March 2021 Minutes

Drymen Community Council

Minutes Of The Ordinary Meeting
Held On Tuesday 02nd March 2021
Via Skype Online

Virtual Meeting Platform

At 7.35 pm, Fraser Robb opened the meeting and welcomed the Community
Councillors and Councillor Davis, and thanked them all for participating.

Present

Fraser Robb (FR), Marie Elder (ME), Andrew Richardson (AR), Jemma Allan (JA),
Walter Hemfrey (WH), Carol Hemfrey (CH), Jakki Sendall (JS) and Carole Kerr
(Minutes)

Also Present

Councillor Rob Davis (CRD) representing Stirling Council.

Apologies

David Burgoyne, Maja McTavish.

Declarations Of Interest In Any Agenda Item

None

Approval Of The Minutes Of The Last Meeting

The minutes of the previous meeting were proposed by ME, and seconded by AR.

Matters Arising From The Previous Minutes

None

Police Report

AR read out the police report, which is attached at Annexe A.

1. Correspondence

    

   AR informed the meeting of the following correspondence:

   • 01st March 2021 – Email received from Alistair MacPherson of the East Loch
     Lomond Visitor Management Group, asking stakeholders when they are
     available for a group meeting.

   • 26th February 2021 – Email received from Stuart Mearns, Director of Rural
     Development and Planning with LLTNPA, informing us that the Community
     Partnership will cease at the end of March, being replaced by the Loch
     Lomond And The Trossachs Countryside Trust.

   • 25th February 2021 – Email received from Mark Henderson of Stirling
     Council, informing residents that from 19 April, garden waste will only be
     collected from brown bins with a valid permit on display. The annual permit
     will cost £35 (£1.45 per collection) and is required to be purchased to
     subscribe to the service. If households don’t want to have this service, food
     waste will still be collected in the brown bin.

   • 23rd February 2021 – Email received from Pam Campbell of Stirling Council,
     informing us that the Rural South West Area Forum will meet on Monday 15th
     March at 7.00 pm via Microsoft teams.

   • 19th February 2021 – Email received from Stirling Council Libraries, informing
     us that there is a new app enabling library members to borrow ebooks.

   • 17th February 2021 – Email received from Gavin MacLellan who is the Chair
     of Kilmaronock CC, containing the survey intended to gain the community’s
     opinion of the LLTNPA. I have posted a link to the survey on Facebook.

   • 12th February 2021 – Email received from a resident in Conic Way,
     complaining about planning permission being granted to the Hanover Homes
     development. She objects on the grounds that the residents of the planned
     houses will be able to look into her garden. I replied to her, suggesting that
     privacy within one’s garden would not be accepted as grounds for complaint
     by the planning authority.

   • 05th February 2021 – Email received from Jean Cowie of Stirling Council,
     asking for a list of the community assets which we would like insured. On the
     28th February, I submitted our list to Jean.

      

     Chairman’s Report

      

     FR informed the meeting of the following:

   • He has studied his CCTV footage, and saw a dog which had attacked sheep
     within a nearby field, coming from the West Highland Way.

   • He pays tribute to Chriedh McTavish, father of Lisa and Maja, who passed
     away recently, and offers his condolences to Maja, Lisa and the family.

   • He pays tribute to Councillor Graham Lambie, who passed away recently, and
     offers his condolences to Councillor Lambie’s family.

   • He has spoken to PC Graham about the apparently abandoned Volvo car
     within Drymen car park. PC Graham will notify Stirling Council, who will put a
     seven day notice on the car, and then remove it if it is not claimed.

   • He would like to thank everyone who is working as part of, or on behalf of the
     local Covid support group.

      

      

2. Treasurer’s Report

    

   JA informed the meeting of the following:

   • The community council is still receiving a lot of money for the Covid support
     group via Go Fund Me. There is an admin issue with the Covid group’s bank
     account which will be addressed.

   • The community council’s bank account has £6295.70, of which £919.77
     belongs to the Covid support group’s Go Fund Me account. That leaves a
     total of £5375.93 in the community council’s bank account.

   • In relation to the grants for the Covid group:

     • £800 was given to Covid group by the community council. This has still to
       be deducted from a grant.

     • The SSE grant still has £733.80 left.

     • The Stirling Council grant still has £445.70 left.

        

       FR informed the meeting that he had received a cash donation of £200 for the Covid
       group, which has now been deposited into their bank account.

        

       Planning Correspondent’s Report

        

       WH informed the meeting of the following:

   • The Hanover Housing development has been approved.

   • The extension to Drymen Primary School has been approved.

   • No update from MacTaggart and Mickel.

      

     FR highlighted ongoing public concerns about road safety, with the access route to
     the primary school extension.

      

     Roads Correspondent’s Report

      

     There were no new updates on the local roads network.

