MINUTE OF MEETING - 10 FEBRUARY 2020
WEST ARDNAMURCHAN COMMUNITY COUNCIL (WACC)
DRAFT MINUTE OF THE MEETING HELD AT KILCHOAN COMMUNITY CENTRE
ON MONDAY 10 FEBRUARY 2020 AT 7PM
1. Welcome
and apologies
Present:
Rosie Curtis
(RC), Chair; Jessie Colquhoun (JC), Vice Chair; Jim Frame (JF), Secretary;
Mairi Hunter (MH), Treasurer; Gill Calver, member; Bert Cameron, member
Apologies:
Davie Ferguson,
Sarah Houston, PC Angie Campbell
Attending: Cllr Ian Ramon and 8 members of the public
2. Minutes
of last meeting
2.1 The Secretary apologises for the
omission from the Minute of 28 January 2020 of the following:
i) Appointment of Office Bearers – Jessie
Colquhoun was nominated for the position of Vice Chair - nominated by RC,
seconded by MH. Jessie Colquhoun was
duly appointed as Vice Chair.
ii) Glenborrodale Chip Shed – RC relayed a
message from Police Scotland, recommending that until the ongoing access and
rights of way issues had been resolved, walkers should avoid the area around
the Glenborrodale Chip Shed.
2.2 Matters Arising:
2.2.1 Access issues at Glenborrodale Chip Shed
– a spirited discussion was held about this matter. A number of WACC members considered this item
to be closed for the purposes of WACC business, following the WACC Minute of 4
November 2019, which stated: “The Community Council supports the promotion
of recreational walking in Ardnamurchan and the extension of the core paths
network, as outlined in the Community Action Plan. Everyone supports responsible access to the
land. Regarding small sections of the
paths around the wood chip facilities in Glenborrodale, it would be best if the
relevant parties work together to come up with a mutually acceptable compromise”.
GC disagreed that this closed the matter and asked
that each WACC member present confirms their agreement that this was no longer
to be on the agenda. RC confirmed that she
agreed and asked each member present to state their view, resulting as follows:
JC – agreed; GC – disagreed; JF – agreed; MH – agreed; BC – agreed.
RC thereby confirmed that based on the majority view, the
access issue would not be raised as an item for discussion on our agenda, until
such time as new information relevant to the matter was presented for WACC
consideration.
GC restated her disagreement, which was duly noted and
hereby recorded as requested.
2.2.2
Road repairs
i)
Cllr Ramon confirmed that Highland Council (HC)
Roads Dept was undertaking road repairs in the area;
ii)
Seaweed residues on B8007 in front of Meall mo
Chridhe, Kilchoan - no further action yet on removal of roadside seaweed
residues in Kilchoan. RC asked Cllr
Ramon to continue pursuing this with HC;
iii)
RC repeated her previous request for photographs
of potholes and other road concerns, to support WACC in pursuing HC for further
repairs;
iv)
GC relayed Glenmore Centre’s concerns about
impending repairs/replacement of B8007 bridge over the Glenmore River, with a
plea that HC be pressed to avoid the summer season when scheduling the work.
2.2.3
NHS services
i) Emergency Responders (ER) – RC to invite Alan
Knox, Scottish Ambulance Service, to provide further update on the ER
recruitment exercise at a future meeting.
GC asked that a copy of Ricky Clarke’s paper on the ER position be
circulated to WACC members (circulated by e-mail on 12.02.2020)
ii) Remote consultation (‘Telehealth’) facility,
Kilchoan – concerns were expressed regarding the removal of the
video-consultation ‘Telehealth’ facility from the UHI West Highland College
premises in Kilchoan, without wider public consultation. Geoff Campbell, former
Chair, attending as a member of public, confirmed that the VC facility had been
removed by NHS due to being out of date and costly to run. Reference was made to the “Near Me” on-line
facility which patients could use from home via a PC, tablet or other mobile
device. A comment was made that not
everyone has access to such technology and RC confirmed that this would also be
raised with Alan Knox, with a view to reinstating a more publicly accessible
facility in the new Kilchoan surgery.
iii) Dail Mhor Care Home, Strontian – GC provided
the following Dail Mhor Working Group update by e-mail to the Secretary,
subsequently circulated to members: “Two and a half years ago, with Dail
Mhor closed, it was impossible to envisage that we would have a fully
functioning and fully staffed facility at Dail Mhor – indeed, that was still
unimaginable eighteen months ago – so although we have not yet achieved
the reinstatement of the residential facility, we hope that with the site
development proposals this can be moved forward with a phased development that
will provide all manner of care needs well into the 2020s/2030s and
beyond. This is a reflection of hours and hours of meeting with various
NHS Highland bodies, travelling to Fort William and Inverness, regular
(sometimes once a fortnight) meetings of the group, and background lobbying and
backroom work by members of the group.”
This will remain an item of interest on the WACC
agenda. GC confirmed her willingness to
continue representing WACC on the Dail Mhor Trust working group. RC agreed and committed to having two WACC
members attend external meetings wherever possible – RC and GC to liaise on
attendance at future Dail Mhor meetings.
RC also to contact Lara van der Peer, Project Officer Dail Mhor, about
attending a future WACC meeting.
2.2.4
Corran Ferry Steering Group
GC reported that Cllr Andrew Baxter had been requested
to e-mail WACC, seeking a representative to attend the Group’s meetings. JF confirmed that no e-mail had been received
to date but access to WACC inbox was still being established. Further update to be provided at next
meeting.
2.2.5
Noticeboards
Cllr Ramon reported that Sanna noticeboard is owned by
HC. Not sure about Kilmory but members
present believe this is owned by the Community.
2.2.6 There
being no further Matters Arising, the Minute of 28 January 2020 was adopted as a
true account of the meeting – proposed JC, seconded MH.
3. Associate
Membership – to consider whether to grant Associate Membership to key
groups within the community, such as parent councils, development trusts
etc. In the absence of two WACC members
this item is deferred until the next scheduled meeting.
4. Future
Meeting Dates - to set dates for the year ahead including up to and beyond
the next AGM – regular meetings will be scheduled for the 2nd Monday
of each month, at 7.00pm. The next
meeting will be held at the Kilchoan Community Centre on 9th March. The April meeting will be at either the Glenmore
Centre or the Glenmore Distillery, on Monday 13th April – RC to
confirm which venue and book as appropriate.
5. Treasurer’s
Report – no update on previous position.
6. Correspondence
& Planning – JF confirmed that full access to WACC inbox and previous
correspondence still to be established.
Update will be prepared for next meeting.
7. AOB
7.1 JC reported on West Ardnamurchan Community Development
Company (WACDC) meeting which referred to the late Jim Caldwell’s work on a
local directory. WACDC has confirmed
that Jim’s son is prepared to continue with this and it is intended that
appropriate credit be given to Jim’s work on this when it is published. WACC agreed whole heartedly and supported
this intention.
7.2 Geoff Campbell reported that a shore clean up in Kilchoan
was to be scheduled for April – date to be confirmed and will be advised.
8. Date
of next meeting - Monday 9 March at 7.00 pm in Kilchoan Community
Centre.
RC thanked everyone for their
attendance and participation and closed the meeting at 8.00 pm.