June 2024 Minutes

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Dunblane Community Council
Alan Booth
Acting Secretary
Woodlea, Perth Road
Dunblane
FK15 0BU
Tel: 01786824791
Ailsa Gray
Chair
Old Glassingall
Dunblane
FK15 0JG
Tel: 07775313038
Minutes of the Dunblane Community Council held on Wednesday, 5 June,
2024, at 7 p.m. in the Library, Dunblane. This is a “blended” meeting, with
some attendees joining by Zoom.
Present: Ailsa Gray (Chair), Karen Jenkins, Jonathan Failes, Alan Booth,
Annelise Bakri, Anna Jarchow-MacDonald. Calum Thomson joined later by
Zoom.
In attendance: Councillor Robin Kleinman, Bridget Clark, Mairi Santolini,
Steve Mason, Rachel Muir, Hamish Taylor, Ross Aylott, Margaret Bragg
(Minutes Secretary). Councillor Alasdair Tollemache joined by Zoom.
1. Apologies
Apologies have been received from Terence O’Byrne, Graham Mowat and
Councillor Thomas Heald.
2. Conflicts of interest
There were no stated conflicts of interest.
3. Approval of minutes of 8 May 2024 These were approved, proposed by
Alan Booth and seconded by Karen Jenkins.
Matters arising
Minutes of meeting of December 2023 These were approved, proposed by
Alan Booth and seconded by Annelise Bakri.
Common Good Fund Councillor Kleinman noted, that because of the
upcoming General Election, all Council Committees, Boards and Panels have
been suspended until after Election Day, 4 July. As a by-election is also due
to be held, it is unlikely that the Civic Panel will meet before August.
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Flooding risk The Chair is meeting with the Flood Officer of Stirling Council
later this week.
Community noticeboard Annelise Bakri suggested that the board be moved
on to a different wall to avoid it being obscured by bins, and it was agreed
thar this possibility be looked at.
4. Annual General Meeting
It has been agreed by the Council that the AGM of the community council will
take place at the August meeting, and the Chair has requested Stephen Bly
(Community Council Enquiry Co-ordinator), to confirm that a Council officer
will chair this. The Chair has indicated she is standing down at this meeting.
Action: The Chair. It was agreed that the community council publicise the
need for new co-opted members.
It was noted that Graham Mowat has stood down as Interim Secretary and
Alan Booth is willing to stand in temporarily until the AGM. This was agreed,
proposed by Karen Jenkins and seconded by Annelise Bakri.
5. Police Report: See attached.
The report was compiled by the new community police constable in Dunblane,
Siobhan Rennie. Alan Booth highlighted the report in the Stirling Observer of
a serious accident at the Keir roundabout in February involving a cyclist. Alan
Booth agreed to find out more about safety issues on the road between
Dunblane and Bridge of Allan. Action: Alan Booth. The Chair agreed to find
out if traffic accidents on local trunk roads are not included in the police
report.
Mairi Santolini (Parent Council, Dunblane High School) reported on the
progress made in sharing information about safeguarding young people from
the danger of sextortion. The Headteacher, Stuart MacKay, has sent an email
to parents, and PC Barclay is going to hold sessions at the school to discuss
strategy and to share information with parents and young people.
Information will be posted on a dedicated section of the school website, while
PC Barclay will attend parents’ evenings. Mairi Santolini agreed to keep the
community council updated. Action: Mairi Santolini.
6. Operational Report: See attached.
Terence O’Byrne has circulated a 14 point report, with many issues remaining
unresolved.
Ramoyle traffic proposals Councillor Tollemache and Ross Aylott commented
that the latest draft proposals differ from the previous proposals discussed
last year, and did not take these into account. Councillor Tollemache will
make sure that the previous plan is handed over along with the notes of a
meeting held in June 2023. Action: Councillor Tollemache. There is concern
over the proposal to lay more concrete along the edges which could raise the
level of the road above doorways and entrances.
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Water ponding on railway bridge Councillor Tollemache agreed to contact
Network Rail yet again to try to resolve this. He is trying to organise a meeting
with Councillors, community councillors and Network Rail. Action:
Councillor Tollemache.
