Nov 2022 Minutes

Fintry Community Council Minutes

9th November 2022

19:30

Menzies Hall

· Present/apologies for absence:

• Declaration of interest in any items of business

None

· Approval of Minutes of last meeting:

Approved

Councillor’s Repo rt

Cllr McGarvey advised that he would be carrying out in person surgeries before the Community Councils Meetings.

Local Place Plans – Cllr McGarvey advised that he would be in discussion Development Planning regarding asking for a Local place plan toolkit which

Will assist Community Councils to prepare local place plans.

Cllr McGarvey asked the Community Council what their thoughts on introducing The Rural Forums again CC advised that they would like to see

Them reinstated as they are very informative.

CC asked who on planning committee represents Forth valley Cllr McGarvey replied he would look into this as he didn’t know off hand.

• Police Report - report submitted

 Road Safety

Report of a hit and run RTC in Culcreuch Ave, Fintry. Enquiries were carried out leading to a driver being traced and cautioned and charged with failing to stop/report a road accident.

Theft

There have been no thefts in the Fintry area since the last meeting.

What basic steps can I take to protect my home?

The evenings are getting darker earlier and it is a time where traditionally housebreakings can occur. Having your home broken into is not common. There are however many ways that you can help secure your home. They don’t all cost money – some are common sense and good housekeeping

First, think about basic good housekeeping routines that aren’t expensive:

• Keep your home locked at all times

• Many thieves do not need to break in at all because a door or window has been left open or unlocked

• Don’t leave keys on the inside of door locks, under mats or anywhere else they can be easily found

• If you have a ‘thumb turn’ lock on the inside of a door, ensure that it cannot be accessed from outside

• Don’t keep house keys and car keys on the same key ring

• Don't keep a lot of cash in the house

• Mark your property with a UV marker pen or Security DNA marking Kit - these can be bought online or in some stores

• Look for the Secured by Design accreditation on the product and register - you can place an invisible imprint of your postcode and house number on your possessions

• You can record and register details of your valuables, serial numbers and features or marks, on devices on the national mobile property register on the immobilise website - this includes mobile phones, cameras, laptops and tablets

• Don’t leave valuables where they can see through a window - for example, around the tree at Christmas time

• If you have a wall calendar, avoid having it shown near a window from where appointments can be seen

- people may see when there will be no one in.

•  Use timer switches on lights and radios to make it look as if your home is occupied.

• Ensure all doors and windows are secure when you leave and when you go to bed.

• If possible, use secure lighting at the front and back of your property.

• Make sure all garden tools and ladders are locked away when not being used. Don’t give the thieves the tools to break into your house

• Use a good quality lock on any garden sheds and outhouses.

• Make a note of all makes, models and serial numbers of expensive items in your home.

If your house is fitted with an alarm then please use it. This is a good deterrent should thieves manage to force entry to your house.

• If you note anything suspicious in your neighbourhood report it on 101.

Identity theft

Identity theft is when criminals get access to someone's personal information. They then use it to steal their identity. They could then pretend to open bank accounts, get credit cards, loans and mortgages or to claim benefits. They could even take over someone's accounts and change the address. They can steal someone's name and reputation. Then can use this to make money.

Here are a few ways which these criminal’s work:

They search through rubbish to find bills or bank statements They target flats where shared mail boxes make theft easier

They bribe or rob postal workers or purchase the information from other criminals They search through unattended bags.

Warning signs

There are a number of warning signs to look out for:

 Fuel theft advice

There has been a rise in domestic and commercial fuel tanks. It’s important to put measures in place to protect your fuel tank and make it extremely difficult for thieves to target your fuel.

Please find below some tips to avoid becoming a victim of such a crime:

Locate your tank in a safe location remembering that many thieves use Google Maps to find satellite images of fuel tanks.

Consider locating your tank behind a garage or shed and away from roads. Positioning it close to your business or home will ensure it’s in clear view.

Locate inside a security gate or cage with a good quality, robust fence or cage to make life difficult for thieves.

Install an alarm Consider fitting alarms to external gates surrounding your fuel tank or to the inside of a shed or outbuilding that is housing the tank.

Fit a fuel theft lock, thieves often come armed with tools so it’s worth investing in quality locks, locking fuel caps and anti-siphoning deterrents to slow down the criminals and reduce the likelihood of success. Locks with a CEN or BSEN 12320 Grade 6 classification indicate maximum security (Grade 1 is the least secure)

Install outdoor security lighting positioning your tank in the bright light is an effective solution worth considering. With the majority of thieves striking at night, installing automatic security lighting will help stop criminals from targeting your fuel tank.

Install CCTV cameras on your premises to dissuade anyone from targeting your tank as well as catch a thief in the act, providing the police with the evidence required to bring those to justice who choose to ignore the deterrent.

Put up signage to highlight the security measures you’ve installed can help deter those up to no good.

 Advice for Drivers

Prepare for the winter by keeping your vehicle well maintained before you take to the road. Take special care that brakes, tyres, lights, batteries, windscreens and wiper blades are in good condition. In addition, washer bottles need to contain an additive to stop the water from freezing.

