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Fintry Community Council
Draft Minutes
8th March 2024
19:30
Menzies Hall
Present/apologies for absence:
Group/Organisation
Representative
Fintry Community Council
Reps
Michele Bennett (MB - Chair
Moira MacKay (MM)
Ian Rodgers (IR)
Jacqueline Garvie (JG)
Ronnie Garvie (RG)
Stirling Councillor
Cllr P Henke
4
Members of Public
(MoP)
Police
Apologies
Apologies
Helena Rodgers
Declaration of interest in any items of business
None
Approval of Minutes of last meeting:
Will be approved at the next meeting
C ounc il lo r’s Report
Planning Application for
Cllr Henke raises that a planning application appeal was put in for a house dovetail
which was rejected. The FCC were not notified of the appeal by the council as we
did not comment on the original application.
FCC advised Cllr Henke there was no objection to the house being built. Date of next
planning meeting is 14th March 2024.
Rural Housing
Cllr Henke believes that more houses should be built rurally. MM states that whilst
she agrees, they should not be expensive mansions and should be financially
accessible.
Cllr Henke brings up a proposed bill which would reduce new rural housing
developments by 30%. MB raises that large swathes of Fintry are inappropriate for
housing of any kind because of Fintry’s position on the flood plain. The FCC are
examining rural housing development potentials and options but cannot comment on
this yet because it is in very early stages with the landowners.
Stirling Council budget cuts
MB is concerned with the budget. She believes that lots of everyday services were
given cuts. Cllr Henke states that Stirling Council were looking for £18m, and that he
believes a very good job was done at not cutting anything that was essential. MB
raises that the fact that grass verge cutting has been slashed is not right because
rural areas pay the same amount of council tax but get less than urban areas in
Stirling. Cllr Henke agreed.
Libraries
MM questions whether libraries experienced cuts. Cllr Henke confirms that libraries
are not being shut but are instead being modernized. £100k is being removed from
the Stirling Council library budget but is being put back into the libraries through
renovations. £98k is being saved through closing the library's head office. The FCC
disagrees heavily about the head office closure.
Written statements to the council
MB states that trying to get through to the council is difficult as putting requests and
complaints in writing is difficult for some older people. Cllr Henke argues that council
employees need to protect themselves from being misinterpreted.
Roads
MB asks Cllr Henke whether the FCC will get notifications from the roads department
as they have not been getting them. She states that Fintry were down for
streetlighting fixes last year, Cllr Henke requests to be emailed so that he has the
request in writing.
Police Report - report submitted
See attached
Treasurer’s Report
The FCC will need to put £8,000 towards the for our contribution towards the landfill
grant this was agreed. MB is hopeful that all funding will be secured by September
2024.
Currently the FCC is awaiting replies from 3 different grant bodies.
Insurance documents for FCC assets needs to be completed MB/JG will take
forward
Wind farm fund
MOP queries the status of the Kingsburn fund. MB responds that the fund is nearly
at a maximum spend as its year end and has been very well subscribed to this year.
Resilience Update
Earlsburn turbine fire
MB informs the FCC that the Earlsburn wind turbine had caught on fire, but the
incident has since been resolved. The entirety of the site was down on the 28th of
February as a safety precaution and an investigation into the cause of the fire is
ongoing. This will not impact the FCC because the Community Council earns income
in regard to the installed capacity of the turbine, instead of the actual amount of
electricity produced. On Saturday 9th March a few turbines were restarted, and the
rest are expected to be put back into operation in the 5 weeks after that.
Cicily’s Way
The development of phase three will be more complex as kerbing and tarmacking
are required for this section.
Cllr Henke asks who will do the work for Cicily’s Way. MB confirms that the path will
be completed by private contractors. Private contractors are best value rather than
getting work commissioned internally by Stirling Council, so far more affordable for
this project.
IR inquired David Robertson, a Dyker, about his services, however, he is fully
booked for 2024. He is still due to come out and assess the Cicily’s Way project
despite this.
MB asks the MOPs present at the meeting if they would consider writing to the FCC
in support of the Cicily’s Way extension in order to show how important the project is
to the community and therefore support the grant applications.
Community Garden
The community garden will begin to be sown with seeds in the next few weeks.
Topsoil has been ordered, and moss is being cleared away from the buildings to
prepare it for Spring and Summer.
Prescription runs
Prescription runs are still continuing.
Tree planting
More trees are to be planted throughout the village in the next year. Loch Lomond
fisheries trust will be coming out near the end of March to take a look and make
recommendations.
