Draft Minutes Lochwinnoch Community Council
Page 1 Minutes of Meeting 3rd March 2020
1 Members Present Fourteen members of the CC were present as follows: Dave Mellor (Chairman); Lindsey Duncan (Secretary); Elizabeth Walker (Treasurer); Richard Graham; Duncan Adam; Jeanette Cannon; Steve Banks; Shona Motherwell; Marion Cochrane; Karen Malcolm; Kerry Mackendrick; Leslie Duncan; Sheila Briggs; Ross Anderson.
Thirteen members of the public were present including four office holders of previous Lochwinnoch Community Council : Yvonne Ross (Secretary); Jane Owen (Treasurer); David Fowles (Community Council Forum & Local Partnership); Jim Brydon (Friends of the McKillop).
Two local Ward Councillors from Renfrewshire Council were present : Councillor Bill Binks and Derek Bibby.
2 Apologies Apologies were received from Anne Capuano; Paula Gibson; Janusz Knepil and Councillor Andy Doig.
3 Previous Minutes Chairman Dave Mellor said minutes of the February inaugural meeting had been circulated together with notes of the interim special meeting on 18th February
4 Police Report No report as police did not attend.
5.1 Communication from Chairman ( Dave Mellor ) Notification had been received from Renfrewshire Council that they were intending to introduce enforcement with fines for parking on pavements in certain areas to improve pedestrian movement. Dick Graham said that this was a particular problem in
Calderpark Street affecting parents and children going and leaving the Primary School.
5.2 Renfrewshire Council had provided a grit spreader for use of the Community to improve safety of pavements and public places in icy conditions, and litter picking equipment. This was in the care of Steve Banks pending decision where it should be located.
5.3 In future CC Reports for Chatterbox and Gryffe Advertizer would be written by himself “ as a chatty account “ and distributed instead of by the minute secretary. Leslie Duncan would act as contact between the CC and local police.
5.4 Anne McNaughton, Community Services Officer of Renfrewshire Council would in future receive CC minutes and correspondence via a drop-box, as she now only worked part time. CC minutes would in future be posted on village website and made available at Lochwinnoch Library
6 Treasurers Report There was a mistake in the March CC Report in Chatterbox in that the balance of CC account transferred from the previous CC should have been £ 3,800 rather than £ 7,400. There had been some difficulty completing the formalities of hand over of accounts and authorised signatories. In future authorised signatures would be arranged to be any two of three nominated persons ( Dave Mellor as Chairman, Elizabeth Walker as Treasurer and Jeanette Cannon.
7 Refurbishment of McKillop Village Hall Mark Tokeley, Head of Renfrewshire Leisure, was invited to present information about the planned refurbishment and upgrading of the Halls. He presented plans showing changes to the access at the front of the building for disabled persons.
Surveys had been conducted on the electrical installation, boiler and heating system, general condition and structure. but a substantial amount would be required for roof works.
The extent of alterations had not yet been decided but the work was intended to start early next year. In the meantime temporary alterations would be made in preparation for use of the halls between August and October this year by the Primary School Nursery while the School was being altered to provide facilities for extra hours pre-school care required by Scottish Government.
Draft Minutes Lochwinnoch Community Council
Page 2 Minutes of Meeting 3rd March 2020
Mckillop Refurbishment ( continued )
He circulated additional plans of the temporary changes proposed by the Education Dept which include additional washing facilities, a temporary toilet block in the car park, and security doors limiting access to areas used by other users of the halls.
In reply to questions Mr Tokely said that he was unable to report how much of the £ 2.3 million budget allocated by Renfrewshire Council for refurbishment of four Community Halls ( Paisley South End, Elderslie, Kilbarchan, and McKillop ) would be spent on the McKillop.
He agreed that other users of the McKillop should be consulted about access to parts of the Hall restricted by security for the School Nursery Group.
He agreed that Renfrewshire Leisure should arrange a Public Meeting as soon as practical as a matter of urgency to consult organisations affected, and the community.
He was aware that there had previously been discussions between Renfrewshire Leisure and a group set up by Lochwinnoch Community Council as Friends of the McKillop who had consulted the village community and organisations about the condition and future of the McKillop, but not how much these discussions were reflected in the current plans for refurbishment.
