11-04-13 EKCC Minutes

Minutes of the meeting 7th March 2013.

Present:
Shelagh Cameron (Chair), Robert Strang, Eleanor Sloan,Elizabeth McMillan, Catherine Forbes, Tom Adams

Councillors John McAlpine, Anne Horn, John Semple, Robin Currie, 8 members of the Community and 1 reporter from the Courier.

Apologies: Dominic Ryan, Stuart Irvine, Ronnie Brownie

Welcome: The Convenor welcomed all attending

Minutes of last meeting: One correction – Anne Horn had asked for her apologies to be given at the last meeting, minutes will be amended.

Matters arising:
Regarding the AOB request for white parking lines for the Tormhor car parks, Cllr McAlpine told us that the ownership of the car parks (ACHA or A&BC) is being looked into by Julian Green, he will let the EKCC know the outcome. He is also due to look into the flooding issues on the path to the village hall. This led to a discussion about a SLOW sign at the memorial garden to help oncoming traffic be aware of other traffic, there was no resolution for this.
The Ł3000 wind farm application from the Network Carradale has been received and approved.

Treasurer’s Report:
Elisabeth McMillan reported that there is no change to the financial situation
Carradale Community care Update: (3C’s) At the last meeting 28/2/13 it was decided that the public are unaware of what the 3C’s is about and that some form of transport for the village would be advantageous . Therefore the priorities are to raise the profile of the group and to get a vehicle for the community, probably a 6 – 9 seater bus, this will involve costings and to securing funding. The plan is to recruit volunteer drivers and to fund someone to take on the maintenance and co-ordination of use of the bus. Cathy asked everyone to encourage the community to attend the next meeting – date to be confirmed.

Network Community Business Update:
Alan Walker handed out leaflets for the Network Carradale Project, he told us that they had been attending local community meetings (Kintyre & Gigha) and they have been doing presentations. The official opening of the Network centre will take place on 29/3/13 by Cllr John McAlpine at noon. There will be a chance for locals to have a free half hour ride one of the 15 bikes or 2 all terrain buggies. The Network Carradale AGM is to be held in the village hall meeting room on the 21/3/13. The tearoom is now finished and there has been one applicant. With the help of the FC and Ordnance Survey, a map has been produced with 3 trails suitable for different abilities and lengths of rides. TA asked if the NC and the Kintyre Way had spoken about the upkeep of the trails. AW said this was not happening.

Emergency Plan:
SC has 2 booklets and has asked members of the EKCC to send any thoughts for the Emergency plan to her. Anne Horn said there was an extension to the time limit to apply for funding to put together an emergency plan. The issues locally are high winds and the loss of power, SC said she thought of buying in some gas heaters and a cooker for a large space, like the hotel or the village hall. TA suggested a generator, it was agreed that this is something that extra funding would have to be sought for.

Slip:
SC reported on the SLIP project – The current situation is that there is a bid for European FLAG funding being written at the moment, and it is hoped to be lodged before the 25/3/13 deadline. SC told us that the need for the Slip at Carradale has been recognised by ABC and EKCC and the Fisheries group, and there is significant community support. SC has approached Martin Gorrange to discuss partnership working with ABC, it is hoped they will project manage the SLIP project. The Cllrs all agreed that the SLIP group should send a briefing paper to Cllrs and they would then forward it to the relevant people. SC pointed out that no funding is being sought from ABC. Cllr Currie suggested putting costings for a project manager into the bid. SC told us that the SLIP project is part of the larger CHUG plans and that all parties involved, including the EKCC feel that this is a good starting point for the whole CHUG project. SC also said after speaking to Billy McFadyen there may be small adjustments to the SLIP plan.

Post Office Closure:
TA told us that the village shop post office is being considered for closure and a request has come to the EKCC for any thoughts or assistance. With the retirement of the 2 post office workers imminent the decision to close the post office on 1st April is pending. TA shared some ideas from other areas eg opening for less hours, different venue, volunteers (this is being done in Southend) , employing someone to do this job and perhaps some other community work. There is Ł500 (per month) from the Post Office Ltd towards the running costs.

Planning (including An Croit field):
It has been brought to the attention of the EKCC that letters have been sent out to residents near the An Croit field informing them that 22 houses may be built on the field. This is causing some confusion and the Cllrs were able to clarify the situation. Cllr McAlpine told us that this is from the Local Development Plan and that it has been recognised that this is an area where building applications would be seen more favourably. They told us that in the next few years the new development plan would be put together and this would be an opportunity to have a say, it is too late to influence the plan that has just been published. ES pointed out that the letters send to neighbours of this land are obviously not very clear as there is a lot of confusion, all agreed and the Cllrs advised the EKCC to write to ABC with this concern.
No other planning matters.

Community Composting, flower tubs, litter bins, clothes bank:
The first topic was the blue clothes bin, we discussed the fact that Kintyre recycling and the school both have clothes recycling facilities and perhaps we have too many. We agreed that the blue bin is surplus to requirements and SC is to contact ABC to remove.
Flower tubs, we agreed to approach Springbank distillery for some more half tubs, as the ones at the moment are deteriorating badly, we agreed to ask ABC for any spare bulbs or plants they may have that we could put in the tubs, we will also approach all the folk who adopted a tub to find out if they still want to do this. It was suggested that some of the teams that look after the flower beds in the larger towns could come out to Carradale, the Cllrs all said that this would not be viable.
Litter bins, we agreed to ask for 4 new litter bins for around the village, village hall, Abbeyfield, pier.
Community composting, we discussed the fact that there are no facilities for green composting within the village, we have decide to think about setting something up at the well-park and also asking the FC if they have any parts of ground that we could use. ES agreed to contact Aisa Nebrada from the GRAB trust to see if they could offer any assistance for green compost bins. TA to look into applying for a Co-op community grant to help with this. It was suggested that a trailer for the community bus could be arranged to help move green waste

AOCB:
• TA reported that he had asked Forestry commission about the path to Chukkie Bay and they have no intention of upgrading/upkeeping it. It was suggested putting it on the core path network.
• TA suggested tidying up the front of the Glen which seems very shabby.
• RS suggested a community Broomfield memorial garden clean up, this was supported and it was suggested that the Glen and Broomfield be done on the same day, RS offered the use of his trailer. TA agreed to choose a date and make a poster for the event.
• RS also said that the residents of Tosh’s Park do not want the road sweeper to go up there as it disrupts the edges of their gardens. It was suggested he phone the road department of the council.
• SC mentioned an email she received regarding a drop in at Campbeltown Hospital on 14/3/13 from 2pm til 8pm.this is to discuss the reduction of staffed beds and changes in the care process. All are recommended to go along.
• Es received a letter regarding the erection of a 80m meteorological mast re: the extension of the Tangy wind farm.
• We discussed Cyberhoc innovations and how they are assessing the area with a view to renewing the pylons and interconnectors, this will involve the substation at Cour and an improvement of the single track road.
• John Semple pointed out that he attends the EKCC every 3 months and this coincides with him having a surgery at Peninver from 5.30 – 6.30pm, and that all are welcome.

Next meeting: this will be 4th April at 7pm in the village hall meeting room.
Comments:
Ed Comments under AOCB:

Has the EKCC members got the gardens mistaken as the Broomfield garden has been restored beautifully by local residents (Photos to follow).
And on the Toshs Park road sweeper issue it could be agreed to ask the driver to miss out the affected residents bounderies and continue sweeping the turning area at the end of the road were all the muck and grime runs after a spell of rain or vehicle movements.

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