MINUTES

Virtual meeting Monday 7th June 2021

Final

Members Present: - Grace Edmonds; Julie Hutchison; Kate Ramsden; Evelyn Mac-
dougall; Philip Graves; John Gray; Eleanor Balfour; Pamela Lee

Apologies: Andrew Thompson; Craig Melville

In attendance: Cllr R Davies; M Vass, SCDT; + 3 residents

(SC = Stirling Council. CC = Community Council. CDT= Community Development
Trust * Denotes an action)

1. Welcome from the Chair and declarations of Interest

    

   JH welcomed everybody to the meeting. There were no declarations of interest.

    

2. Minutes of June meeting and matters arising

    

   The minutes were adopted, proposed by EM seconded by KR

   Matters arising: Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust led a small group of volunteers to
   tackle the Himalayan Balsam along the Blane. There is a huge amount in the village
   and this will be an ongoing issue. JH said that the plants can be pulled out and left
   and PG noted that this should not be done when the plants are seeding.

   Cllr Hutchison agreed to look into the fly tipping on the A81. She contacted SC but
   nothing has happened. JG agreed to send Cllr Hutchison contact details for the own-
   er of the old shop. He has done this.

   JH and GE met with Sergeant McDonald from Dunblane regarding the item that was
   omitted from the minutes in May. He has investigated this issue and anybody with
   any questions should contact him directly.

   JG said that there had been further discussion with the Wee Kirk regarding a new
   planning application with cooking being done in the hotel. JG wrote to SC saying that
   we had no objection to this.

   GE reported that the Edmonstone Hall Committee are happy to take over responsibil-
   ity for the defibrillator at the hall and will also look into installing the one currently at
   the Co-op into the telephone box. They will meet the cost of this, but may ask us for
   some help in clearing the telephone box.

    

3. Police Report

    

   PC Graham sent the report for September.
   Anti-social behaviour

   There have been more reports of youths at Mugdock Quarry. There was a report of
   vandalism to a house by stone throwing and another regarding a youth hitting anoth-
   er with a bottle. Both youths were from the Glasgow area.

   Road Traffic

   There have been several RTCs in the area since the last meeting. None were seri-
   ous, however 2 drivers were issued with a fixed penalty for careless driving.

   A male took his father’s car without permission and headed towards Glasgow. He
   crashed into a wall near Milndavie Road. He was charged with various Road Traffic
   offences.

   There were parking issues at the Devil’s Pulpit and parking tickets have been issued.
   PC Graham has carried out Hand Held Radar speed checks in the village and will do
   so again in the near future.

   Theft

   Two biked were stolen from Mugdock Country Park.

   There were two thefts of alcohol from the Co-op. One female was charged in relation
   to one of these and enquiries are ongoing regarding the second.

   There were attempts to break into two sheds in the village.

    

   Police Scotland had a recent campaign regarding fuel theft. Advice on this, bike theft
   and fraud can be found in the whole Police report on the CC website.

    

4. Confirmation of New member

    

   Having attended the required number of meetings, Eleanor Balfour was confirmed as
   a full member of the Community Council.

   Another resident has expressed an interest in joining the CC and will complete the
   paperwork during the summer, to be co-opted in September.

    

5. Blane Clear Up

    

   JH received an email from Loch Lomond Fisheries Trust to suggest either 9/10th or
   23/24th July for the clean up along the Blane. The litter-picking group is keen to be
   involved. PG suggested choosing the earlier date so that a follow-up could be carried
   out on the second date. JH will email Fergus to let him know that 9/10th July would
   suit.

    

6. Elected Member’s report – Councillor Jane Hutchison

    

   Councillor Hutchison has been having a lot of introductory meetings and has been
   reading about the new library. She was contacted by a resident about fly tipping near
   the Care Home. JH said that we have asked Scottish water to put a barrier across
   the entrance to stop this. Councillor Hutchison said that she would find out if she can
   help with this.

    

7. Planning and Licensing.

    

   The Planning application for the Wee Kirk has been refused. JG said that we have
   not heard if they plan to appeal, but that enforcement will not take place until the ap-
   peal process is complete.

   21/000309/FUL Amendment to siting and design of dwelling house (West Plot) ap-
   proved under planning approval 12/00505/MSC. Land adjacent to West of An Larach
   Milndavie Road.