      

     FR commented on the number of potholes appearing on local roads.

      

     Publicity Report

      

     JS informed the meeting of the following:

   • An article about the community council will be in the Drymen Reporter next
     week.

   • £237 from the community council bank account has been used to purchase
     packets of seeds. One packet of seeds will be included within each addition of
     the Drymen Reporter, which amounts to roughly 560 packets of seeds.

   • Relevant posts are still being posted on the Facebook page.

   • Carol and Walter have been very helpful with the Drymen Reporter article.

      

     FR informed the meeting that the Drymen Community Development Trust are trying
     to raise funds to repair the car parking spaces at The Square, next to the butchers.

      

      

3. The cost of resurfacing the road around The Square has been estimated as £50k-

   £60k.

    

   Councillor’s Report

    

   Councillor Davis (CRD) informed the meeting of the following:

   • He pays tribute to Councillor Graham Lambie, who passed away recently, and
     offers his condolences to Councillor Lambie’s family.

   • The expansion of Drymen Primary School has been delayed, primarily
     because of the delay to the MacTaggart and Mickel development, and due to
     the falling numbers of primary school children. The delay will be for a couple
     of years.

   • Following the passing of Councillor Lambie, there will be a by-election for a
     councillor on May 6th.

   • There was a Stirling Council meeting last week, during which it was agreed to
     reduce the number of council meetings.

   • He will chase-up a new bin for FR, whose bin was not replaced during the
     recent issue of new bins.

   • The land-owner at Dumgoyne is having issues with parking and sheep-
     worrying. Edenmill is also having issues with car parking. 20 of the 22 Stirling
     Councillors live in Stirling and not in rural areas. He will continue to remind
     Stirling Council of the issues faced by the rural communities.

   • The transfer of Croftamie Nursery to Drymen Primary School has been
     delayed by a year.

      

     ME raised the issue of the lack of maintenance within Drymen grave yard, compared
     to grave yards within surrounding areas. CRD will report the issue to Stirling Council.

      

     FR asked CRD to enquire about the Section 75 money, which was to be paid by the
     Dalnair development.

      

     Loch Lomond And The Trossachs National Park Authority Update

      

     There was no update from the National Park Authority.

      

     Covid-19 Support

      

     JS informed the meeting of the following:

   • AR is currently submitting an application for another grant (Enabling
     Communities and Neighbourhoods Grant).

   • The community council has raised approximately £4000 in grant money for
     the Covid group. This has been spent on IT, a community publication and
     food for the foodbank.

      

      

      

4. Gala Day Update

    

   The 2021 Drymen Gala Day has been cancelled.

    

   Any Other Competent Business

    

   JS said that the community trust were doing a litter pick on the last Saturday in
   March, and asked FR if he could again supply the litter pickers. FR replied that he
   would, as well as supplying the bag rings. FR said that he would also dispose of the
   resulting bags of litter.

    

   AR asked the community council for feedback on the Health and Social Care
   Partnership survey, for submission to Stirling Council.

    

   Date Of Next Meeting

    

   7.30 pm on the 06th April 2021. However, this will be confirmed nearer the time.

    

   FR then thanked Carole Kerr for taking the minutes of the meetings.

    

   At 8.20pm FR thanked everyone for participating in the meeting, and then closed the
   meeting.

    

    

    

5. Annexe
   A

   Police Report

    

   Community Council:

   Forth and Endrick, Drymen Community Council

    

   Reporting Period:

   March 2021 Prepared by PC Steven Graham

    

   Ward Plan Priorities

   Antisocial Behaviour   There was another report of sheep worrying in the field on the A811 across from Fraser Robb’s. It is thought the owner of the dog is a walker using the path to the rear of the field. Previously signs re sheep worrying have been put either side of the path. Extra attention will be given.   There has been a complaint re a vehicle parked in the car park within the village which appears abandoned. I am making enquiries in order to try and trace the owner of the vehicle.   Road Safety   A serious RTC occurred on the A811 road towards Gartocharn. Road was closed for a number of hours.   Please keep your vehicle well maintained before you take to the road. Take special care that brakes, tyres, lights, batteries, windscreens and wiper blades are in good condition. In addition, washer bottles need to contain an additive to stop the water from freezing.   Tyres should also be checked weekly to ensure they are legal and at the correct pressure (consult your vehicle handbook). The minimum legal tread depth for cars is 1.6mm across the centre 3/4 of the breadth of the tread around the entire circumference. They should also be checked for bulges, cuts or tears which weaken the tyre. Failure to maintain your tyres could lead to a maximum of £2,500 fine and 3 penalty points per tyre.   Theft   There have been no thefts in the Drymen area since the last meeting however there was another Theft by Housebreaking at a commercial premises in Killearn, this time it was Oakwood Garden Centre. Enqs are still continuing however anyone with any information then please contact Police.   We always advise never leave bags or any valuables lying on the seats of your parked and unattended vehicles. It is so very quick and easy for thieves to smash a car window, reach in and take any valuables in an instant. If a thief observes a bag in a car, they may think the bag contains something valuable and will smash your window to get in, even if it contains absolutely nothing of value! Please take any bag and or valuables with you but if this is not possible, place the items in your boot or out of sight, but preferably, take all valuables with you.

