March 2021 Minutes

MINUTES

Virtual meeting Monday 1st March 2021

Final

 

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

Apologies: Dean Lockhart MSP

In attendance: Cllr Rob Davies; Cllr Alistair Berrill; M Vass, SCDT. Jo Waterfield + 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. She said how sad we all were to hear about
    the death of Graham Lambie. He was a huge support to the CC, a really nice man
    and a good friend to the community. JH and MV attended the funeral.

     

  2. Minutes of February meeting and matters arising

    The minutes were adopted, proposed by JG, seconded by EM

    Matters arising: JH had had an email from Fergus McFarlane at Loch Lomond Fish-
    eries Trust, who would like to come to a meeting to tell us about their plans for the
    area. He will attend the April meeting. They are looking for volunteers to help with
    their project and PG volunteered.

    A resident had complained about dog fouling near Dunglass View. JH went to look
    and could only find one incidence, which she outlined with yellow paint.

    Pam Campbell has asked us to promote the Health consultation and JH encouraged
    the members to highlight the survey to everybody. It is also in the current issue of the
    BVB and KR will emphasise the importance of completing the survey on Facebook.

    The South West Forum in February was cancelled and has been rescheduled for
    March15th. As the focus of the forum is roads JH said it is important that we are rep-
    resented. KR volunteered to join the forum on our behalf and JH asked PG to join
    also. He agreed to do this.

    JH emailed a resident who has expressed an interest in joining the CC, but has had
    no response. PG said that he had spoken to the resident and that she thought we
    had no space. JH said that she would clarify the situation with the resident.

     

  3. Police Report

     

    PC Steven Graham sent the police report for February.

    Anti-social behaviour – There was a report of youths playing loud music in the park,
    bur they had gone when the Police arrived. There was a report of sheep worrying
    near Mugdock, but the farmer found no issues with the sheep. The helimed was
    called out to rescue a female who had injured her ankle at the Whangie. There were
    a couple of complaints regarding the snack bar at the Kirkhouse Inn. Stirling Council
    is aware of this and is making enquiries.

    Road traffic – There were a number of minor road traffic accidents relating to the
    weather. And a male diver was stopped on the Cuilt Road and charged with having
    no insurance. There were more reports of inconsiderate parking on the A81 at the
    distillery. Police have again been moving vehicles but this cannot be sustained all
    day. Liaison has been carried out with SC to find a solution.

    Theft -There have been no incidences of theft in the village but Oakwood Garden
    Centre was broken into. Enquiries are continuing and anyone with any information
    should contact the Police.

    Fraud – There was a report of Bitcoin fraud in Balfron and this has happened in other
    villages also. The Police also warned about criminals using the Coronavirus as a
    cover story to exhort money.

     

  4. Volunteering – Jo Waterfield

     

    Jo highlighted the Terracycle scheme. Residents should look at the website to find
    local recycling points. She asked if a petition could be raised with the council about
    re-instating the footpath between Killearn Hospital and Milngavie. MV reminded the
    meeting that the CC had raised a petition about 8 years ago to restore the footpath
    between the village and the council boundary. SC said that there had never been a
    footpath there, but this is untrue. AT said that the Paths Group have a plan to im-
    prove the link between the village and Loch Ardinning.

    Jo asked about the community shed at the library, which is used for storing snow
    shovels etc. She wondered if her volunteers could use it to store litter pickers and
    other equipment. The CC agreed that this could be done.

    The wildlife sanctuary is making slow progress, but a resident has drawn up a design
    and there are a lot of people willing to help.

    JH thanked Jo for her contribution.

     

  5. Village Officer

     

    A resident asked if we could consider the Village Officer post. There has not been an
    officer for several years, but it would be useful to have this post returned. AB noted
    that it was very unpopular when the post was cut and it would be good for the village
    to have it replaced, but he thinks it is unlikely in the current financial crisis. He
    thought it would be worth asking SC to consider this. A resident said that we are justi-
    fied in having this post as we are on a main tourist route. AB suggested that we could
    raise a petition with SC and the resident said that she has done this but needs the
    support of the CC. It was agreed that the CC would support the petition.

     

  6. Elected Member’s Report – Councillors Rob Davies and Alistair Berrill

     

    RD said that Graham Lambie is a huge loss. There will be a by-election to replace
    him at the same time as the Scottish parliament election on May 6th.