   21/00274/FUL Variation to design of dwelling house (East Plot) approved under
   planning permission 12/00505/MSC Land adjacent to West of An Larach, Milndavie
   road. These applications are linked but have both been withdrawn.

   21/00329/FUL Demolition of dwelling house and erection of new single story dwelling
   house, The Retreat, Blanefield. JG has not yet had time to write to Planning about
   this but will send comments tonight. This was agreed.

   JG has had no update regarding planning permission at the Carbeth Inn.

   PG asked if the managers of the Wee Kirk had made any attempt to improve the
   odour issues. JG said that the planners have decided that there is no solution to the
   smell issues. A resident said that Environmental Health have suggested that there is
   nothing that can be done with the current installation. JG recommended that we let
   this ongoing issue run its course. This was agreed.

    

8. Finance

    

   Current Account - £2522.49
   Instant Saver Account - £1343.03

    

   JH asked if we should cancel the Zoom subscription. This was agreed.

    

   .

9. Health and Social Care

    

   The Health and Social Care Partnership has reported the results from its consulta-
   tion. The report mentions respite care for our area but does not say where this will be
   based and we have already been informed that Strathendrick Care Home will close.
   Councillor Hutchison said that the Conservative group on the Council are going to
   fight to keep the home open.

    

10. Correspondence

     

    JH mentioned an email from a lady enquiring about a Charles Melville who is buried
    in the Churchyard. JG will put this on Facebook.

    We had a request for information from a resident who would like to use the building
    near the toilets. The owner is difficult to reach. JH asked if there is any way that SC
    could put pressure on the owner to tidy it up. Two of the councillors asked Environ-
    mental Health to look at the property a few years ago but it was decided that it was
    not in a poor enough condition to warrant intervention. Councillor Hutchison will try to
    follow this up as several years have passed and no work has been carried out on the
    property.

    We received an email telling us that the pads on the defibrillator at the Edmonstone
    Hall need to be replaced. JH will contact the resident who provided the defibrillator.
    EB said that the company that provided the defibrillator would usually replace the
    pads free. JH will also contact Trossachs Search and Rescue regarding training ses-
    sions on how to operate the machine.

     

11. AOCB

     

    PG reported a conversation he has had with a resident and Angela Simpson, the Ac-
    cess officer, regarding the dumping of mud at the top of the horses’ field. This is
    blocking the path. JG suggested that we should contact Angela regarding the provi-
    sion of a footpath from the Devil’s Elbow site. EM mentioned an issue with rubbish
    and mud being dumped on the John Muir Way.

    M Vass updated the meeting on the library. Things are progressing better than ex-
    pected and MV is confident that they will get an acceptable deal. They don’t yet have
    planning permission, but hope to go to tender soon. MV hopes not to need a special
    meeting with the CC that she mentioned last month, but if they do she will notify us.

    KR attended the Rural South West Forum. There was an interesting presentation
    about resilience which she will put on to the website. She will feed back any com-
    ments CC members have about this to Jim Dickie.

    A resident who lives on Glasgow Road expressed disappointment that the CC had
    contacted SC without speaking to him.

    Another resident queried why an item from the Police Report in May was not included
    in the minutes. JH said this was in response to a request from the Police that the item
    should not be publicised on Facebook or the website. A resident confirmed that he
    had spoken to the Police and that they had not asked for the item to be removed
    from the minutes. CM said that, as the minutes are in the public domain via our web-
    site, notice boards and SC website, he emailed the Police to ask about the minutes
    but got no response so we took a joint decision not to include the item. JG said that
    we understand local concerns, but we were guided by the Police. A resident said that

     

    she had not heard about the incident in question but that she understood the decision
    to omit the item from the minutes. JG said that it is not a matter for the CC and sug-
    gested that anyone wishing information should contact the Police.

     

12. Date of next meeting September 6th 2021, following the AGM at 7.30

As there are very few local activities at present there is unlikely to be a BVB
this month.

Contact us at contact@strathblanecc.org.uk Also on our website
www.strathblanecc.org.uk. Telephone numbers for Community Councillors are
on the notice boards, in the library and in the Blane Valley Bulletin