02-12-05 EKCC Meeting
The December meeting of the East Kintyre Community Council took place last Thursday, 1 December 2005, in the village hall. As this was to be the last meeting before Christmas hot drinks and mince pies were handed out to councillors and observers, which were most welcome on a chill December evening.
Brief notes on the meeting follow.
The minutes of the last meeting were inspected and approved with one or two minor alterations, and with the Treasurer away there was no financial report.
Christmas Lights - It was raised that one of the previous councillors had purchased Christmas tree lights last year, with approval from the council, but had never been re-imbursed for his expenditure. Various suggestions were made as to why this over-sight had occurred and it was agreed to fully re-imburse him without delay.
Planning - there was an application to erect an antenna mast on a building in Saddell by SSE for their own private communications system. The school has also applied for certain alterations connected with new legislation to provide access to disabled people.
Wellpark - It was reported that whilst installing additional lighting at the pavillion, serious problems with the existing wiring had been discovered. The football club will be meeting the costs of these repairs. Planning permission is required for the equipment shed, adjacent to the pavilion. It was agreed that EKCC would take on the task of obtaining permission.
Recycling Bins - The bottle bank has now been removed to the harbour but the other bins remain. It is hoped that these will be relocated soon.
Roads - It was reported that Argyll & Bute had filled in some of the potholes in the road between the village hall and the school, but that more work was required. The resurfacing of the Waterfoot road has been put back to next year due to costs. The condition of the road to Hill 60 was also raised. This was last re-surfaced in 1967 by Argyll County Council but was not adoptewd at that time. It was felt that the council would not adopt the road until it had been repaired to their required standard and that the cost of this would (some £60,000) have to be met by the owners of the properties along it. The chairman will be raising the matter with Argyll & Bute Council in the hopes that they can be persuaded to take on the job. It was also raised that the condition of the road through Tosh's Park is also lamentable. Apparently ownership of this road is in question as the houses were originally built by the Forestry Commission. The street lamp at the Network Centre is also defective and the council are to be asked to repair it. Improvements to drainage of road water at Saddell are still to be done. Scottish Water are still in talks with landowners.
Path Clearing - It was announced that the clearing of local paths, for which tenders had been invited, had now been completed and that Mr Gull had done an excellent job. The contract was awarded on the basis of lowest received bid.
Footpaths - The path between the harbour and the golf course requires work. The drainage ditches need clearing and several steps need repair. The condition of the path along the Spoot Wood was raised. There is a question mark over who actually owns the path. Of the two likely owners one was happy for EKCC to repair the path whereas the other refused permission, linking the condition of the path to the repairs of the Hill 60 road. After much debate it was felt that legal ownership of the path needs to be established once and for all prior to any remedial work being done.
Torrisdale Jetty - The condition of the jetty at Torrisdale beach was raised, particularly with regards to safety of visitors. The jetty was built some ten to fifteen years ago by the Glen Light Company as a means of loading logs onto ships, and was supposed to have been demolished by them when it was no longer needed. Unfortunately the said company is no longer trading and so the jetty remains. It was felt that the landowners should be approached as a first step in deciding what should be done about the jetty.
Steet Signs - Several streets appear to have no or inadequate street signs: Broomfield, Tormhor, and Woodside. This is to be raised with Argyll & Bute Council.
Carradale Surgery - It was announced that Dr Elder has applied to opt-out of providing out-of-hours emergency cover. He has been advertising for a second doctor for the practise but has so far been unsuccessful. The alternatives to the community were unclear and it was felt that nothing immediate would change as the health authority was in the process of being reformed and it was unlikely they'd make any decisions until the new authority was in place. One alternative would be the provision of a nurse/practitioner to cover the area but until the new authority is in place nothing can be done, other than to look into ways of attracting applicants to the post.
Apologies in advance for any errors or omissions. No doubt a full copy of the official minutes will appear in the next edition of The Antler.
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