Minutes 2nd Nov 2021 | Updated site

Lochwinnoch Community Council

Minutes of General Meeting 2nd. November 2021

1. Welcome, Attendance, Apologies

Alan welcomed all to the meeting and thanked them for attending.

Present: Alan Bissett, Shona Finnie, Kerr Bryson, Kerry McKendrick, Duncan Adam, Ross Anderson, Liz Walker, Dick Graham, Cllr Doig, Cllr Binks, Cllr, Bibby. Cllr Rodden.

Apologies: apologies received from Karen Malcolm

2. Minutes of the Last Meeting.

Minutes were proposed by Kerry McKendrick and seconded by Ross Anderson. K McK suggested issuing draft minutes as they cannot be official until they have been proposed and seconded.

3. Matters Arising

AB – Renfrewshire Council’s climate change officer has been invited to speak at the January meeting of the LCC instead of the December meeting, which will now be addressed by the transport officer.

4. Chair’s report

Alan thanked Dave Mellor, past Chair, for his efforts in making sure that the Community Council was able to continue through Covid. It is time to consolidate membership via an interim election to be held next month which it is hoped will bring the membership up to scratch. He stated that there were many reasons to be optimistic the LCC will be the conduit between the community and the Renfrewshire council when decisions are being made as to how to disburse the community windfall and we are continuing to fight the Burnfoot Rd development.

5. Treasurer’s report, As per the report in the AGM minutes

6. Councillor’s Updates

Cllr Binks

Re the McKillop refurbishment he reported that he had been notified of unforeseen rot, water ingress and structural issues and that the end date was now delayed until January 2022. He has written to the council re the matter of the slates but has received no response to date.

Re the A737 – stated that now no excuse for delay in upgrading the road following the UK government grant to the Scottish government. He has asked our MSPs to put pressure on the Scottish government to press for the upgrade.

Lochwinnoch Cemetery – several people have complained to ho about the dangerous state of the cemetery and the overhanging branches. Some work has been done but Liz Walker mentioned that the moss on the path still needs to be cleared.

Cattery at Newton of Belltrees. This was appealed and came back as subject to conditions.

Cllr Rodden

Noted that the deadline for the You Decide £1.2m budget is November 14th. Submissions can be made on line on the council website under You Decide. Re safety – Ross Anderson proposed railings at the Cross under the You Decide initiative.

Also noted that Police Scotland have advised that surgeries should not be held until security assessments have been completed, but that she is happy to arrange meetings for anyone who has matters to raise with her. Noted that the issue of enforcing traffic regulations in the village had been raised with her and that a plan for enforcement is required. She has asked for a consultation between LCC, residents, Council, stake holders and elected officials.

AB noted that all traffic issues will be discussed at next months’ meeting when Elaine Lorimar, the Council’s traffic officer will be present.

Re slates on the McKillop – mark Tokely advised that there were insufficient slates in good enough condition to reuse.

Liz asked why they could not have used the good ones on the front of the McKillop and the new ones on area not seen.

AB noted that we are ‘doggedly pursuing’ the matter.

Cllr Bibby

Cemetery issue was also raised with him. Stated that there was funding to upgrade cemeteries, including Lochwinnoch and he will pursue this.

Re McKillop stated that he was sceptical of the January completion date and he would try to get a definitive timescale

Post Office – reported that he has been working with the Johnstone postmaster who has been asked to provide a postal service in the village. Noted that the delay to the McKillop renovations will have a knock on effect to this project.

Kildare Road – noted that it needs emergency repairs but unsure as to when it will be done.

Disabled access to Lochwinnoch Station – All of our councillors have been lobbying Network Rail/Scotrail/MSPs/RCC re this. Noted that the Scottish Government will be taking rail into public ownership in March ’22 so the situation may change.

Re safe crossings at Church St/High St – this will be considered at the Infrastructure Board Meeting on 3 November .

Noted that a road safety policy document exists & that it outlines criteria for applications for the finite funding available and that Lochwinnoch and its needs should be priority. Liz Walker to watch the meeting online and report back. The policy document is available on the council website Infrastructure, Land and Environment Policy Board. SF to email the doc to LCC members.

Cllr Doig

He will hold a surgery on the 4th Wednesday of the month at Lochwinnoch Bowling Club.

Noted that the Infrastructure policy development allows for Community Councils to introduce 20’s Plenty zones and suggested we think about suitable areas. Re access to the station, noted that this has been an issue since as early as 2012 and that the problem is who owns what. Nationalisation of the railways may resolve this issue and lead to headway being made. Finally, noted that RCC have agreed to foot the bill for public entertainment licences for village halls. AB thanked Cllr Doig for his efforts regarding this.

7. Post Office Update

AB is liaising with Renfrewshire Leisure re using the McKillop for a Post Office outreach service.

8. Traffic and Transport

Parking wardens will increase attendance to enforece regulations. Elaine Lorimer will meet with the LCC at the next meeting on December 7th at 6pm to discuss concerns. SF to put notices up in the pubs to invite members of the public to attend.

