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Torbrex Community Council
Minutes of Meeting
13/06/2023
Stirling High School
1.
Welcome and Introductions
The Chair welcomed those present to the June Meeting.
a.
Community Council Members Present: John Buchan, Julie Myles, Matt McGrandles (Chair), Ruth Paterson (Vice Chair), Annette van Schalkwyk (Secretary), Chris Rayfield (Planning) and Fiona Rayfield (Treasurer).
b.
No Apologies
c.
In attendance: Cyan van Schalkwyk (Minute Taker), Cllr Benny, Stephen Bly, and Police Officer Spike
2.
Final stages of inaugural meeting (Stephen Bly)
a.
Stephen Bly’s Discretionary Decision
S.B returned following the discretionary decision to split the Inaugural Meeting. S.B stated the reasons for the decision were –
“ 2.1 Stirling Council strives to support Community Councils as and when required and appropriate. I felt the situation presented on 9 May 2023 was one such situation.
2.2 The circumstances leading to that situation were unexpected, extenuating and a one off.
2.3 The Community Council immediately made commitments to resolve the matter at the next possible opportunity, that being the meeting on 13 June 2023.”
a.
Election of office holders
Treasurer: Fiona Rayfield - proposed by M.McG and seconded by A.V.S
Planning: Chris Rayfield – proposed by J.B and seconded by R.P
3.
Recording of Declarations of Interest
a. None made.
4.
Adoption of previous meeting(s) minutes
a.
Minutes of the meeting held on the 9th of May 2023 were approved as an accurate record.
i.
J.M proposed
ii.
J.B seconded
5.
Matters Arising
a.
A.V.S – No reply from other C.Cs following previous email sent.
b.
No additional information
c.
Refer to Secretary Report
d.
Refer to Chair Report
6.
External Reports
a.
Police Report – P.O Spike
Crime report for Torbrex area during the period of 09//05/23 to 13/06/23.
In total 3 crimes:
2 Detected crimes relating to road traffic offenses (theft from unattended vehicle and damage to a car).
1 Undetected crime still ongoing relating to crime of Fraud (ID).
J.M raised issue of vandalism to beechwood park equipment. P.O Spike responded with intentions to increase park surveillance by addition to police weekend plan.
R.P noted misuse of the Beechwood car park by loud cars late into the night. P.O Spike acknowledged and suggested addition of preventative bollard if feasible. Cllr Benny noted that an email was sent to enquire about possible bollard or gate addition to car park.
M.McG queried if P.O Spike would be interested in attending the Residents Forum (R.F) to additionally update residents. P.O Spike advised it’s better to remain only during the C.C, to identify key issues and maintain formalities.
b.
Elected Member Report – Cllr Neil Benny
Cllr Benny informed that following the summer, budget consultations will take place. Information regarding the consultations is to be released from September to January
with the budget to be set in February. Cllr Benny asks that any issues regarding the budget are to be raised before February.
F.R notes there has been no movement on selling the site behind Stirling High School. Cllr Benny advises it is still for sale but not currently being advertised and that there is expected to be no movement before December 2023 due to access issues.
J.M raises the Beechwood Park vandalism issue with Cllr Benny. He stated that an email had been sent to gather information about repairs and iterates the importance of reporting it through formal routes to the council.
F.R asked about any updates regarding high load of roadworks within Stirling. Cllr Benny informs a coordinator has been recruited to solve roadwork issues and ensure it is better managed in the future.
7.
Internal Reports
a.
Chair – M.McG
M.McG reiterates that the routes in place need to be used consistently to ensure issues are communicated to the council.
M.McG raises the idea of the creation and use of an action plan for the C.C during the 3-year term. The action plan would highlight the specific achievements set out to be completed by the C.C and allow for a higher degree of communication alongside coordination on matters. He notes that the plan will be referred to in the future.
A.V.S notes to email Stephen Bly to gain to access before Torbrex C.C action plans.
M.McG introduces the Torbrex Matrix. The Matrix will be used to log residents’ complaints and note if they have followed the chain of procedures in place to report to council. It’s set to be displayed upon the Beechwood noticeboard and the Facebook group. The C.C unanimously agrees that future usage will be beneficial.
Cllr Benny advises to inform Stephen Bly of the Matrix concept. A.V.S notes to email.