    

    

6.  

    

   Fraud -

    

   There was a report of attempted fraud in Balfron regarding Bitcoin investment.

    

   Fraudsters can make contact with you by phone. The caller might pretend to be from your
   bank and ask for personal information such as bank details or they might be someone offering
   you a deal or a prize. Other calls have been made by persons purporting to be from HMRC
   stating that there was a warrant out for the receiver of the call and was asked to contact the
   number that was given. This is clearly a false call so please heed the below advise:

    

   • Consider making your phone number ex-directory.

      

   • Don’t give out any personal information unless you are the one who made the call and you
     are certain of the identity of the person you are speaking to.

      

   • Don’t give out your credit card or bank card details to strangers on the telephone.

      

   • NEVER tell somebody your bank PIN number, even if they claim to be the bank or police. If
     the caller is genuine they will never ask for this information.

      

   • Don’t give out information which may infer that you live alone, are older or vulnerable.

      

   • Never send money to anyone who claims to have a prize for you.

   • If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

      

   • Contact local trading standards – they may be able to use approved ‘call blocking’
     technology.

    

   Covid 19 fraud

    

   Criminals are using the Coronavirus as a cover story to trick you into parting with your money
   or information. Always take a moment to Stop, Challenge and Protect before making any
   payments.

    

   It’s important not to let the criminals rush or panic you into making a decision that you later
   come to regret and remain vigilant and guard against criminals using the publicity around
   Coronavirus as a chance to target you with fraudulent emails, phone calls, texts messages or
   social media posts.

    

   With fake news articles on the internet and in the press promoting remedies, cures and false
   advice around coronavirus, it’s also important to only share articles from trustworthy sources.
   If you are in any doubt, then visit www.gov.uk/coronavirus or www.who.int/ for updates and
   information.

    

   Criminals are experts at impersonating people, organisations and the police. They spend
   hours researching you for their scams, hoping you’ll let your guard down for just a moment.
   Stop and think: it could protect you and your money.

    

    

7.  

    

   If you receive an email, text or WhatsApp message purporting to be from the
   government, HMRC, the World Health Organisation (WHO) or a coronavirus-related
   charity, then take a moment to think before you part with your money or information.

    

   Never click on links or download attachments as criminals may infect your devices
   with malware or ask you to enter your personal or financial information into fake
   websites. In some cases this can lead to your identity being stolen.

    

   SHEEP WORRYING

    

   This time of year presents the problem of sheep worrying. It is an offence to allow a
   dog to worry sheep. “Worrying” includes attacking or chasing sheep and, in some
   circumstances, farmers are legally entitled to shoot dogs if they are endangering
   their sheep. It is vital that you keep your dog on the lead around livestock, even if
   you can usually trust it to come to call. If you live in or near a farming area, you must
   make sure that your dog cannot escape from your property, as it may find its way
   onto land containing sheep.

    

   If a dog worries sheep on agricultural land, the person in charge of the dog is guilty
   of an offence. The Act considers sheep worrying to include attacking sheep, chasing
   them in a way that may cause injury suffering, abortion or loss of produce or being at
   large (not on a lead or otherwise under close control) in a field or enclosure in which
   there are sheep.

    

   The Scottish Outdoor Access Code

    

   The Scottish Outdoor Access Code (SOAC) offers guidance for people enjoying the
   countryside with their dogs and says: “In exercising access rights, you must keep
   your dog(s) under proper control. You must also ensure that your dog does not
   worry livestock.”

    

   The Scottish Outdoor Access Code says ‘proper control’ means different things in
   different situations, but when around sheep you should:-

    

   • Not take your dog into a field where there are lambs. Go into a neighbouring field or
     onto adjacent land. In open country, keep your dog on a short lead (2 metres or
     shorter) when there are lambs around and keep away from them.

      

   • Keep your dog on a short lead or under close control if you need to go into a field
     where there are sheep. The SOAC defines ‘under close control’ as close at heel and
     responsive to your commands. Stay distant from the sheep.

      

   • Keep your dog under close control in more open country where there are sheep
     and stay away from them.

      

   • The SOAC reminds dog owners that in some cases a farmer has the right to shoot
     a dog that is attacking their livestock.

      

   • If you are handling a group of dogs, make sure that they do not cause alarm to
     livestock.

    

    

8.