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March 2023 Minutes

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05 Mar 2024

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Torbrex Community Council Minute of Meeting

07/03/23

Stirling High School

 

  1. Welcome and Introductions
  2. The Chair welcomed those present to the
  3. Community Council Members Present: Fiona Rayfield, Chris Rayfield, John Buchan, Matt McGrandles [Chair], Annette Van Schalkwyk [Secretary], Cllr Farmer
  4. Apologies: Police
  5. In attendance: Isla Shortt (minute taker)
  6. Residents Present: Ruth Paterson, Greg Moschonas, Margaret Pitcaithley, Graham Renfrew, Diane McNally, Julie Myles

 

2.     Recording of Declarations of Interest

 

  1. None

3.     Adoption of previous meeting(s) minutes

 

  1. Minutes of the meeting held on 2nd November 2022 were approved as an accurate record.
    1. Proposed AVS
    2. Seconded FR
  2. Minutes of the meeting held on 9th January 2023 were approved as an accurate
    1. Proposed CR
    2. Seconded AVS

 

4.     Matters Arising

  1. Community Council Notice Board
    1. There have been discussions over the past few months around the council having their own dedicated noticeboard.
    2. MMcG advised that the feedback from Stirling Council was that the cost of both the noticeboard and its installation would need to be covered by the community council. As this was a potential spend, he felt that the decision to go ahead or not should lie with the next CC committee following the elections in April.
  2. Community Council Awareness Action Plan
    1. MMcG advised the committee that he felt an action plan should be created that made sure the necessary information was making it to the

community through the Facebook page, flyer, notice board and the local paper. This again was something that should be looked at following the April elections.

 

5.     Reports | External

  1. Police report
    1. No officer present but report submitted
    2. Members noted the high rate of crimes relating to SHS and there was an understanding that there is a dedicated police officer assigned to the high
  • Note was made for AVS to contact the police to enquire about the difference between detected and undetected crimes.
  1. Elected Member report
    1. Cllr Farmer present and spoke about the following:
    2. There was a Stirling Council meeting on Thursday 2nd March reporting back on the cost of living crisis, how it has been affecting those in Stirling and the aid that the council is providing. Stirling Council has been aiding vulnerable people who are affected by the crisis.
  • Planning reforms are being
  1. Noted that the planning of the council budget has been a challenging situation and cuts have had to be There is a £23 million deficit.
  2. Also noted that there has not been a lot of progress with the city The only project relating to this which has been completed so far is the Japanese gardens in Clackmannanshire.
  3. No constituent complaints have been
  • MMcG asked about the progress of the army MoD site in Stirling. Cllr Farmer advised that Stirling Council is required to make a strategic statement regarding this and talked about the various budgets associated with the city deal relevant to the site.
  • JB asked about the 900 year anniversary to celebrate Stirling and whether there will be events to mark MMcG advised that he believes there are events being put in place as well as others.
  1. FR asked for clarification about the plan for a junction on the motorway and this would result in a road next to the castle being closed leading to a city Cllr Farmer stated that this is not going ahead. The council does not have sufficient funds for this. Transport Scotland would not fund this, and it was not accepted in previous negotiations.

 

6.     Reports | Internal

  1. Chair
    1. Ongoing communications as
    2. Even though MMcG has only stepped in as Chair since November he thanked all community councillors present for the work they do on the

committee but especially AVS who took on the secretary role alongside him and the support she has provided.