7. Planning Report: See attached.
Terence O’Byrne has submitted an objection to the proposal for the new sub
station at Millrow. Concerns have been raised that some parking spaces will
be lost.
8. Local Place Plan (LPP): See attached.
The survey has been publicised and distributed. Various organisations in
Dunblane are sending out the link to the survey to their members. Mairi
Santolini reported that, although High School pupils are being given the
opportunity to fill in the survey, it has not been mentioned at school
assemblies and she will ensure that its importance is emphasised. She asked
whether it is possible to track how many young people participate. Flyers
were to be distributed with deliveries of newspapers, but it was discovered
that the QR code had expired. It was agreed that the community council will
pay to extend its validity (£120) and that Calum Thomson will liaise with the
Treasurer and ensure the flyers are distributed with newspapers. Action:
Calum Thomson.
Alan Booth reported that, once the survey for the LPP has been done, the wider
survey undertaken by Jonathan Failes will be looked at.
With reference to the Freedom of Information request the Chair was going to
submit to the Council (see last month’s Minutes), it was agreed not to proceed
with this at the moment.
9. Treasurer’s Report: See attached.
Alan Booth reported that the community noticeboard in the High Street is
needing repaired or replaced as condensation collects inside the frame. He
has contacted the Midweek Group of the Dunblane Development Trust who
might be able to repair it. However, he also pointed out that the Community
View Fund could be used to purchase a new noticeboard.
It was pointed out that the Treasurer’s Report shows that a payment to the
Minutes Secretary on 8 May should read this was for the September 2023 and
April 2024 minutes, and not for the AGM and May 2024 minutes.
10. Communications Report
Annelise Bakri posts the minutes of the community council on the
dunblaneinfo website and asked that they be provided in a PDF format. Alan
Booth agreed to convert them for her.
Correspondence Report: See attached.
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Alan Booth has circulated correspondence lists for the past few months and
will download them on to a SD memory card to be made available in the
Library.
11. AOCB
Tourism Rachel Muir reported that over the summer a new Stirling Sightseer
tourist bus is being run by Midland Bluebird, with the route including Bridge
of Allan but not Dunblane. It was agreed that this should be pursued so that
Dunblane could be included for next summer, and the Chair asked Councillor
Kleinman to find out who is responsible and why Dunblane was omitted.
Action: Councillor Kleinman. He reported that Stirling is celebrating 900
years since it was founded and he is asking that the celebrations be extended
to include Dunblane. Councillor Tollemache agreed to forward the contact
details of Jillian Schofield (Service Manager, Culture, Events and Tourism,
Stirling Council) to him. Action: Councillor Tollemache.
The Chair reported that she and Alan Booth met with three representatives
from Vaison-la-Romaine with a view to forging closer links between the two
towns. Although a twinning arrangement was discussed in previous years, it
is now recognised that this would be too difficult. However, closer links would
provide an opportunity for encouraging tourism, and suggestions for cultural
exchanges, such as a photography competition or choral festival were
discussed. The Chair has had positive feedback from the historical sites in
Dunblane, such as the Cathedral, the Leighton Library and the Museum.
Banners on lampposts Councillor Tollemache has asked that the Covid-era
banners on lampposts be removed.
Hustings Alan Booth asked if hustings have been arranged in Dunblane before
the General Election. These are not organised by the candidates themselves,
and in the past have been run by the Dunblane Council of Churches.
Windfarm committee As Graham Mowat is standing down as one of the
community council representatives on the committee, another nominee is
required.
Burgh Chambers Steve Mason reported that no progress has been made (see
Minutes April 2024) with the Council busy preparing for the General Election.
Proposed Electric Vehicle (EV) charging station A proposal has come to Steve
Mason for an EV charging station, which he is happy to help develop, but
indicated that this should be taken up by the community council further down
the line. At present, the only public EV charging points are at Tesco.
12. Date, time and place of next meeting
The next meeting of the Dunblane community council will be held at 7 p.m.
on Wednesday, 7 August, 2024, in the Library, Dunblane. This will be preceded
by the AGM.
The meeting ended at 8.10 p.m.
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This is a true representation of the meeting.
Ailsa Gray ………………………………………………………….. Date…………………
Chair
Alan Booth ………………………………………………………… Date…………………
Interim Secretary
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