R.P notes names shouldn’t feature on the Matrix if it’s public.
b. Secretary – A.V.S
A.V.S informs that the noticeboard is taken up by council posters and the park map so little space for C.C information.
M.McG advises that the glass of the noticeboard is still obscured by graffiti.
C.C agree that the use of public funds is justifiable to purchase a noticeboard solely for the C.C. A.V.S concludes that her and M.McG will assess the noticeboard and return to update on the use of funds in the next meeting.
A.V.S sent email to C.C about attendance to upcoming Area Forum Event. No one is available to attend.
A.V.S sent email to C.C about attendance to upcoming Local Place Plans Meeting. M.McG and R.P are attending. Cllr Benny notes this meeting is key for any planning.
c.
Treasurer – F.R
F.R reports she is yet to gain full access for internet banking due to delay regarding signature.
F.R attests that figures are accurate for interim report during 2022/2023 regarding expenditures on minutes and noticeboard. M.McG seconds accuracy of figures.
F.R notes that action must be taken to begin grant application.
M.McG notes there has been no update from the bank regarding removing Paul, Sharon, and Barry from the C.C account.
F.R highlights the importance of gaining internet banking access and to update M.McG to Chair on banking records for C.C.
d.
Planning – F.R
F.R reports there are 2 houses looking to do extensions and as aforementioned no movement on selling the site behind the High School.
e.
Subgroups
No subgroups formed yet.
8.
Community Council Business
a.
None
9.
AOB
R.P addresses Cllr Benny on previous meeting issue about C.C gaining ownership of site behind the High School.
M.McG informs Cllr Benny of R.P proposed plan to create a development trust to aid in ownership.
Cllr Benny informs that the trust would aid in gaining ownership from the council but reminds that the cricket club also hold shares which would need to be bought.
R.P informs about communication with Land Scotland on help with ownership gain. This is dependent on the formation of a development trust.
Cllr Benny advises to liaise with Bridge of Allan C.C as they recently formed a trust.
10.
Resident’s Forum
a.
Received in Advance
i.
Alyson Hislop
A.H enquired to find more information about the Pollinator Strategy specifically for Birch Avenue as she had noted a lack of grass cutting. A.V.S responded to the email providing more information and offered an invite to RF. AVS noted there was no reply.
Cllr Benny responded that residents must be made aware of any areas that are set to be under the Pollinator strategy by the council and residents are to unanimously agree before implementation.
b.
In Person
i.
Graham Kenford
G.K raised issue with hedge cutting to the Torbrex lane. He noted that the lane was highly overgrown on the High School side but more kept on the side of the neighbouring flats.
F.R stated that there is a regular contractor in place for the flat side, but the council and cricket club are responsible for the opposite side closest to the school and is only cut once a year.
A.V.S queries if G.K has reported this through to the council through the formal channels. G.K states he has not.
M.McG raises issue regarding other overgrown areas within Torbrex that are council owned. Cllr Benny responds there have already been reports made but to continue to send if any new overgrown areas arise.
ii.
Una MacFayden
U.McP raises issue with the overgrown hedge along the Glebe. Cllr Benny informs the hedge is privately owned. U.McP also notes she has reported the issue to the council.
U.McP raises issue that meeting timing is wrong on the council website.
A.V.S responds that S.B is working on updating timings and minutes to ensure they correctly reflect the current C.C.
U.McP raises issue with cyclists, cycling upon the pedestrian only pavements.
Cllr Benny notes that is not a C.C issue but rather to inform the police if the cycling is dangerous so they can resolve any imposing safety risks.
iii.
Julie Myles
J.M raises issue with intense volume of littering occupying Lidl car park. J.M suggests adding bins to pedestrian exits to combat the littering.
iv.
Matt McGrindles
M.McG states it would be useful to introduce a younger member to the C.C, potentially from the high school. Cllr Benny suggests extending an invite to the Stirling High School head captains or a meeting with the headteacher.
M.McG raises that the C.C hasn’t reached full capacity. Suggests that the 2 openings could be filled by a student such as a Head Captain and a parent representative.
11.
Date, time, and venue of next meeting
12th of September 2023, 19:00 to 20:00, 20:05 to 21:00 at Stirling High School Cafe