Minutes of the meeting held on 11th December 2024

 

1. Present/apologies for absence:
   • Present: Michele Bennett (Chair), Ian Rodger (Vice Chair), Moira Mackay (Treasurer), Hendy Spence (Secretary), Jackie Garvie, Ronnie Garvie.
   • Apologies: Paul Henke (Stirling Councillor)
   • 5 members of the public

 

1. Declaration of interest in any items of business No declarations of interest.

 

• Approval of Minutes of last meeting:

The previous minutes were approved.

 

1. Stir lin g C ounc il lo r’s R eport        No report provided.

 

V.           Police Re port

Compiled by PC Matt McCammon

Community Engagement and Reassurance:

It is important to you to have community officers who you know, who are accessible and who address local problems.

PC Matt McCammon PC Laura Newlands are the Ward Officers for the Forth and Endrick area.  They are based at Balfron Police Office and can be contacted at the office, on 101, or at ForthEndrickCPT@scotland.police.uk. It is recommended that this email address is used by the local community for email contact however this should not be used to report crimes.

Please remember that we regularly publish useful information and updates on social media, including appeals for information, updates about road closures and crime prevention advice. Our Facebook and Twitter pages can be found at;

www.facebook.com/forthvalleypolicedivision             www.facebook.com/policescotland

                                        www.twitter.com/stirlingpol                     www.twitter.com/policescotland 

Arnprior:

Road Safety

4 motorists have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal by the Road Safety Camera Unit for Speeding on the A811 near to Arnprior.

Incidents of note

No Incidents of note reported to Police during this reporting period Balfron:

Vandalism 

A vandalism has been recorded after a bridge within the curtilage of a property in the village has been damaged by unknown means. Unfortunate, there are no further lines of enquiry, and this remains undetected.

 

Buchlyvie:

Theft

An older child received a Formal Juvenile warning in the presence of their parents after stealing 4 vapes from a local shop. The child appeared remorseful and offered to pay for the items.

Vandalism

A Vandalism has been recorded after a vehicle has been starched by an unknown implement. There is no further line of enquiry, and this incident remains undetected.  

Road Safety

Numerous vehicles, including a bus, came off the road during the heavy snow recently. Fortunately, no serious injury was sustained as a result. Please continue to take care when travelling in poor weather conditions.

A call was received from a member of the public regarding concerns they had for an elderly person driving a vehicle and their ability to do so. Police traced the driver, at their home address, and informed of the call. Contact has been made with the DVLA to assess this person’s suitability to drive

Incidents of note

A call was received regarding a person leaving their home address and trying to cause harm to themselves. The person was traced prevented from doing any further harm to themselves. They were treated by paramedics and taken to FVRH for further treatment

Croftamie

Road Safety 

A report was received of minor damaged caused to an unattended parked vehicle within a carpark in the village. CCTV showed another vehicle reversing and making slight contact, It was likely driver was unaware of the contact they had made. The driver has subsequently been traced, and the matter is being dealt with by the respective insurance companiesA report was received of minor damaged caused to an unattended parked vehicle within a carpark in the village. CCTV showed another vehicle reversing and making slight contact, It was likely driver was unaware of the contact they had made. The driver has subsequently been traced, and the matter is being dealt with by the respective insurance companies

Drymen

Assault

A report of an assault was received whereby a member of the public was punched to the face.  The victim suffered a minor injury.  The following day a male was arrested, cautioned and charged and has been reported to the court.  

Anti-Social behaviour

Police were contacted and concern raised for the welfare of a male.  Officers attended at the address of the male to carry out a welfare check and during this time the male acted in an abusive manner towards Officers.  As a result, the male was issued with a Recorded Police Warning for his conduct toward Officers.  

Road Traffic

Enquiries are ongoing to trace the driver of a black Mazda which collided with another vehicle, causing damage, and left the scene without exchanging details or reporting the matter.

Enquiries are ongoing to trace the driver of a vehicle which collided with an unattended parked vehicle, causing damage to the front offside and wing mirror, and left the scene without exchanging details or reporting the matter.

Incident of note

A report was received of two males having fallen into the water while kayaking near to Torrinch Island.  A friend had managed to alert Police and Luss Rescue were dispatched and all parties were returned to shore safe and well.

 

 

 

Fintry

Road Safety 

Road traffic accident on B818 Carron Valley, Vehicle slipped on ice. No one injured and no other persons involved

Gargunnock

Fraud

A fraud has been reported, whereby, A local business has paid for a shop awning. After money was paid to a company the awning never arrived. Enquiries are still ongoing. 

Antisocial behaviour 

2x vandalism has been recorded after two vehicles in the village have been scratched by a sharp implement or similar by unknown person(s). Enquires are still ongoing to trace those responsible.

Road Safety

A driver has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal service for speeding on the A811 near to Gargunnock and failing to pay their fixed penalty.

