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