Arrangements for increased storage were under review and would be considered after discussions with other users of the halls specifically the Toddler’s Group Toys, Out of School Group, Keep Fit Group, and Drama Group, who at present had no secure facilities.
8.1 Associated Group Contacts Community Council Forum : Shona Motherwell and Marion Cochrane attended making contact with Renfrewshire Council Officials and other Community Councils.
8.2 A737 Campaign Group: Dave Mellor attended. The issue of local flooding was discussed.
8.3 Village Local Partnership: Dave Mellor as CC Chairman would attend meeting in April. Applications for share of Renfrewshire Council Grant funding for village community organisations were required by 9th March. Councillor Bibby said last year applications greatly exceeded funds available. Applicants were granted 40% of applications.
Amongst the subjects the Partnership is expected to focus on are Connectivity and transport between the villages; Environment and Parks; Facilities within the villages; Village identity and character.
8.4 Community Funding: Dave Mellor asked Councillor Bibby to contact Renfrewshire Council Director of Planning Services regarding the £ 40,000 contributed by developers of the Station Rise / Sandpiper Road Housing site in Lochwinnoch for Community Development in the village, believed to still being held by the Council, and determine its availability and conditions regarding use for Community Benefit.
8.5 Local Area Committee Shona Motherwell and Marion Cochrane reported that they attended the meeting of the Local Area Committee making contact with other representatives of Community Councils in Renfrewshire.
8.6 Freedom of Information Application for Council Records: Elizabeth Walker produced information received from Renfrewshire Council in response to a request for “ All communications, internal and external, including letters, reports e-mails, memos, minutes of meetings and notes, advertisments, tenders, survey and transcripts, notes or recordings of phone calls or telecommunications “ relating to Stewart Milne Appliation to build houses at Burnfoot Road. 545 pages of documentation was passed to Duncan Adam for analysis and comment. ( 140 of the pages were copies of objection forms and e-mail responses sent in using forms collected by Burnfoot Residents Group )
Draft Minutes Lochwinnoch Community Council
Page 3 Minutes of Meeting 3rd March 2020
Associated Group Contacts ( continued )
8.7 Alterations to Primary School Also enclosed were plans of alterations and additions being made to the Primary School for additional classrooms and pre-school nursery unit.
8.8 Local Development Plan Submission to Scottish Government: Dave Mellor reported that he had received a reply from Tom Arthur MSP regarding Scottish Government Review of the Renfrewshire Council Local Development Plan ( 2019 ) giving details for Process and who to contact regarding further objections.
( A document dated 23rd October 2019 from Fraser Carlin in Elizabeth Walker’s FOI response to Tom Arthur says “ It is estimated that the Examination Process could take approximately 6 – 9 months ) by the Examination Reporter of the Planning and Environmental Appeals Division. )
8.9 The Treasurer was advised that arrangements would need to be made for the Community Council wreath for Remembrance Day for which there was a regular order at £45.
9 Councillor’s Reports Councillor Bibby reported that the Renfrewshire Council Budget for the forthcoming year had decided an increase of + 4.6 % in domestic rates. However there were three funds that could be of significance to the village : £ 1 million for mitigating Climate Change; £ 200,000 for improving cycle networks and pathways; and £ 50,000 for a study How to improve local bus transport services.
He had raised the current frequency and programme for clearing of blocked drains and gullies in the village with Renfrewshire Council, for which the need had been illustrated by extensive recent local flooding, and this was to be reviewed.
10 Burnfoot Road Housing Developmemt Responses for the Community Council to the Scottish Government Planning and Environmental Division reviewing the Renfrewshire Council Local Development Plan change of designation from Green Belt to area for new Housing and the Planning Application for the same site, were still being prepared by Duncan Adam and Kerry Mackendrick in consultation with the Burnfoot Road Residents Group.
The LDP had been submitted by Renfrewshire Council in January but it could be six months before a decision was made. The deadline for the response to the Planning Application for the site had been extended at least until the end April, because the planning decision might be dependent on the LDP decision.
11 Next Meeting The chairman said that there might be some restrictions for the next meeting of the Community Council due on Tuesday 7th April due to the Coronavirus epidemic but members would be notified of any changes in due course.