Feb 2022 Minutes

Drymen Community Council

Minutes Of The Ordinary Meeting Held On Tuesday 01^st February 2022 Within Drymen Village Hall

At 7.30pm Fraser Robb opened the meeting, welcomed all of the attendees and thanked them all for participating.

Present

Fraser Robb (FR), Marie Elder (ME), Jemma Allan (JA), Andrew Richardson (AR), and Carole Kerr (Minutes)

Also Present

Councillor Jane Hutchinson (CJH) representing Stirling Council, Willie Nisbet (WN) representing Loch Lomond And The Trossachs National Park Authority, Richard Boddington (RB) representing the Drymen Community Development Trust, PC Steven Graham representing Police Scotland, and three members of the community.

Apologies

Adrianna Dent (AD), Walter Hemfrey (WH) and Carol Hemfrey (CH)

Declarations Of Interest In Any Agenda Item

None

Approval Of The Minutes Of The Last Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were proposed by AR, and seconded by ME.

Matters Arising From The Previous Minutes

None

Police Report

PC Graham read out the police report:

· Antisocial Behaviour

o There was a report of eggs having been thrown at a house in Drymen. One male charged with vandalism.

· Road Safety

o There was no reportable road traffic collisions since the last meeting.

· Theft

o There have been no thefts in the Drymen area since the last meeting. However, in the early hours of 24th December, access was gained to an insecure house in Kirkland Avenue and car keys stolen. As a result, access was gained to the vehicle which was thereafter stolen. Enquiries are continuing.

o A sneak in theft also occurred in Fintry whereby keys and a vehicle was stolen from a driveway.

o An attempt was also made to gain entry to Oakwood Garden Centre in Killearn. No entry was gained.

· Fraud

o A fraud was attempted in Strathblane, whereby a form regarding a vaccine passport was requested to be filled in. Bank details were asked for which raised suspicion and none were given out. Please be aware of all types of fraud as they are very common. This is why this section is left in the report every month.

o A potential fraud also occurred in Croftamie where a female received a text from someone purporting to be her son asking her for money. Bank details were sent to reporter for where the money should be sent. Fortunately, her son was in contact prior to any money being transferred who confirmed he did not make the request.

Correspondence

AR informed the meeting of the following correspondence:

· 31st January 2022 – We received an email from Stirling Council informing us of an illicit drug of concern, identified as black or grey Xanax.

· 29th January 2022 – We received an email from a local resident, complaining about domestic refuse bins now being permanently left on Stirling Road at the car park, overflowing glass bins within the car park, bags of rubbish within the car park and furniture left on private land by the owner.

· 28th January 2022 – I received a text message from a local resident complaining about domestic refuse bins now being permanently left on Stirling Road at the car park. The text had photographs of the bins attached to it. On the 31st January, I posted a request on our Facebook page, for the owners of the bins to remove them.

· 27th January 2022 – We received an email from Stirling Council, inviting community groups to participate in the Sustaining Choices Active Travel Plan project. Any group interested should register their interest by the 21st February.

· 24th January 2022 – We received an email from the National Park Authority, notifying us of their next visitor management group meeting. I will be participating in that meeting on the 04th February.

Chairman’s Report

FR informed the meeting of the following:

· The A811 continues to be busy with traffic, due to the closure of the Catter Burn Bridge.

• The A811 at Catter has been repaired and is now fully open.
• Repairs to the Branshogle Bridge have begun.

· DCC have been working with the Development Trust to lend support to the Trust’s projects to make improvements to The Square, including having a pavement extended along the front of The Square to link the butchers with The Clachan.

RB then updated the meeting on the following:

o Stirling Council has made available £30k for the safe routes to school.

o Stirling Council have agreed to extend the pavement along the front of The Square. The extended pavement will also narrow the road on Main Street at the Spar shop and at The Clachan.

WN commented that narrowing the road at The Square would push buses out further into the road.

AR said that by narrowing the road at The Square, more problems would be created because the people who already park there against the rules, will continue to park there. Additionally, there is currently a lot of vehicles using that section of the road. To narrow the road will mean that those vehicles will have even less space to move within.

RB replied that discussions about The Square were still ongoing, and that the drawing circulated by Ewan MacKay showing the pavement extending towards The Clachan and narrowing the road around The Square at The Clachan, was something being pushed by Ewan and not the Trust.

