April 2025 Minutes

  1. April 2025 minutes

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Balquhidder, Lochearnhead & Strathyre

Community Council Minutes – 9th April 2025

This mee ng took place in Lochearnhead Village Hall at 7:30 p.m. on 9th April 2025. It was

chaired by Carolyn Brooks.

Present: Carolyn Brooks (CB), Andrew Poulter (AP), Maida MacLaren (MML), Webster

Inglis (WI).

Apologies: Ruth McLusky (RM), David Johnston (DCJ), Bob Wells (RJW), Mar n Mackenzie

(MM), Angus Cameron (AC); David Fe!es (DF), Loch Lomond & The Trossachs

Na onal Park Authority (LLTNPA).

Also A!ending: Cllr Mar n Earl (ME), S rling Council; PC Heather Campbell (HC), Police

Scotland; Paul Hicks (PH), minute-taker.

Item Content Ac on

  1. Approval of minutes from 26th February 2025

It was proposed by MML and seconded by AP, that the minutes of the

mee ng on 26th February 2025 should be accepted and this was

approved unanimously.

  1. Declara ons of Interest

There were no declara ons of interest by members present.

  1. Police report (27 Feb to 9 Apr 2025)

During this period, there were no incidents of an -social behaviour.

On 27th February, a report was received concerning the" from a motor

vehicle in Balquhidder. However, the complainant declined to engage

with the police and insufficient details were obtained to file a crime

report. On 24th March, a report of a vehicle behaving suspiciously in

Strathyre was received. Details were obtained but there was

insufficient evidence to establish that any crime had taken place and

no further ac on was taken. During this period, there were three

traffic-related incidents. One involved a deer colliding with a vehicle

and one involved the breakdown of a vehicle on A84 near

Lochearnhead where police a!ended and helped move the vehicle to

a safer loca on. The third report was an allega on of poor driving in

Balquhidder, but neither the vehicle concerned nor the person

repor ng the incident could subsequently be traced. Three

miscellaneous incidents were recorded: a dog was found straying on

A84 near Balquhidder and eventually reunited with its owner and the

burglar alarm of a commercial property in Lochearnhead was

ac vated but, when the premises were checked by police, all was in

order. On 5th April, a report of males possibly trespassing and taking

drugs in Balquhidder was made, but due to the pressure of other calls

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in progress, no officers were able to a!end immediately. No

subsequent complaint of crime was made to the police.

  1. Ma!ers arising from previous minutes

a)

Calair Bridge. With reference to item 6A of the previous minutes (on

26th February 2025): following Cllr Earl's interven on, the weight

restric on on the Calair Bridge had been reviewed by S rling Council

(Bridges and Network Management teams). They had concluded that

the current restric ons were adequate and a copy of the relevant

traffic order had been supplied to the community council, specifying

the vehicles that are exempt from the restric on. These included

delivery vehicles, winter maintenance vehicles, refuse vehicles and

emergency services vehicles. A copy of the order had now been

posted on the community council website and all the local residents

had been given a personal copy.

RM had noted on 20th March 2025 that waste bins were s ll in place at

the Strathyre end of Stroneslaney Road. The bins were preven ng the

use of a passing place and might be abused if le" in situ too long. AP

noted that the bins had not yet been removed. DCJ had also asked

that the assistance provided by Dick Lewis in delivering oil supplies to

two residents be acknowledged specifically and this was approved

unanimously.

  1. Forestry and mber transport

a)

Funding bid for C33 road, Balquhidder. On 3rd March 2025, the

community council was no fied by S rling Council's 'Road Network'

department (SCRN) that the Sco%sh Government agency, 'Sco!sh

Forestry', would be providing financial support again this year through

its Strategic Timber Transport Fund (STTF). This was warmly welcomed

by members a"er the disappointment of no bid being put forward

during the previous two years. In 2024, a private company called

'Sco!sh Woodlands' (origina ng from a woodland owners'

coopera ve) had been able to fund a survey by an independent

consultancy firm (Arvikaconsult Ltd) on the physical condi on of the

C33 road in Balquhidder Glen, between the village hall and the end of

the road near Inverlochlarig. This survey had iden fied poten al

improvement works at an es mated cost of £900K and members

expressed their sincere thanks to Sco!sh Woodlands for suppor ng

this project and laying the founda on for a renewed bid to the STTF.

Based on this report, the SCRN had now considered that a bid to the

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STTF for funding towards a project cos ng £300K would be realis c.

