Strachur Community Council
Minutes of Ordinary Meeting
Held 19:30 on Wednesday 12th January 2022
Strachur Memorial Hall
Members present: Archie Reid (Convener), Drew Stewart (Vice-Convener), Iain Wilkie (Secretary), Ceci Alderton and Kirstie Reid.
Also in attendance: Bob Darracott (representative for Ward 1 on the Board of the National Park), Bill Dickson (Strachur & District Community Development Company) and five members of the public.
1. Convener’s opening remarks:
Archie welcomed everyone to the meeting.
2. Apologies and declarations of interest:
Cllr Alan Reid and Isabel McGladdery apologised for non-attendance. There were no declarations of interest.
3. Minutes.
Minutes for the Ordinary Meeting held on 15th December 2021 were agreed as accurate.
4. Matters arising.
a. White lining: A815 at Cambusdhu, Loch Eck.
Cllr Reid reported (via e-mail) that he had received no response from the relevant Council department (due to the holiday period and Council officers taking annual leave).
ACTION: Cllrs Blair/McNeilly/Reid
b. Grass spreading over A815 pavement from Clachan Beag houses to Creggans.
Cllr Reid had received no response from the relevant Council department.
ACTION: Cllrs Blair/McNeilly/Reid
c. Blocked drains adjacent to parking area in front of ‘Ashbank’ etc.
Cllr Reid had received no response from the relevant Council department.
ACTION: Cllrs Blair/McNeilly/Reid
d. Blocked drains: A886 from building site to start of raised pavement.
Cllr Reid had received no response from the relevant Council department.
ACTION: Cllrs Blair/McNeilly/Reid
e. Baycroft problems in freezing weather.
Cllr Reid had received no response from the relevant Council department.
ACTION: Cllrs Blair/McNeilly/Reid
f. Flooding in Forest View.
This has been fixed.
g. Clachan Brae street lights.
Cllr Reid had received the following response: “Column numbers R8-R11 have been logged as dark lights via the Council's asset management system. We will provide a further update by the end of January.”
h. Flashing lights at school crossing.
Cllr Reid had received the following response:
“Our Street Lighting team are aiming to upgrade these lights, and expect to complete works by the end of this financial year.”
i. Questions about bus service raised at previous meeting.
Why does the 489 bus detour to Benmore Gardens during the winter?
Answer (from West Coast Motors) - In the early days of COVID, the service 489 was altered to accommodate requests people had made to visit outdoor areas to combat mental health issues such as depression and anxiety states which was notable during this time. This change combined with the benefit of a standard timetable year gives significant benefits to those using the service by giving regular times for travel. Whether the journey operates via Benmore Gardens or not, this would not allow any significant time to alter the service offering.
Why was the 3.55 p.m. MTW 484 service brought forward to 3.37 p.m.?
Answer - The Service 484 was retimed during the early days of the pandemic. This was to ensure that any pupils travelling on the service were taken home in the quickest possible way to avoid gathering together for an extended period when travelling via the ferry terminal.
Why use the big buses?
Answer - The size of the vehicles is determined by the passenger numbers carried, this is also based upon the number of school pupils travelling on these services.
j. Consultation on naming new street in housing development “Birlinn Brae”.
Iain reported that, based on (a) responses to the request for residents’ comments posted on Facebook and published in the Newsletter, (b) opinions expressed at the previous CC meeting, and (c) the article published in the ‘Dunoon Observer’ of 7th January 2022, he was aware of the views of 17 residents. Most of these did not support the proposed name. However, as the 17 residents who had expressed views represented only 2.6% of the electorate in the CC area, it was agreed that no conclusions could be drawn from the consultation. Mr R. MacLennan provided a robust defence of the proposed name and was strongly opposed to any alternative that included his surname, which had been suggested by some residents. It was agreed that Iain should inform Argyll & Bute Council that the CC wished to raise no objections to the proposed name.
ACTION: Iain
h. Case for reducing A886 speed limit.
Iain had asked Chief Inspector Emma Grimason if she would attend a CC meeting to discuss Strachur speed limits. She had replied that she could not attend in person due to COVID restrictions but offered to talk over the issues on the phone; this had still to be arranged. Iain had also e-mailed Paul Farrell, Argyll & Bute Council, to present the CC’s case for reducing the speed limit on the A886.
ACTION: Iain
i. Collective Leadership Model.
