FINDHORN &
KINLOSS COMMUNITY COUNCIL .
Minutes of the meeting of the Community Council held in The James Milne Institute Findhorn on Thursday 29th January 2009
Present: R Walker (Chairman), R. Shand, M. Thompson, J. Willoner, S.MacGregor, G Verner, L. Morgan, H. Morton, Cllr Hamilton, T. Negus (Sec).
In Attendance: J Innes (RAFLO), Tanya McLaren (Forres Gazette), plus two members of the public.
The Chairman opened this first meeting of 2009 by welcoming Karin Schwarz, Chairman of the Forres Local Area Forum.
ITEM 1 APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from Eva Ward.
ITEM 2.ANY COMPETENT PUBLIC BUSINESS. None
Council Session
ITEM 3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 27th November 2008 were ratified. Proposed M. Thompson, seconded H Morton.
ITEM 4. MATTERS ARISING
4.1 Kinloss noticeboard. The Chairman reported that he had removed the old vandalised board. Possible replacements had been researched and a suitable product had been identified. This would cost around £62 plus VAT, plus carriage. The meeting authorised the procurement of a new board. Chairman to action and receive reimbursement from Treasurer. Action R Walker.
4.2 Dunes road. The Secretary reported that repairs had been carried out by Leiths (Scotland) to their usual high standard. An invoice had been received which was in accordance with the original quotation. The Treasurer was authorised to pay this. H Morton said that he had received very favourable comments from the public following this latest batch of repair work. The Chairman emphasised that the funds allocated for the project are now exhausted.
4.3 Speeding in Kinloss. The Chairman reported that, despite having been previously led to believe that further correspondence from Mr Holland was imminent, he had received none. He had therefore written to the Chief Executive of Moray Council requesting hastening action on the this long outstanding unresolved issue.
4.4. Road to West Beach Car park. Cllr Hamilton reported that he had ascertained that this section was not the responsibility of the Roads department. However, it was possible that the parks department of Moray Council may be responsible and he agreed to make further enquiries and report back to the next meeting. Action Cllr Hamilton
4.5 Proposed Retail Development in Forres. The Chairman reported that he had attended a recent meeting sponsored by Forres Community Council in which Redco Milne gave a further presentation on their proposed development near Forres by-pass. Widely differing views had been put forward by the public at the meeting. Some felt that the proposal was a something of a ‘White Elephant’ whilst others felt that it would be foolish to turn away a potential multimillion pound investment in the local area. M Thompson was concerned that insufficient regard was being paid to local residents who would be affected by the proposals. R Shand felt that as always , without detailed plans or preferably scale models, it is very difficult to assess the impact of the development. Cllr Hamilton commended the efforts made by the developer to consult with the local community. Ms Schwarz said that the Local Area Forum questioned just how much of the retail funds generated would stay within the local economy. She understood that with supermarkets for example, most of the takings went to the national organisation and shareholders and only a small proportion remained locally. She felt that more investigation into this aspect was required. Following further discussion the meeting agreed by a majority that it welcomed the confidence in the local Community shown by the developers and it supported in principle the proposed investment and development. However, since Findhorn & Kinloss were not in the immediate vicinity of the area concerned, the views of the local Forres Community should take precedence over our own.
ITEM 5. CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
5.1 The Chairman said that he had spoken with Mr Munro about improvements to signage and landscaping at Broom Walk. The local residents had been given contact details of the relevant department at Moray Council and had been advised to negotiate direct.
ITEM 6. SECRETARY’S REPORT
6.1 Complaint received from member of public concerning dumping of spoil on nature reserve from groundworks at former Stables Inn caravan site. Moray Council Environmental Services informed. No further information available on follow up action. J Willoner to make Nature Reserve committee aware.
6.2 Correspondence out. Letter requesting salt/grit bin at Cromarty Court junction. (bin now in place). Letter requesting bus stop at war memorial. Copy of annual accounts sent to Moray Council.
6.3 Correspondence in. Letter from Moray Cllr Macgillivray assessing interest in possible Gypsy/Traveller awareness workshop. Positive reply sent. Session provisionally fixed for am Fri 24 April. Letter from Mr Lochhead MSP with summary of research results into rural community facilities including village halls. Update from Redco Milne on Forres retail development. Invitation from Environmental services to bid for Landfill tax grants. (Deadline 26 Jan). Letter from Rhoda Grant MSP expressing concerns about the Scottish Government’s proposal to lease out part of Forestry Commission estate perhaps to Foreign companies. (passed to M Thompson for circulation). Invoice from Leiths for Dunes road repairs. Letter from Grampian Police outlining recent changes to their website in response to recent consultation. Details of recent local (ie Moray) crimes can be seen by following relevant links on Grampian Police website. However, it seems that only crimes for which a press release has been issued are displayed. Letter from Moray Council environmental protection informing us that the contractor for textile recycling had been changed. New contractor offers financial incentives. We are not aware of any textile collection points sponsored by our Community council. Letter passed to J Willoner for Foundation which is thought to have one.