Any such bid requires matched funding from other bodies and SCRN is

prepared to offer £150K. If any local forest owners are prepared to

contribute addi onal funding, it may be possible to increase the

overall value of the bid to the STTF. Members were informed that a

'le!er of support' from the community council and co-signed by the

elected ward representa ves had been submi!ed and SCRN is now

working to prepare a suitable plan of works that will make best use of

the funding available. DCJ had requested that the community council

be provided with full details of the proposed works (once they have

been decided) and also be allowed to liaise with SCRN and any

contractors in order to offer help from local landowners and to ensure

that details of the loca on of the community broadband network will

be available to avoid any inadvertent damage being caused.

b)

Drumardoch long-term forest plan. This forest lies to the East of Loch

Lubnaig. On 12th March 2025, details of its latest long-term plan had

been provided to the community council by Bidwells, a commercial

estate agent ac ng on behalf of the the forest owner. Comments were

invited - to be submi!ed by 9th April. RM had reviewed the plan and

was of the opinion that it was straigh'orward and unlikely to be

conten ous. No members present offered any contrary views.

  1. Correspondence

a)

Visitor Levy. On 28th February 2025, no fica on was received from

S rling Council regarding consulta on on a proposal to charge a visitor

levy for overnight visitor accommoda on in the area. The inten on is

to gather ideas about where revenue from such a scheme might be

spent, at what level the charge should be set and the need for any

'caps' or exemp ons to the scheme. Based on the consulta on,

council officers will draw up specific proposals and a decision is

expected to be taken in December 2025. If that decision is to go ahead

with the proposal, the earliest date of implementa on is likely to be in

June 2027.

On 3rd March, an online survey was launched (with paper copies

available in local libraries) and local 'drop-in' sessions were to be held

during March and April in S rling, Drymen, Callander and Killin. (Links

to this site and accompanying informa on were also published on the

community council website.) A dedicated email address was set up

(visitorlevy@s rling.gov.uk) and council officers were to be available

to a!end community council mee ngs and provide further

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informa on about the proposals. The pros and cons of the levy were

then discussed in the mee ng and views were mixed. ME pointed out

the posi ve aspects of developing facili es (such as bus services) for

visitors with the money raised.

b)

The Trossachs Explorer shu!le bus. From July to September, 2024,

LLTNPA had trialled a 'shu!le bus' service connec ng Callander and

Aberfoyle with key des na ons in the Na onal Park that are normally

only available by private transport. The aim was to test the demand

for such a service, to assess the effec veness of branding and

marke ng and to provide a viable alterna ve transport op on that

was both accessible and sustainable. The results of an evalua on of

the service are available on the LLTNPA website. A con nua on of the

trial during 2025 is envisaged, but it is proving difficult to secure the

necessary funding and to iden fy a suitable operator in  me for a

launch in the summer. Community councils will be no fied of the

outcome in due course. ME added that an important outcome of this

trial would be the provision of a solid case for a sustainable service

con nuing in the future.

c)

Plots of land for sale at Stroneslaney. Following a recent query about

si ng a canal boat adjacent to one of these plots of land, the LLTNPA

had prepared a detailed le!er of informa on to be sent to all those

people who had purchased such plots (as based on the records held

by the Land Register of Scotland). The le!er details the various

restric ons that apply under the Town & Country Planning (Scotland)

Act, 1997 (as amended). These include the designa on of the River

Balvaig as part of the River Teith Special Area of Conserva on, the

recogni on of this land as a flood plain and as a habitat for breeding

birds. The le!er strongly advises plot owners to make themselves

aware of the need for planning permission and statutory consents

before embarking on any developments for changes of use and

itemises areas of legisla on that should be taken into considera on

before embarking on any work. A copy of the le!er had been

circulated to all community council members.

The owner of one of the plots at the western end of this land is now

prepared to start work on reinsta ng the land to its original condi on

with the help of a hired digger. Prior to that, the owner is mee ng

with an official from the LLTNPA to discuss how best to approach this

work in order to ensure safety and minimal damage to the area. This

ini a ve was welcomed.

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d)

Community Council Insurance. On 18th March 2025, S rling Council's

liaison officer had requested that details of any community council

assets or drivers requiring insurance cover be returned by 31st March.

