GLENORCHY AND INNISHAIL COMMUNITY COUNCIL

 

Minutes of Council Meeting

held in Dalmally Village Hall

on 22 January 2008 at 7.30pm

 

 

Present  David Fellowes, Kate Craig, Pam Gibson, John Burke, Pam Whitehead, Len Ross, Averil Watson, Councillor Donald MacDonald, PC Greg Bryce plus 15 members of the public

 

 

1.  Welcome

The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting and introduced Len Ross who has been elected as the new Member for the Portsonachan sub area.

 

 

2.  Apologies for Absence

Marge Crawford, Sybil Macpherson

 

 

3.  Minutes of CC Meeting held on 21 November 2007

The Secretary asked that a correction be made to the minutes.  Marina Curren Colthart, Biodiversity Officer, Argyll and Bute Council should have had her apologies noted. 

 

 

4.  Matters arising from previous meeting

a        Dalmally Play Park ACHA have begun to tidy up the grounds as of two days ago.

The containers are being cleared so that Dalmally Primary School can do the

planting in these, the rest of the grounds are to be sorted out by ACHA’s

contractor.

b        Eredine Bridge Councillor Donald Macdonald reported Drew Swan’s email stating

the Council had no further plans to carry out any more work on the bridge.  It

was agreed a letter would be sent to Stewart Turner (Head of Roads & Amenity Services) to say the CC were not happy with this decision and to suggest a site meeting.  Len Ross agreed to email the Secretary the photographs he has taken of the bridge.

Action – Len Ross to email the photographs to the Secretary, who will write to

Stewart Turner

c.              TranServ Matters Outstanding It was agreed the Secretary would write to Steve

Braithwaite about the following outstanding matters: the 30mph signs to be painted on the road either end of Lochawe village, the 40mph sign to be moved beyond the Surgery in Dalmally, a request for a permanent illuminated speed sign in Lochawe,  the gritting of the wrong pavements in Dalmally, the blocked drains in Lochawe and the pavements which need clearing in Lochawe.

Action – The Secretary to write to Steve Braithwaite, TranServ

d           Bus Shelters in Lochawe The Secretary reported there had been a site meeting

            in December with Douglas Blades, Public Transport Officer, Argyll and Bute

            Council and a representative from TranServ and it was agreed a bus shelter

            would be erected opposite LA Stores, the wooden bus shelter at the end of St

            Conans Road would be replaced with a new bus shelter and a third shelter would

            be put on the opposite side of the road to the entrance to St Conans Road. 

            Douglas Blades said he would send a plan of the positioning of the shelters

            and the work would commence in February 2008.

e           First Responders Scheme The Secretary has written to Oban Fire Brigade to

            ascertain if the Volunteer Fire Crews in Dalmally and Bridge of Orchy, who are

            being trained to use defibrillators, would be trained to assist not only at road

            accidents but also at incidents in private houses.  This item will be discussed at

            the next CC meeting to decide whether a First Responder Scheme should be

            started up again in the area.

f            Flooding of 2 Railway Cottages, Lochawe PC Bryce said he was at the scene

            when the flooding occurred and the flooding was due to a blocked culvert

            resulting in water going directly into 2 Railway Cottages.  When the fire brigade

            turned up they managed to divert the water away from 2 Railway Cottages. 

            Therefore the problem of the flooding of 2 Railway Cottages was due to the

            culvert being blocked and not due to the action of the fire brigade.  The Secretary

            will inform the owner of 2 Railway Cottages and write to TranServ.

            Action – The Secretary to write to the owner of 2 Railway Cottages and

            TranServ.

 

 

5.  Police Report

PC Greg Bryce gave a report of police activities since the last CC meeting, which included a theft of an MP3 player in Portsonachan, 24 drivers caught speeding, a suicide in Glenorchy, a mountain rescue on Boxing Day and fraud involving the misuse of three addresses in St Conans Road.  He reported the Hogmanay celebrations in Oban went well and there would be a Police Open Day (date to be announced).

 

6.    Any other business

    1. Affordable Housing in Bridge of Orchy The Secretary will get an update from WHHA and report back at the next CC meeting.

Action – The Secretary to contact WHHA.

    1. Gritting of the B840 There have been a number of complaints about the lack of gritting on the B840.  Councillor Donald Macdonald agreed to follow up on this.

Action – Councillor Donald Macdonald to talk to the roads department about the gritting of the B840.

    1. Level of Loch Awe Following on from the previous CC meeting it was agreed the Secretary would contact SEPA to find out what the timetable is for getting our comments to them for their review.  The Chair queried whether people felt they were given enough opportunity to ask questions regarding the level of the loch at the November CC meeting.  It was generally agreed (with one exception) that people had been given enough opportunity.  The Chair reported that the Lorn branch of the NFU were going to write to Peter Donaldson at SSE regarding the loch levels and it was also stated that the Argyll Forum would be doing this as well.  It was suggested that members of RSPB should write to the RSPB to encourage them to get more involved.

Action – The Secretary to write to SEPA.

    1. Dog fouling signs.  The Secretary agreed to contact A&BC regarding the promised dog fouling signs for St Conans Road and Dalmally Railway Station.

Action – The Secretary to write to A&BC.

    1. BT cable by the cattle grid in St Conans Road Pam Whitehead reported BT had removed a pole and left a very large cable sticking out.

Action – The Secretary to write to BT.

    1. Dalmally Street Lighting Councillor Duncan MacIntyre has contacted TranServ regarding this matter and awaits a response.
    2. Culvert near Dunoran Bridge, Stronmilchan It was reported that the Council had done a good job in clearing the culvert this year.
    3. Planning applications for other areas being received at Dalmally PO The Postmistress of Dalmally Post Office reported that she is frequently mistakenly sent the plans for applications for other areas (e.g. Taynuilt, Mull, Kilmelford).  Councillor Donald Macdonald said he would contact the planning department. 

Action – Councillor Donald Macdonald to contact the planning department. 

    1. Licensing Act 2005 The proprietor of LA Stores in Lochawe requested clarification as to whether the license holder has to be on the premises whenever alcohol is sold.  Councillor Donald Macdonald said he would pursue this query and PC Greg Bryce said he would get what information Strathclyde Police have about this to all licensed premises in the area.

Action – Councillor Donald Macdonald to pursue this query and PC Bryce to get literature regarding the Licensing Act to licensed premises in the area. 

           

j    Hogmanay Street Party, Oban The Chair congratulated Councillor Neil Mackay

for organising such a successful event and the Chair hoped more people would

attend next year.

 

 

 

There being no further business the meeting ended at 8.30pm

 

 

10.  Date of Next Meeting

The date for the next meeting is Wednesday 5th March 2008 at 7.30pm in Lochawe Village Hall.