9. Place Making

Kerry has a copy of the Placemaking plan and proposals to give to the councillors. Stated that until LDP/SEPA has been dealt with, Placemaking can be put on hold.

10. Response to the SEPA document

Thanks to Kerry, Ross and Steve for preparing the document which was submitted.

11. McKillop Renovations

Covered in the Councillor’s reports

12 Kibble Meeting on November 6th

A site meeting will take place at 10.30am on November 6th at Forest View school to discuss objections to the activities of Kibble with regard to the woodland.

13. Community Fund Update

The money has been released and there will be a public consultation in January as to how best to use the funds. Renfrewshire Council will take our advice after the consultation and disburse finds accordingly.

14. Interim Election

This will take place 8 – 19th of November. AB expressed a hope for an influx of new members. Noted all need to be proposed and seconded by members of the community.

15. LDP/Greenbelt/Burnfoot Road

LDP has been delayed until a decision by the Court of Session has been made.

16. Any Other Business

Remembrance Sunday – AB will lay a wreath on behalf of the Community Council. A wreath will also be laid on behalf of the Queen by a deputy of the Lord Lieutenant to commemorate the 70th Anniversary of the War in the Atlantic. K McK will try to get more local people involved.
Blocked drains in Braehead – Cllr Doig will pursue this.
Suggested Cllrs take a look at the condition of the school dyke which is in a dangerous state of repair.
Asked if police could attend future meetings.
Police report – see attached.
Disabled parking bays – to be discussed at the next meeting.
Our defibrillator will be registered on a national network.
AB and KM will have a Zoom meeting with Mairi Black MP and that people should email any question that they have for Ms Black to the CC on our email lochwinnochvillagecouncil@gmail.com
AB noted Renfrewshire Council Scheme for Community Councils item 9:2

‘If a member fails to attend 6 consecutive meetings their Membership will be terminated.’

17. Date of Next Meeting: December 7th 2021 at 7.30pm in Lochwinnoch Bowling Club.

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LCC AGM Minutes November 2nd 2021

Present: Alan Bissett, Shona Finnie, Kerr Bryson, Kerry McKendrick, Duncan Adam, Ross Anderson, Liz Walker, Dick Graham, Cllr Doig, Cllr Binks, Cllr, Bibby. Cllr Rodden.

1. Welcome

Alan welcomed all to the meeting and thanked them for attending

2. Apologies:

Apologies received from Karen Malcolm

3. Minutes of the last AGM

Acceptance of the minutes of the last AGM proposed by Kerry McKendrick and seconded by Kerr Bryson.

4. Chair's Report for the year

Alan thanked Dave Mellor, past Chair, for his efforts in making sure that the Community Council was able to continue through Covid. It is time to consolidate membership via an interim election to be held next month which it is hoped will bring the membership up to scratch. He stated that there were many reasons to be optimistic – the LCC will be the conduit between the community and the Renfrewshire council when decisions are being made as to how to disburse the community windfall and we are continuing to fight the Burnfoot Rd development.

5. Accounts

Thanks were expressed to Connie Ford for her work reviewing and approving our accounts which was done free of charge as a service to the community. The balances ion the LCC accounts are as follows

Account No 1 £238.32

Account No 2 £4102.25

This includes £228 held for local groups. The amount of this years Renfrewshire Council grant has still to be confirmed. There is an outstanding cheque for the Lady Haig fund and £170 has been set aside for hall rental. The accounts also show the balance of the £9400 which was held by LCC for Lochwinnoch Food Committee and which was reimbursed to Toru Bell for the various projects that they undertookThis equated to a sum of £3 094.10 in this accounting period. K McK requested a breakdown of a sum listed as Linstone/lottery fund and this will be detailed at the next meeting.

The accounts were proposed by Liz Walker and seconded by Shona Finnie

6. Election of Office Bearers

This section of the meeting was chaired by Cllr Bibby who asked if anyone wished to stand in opposition. No one came forward, Cllr Bibby thanked the LCC for work done on behalf of the community over the last 18 months.

Election of Chair. Alan Bissett, nominated by Kerry McKendrick, seconded by Ross Anderson

Election of Secretary. Shona Finnie, nominated by Liz Walker, seconded by Alan Bissett

Election of Treasurer. Karen Malcolm, nominated by Kerr Bryson, seconded by Ross Anderson

All were elected.

7. Question and Answers

No questions were put forward.

8. Date of next AGM

The next AGM will be the 6th of October 2022

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LCC Minutes of the 7th September 2021 Meeting

1. Welcome, Attendance & Apologies

The Chair welcomed all to the first in-person meeting of the pandemic era and introduced the new office bearers. Alan also thanked past Chair Dave Mellor for all of his hard work.

Present were: Alan Bissett (Chair) Shona Finnie (Secretary) Karen Malcolm (Treasurer) Kerry McKendrick, Duncan Adam, Ross Anderson, Kerr Bryson, Dick Graham, Liz Walker, Cllr Doig, Cllr Binks, Cllr Bibby, Cllr Rodden. Apologies were received from Marian Cochrane

2. Minutes of Last Meeting. Acceptance of the minutes of the last meeting was proposed by Kerry McKendrick and seconded by Kerr Bryson.