Planning
Planning application erection of dwelling house at garden ground of 43 main
street, Fintry
Roads/Paths
Buchanan Street Balfron
Buchanan Street in Balfron will be closed from the 25th-29th of March from 8AM-6PM.
Zebra crossing
Fintry is on the list to get a zebra crossing put in at the Cross
Cicily’s Way
Fintry is on a reserve list for the first part of Cicily’s Way to be paved.
Speed activation signs
The speed activation sign that was previously removed for repair has now been
reinstalled in Fintry.
Speed survey
A speed survey for the Clachan end of the village will be done in May.
Correspondence
Letters of support received regarding the Cicily’s Way extension
Letter received requesting bus trips – FCC responded and asked for trip
suggestions.
Letter received regarding a member of the public – FCC to discuss.
Letter received informing the FCC that the Chief Executive of Stirling Council, Carol
Beattie, is standing down
Letter received informing that a new train route from Stirling to London will be
instated
Invitation to the Forth Valley/STEP Food and Drink Partnership received – Nobody
from the FCC can attend.
A.O.B.
Licensing meeting
MM attended a licensing meeting about development in the Stirling area. However,
the main topic of discussion was the University of Stirling and therefore there was
not anything that would impact Fintry to share.
Affordable housing and local development plan
MB is seeking to arrange a meeting concerning discussion of the local development
plan, potentially in the week beginning the 24th of March.
Regarding affordable housing and the plan. Many people want affordable housing in
the village, can be currently discussed until agreement with landowners settled.
The FCC are seeking to develop and put out a survey concerning rural housing and
community desire for it.
MOP questions what exactly affordable housing is. MB replies that it would be less
expensive homes, but also 2–3-bedroom homes because many elderly folk in the
village would like to downsize but are unable to at the moment due to lack affordable
housing stock.
Scottish Art Trust competition
Groups can enter portraits. MB to put information up on the Community Council
noticeboard.
Rural Forum meeting
MB will attend a 28th March online meeting about the rural forum. Discussion was
held about how good rural forum meetings are for connecting people. Cllr Henke was
not present at the last one so has no comments to make. MB states that she
believes that urban areas may again have been prioritized.
Mail complaints
MB asks MM whether she advanced regarding the complaints that mail from Balfron
was not being delivered. RG states that he was told that the warehouse is short
staffed and so every so often the days that they can post may skip. But most people
in the village do appear to be getting their mail so there is little that can be done.
Rugby club parking
IR inquired regarding the issue of cars parking on the side of the road when spaces
at the Sports Club fill up. Verges on kippen road etc used to be coned off to prevent
parking but now this doesn’t seem to be happening IR will discuss with Strathendrick
rugby Club. Warnings on Facebook or pinned up on the noticeboard would be
helpful.
Day trip bus
MB requests MM to find out where people would like to go on day trips so buses can
be arranged with community involvement.
Event day
The FCC along with FDT would like to put on an event day Saturday 15th June 2024
in the Community Garden. The event will involve a children's picnic and activities.
The police or fire service could possibly bring out a car or a fire engine for the
children to see.
Repairs
RG asks about the progress on the repair of the shelter roof. MB responds that a
MOP will be repairing it during the summer, he was delayed because of the frost.
Life rings
RG raises that it would be good to attach string to the life rings down the Endrick so
that people can be pulled in instead of just being aided to float. MM will take this up.
Fountain at Cross
MOP asks what progress has been made in getting a fountain put in at the Cross.
MB states that the FCC has put in applications for a fountain at the Cross, but all
have been rejected. There is very little funding for historical refurbishment. MB will
put in another application. Currently the fountain at Cross cannot be repainted, and
no plants are allowed to be planted around it as its listed. Hopefully, even if a
fountain cannot be funded, the Cross might be allowed to be repainted. The colour
scheme might be black and gold as it was historically.
Trees
MB states that the coronation trees on Main Street are in now, but it would be good
to look at getting more trees. The tree at the Menzies Hall is dead. In a few months
the lights on the trees will be taken down and will be put up again for Christmas.
DRT
MOP queries the status of the DRT service. MB responds that it runs from around
10AM-6PM on weekdays only. She really feels that it’s not user friendly the fact that
it does not run the same service at the weekend, and the 2-week advance booking
system that it uses. Cllr Henke adds that he also believes the level of service is
shocking.
Date of next meeting
8th May 2024