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Riverside Community Council (RCC) General Meeting Minutes

Date: 28th June 2023

1. Annual General Meeting (AGM)

An AGM is necessary to confirm proposed changes amongst the Office Bearers.

Minutes from the last AGM are adopted: Fiona Berrow proposed the motion, Fiona Dyet seconded.

There was no need for an annual report, nor a Secretary’s report. The finances of the RCC are to be submitted for an external review.

All the Office Bearers resigned from current posts.

The proposed new Office Bearers and their nominations are as below:

Chair: Joan Murphy (Carol Robertson proposed, Bob Dale seconded)

Vice-Chair: Carol Robertson (Joan Murphy proposed, Parvin Morrisey seconded) Secretary: Fiona Dyet (Ashleigh Phillip proposed, Fiona Berrow seconded) Treasurer: Fiona Berrow (Parvin Morrisey proposed, Carol Robertson seconded)

Joan Murphy proposed that the next RCC AGM will be between April and June 2024.

2.     Welcome

Joan Murphy welcomed everyone at Riverside Primary School. The attendance for the Public Meeting is as above. There were no declarations of interest.

3.     Matters Arising from Previous Minutes

Noticeboards: Joan Murphy reported that Cowane’s Trust have given permission for shrubs to be added behind the Dean Crescent noticeboard, near Lover’s Walk. Riverside Naturally have suggested a Rowan tree and some shrubs, to be added in the Autumn. Fiona Berrow will confirm with Jean Cowie regarding the use of funds for purchasing the suggested foliage. Stirling Community Enterprise, who installed the noticeboard, had not billed RCC due to it being a Community Council. However, the funds had been made available by Cowane’s Trust to be used, and so the bill has been settled.

4.     Reports

1. Chair

Joan Murphy referred to a web-site: https://ourworldindata.org/ from which she found data on the number of women in the world’s Parliaments. This has been rising since 1900, with one-third of the Parliaments now having at least 30% female members at 2022. RCC is well represented in this regard, with seven out of the eight members being women.

b.     Secretary

Hogweed: Fiona Dyet has been in contact with Mike at Forth River’s Trust (FRT). Between FRT and Lantra, training, PPE, equipment and chemicals for treating the Giant Hogweed within Riverside will be provided. FRT note that the hogweed on the banks of Riverside have not been sprayed since 2014.

Balfron Primary School (BPS): BPS have asked to borrow the litter-picking equipment, currently held by Emily McLaughlin. Di Alderdice will reply to the email confirming that they can borrow anything available. It is noted that as RCC is the hub of litter-picking in this area, the RCC does not need to approve any requests and the equipment can be used at any time.

Police Report: There were no detected cases in the reporting period, with three undetected cases relating to the theft from commercial premises and a theft and attempted theft of motorbikes.

Shore Road: There has been an HGV parked partially on the pavement on Shore Road at various points in recent weeks, causing issues for pedestrians and road- users. Fiona Dyet has had correspondence with the Police and the company listed on the HGV. Ashleigh Phillip reiterated the suggestion to extend the double yellow lines down to the Old Harbour (RCC minutes 31/05/23 7d). RCC to contact council, using the HGV as a specific example of the danger of parking on Shore Road. Andrew Fraser will check the legal status of parking an HGV on public streets.

Defibrillators: Fiona Dyet has been given two defibrillators, which both function but are in need of new pads and new batteries. As Riverside is amply supplied, the question was raised as to where would benefit from having a defibrillator, or whether another local Community Council could use them. Suggestions are welcome.

c.     Treasurer

There is £171 available in Unrestricted Funds.

There is £2.50 left in the Admin. Grant, with no outstanding bills. Forms have been submitted for the new Admin. Grant.

There is £19 left in the Covid Support Funding. In total, there is £722 in the Bank.

d.     Planning

Parvin Morrisey and Andrew Fraser report that there is nothing to mention, although the future of the Abbey Road Market is still unclear.

5.     Sub-Groups

1. Environment

Giant Hogweed: On Friday 30^th June, Di Alderdice and Parvin Morrissey will do a walk around Riverside to log instances of hogweed to submit to Stirling Council.