AP commented that the community council had no assets currently

and the drivers' insurance had not been used during the previous year.

e)

Age Scotland na onal housing and energy survey. On 18th March

2025, no fica on had been received via S rling Council that Age

Scotland was conduc ng an online survey on peoples' use of both

housing and energy. The survey is being carried out by ' Sco nform Ltd'

- an independent company. It is available at this address.

f)

Public Safety Commi!ee and police reports. The convenor of the

'Public Safety Commi!ee' (PSC) at S rling Council had contacted the

community council with an invita on to take note of the minutes of

the commi!ee, following the launch of a pilot scheme to adopt a

different approach by Police Scotland to its liaison with community

councils. The current system of providing officers for each community

council had proved to be too resource intensive in some areas and the

pilot scheme will interact with community councils by council ward

instead of trying to meet with each council. The convenor

recommended having a look at the papers being provided to the PSC

to assess whether this might be a suitable way forward for all

community councils. The papers for the PSC are available on the

S rling Council website.

DCJ had submi!ed wri!en comments on this topic to members prior

to the mee ng. He believed strongly that community engagement

should be a top priority for the police and that this was best served by

the regular presence of a local officer. He had looked at the PSC

minutes but found that they provided only limited informa on and

the onus was on members to find the papers rather than being

no fied as a ma!er of course.

  1. Damage to Stronvar Bridge

With reference to item 9 of the minutes of 26th February 2025, an

update on progress to the repairs at Stronvar Bridge had been

requested from S rling Council and, on 10th March, the following

informa on had been provided. Repairs to the bridge had been

scheduled to begin on 17th May 2025. An inspector was to a!end

beforehand to assess whether any addi onal work was required

following recent damage. Should it be necessary to install ' e bars' to

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the copes at the bridge, this is likely to require building consent from

LLTNPA. This process will take around four months (to allow for a full

review and the gran ng of approval). Accordingly, the date of the

scheduled repair work may need to be amended, depending on what

is possible and whether or not permission is given for work to

proceed.

  1. Water provision in Balquhidder

With reference to item 10 of the minutes of 26th February 2025, a

request had been made to Sco!sh Water for a mee ng regarding the

recent leaks in Kirkton at Balquhidder. On 27th February, a reply was

received from the lead officer in the 'Communica ons & Engagement

Team' at Sco!sh Water. This apologised for any confusion arising from

an extended period of absence by the person originally receiving the

enquiry from the community council and again confirmed that the

burst pipe had been iden fied and repaired. It promised that the

details of the work carried out would be passed on to the community

council again and that the enquiry regarding a fire hydrant would be

addressed.

The details of the completed repair were duly reiterated and

arrangements were made to install a fire hydrant at Stronvar Garden

Co"age. An invita on to consider any other ma!ers of concern was

made and DCJ responded with six items covering the maintenance of

fire hydrants, the procedures for finding leaks and for tes ng water

quality, the ques on of exis ng capacity in Balquhidder Glen (with its

poten al for increased demand as new proper es are being built), the

concern about protec ng the community broadband fibre network

and the apparent problems with communica on and community

engagement. On 14th March, the community council was advised that

arrangements were in hand to schedule a mee ng with the

community council and on 19th March, confirma on was received that

the fire hydrant at Garden Co"age had been installed. However, more

recently, DCJ had been informed that Sco!sh Water had been unable

to find anyone to meet with the community council. He had offered to

follow this up and members agreed that the community council

should, on principle, pursue the request for a representa ve of the

company to a!end a mee ng.

  1. Road signs in local area

AP reported that three speed limit signs (with alcohol zone signs AP to ask

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adjacent) plus a 'shared route' sign had been erected on Stroneslaney

Road, but some of the original 'alcohol zone' signs had s ll not been

replaced (as per CC enquiry 2403952) and nothing had been placed on

the C33 road. Furthermore, an agreement had been reached

previously for addi onal passing places to be created on Stroneslaney

Road. It was agreed that AP would follow up the request for addi onal

passing places, par cularly as the recent warm weather had

encouraged more visitors than usual and people were stopping in the

exis ng passing places, causing conges on and problems for local

residents.

S rling Council

when the

missing

alcohol signs

and extra

passing places

will be

erected.

  1. RiverTrack sensor at Strathyre

With reference to item 12 of the minutes of 26th February 2025, this

ma!er had been passed to the BLS Community Trust for a!en on. An

update had since been received from S rling University, providing

addi onal details of where it was proposed to site the addi onal

sensor and seeking to allay any fears regarding complica ons over

insurance claims. This informa on had been passed to the BLS Trust,

whose chairperson had responded very quickly with confirma on that

the Trust would be willing to support the project.

