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MINUTES
Meeting Monday 10th June in the Village Club, following the AGM
Final
Members Present: - Julie Hutchison; Grace Edmonds; Rob Davies; Ian Boardley;
Pamela Lee; Kate Ramsden; Andrew Thompson
In attendance: Councillor Paul Henke SC; Margaret Vass SCDT; + 10 residents
Apologies: Eleanor Balfour; John Gray
(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.
2. Minutes of May meeting and matters arising.
The minutes had been circulated to all CC members and were accepted. Proposed
by IB, seconded by AT.
Matters arising: JH reported that she followed Gerry McGarvie’s suggestion and
emailed Gary Neil at Roads regarding the state of the roads and the number of
roadworkses in our area. GN bounced the email back to Stephen Bly who pointed out
that we should have sent it to him. We have had no reply from GN and SB is chasing
this up. AT asked what the penalties are for Council Officers who do not reply in the
stated 10 days. PH said that there are no consequences. He asked JH to copy him
into the email she sent to GN.
JH had checked with the surgery regarding the district nurses, and they have still had
no information about this. GMcG suggested that she write to Alexander Paulson,
Team Leader for Community Nursing Services at NHS Forth Valley. He replied ex
plaining that it is easy to get an appointment in Killearn and Balfron but ignored the
issues of access for Strathblane residents. GE has written to him again but so far
has had no reply.
AT reported that other CCs have joined the Climate Action Network.
3. Police Report
Anti-social behaviour
A communication offence has been recorded after a resident received threats of vio
lence over the telephone by someone known to them. Enquiries are ongoing.
Vandalism has been recorded after fencing at the wildlife sanctuary and the allot
ments was damaged. Enquiries are ongoing.
Theft:
A theft by housebreaking has been recorded after an unidentified person forced open
a ground floor window and entered a dwelling while the occupants were on holiday.
The culprit emptied drawers and cupboards and stole a quantity of jewellery
A theft has been recorded after an unknown person accessed a chicken coop and
stole two chickens. Unfortunately, there are no further lines of enquiry, and this re
mains undetected.
A theft by opening a lockfast place has been recorded after person(s)forced entry
into a building site and stolen a mini digger and a quantity of power tools. Enquiries
are ongoing.
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Fraud:
An attempted fraud has been recorded has been recorded after an elderly resident
was contacted by telephone by someone purporting to be from their bank asking
them to attend their local branch, withdraw £5000 and await further instructions. The
resident attended the bank and fortunately staff recognised this as a fraud and con
tacted the Police.
Road Safety:
A report of careless driving has been recorded after a motorcycle had to take evasive
action to avoid another vehicle straddling the white lines. Unfortunately, the other ve
hicle remains untraced.
MV reported that fencing has been cut again at the wildlife sanctuary, the horses’
field and in the school playground, making it dangerous for the children. One of the
chains on the swings in the playpark has also been cut. GE will email SC and PC
McCammon about this.
PH has arranged for PC McCammon to give a talk about fraud at Balfron Bowling
Club on Tuesday 18th June 6.30. Anybody who wishes to attend should email PH.
4. Local Place Plan update.
AT sent CC members a first draft of the analysis of the questionnaire. He has re
ceived the data from the 2022 census, and it appears that our population has de
creased by about 500. AT does not believe this.
At least 1 in 6 people responded to the questionnaire and the number of missing an
swers was very low. The BVB is the number one source of local information. More
women than men completed the survey. The local halls are seen positively, and resi
dents are generally active in the area. Public transport is an issue in the area.
The working group will discuss what we really need to know from the data we have.
JH said that the working group will need to meet during the summer to discuss the
next stage of the Plan. A resident asked when the results need to be with SC. JH
said it is January 2025. AT said that we might have a public exhibition with the results
later in the year.
JH thanked AT and JG for their work on the plan.
5. Update on the District Nurses
JH covered this under Matters Arising
6. Elected member’s Report – Councillor Gerry McGarvey
A new Chief Executive has been appointed at SC and will be in position in 3 months
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7. Planning and Licensing.
JG was not in attendance so there was no discussion.
8. Finance
We have £4279.48 in our account.
PL and GE are working on the Admin Grant.
9. Correspondence
A resident emailed about the choice of hospitals. This has been passed to GMcG.
A resident in Ballagan is querying the speed limit on Campsie Road. He asked if the
40MPH could be extended. RD said that there are strict rules about speed limits, but
he will ask SC.
A resident complained about old street furniture left around the village.
We have had an email from Pauline Roberts with a health check document for CCs.
A resident asked about padlocks on gates on the new footpath, which have been in
stalled by another resident. JH and KR will walk along to check this and contact the
Access Officer. MV said that Richard Baines has met with the Access officer and SC
is going to put up signs regarding dogs on the path.
11. AOCB
JH asked the CC members to agree a letter to be sent to the owner of the car which
hit the shed. This was agreed in principle and GE will circulate the letter for com
ments. Equipment currently in the shed will be stored temporarily in the Edmonstone
Hall.
JH received a letter from Strathcarron Hospice with raffle tickets. Anybody who wish
es to purchase these can contact her.
A resident asked if the Police never attend the meetings. JH explained that there is
currently only one officer who is often busy. He asked if anything is being done about
the traffic calming outside the VC. We have heard nothing from SC about this. Non
enforcement of the speed limit in the village is unacceptable. RD will email SC about
this.
12. Date of next meeting
September 2nd 2024
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
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