    RD has raised a corporate action regarding the state of the road at the junction of
    Cuilt Road and the A809.

    There will be a council meeting this week and the budget meeting next week, when
    council tax rates will be set.

    RD has met with landowners around Dumgoyne regarding issues with parking and
    livestock. They have asked for double yellow lines around Dumgoyne, although this
    is likely to cause problems elsewhere. RD thinks that a co-ordinated approach to
    parking is needed to provide more car parking.

    AB also paid tribute to Graham Lambie, who is a sad loss.

     

  7. Planning and Licensing

     

    The planning application for the new library has been submitted. MV and AT declared
    an interest at this point. JG suggested that we should write in support of the plans
    and this was agreed.

    20/00590/FUL: Land South East of Aros House Strathblane. JG has written objecting
    to this application on the grounds of increased traffic on Old Mugdock Road. There
    have been objections from neighbours and JG expects this application to go to the
    Planning Panel.

    20/00564/FUL: Erection of 11 dwelling houses on land to the rear of 2,4, Eaglesfield
    and Firleary Milndavie Road Strathblane. JG has renewed our request for a footpath.
    EB said that she has a contact with neighbours near this site if we need to speak to
    them.

    Wee Kirk Takeaway at the Kirkhouse Inn. The intention is to continue this venture
    after lockdown, so a planning application will be required. JG said that the planners
    would consider the site, odours, noise etc. Nearby residents have complained to SC
    that there is no planning permission. They find the odours unpleasant and the noise unacceptable. Two residents have complained to the CC that they cannot use their
    gardens or open their windows due to the smell and they are concerned that the car
    park is very busy while people wait for their orders. This leads to noise and pollution
    from engines running. They believe that the number of cars in the car park will rise
    when lockdown is over. The owner of the Inn said that most of the cars in the car
    park belong to walkers or cyclists, not customers of the kiosk. He said that the les-
    sees have done everything they can to reduce the odours from cooking and to deal
    with refuse removal. The takeaway will help the hotel to remain viable during lock-
    down and this is important to its long-term survival. If the hotel has to close this will
    have a negative impact on the village. A resident acknowledged that this would be
    unfortunate, but is finding life difficult with the current situation. The owner said that
    he understands the issues for the residents and will talk to the lessees about ways to
    improve the situation. EB said that she was sorry to hear of the residents’ problems.
    She also lives near the Inn, but her personal stance is that she doesn’t want it to
    close, as that would potentially affect their homes even more. JG said that planning
    rules have been relaxed this year to allow restaurants to run their businesses out-
    side. This will be different after lockdown. The lessees need to consider hours of
    opening, where cars should be parked, people congregating etc. AT suggested that
    the CC should support the Wee Kirk during lockdown, with some changes to the ex-
    haust/chimney system to reduce annoyance for the neighbours and perhaps consid-
    ering moving the kiosk closer to the road. Perhaps we would be less supportive of
    retaining it after lockdown, as there appears to be little reason for continuing it when
    the hotel kitchens are available. The neighbour present said she would be happy with
    this compromise. JG said that any decisions on this issue will be for SC to make. As
    a CC we would ask the lessees to be sensitive to the neighbours concerns, but sup-
    portive of the Inn thriving in the long-term.

     

  8. Finance

     

    Current Account - £2842.68 (this includes £500 Covid relief grant)
    Instant Saver account - £1342.99

     

  9. Correspondence

     

    We received an email from CAB that KR will post on Facebook.

    We also received an email about the £23 million that SC plans to spend on housing.
    JH asked if this will stop Gladman, but JG thinks not.

     

  10. AOCB

     

    JH asked about an email from SC regarding insurance. GE and EM said that we are
    asked about this every year and it does not apply to us.

    JH asked the other members of the CC to think about the date for the AGM. This is
    usually held in June, but Covid meant that the 2020 one was postponed until De-
    cember, so she suggested postponing the 2021 AGM until September. We will de-
    cide this at the next meeting.

    JH, GE and EM will wait to see how many articles are submitted for the BVB before
    deciding if there will be one in April.

    PG mentioned that traffic is continuing to use Mugdock Road although it is officially
    closed for water works. This is dangerous, as pedestrians do not expect to see cars.
    AB said that he would raise this with SC as but that it should be taken up with EDC.
    JH thanked everybody for attending.

     

  11. Date of next meeting April 12th 2021, 7.30 on Zoom.

 

Copy date for BVB 19th March 2021

 

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