FINDHORN & KINLOSS
COMMUNITY COUNCIL .
Minutes
of the meeting of the Community Council held in Kinloss Primary
School on Thursday 30th
April 2009
Present: R Walker (Chairman), R. Shand, S.Macgregor, Cllr Hamilton, G. Verner, J. Willoner, H Morton, L. Morgan, T. Negus (Sec).
In Attendance: Tanya McLaren (Forres Gazette), J Innes (RAFLO) plus 2 members of the public.
ITEM 1. APOLOGIES FOR ABSENCE
Apologies were received from M. Thompson, A Skene, Eva Ward.
ITEM 2. ANY COMPETENT PUBLIC BUSINESS& GRAMPIAN POLICE REPORT
2.1 There was no competent public business.
2.2 In the absence of any representation
from Grampian Police there was no report The meeting expressed
disappointment that following the departure of WPC Page a few
months ago, there appears to be little or no interest shown by
Grampian Police towards the Community Council. The much
appreciated regular police ‘surgeries’ set up by WPC
Page appear to have been abandoned. The Chairman agreed to once
again take up the issue with senior management at Grampian
Police. Action R Walker
ITEM 3. MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
3.1 The minutes of the meeting held on 26th
March 2009 were ratified. Proposed L Morgan, seconded G Verner.
ITEM 4. MATTERS ARISING
4.1 Kinloss noticeboard. The Chairman
reported that he had arranged to meet the new manager of the Spar
shop in the next few days with a view to obtaining permission to
site the new noticeboard on the front wall of the shop. He hoped
to have the board in place by the next meeting. Action R
Walker.
4.2 Access Road to West Beach Car Park in
Findhorn. Councillor Hamilton said that he had requested that the
road be repaired but he had no further information on possible
timescale. Continues.
4.3 Possible Community Service Projects.
The Chairman reported that he had encountered considerable
difficulty in identifying projects that were acceptable to the
organisation. All too frequently, suggested projects were turned
down on the pretext that they might be competing with another
agency or on Health and Safety grounds. L Morgan suggested asking
for a list of recently completed projects in order to gain a
better idea as to what types of work might be acceptable. The
Chairman agreed to follow this up. Action R Walker.
4.4 Communications from Scottish Gas. These have been copied and placed in the boxes in both Post Offices.
4.5 Pothole in Road near Findhorn Church. J Willoner said that he had reported this to the Roads department who had carried out repairs extremely promptly.
ITEM 5.CHAIRMAN’S REPORT
5.1 Letter received from Moray Council Development Services about the start of e-planning arrangements. Secretary nominated as point of contact for Planning. Chairman has forwarded email details.
5.2 Letter received from Mr Baxter regarding a neighbour dispute. Chairman responded and advised contacting Community Warden to investigate.
5.3 Invitation received from SEPA to consultation events in Inverness on 14 May and Thurso on 28 May.
5.4 Email received from a visitor to Findhorn from Stirlingshire. Visitor deplored the dilapidated state of the wooden steps on the North Shore and the excessive dog fouling. Chairman has sent suitable reply.
J Willoner will raise this issue at
the next meeting of the Nature Reserve Management Committee. R
Shand to contact relevant authority at Moray Council. Action
J Willoner, R Shand.
5.5 The Chairman reported that there had been considerable interest in the sale of the surplus RAF married quarters, particularly those at Kinloss Park although pricing and other details had yet to be finalised. The new developers intend to give a presentation to the June meeting of the Community Council.
5.6 The Chairman reported on a meeting that he had recently had with Officer Commanding Base Support Wing at RAF Kinloss regarding a Community Centre facility in Kinloss. The RAF authorities have a long term plan to provide a Community Centre facility for both military and civilian residents of Kinloss. It is hoped that the RAF, Moray Council and the Southside OMQ developers can collaborate on the project and bring the project timescale forward.
ITEM 6. SECRETARY’S REPORT
6.1 Meetings attended: 24 April - Gypsy/Traveller awareness raising session organised by Moray Council. 27 April - .Fund raising seminar organised by Moray Council. 27 April - Lecture by Chief of the Air Staff on ‘ Air Power in the 21st Century’.
6.2 Correspondence: Invitation to enter best-kept village in Moray competition. Letter & proforma to claim Community Council grant. (reply sent). Letter from REDCO Milne about presentation on 17 April about proposed Bogton Development in Forres. Letter from ICO about DPA registration renewal. (Direct debit already in place). Also information about recent changes to Freedom of Information Act registration. FKCC has been registered as a ‘Public Authority’ under the terms of the FOI act. ( L. Morgan to check status in this respect.). Invitation to presentation about new Forres Healthcentre 1st May. Letter from RAF Kinloss about visiting Aircraft.Renewal Invoice for ASCC membership.
6.3 e-Correspondence. Hastener sent to Moray Council regarding response to request for additional bus stop opposite Findhorn Church.
6.4 Consultations. From BMA Scotland on the way ahead for General Practice. From David Stewart MSP on proposals to create a ‘Victims Commissioner for Scotland’.
