MINUTES OF MEETING HELD AT THE KILCHOAN COMMUNITY CENTRE, ON MONDAY 15th August 2019
MINUTES OF MEETING
HELD AT THE KILCHOAN COMMUNITY CENTRE, ON
MONDAY 15th August 2019 AT 7PM
1.
WELCOME AND APOLOGIES
Present
Geoff Campbell Chair
(GCC)
Pat MacPhail Treasurer
(PM)
Gill Calver (GC)
Jessie Colquhoun (JC)
Kate Forbes (MSP)
Apologies
Kevin Swift, Police
Scotland (KS)
Ian Ramon, Councillor
Also, present were 19
members of the public.
It was agreed that
Sandra Campbell would take the minutes of the meeting.
GCC welcomed everyone
present to the meeting.
GCC stressed that this
is a community council and we are elected to represent the views of the
community as a whole and to quote from the Scottish Government website on Good
Practice guidance for community councils:
Community Councils
are groups of people who give time to, and have a genuine interest in, the
well-being of their community. Their chief role is representative; to consult
the local community and to make known to the local authority and other public
bodies the views of local people on all matters affecting them.
The fact that so many are
here this evening shows that you care about the community we live in. Please consider joining the Community Council
and help us to continue to make this a wonderful place to live and work.
2.
MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
The
minutes of the meeting held July 2019 were adopted as a true account of the
meeting. Proposed by JC and seconded by GC.
3. MATTERS ARISING FROM PREVIOUS MINUTES
Access
to hills and public rights of way.
GCC
made the following comments
The
Core Paths consultation process is underway and details are available at
http://consult.highland.gov.uk . We are asked to make any comments by Friday
18th October 2019. Alternatively contact
Donald Kennedy at donald.kennedy@highland.gov.uk.
GCC commented
that he has heard from many people in the community on this subject. There is widespread support for responsible
access to the hillside and people are opposed to locked gates that prevent
walkers from enjoying responsible access to the hillside. People have also commented that walkers must
behave responsibly and control dogs where there are sheep. Michael Foxley has made his views known in
the De tha dol, David Kime has circulated a note regarding access to the
hills.
Gill
Calver has prepared a draft submission regarding the Core Paths
Consultation. This references the Action
Plan carried out in 2017 by the Community Development Company which highlighted
the popularity of walking in Ardnamurchan and how this could and should be
further developed through local initiatives.
The creation of fenced woodlands without pedestrian gates has had the
effect of curtailing the activity of hill walkers and not promoting it.
Donald
Houston of Ardnamurchan Estates made the following comments.
The
Estates restricts access to less than 10 acres of land out 25,000 acres and it
is necessary to look at the balance of the benefit from the Estate
activities. The Glenborrodale facility
provides wood fuel that is used to heat the school and distillery and it would
be an act of gross negligence to allow pedestrian access to an area with heavy
machinery and forklift truck movements.
This area has been a working yard with a shed for over 30 years.
In the
forestry areas, the Estate has no choice but to lock gates closed because
people have left gates propped open and, as a result, deer have eaten newly
planted trees. Camera traps were
installed to see who was doing this and these have been stolen. There is also evidence that pedestrian gates
have been deliberately tied open.
Ardnamurchan
Estate supports and encourages responsible access to the hill and it has a
legal responsibility for the maintenance of infrastructure but Highland Council
will not accept the increase in liability that will come about as a result of core
path and the Estate will formally object to the core path proposal.
The
Estate has proposed an alternative route past the Glenborrodale farmyard which
goes through the RSPB reserve.
There
was further discussion about self-closing gates that should have been
incorporated in the fencing for forestry plantations as part of the grant
conditions. Donald Houston accepted that
this was the case and that these gates have been ordered and are ready to be
installed. He was not able to give any
time scale for when the gates will be installed.
Kate
Forbes commented that it is far better to keep gates unlocked, especially for
older walkers and there must be a way of resolving these issues. It is not in anyone’s interests to become
entrenched and she had not come across an access issue of this extent
elsewhere.
Reference
was then made to a meeting chaired by GCC in February of this year, with Donald
Houston, Sarah Houston, William Kelly, Dave Kime, Jenny Kime and
Donald
Kennedy, our Access Officer where an alternative route through the adjacent
RSPB reserve was discussed. Dave and
Jenny Kime subsequently scouted the route with difficulty and, in any case, it led
to the wrong side of a locked gate for the path to Acharacle.
GCC
concluded the discussion and urged all interested parties to make their views
known on the Highland Council consultation page.
4. FINANCIAL UPDATE
Two secretary remuneration cheques were paid out and
£12 paid to UHI. Funds stand at £414.04
5. NHS SERVICES
GCC has
spoken with Alan Knox (AK) of Scottish Ambulance Service on the phone. AK is keen to arrange a visit in Kilchoan and
GCC suggested any time before the end of August to discuss Emergency and First
Responders and the Near Me programme.
There
were 3 people interested in becoming Emergency Responders. No one had been appointed and it was reported
that two candidates pulled out because of lack of accommodation. However, there was no approach to the
community to see if accommodation could be made available.
