Strachur & District Community Council
Minutes of Ordinary Meeting
Held 19:30 on Wednesday 12th April 2023
Strachur Memorial Hall
Members present: Archie Reid (Convener), Isabel McGladdery, William McGladdery, Steve Mclaughlin, Kirstie Reid and Iain Wilkie (Secretary).
Also in attendance: Cllrs Gordon Blair and William Sinclair and two members of the public.
1. Convener’s opening remarks:
Archie welcomed everyone to the ordinary meeting.
2. Apologies and declarations of interest:
There were no apologies or declarations of interest.
3. Minutes.
Minutes for the Ordinary Meeting held on 15th March 2023 were agreed as accurate.
4. Matters arising.
a. Blocked drains: parking area in front of ‘Ashbank’ etc., Creggans.
Cllr Sinclair stated that the parking area was not owned by Argyll & Bute Council and that it was the responsibility of the affected residents to resolve this problem.
b. Blocked drains: Clachan Brae.
Why does Argyll & Bute Council not appear to have an annual programme of gully clearing?
There had been no progress on this issue. It will not be pursued further.
c. Manse Gardens.
Cllr Sinclair had been in further discussions with the Argyll & Bute Housing Officer, Douglas Whyte, particularly on the issue of funding. He assured the meeting that things were moving forward.
ACTION: Cllr Sinclair
d. ‘Smiley Face’ signs on 40 mph stretch of A886: request to Roads & Infrastructure Services.
Cllr Sinclair would follow this up and write to Jim Smith (Head of Roads & Infrastructure Services, Argyll & Bute Council) concerning speed limits on the A886 and A815.
ACTION: Cllr Sinclair
e. St. Catherines issues:
i/ Layby near Poll Schoolhouse - access blocked by traffic cones.
Iain had e-mailed Nigel Potts (Roads & Infrastructure Services, Argyll & Bute Council) about this (and point ii below). Mr Potts had replied:
“I’ll pass on point 1 to our local roads inspector to investigate. The layby does form part of the adopted road so is for use by anyone travelling on the A815 and I am not aware of any request to prevent access.”
ii/ Locked gate, southern approach to St. Catherines.
Mr Potts had replied:
“As for point 2, this part of the old A815 alignment is private and is the driveway/access road to Gate Cottage. The 3 section that are part of the UC44 Strachur-St. Catherines service road are to the South of Ardchyline Estate. Two are no through roads either side of Pole corner and the 3rd is the loop road at Ardnagowan where the MoD station and slipway are.”
f. Information board near Post Office.
Iain informed the meeting that, because the whole board was encased in plastic, the text was not accessible and could not be amended. It was agreed that no further action should be taken at this time.
g. Co-option forms.
Iain had forwarded William’s and Steve’s completed forms to Argyll & Bute Council.
h. Overgrown vegetation at Bay sewage treatment facility.
Iain had reported this to Scottish Water and received the following response:
“We will ask our framework contractor to visit site to provide a scope and a cost for vegetation clearance / tree trimming etc on the land that Scottish Water own. We will be in touch when this has been carried out and provide indications when any works will be programmed. We will consider installing a sign reg camping.”
h. Speed limit sign obscured by vegetation.
After further discussion on this issue, it was agreed that the relevant house-owner should be approached informally.
ACTION: Iain
i. Hall defibrillator.
Iain said that The Hub was responsible for the defibrillator. Following a discussion with Hub trustees, a small notice had been attached to the defibrillator to explain that no code was required to access it. Iain agreed to follow up on the suggestion that instructions for accessing the defibrillator should be posted in the Hall.
ACTION: Iain
j. Dogs in Strachur graveyard.
Iain had prepared an item on this for the Newsletter and Community Facebook page.
k. Meeting on Council budget process organised by Bute Community Council.
This was scheduled for 17th April. Iain could not attend this but had asked to be kept informed of the outcome and any further developments.
l. Donation to Hall Committee.
It was agreed that the CC should donate £200.
5. Police Report.
None received.
6. Health Report.
Kirstie had attended various meeting with the HSPC in her role as Unpaid Carer Rep., raising issues affecting the area. She had also been in correspondence with both NHS Highland and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde re waiting times for out-patient appointments, after concerns were raised with her re return appointments being much longer than the GP/Consultant had expected.
Kirstie had also been at a meeting with Voices Scotland on various issues related to attending meetings and representing the public as a public rep.
7. Secretary’s Report.
Articles for Newsletter and/or Facebook.
Since the last meeting two articles had been submitted. These were on: Application to demolish Old Ferry Inn, and Dogs in Strachur graveyard.
Correspondence.
The main correspondence (in addition to any mentioned elsewhere) had been with:
a. Hall Committee re: EV charging point at Hall.
Relocation of new bin at Heron Park.
b. Dunoon Observer re: Application to demolish Old Ferry Inn, St. Catherines.
c. Resident re: overgrown vegetation at Bay sewage treatment facility.
Surveys and consultations.
A response had been submitted to the following consultation:
a. Licensing Board application for Major Variation.
Other activities.
a. Attended Argyll Rally Community Council Liaison Meeting on 20.3.23.
b. Attended Community Fund Meeting on 30.3.23.
8. Treasurer’s report.
The bank balance stood at £2,553.44.
9. Transport update.
Kirstie had attended the Cowal Transport Forum and raised issues with West Coast Motors regarding buses serving Strachur. She also now attends the Clyde Kintyre and Islands Ferry Users Group on behalf of the Transport Forum.
10. National Park Update.
Nothing to report.
11. AOB.
a. Coronation Lunch.
Isabel and Kirstie summarised plans for the Coronation Lunch on Sunday 7th May.
b. Water leakage, Clachan Brae near Manse Gardens entrance.
It was reported that water was welling up at the edge of the road. This was thought to be a natural spring and therefore outwith the remit of Scottish Water. Iain offered to pursue this.
ACTION: Iain
c. Blockage of footpath, Heron Park.
It was noted that the Scottish Water compound in the Heron Park parking area was blocking a footpath. Iain agreed to contact the Development Company about this.
ACTION: Iain
d. School warning sign, A815.
Kirstie said that, having previously been on all the time, this was now not on at all. Cllrs Blair and Sinclair undertook to follow this up.
ACTION: Cllrs Blair and Sinclair
e. National Planning Framework 4.
Cllr Sinclair alerted the meeting to the publication of NPF4 in February 2023 and referred to Local Place Plans (LPPs), which are community-led proposals for the development and use of land. Cllr Sinclair suggested that it would be more efficient if this were done by interested CCs working as a group rather than individually. CC members agreed.
f. Why did the rubbish bin cross the road?
Iain told the meeting that the new bin installed by Argyll & Bute Council on the Heron Park side of the side-road to the Hall had been moved to the pavement on the Hall side of the road. This defeated the primary purpose of the bin, which was to make it easier for Heron Park dog-walkers to dispose of dog dirt.
12. Date and location of next meeting.
The next meeting would be at 19:30, 14th June 2023 in Strachur Memorial Hall.
Iain Wilkie,
Secretary, Strachur & District Community Council