Pontoon: A resident of Riverside reported a build up of detritus around the Harbour Pontoon. Fiona Dyet will contact Stephen Bly regarding how often this is cleared by Stirling Council.

Fly Tipping: As noted in the previous minutes, there had been issues of fly-tipping around Riverside. Stephen Bly has reported that it is for individual residents to report issues of fly-tipping/soil dumping.

b.     Old Harbour Woods (OHW)

Himalayan Balsam Cutting: There will be more Himalayan Balsam cutting on Saturday, 8^th July from 10:30 to 13:30, with people interested to meet Di Alderdice at the OHW. Posters will be added to the noticeboards.

Community Pride: Di Alderdice suggested applying for Community Pride Funding from Stirling Council for tools for working in the OHW. She has looked into what forms need to be submitted, and it was agreed that any actions from the RCC needed in the application could be confirmed amongst the RCC members over email, as the next meeting isn’t until the end of August. Di Alderdice will ask the Riverbank Centre if any tools could be stored at the secure unit there.

1. Green Space/Zebra Crossing: There are no updates regarding the Green

Regarding the Zebra Crossings and following the June RRC meeting, Cllr Thomson inquired into why they had not been delivered during the last financial year. Carlyn Fraser from Stirling Council emailed the RCC to confirm they had not been delivered due to a difficulty in securing a contractor and that they are now due to be delivered this currently financial year.

As noted in the minutes from May, there was a sense of frustration within the RCC regarding the correspondence with Cllr Gibson concerning the zebra crossing proposals, particularly that he did not seem aware of the work done by the previous RCC. Joan Murphy and previous RCC member Emily McLaughlin, with the approval of the other RCC Office Bearers, send Cllr Gibson an email voicing this frustrating, copying in the other Stirling Councillors. The email was sent on 6^th June, and no reply has been received.

1. Lover’s Walk: Andrew Fraser noted that the caging around the bridge on Lover’s Walk is in poor condition, and there is vegetation encroaching upon the path. The caging is covered in pigeon poo. Fiona Dyet will check with Sue Dumbleton regarding previous cleanings, as the bridge belongs to Network Rail, and will contact Stephen Bly.

1. Parking: Joan Murphy reported that there is, in fact, nothing to report regarding the ongoing parking issues, as the monthly update from Stirling Council was not received. Andrew Fraser highlighted the Government’s consultation regarding changes to the enforcement regulations for local authorities, which can be found here.

1. Imagination Library: Bob Dale has been in contact with the Imagination Library and is waiting on a return of email.

1. Active Travel: Ashleigh Phillip reported that she now attends the Cycle Stirling monthly meetings in a different The Active Travel Newsletter will be issued on Thursday, 29^th June and added to the Riverside WhatsApp Group and the noticeboards.

1. Planters: Bob Dale has been in contact with the volunteers who tend the various planters around Riverside, all but one of whom wished to continue with the upkeep and planting. The sole untended planter has been left with wild strawberries planted in it and will not need attention until next year.
2. Upcoming Events: Joan Murphy highlighted that the UCI Cycling World Championships are happening in Scotland this summer, with the Individual Time Trials happening in Stirling from 9^th to 11^th There will be various events happening around Stirling at this time. Information will be added to the noticeboards.

6.     AOB

1. Adoption of May’s Minutes: Bob Dale proposed the adoption with no revisions, and Fiona Dyet seconded.

1. Cllr Gibson: Cllr Gibson emailed to send his apologies for not attending this evening’s meeting. It was agreed that a brief reply acknowledging the email would be appropriate, given the discussion above.

1. Next Meeting: Due to the summer holidays, there will be no RCC meeting in July. Joan Murphy noted that Riverside Primary School has not yet been booked for the next meeting and questioned whether the Riverbank Centre might be a better venue. It was agreed that this might be better as it is smaller, but that Stirling Council will not pay for the venue.

7. Date of Next Meeting: Wednesday, 30th August 2023, 7:15pm. Venue: Venue information will be added to the RCC website and the various noticeboards.