Iain had publicised the consultation via the Newsletter and Facebook. Since it had become clear that there would be no single consultation meeting in Dunoon for the whole of Cowal, Iain had asked Argyll & Bute Council if an educational professional could present the proposals at a special CC meeting. He had been informed that Jennifer Crocket (Head of Education) and David Mitchell (Head Teacher, DGS) would be “in attendance”, though “Ideally this would be held virtually… due to the current circumstances”. After discussion, it was agreed that it would be worth convening a special meeting only if an educational professional could attend in person. Iain would try to arrange this.
ACTION: Iain
j. Consultation on payphones.
Iain had completed the questionnaire on behalf of the CC.
k. Letter from Sandbank resident.
Following a conversation with a member of Sandbank CC, Iain had written a letter to the resident.
l. Strachur Gardens Scheme.
Iain had asked Bill Dickson if the Flower Show Committee would be interested in
resurrecting the scheme. Bill would raise this at the next meeting of the committee.
m. Argyll Rally 2022.
Iain had submitted a response (giving qualified support) to Motorsport UK’s consultation.
n. Friendship bench.
Kirstie had been informed by PC Laura Evans that this (and all other friendship benches for Cowal) would be installed by Argyll & Bute Council. Installation of the benches would begin in February.
5. Police Report (received from PS Elaine Heffron by e-mail).
There were 8 calls relating to the Strachur Community Council area between the dates of 10/12/21 and 10/1/22. Incidents of note neighbour dispute (1), fraud (1), alarm call (1), dog attack (1) and road traffic (2).
Two crime reports were recorded, which related to speeding and a driver with no insurance/licence.
6. Health Report.
a. Eye Clinic.
Kirstie had been asked by a patient to confirm that, due to the retirement of the ophthalmologist (Dr Mansfied), Eye Clinics would no longer be held in Cowal Community Hospital and patients would have to go to Inverclyde Royal Hospital or Royal Alexandra Hospital, Paisley.
b. New hospital phone numbers.
Kirstie reminded everyone that the hospital phone numbers in GGC HB had changed. The relevant new numbers are:
Dumbarton Health Centre 01389 821 899
Dykebar Hospital 0141 201 1099
Inverclyde Royal Hospital 0141 314 9504
Port Glasgow Health Centre 0141 314 7298
Royal Alexandra Hospital 0141 314 7294
Vale of Leven Hospital 01389 828 599
West Glasgow ACH 0141 414 6713
7. Secretary’s Report.
Articles for Newsletter and Facebook.
Since the last meeting two articles had been submitted. These were on: Consultation on new housing development street name; and Consultation on ‘Collective Leadership Model’.
Correspondence.
The main correspondence (in addition to any mentioned elsewhere) had been with:
a. A resident regarding the possibility of protecting the trees adjacent to the A886 opposite the new housing development with a tree preservation order.
b. ‘Dunoon Observer’ re new housing development.
Surveys and consultations.
A response had been submitted to the following consultation:
Review of the telephony universal service obligation.
Other activities.
a. Attended an Argyll Rally 2022 Zoom meeting on 10th January.
8. Treasurer’s report.
The bank balance stood at £2,049.99.
9. Transport update.
Archie again highlighted the issue of bus timetables being changed without consultation and without sufficient notice being given. He intended to bring this up at the next meeting of Cowal Transport Forum (9th February). It was suggested that the ‘Dunoon Observer’ might run a feature on the local bus services. Kirstie offered to contact the Editor.
ACTION: Archie and Kirstie
10. National Park Update.
Bob Darracott stated that there were no planning issues of local relevance. A full application for a big fish farm at Ardgartan, Loch Long had been submitted. ‘Dawnfresh’ had still not lodged an application for a fish farm at Ardentinny. The National Park was aware of the excessive parking and littering issues at Loch Eck and would factor this into their plans for dealing with an expected increase in visitors this year.
11. AOB
a. Bill Dickson reported that the Development Company was thinking about installing CCTV at the Sports Pavilion and wondered if there was any scope for cooperation with the CC regarding CCTV at the Recycling Site. CC members were still of the opinion that this would be a disproportionate response to the problems at the Recycling Site.
b. A resident living around Barandachoid, Strathlachlan had been concerned about speeding on the B8000 and had asked Kirstie if the CC could request the Police to conduct a speed check at that location. Iain offered to follow this up.
ACTION: Iain
12. Date and location of next meeting.
The next meeting would be at 19:30, Wednesday 16th March 2022 in Strathlachlan Community Centre.
Iain Wilkie
Secretary, Strachur Community Council