Incidents of note

2 persons were seen taking pictures of vehicles in the village by a member of the public. The persons were confronted and quickly left the area. Please remain vigilant and continue to report suspicious activity

Killearn

Theft

A House breaking with intent to steal has been recorded after attempts were made to force open a garage door. No entry was gained, and no items were taken. It is possible persons were disrobed by dogs within the adjacent dwelling. Please remember to remain vigilant and report any suspicious activity. 

A theft has been recorded after a quantity of stones were removed and taken from a wall of a property. Unfortunate, there are no further lines of enquiry, and this remains undetected.

Road Safety

A driver has been reported to the Procurator Fiscal for causing serious injury by dangerous driving after turning on to the A81 and failing to check the roadway was clear before striking a motorcyclist. The Motorcyclist was taken to Queen Elizabeth hospital for treatment. Injuries are not believed to be life threatening.

Kippen

Breach of bail

Police attended an address where a male was not found to be within thus in breach of his bail conditions.  The male has been reported to the court.

Road Safety

Reports received of sheep on the Road on the A811 near to Kippen Roundabout, However, there was no trace of this sheep upon Police attendance.

A number of vehicles came off the road and / or broke down in the period of heavy snow. Please take care when travelling in poor weather conditions and only when necessary.

Strathblane

Fraud

A fraud has been recorded after a member of the public attempted to pay for car  parking via QR code and was redirected by a fraudulent google advert to a payment site for a free tail gym membership. The victim believed this was for payment of carparking and entered his payment details and unknowingly signed up for a free trail membership oversees. Once free membership lapsed victim was charged for membership fees. Fortunately, the victim’s bank has reimbursed the money lost.

Another fraud has been recorded after a resident attempted to buy a kitten online. The victim was then contacted by telephone and pay a deposit. Further phone calls were made asking for further money to be sent for vaccination. The victim has made payments totalling £300 before contact was with suspect was stopped.  Due to the suspect residing overseas no further lines of enquiry exist.

House Breaking with Intent

A resident reported that they returned home to find their front door ajar with the spare key they keep hidden in the garden within the flock of the front door. The also noticed their shed door to also be open. No persons were found within, and no items have been taken. Enquiries are still ongoing. Please remember to lock and secure your house and don’t leave spare keys in obvious places.

Antisocial behaviour 

A person has been arrested and charged with engaging in an abusive and controlling course of conduct towards their partner. The person was released with conditions not to approach or contact their partner and to attend Court at a later date.

Road Safety

A driver has been taken to hospital as a precautionary measure after colliding with a tractor.

Where to report scams

In Scotland, report all scams to Advice Direct Scotland by calling 0808 164 6000

(Mon-Fri 9am-5pm) or online at www.consumeradvice.scot

Fraud

If you have been the victim of fraud, report it to Police Scotland on 101 or 999 in an emergency. 

Suspicious Emails

You can forward suspicious emails to report@phishing.gov.uk and send links from websites which you think are trying to scam the public to the National Cyber Security Centre's scam website reporting service at www.ncsc.gov.uk/section/about-thiswebsite/report-scam-website

Suspicious Text Messages

If you receive a suspicious text message you can forward it to 7726. The free-ofcharge ‘7726’ service enables your provider to investigate and take action if malicious content is found.

Phishing

Warning signs:

• E-mail that uses generic terms like ‘Dear account holder’
• E-mail is threatening and states that urgent action is required
• E-mail has a link you don't recognise
• Spelling errors in the e-mail
• E-mail address is different from trusted company’s website
• Unexpected e-mails from a company you have no business with
• No padlock sign on website and no 'https://' at the beginning of web address.
•  

Keep yourself safe:

• Keep your browser software up-to-date
• Avoid risky sites, including supposed investment sites
• Never click on a link in an e-mail from an unknown person
• Use spam filters if you can
• Never give out your personal details, passwords or security codes via e-mail
• Don’t leave personal documents lying around for anyone else to see
• If you're throwing away correspondence, remember to shred it first.

Fraudulent transactions and identity fraud

Purchases made without the person's consent is one of the most reported forms of cyber-enabled fraud.

This is when a fraudster gets access to their victim's accounts or uses their payment details to take money or buy things.

 

These offences use different phishing techniques to get a victim’s account details. The fraudster also uses the victim’s debit/credit card or phone. They then use these to carry out transactions online.

Access can also be gained through remote access to a victim's devices. The fraudster then gets access to their accounts.

If any transactions on your account are suspicious, contact your bank/credit card company as soon as possible. You should report this and allow them to carry out an investigation.

 

VI.           Finance

Common Good Fund grants have been issued after approval by the Fintry Community Councillors to the following groups:

£250 to the Welfare Fund

£500 to the Bowling Hub

£400 to Fintry Primary School

£250 to Santa’s sleigh

£500 to Fintry Museum

£500 to Menzies Hall

£2000 to Fintry Sports Club

£500 to Strathendrick Rugby Club

 

VII.           Planning

• An application for an extension to the rear and side of 15, Menzies Avenue has been approved.
• MM to attend the licensing Board meeting.
• Anna Daintrey-Dijkman has been co-opted to advise on the Local Plan.

