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.
 
 

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