  1. Secretary (including correspondence)
    1. The Torbrex Community Council elections will be held on the 17th of April. Torbrex residents can submit an application to join the community council. Notices will be put up informing the community about the elections and the criteria.
    2. Would like to offer thanks to both local residents Ruth and Frances who submitted applications to be co-opted onto the committee this month but with the local elections in April it was agreed they should both apply
  • Office bearers of the CC now have new emails. MMcG added that residents should contact the secretary in the first instance rather than directly contacting other office bearers.
  1. An event is being held by Recyke-a-bike in Beechwood from the 10th- 14th of April from 8:45am-4pm. Max numbers Contained within the all- weather 5 a side pitch.
  2. It has been conveyed that previous minutes need to be approved by the committee before being added on the Stirling Council website.
  3. It was noted that graffiti on the pavilion in Beechwood has been painted over but the state of the building is less than favourable.
  1. Treasurer
    1. No report submitted but Chair advised there are no matters of
  2. Planning
    1. There was a planning application to build flats behind the Scots Wha Hae pub but it has been withdrawn.
    2. There was also an application for a house and garden store in Torbrex but this has not been approved.
  • The ice rink site next to the High School is listed on Stirling Council website as for sale with Graham & Sibbald as the agents. However, Graham & Sibbald do not have it on their website and are not currently offering it for sale. FR is grateful to Andrew Peel from G & S for his updates prior to our community council meetings.
  1. Subgroups
    1. There are no subgroups at the

 

7.     Community Council Business

  1. Area Forums – Lead FR
    1. MMcG and FR attended a briefing session each to hear more about area
    2. A newly appointed officer at Stirling Council Fern Milne is eager to get area forums running again and is looking for feedback on our interest in
  • Forum 5 was a group of five different community councils in the Stirling area which met quarterly prior to The understanding was that as a group of 5 community councils, the forum would have significant more

influence on issues affecting residents than individual community councils.

  1. MMcG asked if TCC should be involved in a future area forum. All members present agreed that it It was mentioned that residents have attended in the past and it is something that the new area forum would actively encourage.
  1. 20 mph consultation - Lead MMcG
    1. There was previously confusion about whether sections surrounding King’s Park and Torbrex were 20 or 30 mph These sections are now all 20 mph but MMcG asked the committee if anyone had had feedback on any consultation from the Council about the change or making the 20mph zones permanent. There was not.
    2. A note was made for AVS to ask Stirling Council if there should have been consultation with the community council and residents around this before decisions were made.
  • MMcG also mentioned that 20mph zones are an issue when cyclists wave motorists past them as they also cycle at 20 mph and consequently overtaking can be difficult and dangerous should the driver decide to do
  1. MMcG asked Cllr Farmer if there are any plans to improve public transport in Cllr Farmer responded that he recently had a meeting with the Chief Executive of McGill’s who agreed that public transport is not currently up to standard. A fleet of new buses will soon be coming into the Bannockburn depot. Stirling Council is looking at improving these buses. The McGill’s app allows users to track buses live and will help to improve the overall standard of public transport.
  2. Cllr Farmer advised that he is looking to improve public transport and will push these companies to keep improving it.
  1. Protecting the current greenspaces – Lead MMcG
    1. MMcG proposed that the TCC should write to the Council outlining their feelings on protecting Torbrex’s current greenspaces from any
    2. All members present agreed that the Chair should write to the council about protection of the green space in Torbrex as it was felt that this is an important issue to all residents.

 


8.     AOB

 

  1. Community council elections will begin at the start of Councillors officially stand down on the 3rd of April.
  2. A minimum of seven members is needed on the committee but nine spaces are available. Five of these are office bearers.
  3. Any Torbrex resident can submit their details to apply to be a community councillor. If the number of applicants is more than nine it goes to a Information on the process is available on the Stirling Council website.

  1. MMcG mentioned that the community council will be dissolved if it does not have enough members.
  2. MMcG mentioned that the plan was to create flyers and distribute them to all residents to raise awareness of the elections.