Tyres should also be checked weekly to ensure they are legal and at the correct pressure (consult your vehicle handbook). The minimum legal tread depth for cars is 1.6mm across the centre 3/4 of the breadth of the tread around the entire circumference. They should also be checked for bulges, cuts or tears which weaken the tyre. Failure to maintain your tyres could lead to a maximum of

£2,500 fine and 3 penalty points per tyre.

Make sure your windows are clean, properly demisted and clear of snow and ice before you drive. Also make sure that your roof is clear of snow as this affects drivers behind you and can also cause obstructions on your windscreen when braking. Be careful with low sun as it can make it difficult to see and a dirty, greasy or damaged windscreen can make this worse.

All lights must be kept clean and clear and be in good working order, including registration

Community Engagement and Reassurance

It is important to you to have community officers who you know, who are accessible and who address local problems.

PC Steven Graham and Graeme McNulty are based at Balfron Police Office and can be contacted at the office, on 101, or at ForthEndrickCPT@scotland.police.uk. It is recommended that this email address is used by the local community for email contact.

Please remember that we regularly publish useful information and updates on social media, including appeals for information, updates about road closures and crime prevention advice. Our Facebook and Twitter pages can be found at

www.facebook.com/forthvalleypolicedivision www.facebook.com/policescotland www.twitter.com/stirlingpol www.twitter.com/policescotland

Treasurer’s Report

Treasurer’s Report November 2022

1. General Fund Account

The current balance is £4,977.

2. Foundation Fund

The current balance is £35,798.

The current budget and spend to date are shown below.

4 Grant Applications Received all voted on and approved –

Fintry Common Good Fund – Fintry Primary School Parent Council and Fundraising Committee for the Creation and the development of Sensory area and inviting space at the Nursery. £2,500

Individual Grant – Towards the building of Santa’s Sleigh - £250

Individual Grant - Fintry Christmas Weekend for the purchase of a Christmas Tree, Stand, Children’s Baubles and Selection Boxes - £250

Individual Grant – Toddlers Group for a Sensory Session this was approved. The group at a later date withdrew their application.

Resilience Grant monies have been received into our account £8,500

Resilience Update

Prescription service is ongoing

Hospital travel for people who cannot get by any other means or you can’t drive yourself is still ongoing FCC put up a notice on Fintry buddies’ letters to go out each household.

Applications ongoing for Resilience Fund

Soup delivers have started again and will carry on through the winter.

Loch Lomond Fishers Trust flooding report was expected at the end of August this will include input from Edinburgh, Dundee universities and Stirling Council but due to the dry summer it has been delayed even further until January 2023.

The Community Council will be planting trees in February 2023 along with Stirling Council, TVC and Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust this will also involve volunteers from the Community.

On Thursday 3^rd November the resilience team action plan was activated for flooding at the Caravan Park where we distributed Sandbags for some of the residents. This was the highest the river has been in Caravan Park it was up and surrounding the Chalets and some Families could not get out of their homes we have a flood forum meeting in December this will be on the agenda.

Stirling Council Resilience group want to work on a project Fintry’s Resilience Team more details will be available at a later date.

The Community Resilience have got a meeting with the TVC regarding the flooding resilience project tomorrow

The Community Council is in the process of putting in a planning application for the generator for Menzies Hall we were hoping to have this installed for this winter so that Community can meet there if Power companies decide to have blackouts this winter.

Planning

Knockraich Farm –

Extension to existing farmhouse to form living accommodation at ground floor and self- catering Holiday unit on first floor

Earlsburn -

Erection of a temporary tubular guyed meteorological mast up to 90m

Land at Meikle bin -

Formation of forest road

Land at Bin Bairn, Carron Valley

Formation of forest road

Next licensing forum meeting Tuesday 24^th November 22

Ogilvie Development –

Will be going in front of the planning panel on the 6^th December 2022

The Community Council planning sub group will be sending representation to planning panel who will be allowed to speak for 5mins on behalf of local residents.

Roads/Paths

Cicely’s Way After a site meeting with Stirling Council the Community Council are awaiting on engineers’ drawings to be completed for installation of the Kerb on the roadside of the path formation, we’ve have had approval from Stirling council.

Branshogle Bridge – Last update is for the road to open on the 18 ^th November 2022

B822 Kippen Road (the firs) will be closed from 28^th November 2022 until 2^nd December 9.00am – 5.00pm

B822 Kippen Road (Caravan Park to Culcreuch Ave) will be closed 2 ^nd December – 9^th December 2022 9.00am – 5.00pm

The CC has been in touch with Stirling Council with regard to the pavement heading towards the Clachan to tidied up

The CC has written again Re DRT Service and is awaiting response from Transport section.

The CC are also awaiting a response with regard to the provision of a bus shelter at the bottom of Menzies Ave.

The TCV Trust will be carrying out repairs etc to the lade path during January / February 2022

Correspondence

The CC has received 4 grant applications (See Finance)

Email from Alistair Grant - Scottish Boundaries Consultation on the revised proposals of us Parliament constituencies were being asked to comment. CC has posted on Facebook page for information.

Email from Brigadier Ben Wrench army Board invitation to attend a reception and briefing by the army engagement team MB/MM to attend.

Email Received from a member of the public wanting to Donate a book to the village. (MB Forwarded it to David Smith for the museum)

A.O.B.