The
Near Me programme allows patients to use video technology to connect with a
consultant. This can be done from a home
PC or the facilities in the Learning Centre and there are also facilities in
Dail Mhor in Strontian.
GCC to
schedule a meeting with AK, JC and Ricky Clarke.
There
was also discussion regarding the volunteer driver scheme to take patients to
hospital appointments and there was a call for more volunteer drivers for the
scheme.
The
Community Council joint working group on Dail Mhor met with Ian Stewart, the
new Chief Executive of NHS Highland.
Claire Cameron has been appointed area manager and is based at Dail
Mhor. The respite home is planning to
add another bed bringing the total to six beds.
6. ROAD REPAIRS
6.1 Major repairs have been carried out
near Loch Mudle and verges cut in Kilchoan
6.2 Overgrown verges at Ormsaigbeg have
been reported on the Highland Council web site and there was a discussion
around which areas the council is responsible for looking after and what
exactly constitutes a verge. Kate Forbes
agreed to look into this.
7. POLICE UPDATE
7.1. There was a recent theft of high value plant
machinery from a building site in Lochaline. Please ensure all plant, machinery
and materials are secured against theft. Also, please report any suspicious vehicles
or people to the police as soon as possible.
2. On the subject of reporting things to the police.
Due to the new incident recording system used by Police Scotland Angie and myself cant log incidents. This has
to be done via the 101 phone number. Obviously 999 still applies to
emergencies. You can still phone Strontian Police Office on 01967 402022 or on
101 if you still wish to speak to us about anything but don`t want an incident
raised. Although messaging on social
media can be quick it is not suitable for contacting us regarding most
incidents. Obviously if information has to go out to the community, eg a stolen
vehicle or suspicious vehicle or people, quickly it is good but for routine
incidents and reports its not ideal. If we are off duty we don`t have full
access to our resources locally so we can`t always do anything about an issue
whereas phoning 101 can.
8. CORRESPONDENCE
8.1 Planning Applications
19/03113/FUL | Erection of
garage | Land
20M NW Of Morven View Kilchoan
Highland
Council has raised an issue about the safety of the entrance to the site and
the lack of visibility of the road.
Donald Houston of Ardnamurchan Estate commented that this garage had
been promised to the community a while ago and held up over ownership of the
land. He has written to the planners
pointing out that other access has been granted with more restricted
visibility. There was also discussion
about reducing the speed limit from 40 to 30mph on this stretch of road. The
Community Council asked for the speed limit on this stretch to be reduced a few
years ago when there was a review of speed limits throughout Kilchoan and this
was refused. The Estate has agreed to
supply all the material for the garage and will seek volunteers to construct the
garage when the time comes.
8.2 Community Council Correspondence
THE
HIGHLANDS SMALL COMMUNITIES HOUSING TRUST BOARD OF DIRECTORS – COMMUNITY
ELECTED DIRECTOR NOMINATIONS
Access
Update, West Ardnamurchan from David Kime,
Thanks
from the Screen Machine and it is planning to return on Monday 21 and Tuesday
22 October.
Lochaber
Health & Social Care Redesign Steering Group 15.08.19
Key
Worker Housing in Kilchoan, Ardnamurchan.
Response to say that Brian Pearson will be in touch about the
possibility of allocating housing for key workers.
Emergency
Responder – Kilchoan. Email from Alan
Knox requesting a meeting in Kilchoan to discuss Emergency Responder and Near
Me programme. GCC suggested any time
before 26th August and has not heard back.
Surfacing
works. Gus Maclennan confirming the
surfacing works at Loch Mudle.
Core
Path update from Donald Kennedy with details of consultation url and closing
date.
9. CORRAN FERRY CONSULTATION
No
update was available for presentation at the meeting.
10. AOB
10.1
There
continues to be camping on the ground close to the new cemetery and members of
the public feel that this intimidates people who wish to visit the graves. Since this is common grazing land, it was
agreed that this is a matter for the grazing committee to address and it will
be taken up with them.
10.2
There
was a comment from a member of the public that bushes have grown up into the
graveyard and could damage the gravestones.
There was also a comment that the grass cutting in the graveyard had
been done very carelessly and damaged flowers and ornaments left on the
gravestones. GCC asked for more
information so that this can be followed up.
10.3
There
was a comment that there had been gridlock at the ferry pier due to high
volumes of traffic using the ferry. It
was suggested that we ask CalMac if they would employ a Pier Master again, for
the Summer Season. GCC was asked to
contact CalMac to investigate.
10.4
General
discussion about campervans. In general,
they are not a problem but a minority of users are creating a problem with the
illegal disposal of waste which can have a detrimental effect on cattle and
sheep. It was felt that this issue needs
to be looked at across the region since the popularity of campervans is likely
to increase and therefore this problem will get worse.
11. NEXT MEETING
The
next meeting will take place on Monday 9th September at 7pm in the
Kilchoan Learning Centre.
GCC
duly brought the meeting to a close thanking all for their attendance.