WN agreed with AR, and sited the road narrowing within Balloch as an example of how a perceived road safety measure actually created more problems, with people still parking on the narrowed section of road.

WH then asked if Stirling Council were raising the kerb height at bus stops, similar to what West Dunbartonshire Council are doing. CJH replied that Stirling Council were raising the height of kerbs at bus stops.

FR asked the community councillors if they were happy to work with the Trust in relation to The Square. All agreed.

RB passed round a plan of The Square, showing the proposed work to the pavement along the front of The Square.

WN asked about the planned work to the bus shelter. RB said that the bus shelter required a new roof and would house a bicycle repair station.

WN then asked of the National Park Authority were aware of the plans for The Square.

There followed a general discussion about The Square, which then morphed into a discussion about bins left on Stirling Road at the car park.

FR then asked CJH for an update on the Catter Burn Bridge. CJH said that she had received an email informing her that all the necessary surveys have been completed. The bridge arch has been found to be fit for purpose. Therefore, the plan is to

remove and rebuild the parapets. The process for contractors to notify the council of their interest in the work has begun.

FR informed the meeting that he had spoken with Bruce Hampton of MacTaggart and Mickle. They have all of the required planning permissions in place, with just the final purchase price of the land to be agreed. They hope to start the development in May. They are happy to build a base and services for toilets within the car park, as well as electric vehicle charging points.

Treasurer’s Report

JA provided the meeting with the following update:

· There is £3632 in the bank account.

· There are no major expenses due to be paid out.

Planning Correspondent’s Report

FR informed the meeting of the following:

· The only application of interest was the application submitted by the Drymen Community Development Trust, in relation to their plans for The Square. Those plans include upgrading the bus shelter and installing charging points for electric bikes.

RE asked about the resurfacing works at the graveyard. ME said that the council were tarring the paths within the graveyard, and the work looked like the council were also tarring the hammerhead (car park) where it joins the road.

Roads Correspondent’s Report

No roads update was available. But it was agreed that all relevant roads issues had been covered elsewhere during the meeting.

Publicity Report

No publicity report was available.

FR asked if there was an appetite to hold a gala day this year. There was a muted response from the community councillors.

Councillor’s Report

CJH updated the meeting on the following:

· A local business man is pursuing a temporary solution to the Catter Burn Bridge closure. He suggests a temporary bridge. However, Stirling Council have costed a temporary bridge, which would cost £30k to install, £30k to

remove and a spend to prepare the road to accept the bridge. Therefore, a temporary bridge is not an option being considered by Stirling Council.

· Stirling Council are looking at resuming the rural forums. AR said that the rural forums were a great way for communities to come together and identify common issues and problems. They allowed the authorities to focus their efforts on resolving common and quick win issues. AR said that Pam Campbell, who has now left Stirling Council, was the driver behind the rural forums. AR added that Pam was always very helpful, very knowledgeable and always got back to you with an answer.

· Stirling Council are looking for people to complete their survey on the effects of the last storm. JA said that she was without power for 3 days.

FR asked if anyone had completed the Forth Environmental Link’s survey. AR replied yes, but the survey was very general in content.

RB said that he was keen for people to complete the Forth Environmental Link’s survey.

· CJH said that Stirling Council had released the data on dog fouling. 143 people reported with 53 penalty notices being issued.

Loch Lomond And The Trossachs National Park Authority Update

WN updated the meeting on the following:

· The next board meeting of the National Park Authority will be held on the 14th March.

· The National Park Authority is looking at a phased return to work by their employees. WN added that working from home prevented the necessary interactions between staff.

There followed a discussion about the pros and cons of working from home.

FR asked about the proposed Flamingo Land development. WN replied that with the local council elections being held in May, the National Park Authority elections will be held in July. Therefore, something may be said about the Flamingo Land Development after July. He added that sometimes developers will wait until after elections, to see if the new people are more willing to see proposed developments progress.

Any Other Competent Business

RE showed the meeting a leaflet which was put through his letterbox. The leaflet offered assistance and companion services, and had a contact mobile phone number on it. RE said that he thought the leaflet was put through his letterbox by two females with a dog. After some discussion about the letter JA said that she would note the telephone number and call it to see who answers it.

FR asked if the community council should support Stirling Council’s City Of Culture bid. It was agreed that the community council would not support the bid, on the grounds that Drymen was not part of Stirling City.