6.4 E-correspondence. Agenda for JCCM meeting on 12 Feb. e-Mail from Mike McRitchie (senior task supervisor criminal justice service) reminding us about possible availability of people serving Community Service orders to carry out tasks to benefit communities.
6.5
Licensing applications received for: Universal Hall Findhorn
Foundation , Spar shop Kinloss, Abbey Inn Kinloss,
Kimberley Inn Findhorn, Naafi store RAF Kinloss, Findhorn Village
Store.
6.6 Newsletters & Flyers. Tenants Voice, Paths to Health, The Right Track, Strategy for Management of Wild Deer in Scotland.
6.7 Future arrangements. Secretary away 31 Jan to 22 Feb. M Thompson to put out agenda for Feb meeting. Also Secretary away for March meeting. Minute taker required
ITEM 7. TREASURERS REPORT
7.1 Cheques Issued for Secretary’s expenses (£41.33) and for Leiths Dunes Road repairs (£5640.76).
7.2 Enquiries with Inland Revenue about obtaining tax free interest payments may give rise to complications about a possible corporation tax liability. Since most of the capital has now been spent on the Dunes road project it was decided not to pursue the matter.
ITEM 8. ASCC REPORT
8.1 L Morgan reported that ASCC was receiving additional financial support from the Scottish Government and was now in a position to employ a paid administrator.
8.2 The ASCC Highland regional meeting
would be held in the Laichmoray Hotel Elgin on Saturday 21st
March at 10 a.m . This would include an opportunity to question
local MSPs on a variety of topics. Findhorn & Kinloss
Community Council would be represented by L Morgan, R Walker and
T Negus. L Morgan to inform organisers accordingly. Action L
Morgan
8.3 L Morgan said that moves to empower Community Councils with a degree of budgetary control were progressing. The next stage was to set up one or more pilot schemes. There was a possibility that Moray would be one of the areas chosen for a pilot scheme.
8.4 The Secretary informed the meeting
that the biennial election of a Moray ASCC representative was
imminent. He proposed that L Morgan be asked to continue his
excellent work on our behalf. The meeting unanimously agreed to
nominate L Morgan as Moray area representative on ASCC. Secretary
to send off nomination paper. Action T Negus
ITEM 9 MORAY COUNCILLORS REPORT
9.1 Cllr Hamilton reported that the
proposals for the 20mph speed limit in Findhorn Village together
with the northerly extension to the cyclepath were on the agenda
for next week’s meeting of the Economic Development and
Infrastructure Services Committee of Moray Council. This follows
on from the site meeting between James Smith of the Roads
department and Community Council members in November and if
approved forms the first stage in the process of obtaining the
relevant traffic orders.
ITEM 10. RAFLO REPORT
Nothing to report.
ITEM 11. FINDHORN FOUNDATION REPORT.
Nothing to report . In the absence of the Foundation representative the Secretary asked J Willoner if he knew why only 2 out of the four wind turbines had been working in recent weeks. It was reasonable for the public to expect these visually intrusive structures to be working to maximum capacity in order to justify their presence. J Willoner said that he understood that the two turbines in question required repairs but there was a delay in obtaining the necessary spare parts.
ITEM 12. PLANNING
12.1 The Secretary noted that the new local plan had now been approved.
12.2 Correspondence. Letter sent re new application for plot next to 110a. Suggested that upgrade to access track be made a condition of approval. Letter sent re application at barrel cluster.
12.3 Applications registered since last meeting.
KINLOSS
8 Jan Outline permission for house in garden of Hillcrest Kinloss No objection.
14 Jan Application for wooden garage at 3 Manse Rd. No objection.
Also development opposite Manse Rd advertised in Forres Gazette recently. Probably related to changes in new local plan. Letter has already been sent by FKCC.
FINDHORN FOUNDATION - None
FINDHORN VILLAGE
22 Dec Replace single storey wing with 2 storey & add dormer window at Bay View Fryrish Rd. No objection.
12.4 Future arrangements. L Morgan to be nominated point of contact with planning dept during absence
of Secretary. Application expected for Piers workshop. Interest notified in advance and plans obtained. For discussion at next meeting.
13 ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS
13.1
G Verner said that he had received a number of complaints about
excessive aircraft noise during a recent exercise at RAF Kinloss.
The RAFLO explained that both the Station authorities and Pilots
were sensitive to the issue of noise disturbance and did what
they could whilst operating within strict safety limits. He
thought that on this occasion the perceived additional noise was
due to the prevalence of westerly winds during the exercise
period which necessitated the prolonged use of Runway 26. This
requires a left hand circuit over the land rather than over the
sea as is the case when runway 08 is in use.
13.2 H Morton enquired if
there was an agreed Moray Council policy on dealing with nuisance
caused by seagulls and if so were there any public funds
allocated. Cllr Hamilton agreed to enquire and to report
back to the next meeting. Action Cllr Hamilton
13.3 M Thompson asked if there was any further progress on the sale of the Southside married quarters.
The Chairman said that the formalities of the sale were expected to be completed by the end of March.
ITEM 14. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday 26th February 2009 at 7.30pm in Kinloss Primary School.