  1. Upper Strathearn community benefit project

On 10th March 2025, an update had been received from Rachel Searle

of Founda on Scotland regarding the mee ng on 25th February. This

confirmed the report from DCJ that had been received by the

community council at its previous mee ng on 26th February. It also

confirmed arrangements to try and bring together the various groups

involved at a further mee ng to explore the various community

benefits and how they might provide different outcomes according to

the need of each community, together with the appropriate structures

and governance arrangements to ensure fairness, transparency and

equity.

DCJ had submi!ed a further update on this to members prior to the

community council mee ng. He reported that a second mee ng of the

community benefit project had taken place on 3rd April at St Fillans

and he would circulate minutes to members in due course. He had

also liaised with the chair of Killin community council with a view to

seeking advice from S rling Council on how best to proceed with this

project. ME confirmed that he had forwarded this request to the

Council.

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  1. Glen Lednock wind farm

On 11th March 2025, an update was received from the Senior

Stakeholder manager at 'Low Carbon'. The company is on track to

deliver its planning applica on to the Sco%sh Government's 'Energy

Consents Unit' by the end of April 2025. Physical copies of the

Environmental Impact Assessment will be available at the White

Church in Comrie and from the Village Store in St Fillans. Further

informa on is also available at the Glen Lednock website.

  1. Planning ma!ers

a)

2025/0051/DET. Erec on of wireless mast. An applica on had been

made by Cornerstone Communica ons to erect a thirty-metre mast on

land to the north-east of Immeroin Farm. This is linked to the

applica on for a feed mast above Auchleskine Woods, for which the

community council had previously raised no objec on. This project will

be part of the government’s 4G network scheme and members did not

think that it would be conten ous.

b)

2025/0067/DET. Construc on of leisure facility. The Clachan Co"age

Hotel in Lochearnhead had applied for permission to erect a leisure

facility in its car park on the north shore of Loch Earn opposite the

hotel itself. It will comprise a hot food takeaway, sauna, bin storage

and fencing with addi onal car parking space and decking. Some forty

years ago, an applica on to build what is now known as The

Boathouse (adjacent to the hotel but also on the foreshore of the

loch) s rred up much conten on and anger locally. The planning

authority at that  me was S rling Council and it was believed that

they had given an undertaking then that no further such

developments between the shore and the A85 road would be allowed.

DCJ suggested that members might wish to ask the LLTNPA (as the

new planning authority) whether or not it was aware of this

commitment. This was agreed.

DCJ to raise

this query with

LLTNPA.

  1. Ma!ers from ward councillors and Na onal Park representa ve

DF was unable to a!end but had previously circulated an update to all

members of recent events and future plans for LLTNPA.

  1. Any other competent business

a)

Community bus service at St Fillans. DCJ had been contacted by a

member of the St Fillan’s community council regarding the possibility

of se%ng up a bus service to run between loca ons in Strathearn. This

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would have support from Perth & Kinross Council with the offer of a

vehicle, but would also need the services of local volunteers as drivers.

The community council at St Fillans had suggested that the BLS

community council might be interested in suppor ng this venture.

Members agreed that more detail on the project was required and it

would be necessary to ascertain the probable level of demand. ME

noted that a similar service already existed at Killin.

b)

Flood management upstream from Callander. DCJ had circulated an

invita on from the chair of Callander community council to be

involved in an ini a ve to develop natural flood management as part

of its approach (jointly with the Callander Flood Group) to perennial

problems with flooding in Callander. A substan al grant from the

Na onal Lo!ery may be available and S rling University can offer

support through its 'Forth20' project. S rling Council, the Forth

Environment Link and the LLTNPA had also shown an interest.

Members agreed unanimously that the community council should

accept this invita on.

c)

S rling Council repor ng system for community councils. AP raised a

concern that there is no mechanism available for dealing with more

urgent ma!ers (such as the recent problem with the Calair Bridge).

Members expressed their disappointment with the lack of help from

S rling Council following the closure of Stroneslaney Road due to

storm damage and fallen trees. All proper es had been accessible

from one end of the road or the other, but there were no waste

collec ons and no help when oil companies needed guidance on

whether they could use the Calair Bridge. Some residents had suffered

considerable addi onal and unnecessary expense because of the poor

communica on between departments and the slow responses

through the community council repor ng system. ME confirmed the

need for a be!er system, but also highlighted the poten al for abuse.

  1. d) Community Council Treasurer. AP gave no ce that he wished to give

up the rôle of treasurer. This was noted.

There was no further business and, at 8:35 p.m., CB declared the

mee ng to be closed. The next mee ng is scheduled to take place at

Strathyre Village Hall on Wednesday 21st May, 2025 at 7:30 p.m. It

will be preceded on that day by the Annual General Mee ng.

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