 

VIII.        Resilience update

• The resilience plan was activated on 26/27^th November when a water supply pipe burst. The resilience team liaised with Scottish Water and Stirling Council to arrange water supplies to affected farms and houses on Kippen Road.
• See Flood Forum meeting minutes (attached below).
• The first floodings of the season were recorded on 25^th November and 7^th December 2024.
• The two grants that were applied for for the leaky dams project have been confirmed.
• A grant application has been submitted for a bee project.

 

IX.      Roads/paths

• Cicely’s Way - plans have gone back to the architect to make changes.
• Rugby Club parking – the Rugby Club have taken on board the FCC suggestions and have arranged a parents’ rota to assist with the parking.

 

X.           Correspondence

    Email received regarding water from a leak turning into ice on Quarry Road. Stirling Council were informed. They sorted out the problem and are going to investigate further.

 

XI.           Any other business

• The FCC councillors voted and agreed that no meeting would take place in January. An April meeting will be held instead.
• Shelloc Windfarm Project – now due to start in 2027 and is estimated to be completed in 2029. IR is taking it forward.
• FCC will meet with Earlsburn and Carron Valley in the new year.

 

 

XII.           Date of next meeting

                                     The next FCC meeting will be held on Wednesday 12^th February 2025 at 7.30 p.m.

 

 

 

 

Minutes of the flood forum meeting held on 4th December 2024

 

Present: 

• Michele Bennett, Hendy Spence, Ryan Campbell, Malcolm MacCormick, Gail Donald. Apologies:
• Doug MacPhee

 

1. Flooding Gauges

• Gary Martin (River Track) will carry out maintenance on the two monitors at a cost of £350 per annum. One resident has agreed to have a monitor on their property. It is better to connect to a householders wi-fi wherever possible. There was a question as to whether the Scottish Government Resilience could cover the cost of this. A new river gauge costs between £1000-1200 There is already a gauge in the Gonachan Burn belonging to Stirling Council so there was discussion as to whether there may be a better location for a new one. MM suggested putting a gauge above the loup of Fintry. ACTION: MB to ask GM for a quote for another gauge and look into getting funding for it. MM also suggested contacting Stirling University to find out if they would be interested in doing a study of data from the gauges before and after the installation of the leaky dams. ACTION – RC to try and find a contact.

 

2. Leaky Dams

• Two grants have been received for the installation of leaky dams – one for £24.5K from Stirling Council and one for £15K from SSE. Work is due to start in early January. Consideration is being given to putting a leaky dam near the wind farm but MM would need to test the phone/wi-fi signal there. GD mentioned that the hydrometry department have a device or an app that they use at gauging stations to check for the strongest network signal. She also thought it may be possible to get a SIM card which can access more than one network. ACTION – GD to speak to the hydrometry department regarding signal checker and multi-network SIM cards. MM mentioned an idea he had seen recently to put willow weave across the waterway upstream of the leaky dam to catch any larger branches or debris and prevent damage to the dam. This would have to be checked with the landowner.

 

3. Flood warning signs

• RC checked the flood warning sign on Kippen Road that MB had been struggling to flip open and had managed to open it. He offered to show MB how to do it.
• MB asked again about the second warning sign that had been promised at the bottom of Culcreuch Avenue. ACTION – RC to speak to Marie.

 

4. Drains

• The drain cleaning has still not been done. That is over a year now. RC said that there had been a hold-up with finalising the contract sorted. ACTION – RC to look at the upcoming drain clearing schedule.
• MB mentioned that water has been coming down Quarry Road and causing sheets of ice to develop on Dunmore Gardens. The water seems to be coming up out of the ground.

 

5. Road subsidence

• This is between the sewage works and Knockraich Farm. The bank is eroding from the top down – it is not erosion from the river. MB does not have a contact in the Roads Department that she can speak to directly any more. She spoke to Stephen Bly after the last meeting (in September) but nothing has happened since. The Roads Department were asked to contact the Flooding Department. RC did not know if this had happened but will check. MB was advised to ask for an FOI (Freedom of Information). ACTION – RC to check if the Roads Department had been in touch. MB to ask for an FOI.

 

6. Erosion behind sports centre

• This is an ongoing problem which could become a real issue if it is not dealt with. One problem is identifying who owns the land and therefore who should deal with the issue. MM suggested cutting back some of the trees to reduce the weight on the root balls. MB has applied to the windfarm for a grant for willows to protect the embankment.

 

7. Any other business

• MB has met with representatives from Earlsburn to ask about funds for flood prevention measures. They are interested in working together on flooding issues and a meeting will be arranged. They have asked MB to put together a plan of what needs to be done and MB suggested a meeting early next year to work out what to ask for. MB recalled a flood survey carried out a few years ago by the Scottish Flood Forum which identified the areas in Fintry which are most at risk and will circulate their findings to the group.
• MB suggested holding a public meeting to let residents know what work has been done and what is planned. The last public meeting was in 2019. It was proposed to hold the meeting in April 2025.

 

8. Date of next meeting

                                                 Wednesday 19th February 2025 1 p.m.