3. Matters Arising. There were no matters arising.

4. Chair’s Report. Alan read a statement from the new Youth Club and stated that organiser Natalie Graham was present at the meeting. The need for new CC members & the requirement to have them elected at an ordinary meeting before the next AGM was discussed. It was agreed to discuss this further on email.

5. Treasurer’s Report. Karen reported that the balance in the LCC bank account is £ 4,339 and that a change of signatories on the account will now be possible as we have new office bearers.

6. Councillor’s Updates.

Cllr Bibby

Traffic issues at the school, parking congestion & safety issues have been raised and he has asked the wardens to pursue these. Concerns have also been raised re flood damage after recent bad weather and Cllr Bibby asked Renfrewshire Council about the deployment of the rapid response team & the need to identify problem gullies and to ensure that they are cleaned, especially in advance of predicted bad weather. Reported that hedge/grass cutting is 2 years behind. Lochwinnoch park is to be refurbished and the need for benches to be placed so that it can be enjoyed by older villagers as swell as the young to be raised with the Council. Also reported that Clyde Muirshiel had put themselves forward for consideration as one of the proposed new National parks.

Cllr Binks

Reiterated point about park refurbishment fund. Reported that the refurbishing of the McKillop is due to finish in November and is reportedly on schedule. Reported that the Glasgow Airport Flightpath Fund will be open for applications soon and this could be of interest to LCC.

Cllr Doig

Reported that he is looking into the licensing issues at the Mckillop. He also reported om the need for continuity with regard to the teams on the rural refuse collection routes. Cllr Doig has emailed the Church of Scotland re the future of the Parish church and the Diocese of Paisley re the site of Our Lady of Fatima. He also stated his intention to resume surgeries in October with a change of location to Lochwinnoch Bowling Club.

Cllr Rodden

It was mentioned that Renfrewshire Council are using tiles for the roof of the McKillop that are not in keeping with the conservation status of the village and Cllr Rodden said that she will look into this. Reported that she ahs asked for Lochwinnoch to be included in any future traffic survey pilot scheme. Also reported that anti social behaviour issues that had been brought to her attention have been raised with Police Scotland and they are looking into them. Cllr Rodden will see if the Scottish Government fund for rural entrepreneurs might benefit Lochwinnoch. She will also look in to funding for home owners to have energy efficient cladding.

7. Post Office Updates The Post Office in the Spar will definitely close and the Post Office are looking into providing a mobile service.

8. Traffic & Transport Issues. Upgrading and moving the path to the Roadhead have both been delayed due to funding but have been moved into next year’s budget so will get done. The path to the RSPB and that part of the road have been conformed as an issue by Police Scotland, due to speed of the traffic. Suggested to keep the 30MPH speed limit as far as the Roadhead. Cllr Doig reported that the Council passed a motion to have a crossing at the station but it is not yet done, He will push the Council on this.

Speeding is a big problem and the suggestion was made that chicanes should be installed on High Street/Main Street. Cllr Doig suggested we come up with a plan and then have public Consultation. Liz said she would be happy to lead this initiative.

Ross mentioned a £1.2 million fund for Renfrewshire Communities and suggested we should apply, Ross and Shona to look into this and a decision to have a public consultation was passed,

9. Place Making. Vote to have the Planning Group work on preparing this was passed. AB thanked the Planning Group.

10. LDP/Green Belt/Burnfoot Road. LCC have supported BAG in this and KMc reported that Scottish Government decision is expected in October but could be delayed. He also said that Stewart Milne could put their Planning Application in at the October meeting of the Planning Board. KM stated that Scottish Ministers had replied to LCC and BAG but did not appear to have considered any of our points. Vote to have the Planning Group prepare a response to the Planning Application was passed. Cllr Doig expressed the view that local voices were not being heard and feels we need to put pressure on MSPs to take this up.

11. Community Fund Update. Cllr Doig was thanked for his efforts in securing the £44k who in turn thanked Dave Mellor and the former LCC for their efforts. Council will come up with a procedure to disburse funds at the next board in October.

12. Request for benches at Calder St/New St and the Park. This will be covered in the Place Plan. KMc suggested we ask for some benches to be donated and that we get permission from the Council to site them. Suggested we ask if anyone has benches to donate and where people would like to see them be placed.

13. McKillop Renovations; Suggested that we mark the reopening of the McKillop with some kind of event

14. Any Other Business

KM. the destruction of woodland by the Kibble school despite assurances to the contrary has been noted. A vote to invite them to the next meeting to discuss was passed. SF to extend the invite

KMc. the Planning group will draft a response to SEPA and will circulate a copy to the LCC. Response is due by 31/10/21

Gala Day. Noted that Jane Owens is stepping down after many years. SF to wrote and thank her on behalf of the LCC. Susan Busby and Natalie Graham have agreed to take over organising Gala Day and were thanked by the LCC.

Flooding. Cllr Bibby proposed that we invite the Council Climate Change Officer to speak at the next meeting. Cllr Doig to find out who that is and report back.

15. Next Meeting; which will be the AGM, will be held on Monday 4th October at 7.30pm.

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