Meeting Monday 6th January 2025 in the Village Club.
Final
Members Present: - Julie Hutchison; Grace Edmonds; John Gray; Pamela
Lee; Kate Ramsden; Eleanor Balfour; Rob Davies; Andrew Thompson
In attendance: Margaret Vass SCDT; Councillor Fraser + 34 residents
Apologies: Ian Boardley
(SC = Stirling Council. CC = Community Council. CDT= Community Development
Trust * Denotes an action)
- Welcome from the Chair and declarations of Interest
JH welcomed everybody to the meeting and wished them a Happy New Year.
There were no declarations of interest.
- Minutes of December meeting and matters arising.
The minutes had been circulated to all CC members and were accepted. Proposed
by JG, Seconded by PL
Matters arising: We have had a reply to our letter to Evelyn Tweed saying that
she will contact NHS Scotland to see if we can have an agreement regarding
treatment and ambulances. JH said that we need the agreement to be shared
with the ambulance service. Councillor Fraser said that she raised the issue
with the Joint Review Board and that Councillor McGarvey had been in contact
with the NHS. She will chase up any responses her received.
- Information session from Simon Graham
JH handed the meeting over to Simon Graham who gave some indications of
what he plans to do when the farmer at Ballagan Farm retires this year.
He has some ideas, including housing, light industrial facilities, lockups and
retail facilities but no firm plans at present. He wants to hear from residents to
create something that everybody can benefit from.
A resident asked about the Green Belt and JG said it covers everything south
of the road to Lennoxtown. Some of the area around Ballagan is designated
as SSSI and Simon said that any land with this designation cannot be
touched. A detailed map of the Green Belt was shown on screen
A resident said that there is potential for a variety of small industrial activities if
there was space available. AT mentioned that a previous survey showed little
interest from residents in using business units.
JH said that it might be useful for Simon to do an online survey regarding
housing, small businesses etc. to get opinions from the residents. He thinks
that he will possibly do this at a later date.
Simon is conscious that any new housing will alter the appearance of the village
and will put strain on village services. He thinks as many people will be in
favour of new building as against it. A resident asked if Simon plans to hand
land to a developer like Cala and he said he will not engage with this type of
developer. He has spoken to a small developer who is interested in building
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small bungalows and starter homes and JH said that our survey showed that
this is what residents want.
A resident said that easier access to the hills would be welcome and that linking
with the railway path would allow people to walk to Ballagan safely. Simon
wants more people to have access to the hills and is conscious that parking is
needed.
A resident indicating concern about the impact of increased numbers of visitors
on the hills. Another resident said that farming is necessary to keep the
land in good condition, especially sheep. Simon said that there will continue to
be sheep grazing on the hills but that there could also be a farm shop, cycle
tracks and other amenities for walkers.
There are several areas of land that could be used for a solar farm to provide
renewable energy. A resident asked about the potential for a hydro-electric
scheme. The costs of this are huge and probably not worth the investment. An
environmental study was done some years ago and hydro was not recommended.
Simon thinks that native woodland could be expanded to tackle climate
change by capturing carbon. One area of commercial planting could be
screened from the A893 by mixed species. Some residents urged that existing
wildlife and biodiversity should be studied before any planting, perhaps in collaboration
with the Wildlife Sanctuary team.
A resident said that the villagers should engage with Simon regarding his
plans and that it is refreshing to have a landowner who is willing to engage
with residents. Another resident said that it is important to look at how Simon’s
vision ties in with the Local Development Plan. JG said that Simon’s plans are
developing in parallel with our LPP and the LDP and it is important to get the
community’s wishes expressed into the LPP.
MV asked if there will be opportunities for the community to work with Simon
and said that the SCDT will want to work with him. He replied that he wants
collaborative working with the village.
JH thanked Simon for giving up his time to brief us on his plans.
- Local Place Plan update.
JH reported that a small group is still working on this. Three of the group are
meeting on Wednesday 8th January to put together a special edition of the
BVB about the Local Place Plan.
There will be information sessions in the library on February 22nd and March
1st where members of the CC will be available to answer questions. We encourage
all residents to drop in to one of these sessions with their views.
RF said that this is a good opportunity for communities to make their wishes
known to SC who have to take notice.
JH informed the meeting that the completion date for the LPP has been extended
again to October 2025.
- Edmonstone Hall Centenary - Rob Davies
RD told the meeting that the Edmonstone Hall is 100 years old in 2026. The
hall committee is looking for suggestions for a date to hold a celebration and
what form this might take. The committee will need to liaise with the Edmonstone
family to see when they are available. It was suggested that a celebration
could tie in with the school gala day and the pupils could be involved. An
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evening ceilidh was also suggested. May or June was suggested as a possible
time.
- Elected member’s report – Councillor Rosemary Fraser
The Big Conversation is happening again. RF wanted to make everybody
aware that the items to be considered are things that have been suggested
but none have been decided on.
Budget discussions are currently going forward. There is a considerable funding
gap in both Stirling Council and the Integrated Joint Board.
The film studio deal is going ahead. SC now owns 80% of the old MOD land
in Stirling.
A resident told RF that he is concerned about the review of music tuition mentioned
in the Big Conversation. He had emailed the CC about this. RF reiterated
that the items discussed in the Big Conversation are only a list of possible
areas for savings.
JH reminded residents that the cut-off date for completing the survey is February
2nd. Paper copies are available in the library.
The CC will complete the survey as an organisation as well as individual
members.
- Planning and Licensing
The application 24/00143/PPP for four houses on the road to Edenmill Farm
has been withdrawn.
- Finance
There is £4703.10 in the account
We do not yet have the card donations from the lights switch on. SCDT will
transfer these.
- Correspondence
JH reported that we have £3200 from developers and Green Heart which will
allow us to get a piece of equipment for the playpark. JH contacted SC about
spending this. She received a reply from the council officer concerned to ask if
we would like to donate the money to Mugdock Country Park as they are raising
money to upgrade their playpark and have asked SC to contribute. JH
asked CC members to vote on this and they unanimously rejected the suggestion
believing that the money should be used for our own children.
NHS Forth Valley is looking for three non-executive directors. They are running
a webinar with information about this role.
We received an email from Gladman asking about our LPP. JG will reply saying
that updates will be on our website
- AOCB
A resident asked about providing public toilet facilities in the village. This is an
ongoing issue. JH said that the ivy growing on the old toilet building needs to
be removed. The owner of the shop beside it said that she intends to deal with
some of the ivy during her refurbishment.
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- Date of next meeting
February 3rd, 2025
Contact us at contact@strathblanecc.org.uk Also on our website
www.strathblanecc.org.uk. Telephone numbers for Community Councillors
are on the notice boards, in the library and in the Blane Valley Bulletin