ITEM 7. TREASURERS REPORT
7.1 Cheque for £15 issued for ASCC subscription.
ITEM 8. ASCC REPORT
8.1 L Morgan recently attended an ASCC meeting in Edinburgh.
8.2 Some Community Councils in Moray remain potential candidates for the proposed trial of revised funding arrangements.
8.3 Following changes to the Planning Act (Scotland) it is proposed that Community Council representatives take advantage of training initiatives being set up to brief Moray Councillors on the revised system. This will be held over until the after the Community Council elections in October this year.
ITEM 9. MORAY COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
9.1 Cllr Hamilton reported that following a request from the minister of Kinloss Church, alterations had been made to the Sunday bus timetable to allow congregation members from Kinloss to travel to Findhorn for Services and vice versa.
ITEM 10. RAFLO REPORT.
10.1 A ‘Joint Warrior’ exercise will be held from 11th to 22nd May. Visiting aircraft will include P-3 Orions, Mirages, Hawks and Falcons.
ITEM 11. FINDHORN FOUNDATION REPORT
No report.
ITEM 12. PLANNING
12.1 Correspondence. Letter from Moray Council informing us that outline permission has been granted for plot next to 110A Findhorn. Improvements to the access track (requested by FKCC) have been have been. included in Planning conditions.
12.2 Correspondence. Letter from architectof proposed alterations at Piers Workshop. Both clients involved have written letters to reassure the Community Council that they have no intention of ever interfering with the public amenity activity in that part of the village. (Letters read out).
12.3 Recent Gazette advertisements noted about 2 developments at Kinloss. FKCC has already responded in respect of these.
12.4 Applications registered since last meeting:
Kinloss
Erect 4 wooden Camping chalets at East Grange Farm. (Already in Place) No objection.
Findhorn Foundation – No applications.
Findhorn Village
Repair garden wall and fencing and bury oil tank at 109 Findhorn. No objection
Internal alterations & new Window at 44 Findhornm. No objection.
Conservatory at 14 Seaforth Place No objection.
ITEM.13. NEW COMMUNITY COUNCIL SCHEME.
13.1 The Secretary informed the
meeting that Moray Council is consulting about a review of
the current Community Council Scheme. Any changes will come into
force following the elections in October. The scheme is being
reviewed nationally and FKCC have already been involved in
consultations with ASCC on the subject. A revised model
constitution, and standing orders together with a proposed code
of conduct for Community Councillors has been approved at
national level. Then Secretary proceeded to highlight some
changes in the proposed new constitution as compared with that
existing. He stressed that the model constitution was a template
for guidance at that it may be necessary to make minor
modifications to suit our own particular circumstances. L Morgan
pointed out that there were changes proposed in respect of young
(age 16-18) prospective candidates and there appeared to be some
uncertainty about Moray Council’s approach to this issue. L
Morgan agreed to try and clarify the situation and report back to
the next meeting. .Action L Morgan
13.2 Possible revision of Community
Council boundaries also forms part of the review. For some time
Findhorn & Kinloss Community Council have had concerns about
their boundary particularly at the eastern margin. Moray Council
has suggested that a solution might be to align this part of the
Community Council boundary with that of the Forres ward. This
would then include Damhead, Milton Brodie, Miltonhill and
the Kinloss golf course. The meeting considered this to be a
sensible modification and the Secretary was instructed to inform
Moray Council to this effect. Action T Negus
ITEM 14. ANY OTHER COMPETENT BUSINESS
14.1 The Secretary noted that
the new wall surrounding the Findhorn War Memorial was now
complete. The meeting agreed that the appearance of the new
structure was excellent and the Secretary was instructed to write
a letter of thanks to Mr Gary Morrison at Moray
Council. Action T Negus.
14.2 The Secreatry asked the meeting whether all present were aware of the requirement for householders to register septic tanks with SEPA. Registrations received by 31st May will be free of charge, thereafter a substantial registration fee will be charged. A consensus taken at the meeting suggested that this was by no means universally known. Council members were asked disseminate this information where possible.
14.3
R Shand reported that the additional road markings to deter
motorists turning right out of the piers access road opposite the
Kimberly Inn were not yet in place. He also noted that a number
of other lines in the village were indistinct. It was suggested
that a review of the white lining in Findhorn be carried out and
that lines should be refreshed where appropriate. Cllr Hamilton
agreed to speak with Roads Department at Moray Council. Action
Cllr Hamilton
14.4 R Shand said that cyclists riding on pavements and against the one-way traffic system remained a significant problem in Findhorn. It had been hoped that the promised increased Grampian Police presence in Findhorn would have helped the situation. However, following the departure of WPC Page there had been little or no visible Police presence seen around the village and the cyclist problem remained as bad as ever. The Chairman noted Mr Shand’s concerns and pointed out that he had already agreed to contact Grampian Police management about policing issues. (see 2.2 above).
14.5 R Shand expressed concerns
about the new junction arrangements near Findhorn Church. Despite
additional signage he felt there was a high risk of an accident
being caused by vehicles coming from Findhorn High Street failing
to give way at the Junction. Several others at the meeting echoed
Mr Shand’s concerns. Whilst initially it was hoped that
increasing familiarity with the new junction would ease the
situation, this has not proved the case and the situation remains
as bad as ever. It was suggested that the Secretary contacts the
Council to request a review of the layout of the junction. Action
T Negus
ITEM 15. DATE OF NEXT MEETING
Thursday 28th May 2009 at 7.30pm in the James Milne Institute Findhorn.