Apr 2022 Minutes

Drymen Community Council

Minutes Of The Ordinary Meeting Held On Tuesday 05^th April 2022 Within Drymen Village Hall

At 7.30pm Fraser Robb opened the meeting, welcomed all of the attendees and thanked them all for participating.

Present

Fraser Robb (FR), Marie Elder (ME), Andrew Richardson (AR), Jemma Allan (JA), Walter Hemfrey (WH) and Carole Kerr (CK) (Minutes)

Also Present

Councillor Jane Hutchison (CJH) representing Stirling Council, Willie Nisbet (WN) representing Loch Lomond And The Trossachs National Park Authority, Ewan MacKay (EMacK) representing Drymen Community Development Trust

and three members of the community.

Apologies

Adrianna Dent (AD), Carol Hemfrey (CH), and Police Scotland.

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:

• Antisocial Behaviour - A fight was reported outside a licenced premises in Drymen. Police attended. However, persons had left and there were no complaints.

• Road Safety - There was a 2 vehicle road traffic collision on the A811 near to the entrance to Buchanan Castle Estate. A passenger was slightly injured as a result.
• Theft - There has been no thefts in Drymen since the last meeting. However, a container was broken into at Milton of Buchanan and power tools stolen. Also, suspect persons appeared to be looking to breaking into a house in Blanefield. However, they were deterred by a video doorbell.

Correspondence

AR informed the meeting of the following correspondence:

· 01st April - DCC received an email from Alistair MacPherson of the NPA. He informed us that, "Plans to operate a pilot shuttle bus service within the National Park this summer are progressing, with a tender issued today inviting experienced bus operators to work with us on the project. During the pilot, the service would be delivered free of charge for visitors and it would operate on one of two routes – East Loch Lomond or The Trossachs. This will be determined by the tender responses we receive but we do not expect to have the budget or capacity to deliver both this summer. Should we receive suitable tender responses, we hope to be able to run a pilot shuttle bus service from early June, ready for peak season. It will potentially run through to the end of September depending on tender returns. The tender returns will also determine frequency which we know will be key to providing a viable alternative to the car. We will employ a number of evaluation measurements to allow us to determine the long-term feasibility of such a service.

· 29th March - DCC received an email from Stuart Guzinski of Forth Environmental Link, informing us that the provisional date for an update on the 20 Minute Neighbourhood project is Tuesday 03rd May 2.30-4pm.

· 21st March - AR had an online meeting with David Scott of Ironside Farrar, who are undertaking the visitor management project for the NPA. David Scott informed AR that they had no agreement with any public transport provider to engage with them in relation to their sustainable transport project. Traffic issues within Drymen were discussed, and AR informed David Scott that their plans to limit traffic, including local people, on the Balmaha to Rowardennan road would not be popular with local people.

· 20th March - DCC received an email from the Information Commissioner's Office, reminding them that the data protection registration is due for renewal.

· 16th March - DCC received the application form from Stirling Council, for DCC to apply for the admin grant.

Chairman’s Report

FR informed the meeting of the following:

· He is disappointment to hear that CJH is not standing again in the local council elections. FR commented on how much CJH will be missed, thanked her for all her work and effort, and said that she was a breath of fresh air.

· He is pleased with the work which has been completed at The Square, and added that the Drymen Community Development Trust has done very well to get the required funding.

Treasurer’s Report

JA provided the meeting with the following update

• There is £3432 in the bank account.

· No other major expenses are due to be paid.

DCC approved a £400 grant to Drymen In Bloom. Marina Brennan will arrange to collect the cheque from JA.

Planning Correspondent’s Report

WH informed the meeting of the following:

· One planning application has been outstanding for 12 months. This proposed development is the development down beside the church and graveside, near the entrance to the village. The consultation is still ongoing and WH had no further information on this development.

AR informed the meeting that a local resident had criticised DCC publicly on Facebook, about the houses being constructed on the Hanover site. The resident published a photograph which appeared to show one of the new build properties immediately at the bottom of the resident’s garden. AR informed the meeting that the new build was actually on the other side of the cul-de-sac from the resident’s garden, and that the resident’s house was overlooking the new build. AR continued that during the planning process, DCC had actually submitted an objection to the hight of the new build. However, the National Park Authority planners had dismissed that object. After the planning process had been completed, the resident contacted DCC to object that people in the new build would be able to see into her garden. However, the resident failed to mention that people within existing neighbouring properties and people passing in the street could also look into her garden. AR replied to the resident at the time, informing the resident that the planning process had been completed, DCC had objected to the height of the new build, and that people seeing into a garden was not grounds for opposing a planning application – particularly when people could already see into the garden in question. It was agreed that AR would write to the resident and remind her of the timeline of events.

Roads Correspondent’s Report

No roads update was available. But it was agreed that all relevant roads issues had been covered elsewhere during the meeting.

Publicity Report

AD updated the meeting via text message on the following:

· DCC now have 31 followers on Instagram, and the 12-day Facebook campaign seems to have had some engagement.

· The DCC Instagram and DCC Facebook pages now linked for easy sharing of the same items across both platforms.

· I’m looking to take some pictures of a DCC session 'in action' at next meeting in May, to give people an inside view of the set up.

· I’m keen for suggestions of anything tried and tested thing that I can do to help with the publicity side of the Gala Day.

Councillor’s Report

CJH updated the meeting on the following:

· She thanked DCC for their kind comments, and said she would miss DCC meetings.

· The repairs to the Branshogle Bridge have run into some problems. Consequently, the repairs will be delayed until the end June 2022.

· The tendering process for the Catter Burn Bridge repairs have not been started, and the tendering process can take up to 6 weeks.

· Bruce Reekie (roads and bridges) has left his post with Stirling Council, and a new person called Richard Hays has been appointed on an interim basis. Richard Hays is still based in England.

EMacK asked if walkers and cyclists would be allowed to cross the Catter Burn Bridge. CJH replied that there were no plans to allow walkers and cycles to cross the Catter Burn Bridge.

There followed a discussion about the requirement for public toilets and/or ‘comfort partners’ within Drymen and the surrounding area. CJH said that she would ask Stirling Council about the issue. Post meeting note: on the 14^th April 2022, CJH emailed DCC to say that Stirling Council have no money for ‘comfort partners’.

A member of the public raised concerns that the aqueduct on the A81 at Ballat, could again be struck by a vehicle and the road closed as a result. The person added that such a road close would compound the Catter Burn Bridge situation, and asked if Stirling Council were putting in additional preventative measures such as vehicle warning systems. CJH will enquire with Stirling Council.

Loch Lomond And The Trossachs National Park Authority Update

WN updated the meeting on the following:

· Most of what he had to say has already been covered elsewhere within the meeting.

· He is unaware of the Forth Environmental Link’s 20 Minute Neighbourhood project and the Ironside Farrar consultation, and doubts that the National Park Authority would fund both projects. Post meeting note: on the 08^th April 2022, AR emailed the details of both projects to WN.