime.
Cambuskenneth Nature and Environment Group (CNEG) Report
Graham gave a brief update on CNEG’s most recent activities on behalf of Helen. Helen has written
to the chief executive of Ricoh to express her disappointment that staff from the Head Office have
not wished to engage with the community, despite a stated aim to encourage biodiversity and
counter climate change on their website. She awaits a reply. She has also written to Mark Ruskell,
MSP, to request his help in persuading Cowane’s Trust to allow more trees to be planted on
Ladysneuk Rd, as the Trust should be aiming to counter the effects of climate change and risk of
flooding in the local area. The next event is a Gardening for Wildlife talk in the Village Hall at 2pm
on Sunday 7th July 2024.
Treasurer’s Report
We are now in a new financial year and the accounts for 2023/24 were presented at the earlier
AGM. Since then, we have spent £315 on hanging baskets, and a further £145 on stationery and
printing, Hall hire and event insurance and an annual charge for website provision. The total balance
is £3503.31 including the Hall & Park fund, unchanged at £2073.31. We agreed to continue to pay
membership of Scotways, the Scottish Rights of Way Society.
Action: Barbara will pay Scotways membership fee.
Matters arising (not covered below)
Graham asked for more information about the traffic calming measures on Ladysneuk Rd from the
Active Travel meeting which Archie had attended. Archie explained that options were still being
discussed and nothing is finalised.
Matters arising
Pergola - Replacement Benches and Planters
Elaine had shared several links to websites offering different styles of seats and planters and brought
printouts to the meeting of examples. She explained that these could be made from galvanized steel
with a 25 year guarantee – examples on Riverside walk and in Bridge of Allan- recycled plastic, also
25 year guarantee and maintenance free, or wood, although some concerns that wood may rot and
need replacement sooner. Our first decision is to decide on the material. She will ask for an example
price from Ogilvie’s, the steel manufacturer, to help with this decision.
Action: Elaine to request sample prices for seats and planters and circulate to Community
Councillors
SUB GROUP REPORTS
Social Subgroup
We held a very successful barbecue on 22nd June with approximately 70 tickets sold and very good
attendance. Elaine thanked Ross, her husband and son for manning the BBQ and pizza oven all
afternoon and Caroline and Maggie for selling raffle tickets and helping with seating guests etc. She
suggested that we should look for more volunteers next year to allow a rota of helpers to enable
volunteers to socialise more. Around 10-12 children attended and played with balloons, football and
cricket so more organised activities may be possible next year. The BBQ highlights the value of the
Hall for social events and a sense of community. Feedback has been very positive. The next events
will be a quiz and chocolate tasting in the autumn.
Resilience Group
The Resilience Group has met twice and has divided up tasks. There is a plan to note informally who
may need help in each street in adverse weather or power cuts. There is a concern with maintaining
records because of data protection legislation but the Resilience Officer may be able to advise on
this. The Group has obtained a copy of a leaflet from Callander, which they wish to amend to
circulate to the community, looking both for useful skills and equipment within the village and for
those who may need support.
Graham has emailed Councillor Jim Thomson to ask for his advice on the role of the Hall as he was
involved in the previous Hall Group. Jim agrees that the Hall is important for resilience planning, but
he will need to wait until after the election to become involved.
Cambuskenneth Village Hall Group
The Hall Group has met once and started to discuss the options for the future of the Hall including a
direct lease from Cowane’s Trust. The Group wish more information about running costs and
income, acknowledging that the current booking system and pricing is discouraging people from
booking the Hall at weekends. We discussed that Stirling Councillors need to be lobbied prior to the
next round of budget setting to highlight the need for the Hall in the community if we wish a chance
of the Council paying for a further lease. Susan suggested that we should lobby all councillors with a
one-page summary and focus on development of community and social cohesion, loneliness and
resilience as reasons to fund the Hall. We also discussed if Cowane’s Trust could be persuaded to
consider the Hall more positively as one of its historical buildings.
Report from Councillor/s
Susan explained that Council business is suspended due to the upcoming general election. Caroline
Sinclair has been appointed as the new CEO of Stirling Council to replace Carol Beattie who resigned
last year. Ross McGuffie, who is currently the Chief Officer of Health and Social Care in North
Lanarkshire, has been appointed as the new Chief Executive for NHS Forth Valley.
Wallace High School girls’ football team won the Scottish Schools’ Cup and were given a civic
reception. Stirling City Heritage Trust have been asked to lead on the delivery of a new Heritage
Strategy for Stirling and are consulting with two questionnaires as well as drop-in sessions to seek
local people’s views. Susan will circulate information on this.
Police Report
None received
Questions from floor/members of public
None
AOCB
Manor Powis signpost
It has been noted that the finger post sign to Manor Powis has fallen over and is lying by the
entrance to the field. The footpath is also extremely overgrown and very difficult to walk through
this year because of high vegetation.
Action: Elaine will contact the Access Officer to ask if the signpost can be replaced and to seek her
view on the vegetation which obstructs the path.
FEL Trustee opportunity
Forth Environment Link (FEL), a local environmental charity, is seeking new members for its Board of
Trustees and emailed the Community Council to publicise this to the community.
Date of Next Meeting: 7.30pm, Monday 23 September 2024 in the Village Hall
*No Meetings in July or August*
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 would like
them emailed privately or paper copies, please let us know via email at
cambuskennethcc@gmail.com or by contacting any CC member.