 

9.     Residents Forum from 20:05

 

  1. Received in Advance

 

i.      Ruth Paterson

  1. RP submitted a briefing paper and proposal for the potential community buyout of the ice rink site. She has put together planning documents to create a master document for this issue - others can add to the paper if they want to.
  1. Discussion:
    1. FR mentioned that advice on this issue was taken from a solicitor a number of years ago, and it was found that there is a servitude right of access in the title deeds for those who live on the estate. All residents would have to agree to sell this piece of land and as a result developers would struggle to buy the land.
    2. MMcG mentioned that the community council have not been in favour of the site being developed as previous plans highlighted that the developer would need to create a road access across Torbrex Lane.
    3. FR stated that there is a condition in the title deed for the ground about what it can be used for - housing or RP suggests that the land can be used for nature education.
    4. RP advised that a separate organisation would need to be formed for the purchase of the land. RP also advised that a community councillor can sit on the community council and this body
    5. MMcG asked the members present if they would support this All members present agreed RP should pursue this idea with the support of the community council. Additional reports in its progression would be welcomed.
    6. In Person

 

i.      Diane McNally

  1. DM raised issue with cars driving in the SHS school car park next to her Rollock Street flat in the early hours of the morning. She has heard fighting and disruptive loud noises including bins being opened and tipped up.
  1. Discussion:
    1. FR agreed that this is an issue which she has also

  1. It was enquired as to whether there are cameras which would record these incidents and concluded that the police do the occasional drive through the car park.
  2. Police have not been spoken
  3. MMcG offered that the community council could also contact the Police should she not have any success following her communications with them. AVS to provide DM with the community police contact email.
  4. It was suggested that this could be an issue to raise with the Area Forum. This is an issue throughout Stirling. Residents noted that they often hear cars racing through town and there is no police

 

iii.     Graham Renfrew

  1. GR had previously contacted Councillor Benny about the street lighting issue, but no response was received. He outlined the issues affecting some of the residents in the area and asked Councillor Farmer for his Councillor Farmer provided him with his contact details so GR could email the issue directly to him.
  1. Discussion:
    1. GR advised there was an agreement between Ogilvie and Stirling council to cut a hole in the hedge - it is now a public thoroughfare - parents park there or drop their children off. Despite this, the residents are still paying for street lighting.
    2. GR advised that Blocks 15-19 have been adopted but 21-31 have not. Most residents are not aware of this. If there are problems with the lights the residents are financially responsible for this.
    3. FR pointed out that this issue does not just involve street lighting - other things such as drainage are involved too.
    4. RP mentioned grit bins and that roads are not gritted in FR advised that the new estate is not a priority area for gritting. Bus routes are the priority for gritting.

 

v.     Julie Myles

  1. JM expressed concern about the maintenance of Beechwood Park. The state of the park has deteriorated - there are swings missing, and the zipline is There should be encouragement for children to exercise and show them that we take pride in the park and try to maintain and repair it.
  1. Discussion:
    1. JM also asked about monies received from the city deal the Cllr Farmer mentioned earlier and why this would not be available for

  1. Cllr Farmer highlighted that budgets for parks have been slashed as a result of political decisions and so there is a lack of money for projects such as this one.
  2. MMcG advsied that the previous community council many years ago had an action plan in place to improve the park. An action plan could be created and put in place by the next community council as this would create a focus for it which could include funding applications to improve the park.
  3. Noted that some new equipment had been put in but this is being vandalised and so the council is stopping replacing these things.
  4. AVS mentioned again that residents should use the link on the Stirling Council page to report She has put the link on the TCC Facebook page.
  5. Pavilion – Mentioned that the CC has been involved in discussions around this building and there have been questions around whether it should be demolished.
  6. MMcG mentioned that the Stirling Petanque club had expressed interest in the Pavilion but withdrew due to the potential cost and work required on it.
  7. JM raised a point about visibility issues in the park. This is an issue for women walking alone and how to make the park
  8. Issues with vandalism in the FR noted that Sharon had been in discussion with the police about portable CCTV - could put cameras in as a solution to the vandalism but although community safety team exists but they are positioned in areas of high risk of which the park is not one.

 

10.  Date, time and venue of next meeting

 

  1. The Chair mentioned that, following the April elections, details of future meetings would be highlighted through the usual channels, but the provisional date of the next meeting is 9th of May in Stirling High School.

 

The Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting at 21:00.