CAMPBELTOWN COMMUNITY COUNCIL (to be approved)
MINUTES OF MEETING: 12 September 2023
Campbeltown Town Hall
IN ATTENDANCE
A Gallagher CCC
A Baker CCC
C Dobbie CCC
I Mitchell CCC
J Martin CCC
K Gillies CCC
F Macpherson Secretary
Cllr T MacPherson A&B Council
APOLOGIES
V Nimmo CCC Chair
D Allen CCC
Cllr J Armour A&B Council
1.` WELCOME
E Glendinning, temp Chairperson, welcomed everyone to the meeting.
- DECLARATION OF INTEREST – None
- MINUTES OF LAST MEETING
C Dobbie asked for a name correction. Alister Anderson had been recorded in last minutes as Alistair Armour. F Macpherson to amend accordingly.
V.Nimmo has made several attempts to contact Mark Calder but with no response. (See below for further discussion on this)
Traffic Calming: V Nimmo had spoken to James Ross at A& Council re portable signs. A Baker said he would follow up on this.
J Martin then proposed minutes and C Dobbie seconded.
- MEMBERs OF THE PUBLIC
No members of the public were present and no questions had been submitted
- COUNCILLOR’S REPORT
Cllr John Armour: Written report submitted as follows:
- Reinforced Autoclaved Aerated Concrete (RAAC): Following school assessments by A&B Council, only 1 education building in Helensburgh & Lomond has been identified to have RAAC present. Appropriate measures have been taken. Work is now underway to survey non-school related buildings and so far no other RAAC has been found in hostels, care homes or leisure centres. Surveys are ongoing on other categories of building.
- Flood Scheme: Public Drop-I event at Dalintober School on 14 September (evening). Burnside Square to re-open soon, subject to yellow lines in Union Street being painted. This work is ‘imminent’. Cllr Armour has requested that a council officer would be in touch with CCC to discuss street furniture and planters
- A83 Rest and be Thankful: Cllr Armour raised concerns at Transport Scotland’s lack of thought by not including Campbeltown in their recent consultations with communities, pointing out that we have s0me of the largest businesses using the A83, and as such, a poorly publicised display in the Library was insufficient.
- Cycle Path: Cllr Armour raised the issue of cars using the cycle path and the issue of lack of signage. He has requested bollards and signage. Colin Young (Proramme Manager A&B) has the remit for bollards but these require furhr permissions. A Baker will monitor on behalf of CCC.
- Bedding Plants: Via the Environmnt Development and Infrastructure Committee, A&B were proposing all of the area’s existing beds be planted with shrubs and perennials.(other than Rothesay). Cllr Armour opposed this, along with fellow councillors. Alternative proposal is to re-open the Ardencraig growing facility for all areas of Argyll and Bute, and to engage with local community groups to see if there was any interest in taking over the maintenance of beds. C Dobbie commented that her group had volunteered to weed beds, but this had been turned down due to the beds being too close to the road.
Cllr Tommy MacPherson:
- Cllr Macpherson has also been pursuing answers re Cycle Path and a crossing at Aqualibrium, road crossings in general and mid-road crossings, feeling that the last would become more important with an aging population where the projections for Campbeltown are for the numbers of 75+ will increase, while under 17s are on a deceasing trend. General discussion followed regarding the lack of regard/investment shown to Kintyre compared to other parts of A&B, both financially and by levels of engagement.
- Cllr Macpherson had also again raised the subject of traffic management with the Council and had suggested a combined role of Traffic Warden and a Community Officer type of role to manage other issues such as dog fouling, littering etc. The Council are not in favour of dual roles, and Traffic Management is still pending.
- A Baker reported on his meeting with the local contract manager for Dawson-WAM, the main contractor. It had transpired that he has regular meetings with Mark Calder at which decisions are made, and which have not been communicated to CCC either before or after. Dawson-WAM have assured A Baker that they will do what they can to keep CCC informed, and Cllr MacPherson will take this issue up with the Council formally.
- There was then a general discussion about the state of roads throughout the town – scheduling, dubious decisions, poor consultation and communication and “upside down, inside out and back to front thinking” by the council. This included traffic calming along Meadows Avenue and Ralston Road and the outstanding reinstatement of road marking at the junction of Range Road and Crosshill. With the former, there is concern that a one-way system will create a ‘Monaco Circuit’ and encourage speeding: the proximity of the Hospital and subsequent passage of Emergency vehicles is also seen as an issue, and overall, the council aren’t in favour of traffic calming measures.
- F Macpherson commented that in the short time since joining CCC, every discussion and concern about every action involving A&B Council was the same – namely:
- Inadequate public consultation
- Inadequate ongoing communication throughout
- Inadequate planning
- Inadequate timeliness in addressing issues arising.
- General disregard from a public body to the people it is supposed to represent.
It was agreed that F Macpherson should send an appropriate letter to the Council in this regard. Cllr MacPherson suggested the best Council Office to write to in this regard would be Kirsty Flanagan, Executive Director.
Cllr MacPherson also reported that he has had an initial positive meeting with the new (temp) Chief Inspector, Simon Shanks, including discussions about anti-social behaviour and will be having further meetings as CI Shanks gets into his tole.
Cllr MacPherson has also had an initial meeting with the new (temp) Head Teacher at Campbeltown Grammar. He is concerned about the longer term because the school needs stability. J Martin also expressed concerns, resulting from the experiences of the two pupils he had employed over the summer months, both of whom were dissatisfied with the lack of subjects on offer. K Gillies concurred, as she has worries for her children’s ongoing education as there are currently only five academic subjects on offer. All agreed that there appears to be no long-term plan in place. Cllr MacPherson said the Council claims they have no funding to be able to commit to longer term engagements. F Macpherson asked what the point of that was and was the Council preparing to simply pull the plug on education, and any other ‘basic human needs roles’ that were also only funded for fixed-terms. Cllr Macpherson will pursue answers from the council.
- TREASURER’S REPORT
Main Account: £10,836.71 (£5000 for footpath)
Quesada Fund £510
CCWF: £99,781.47
- POLICE SCOTLAND REPORT
F Macpherson apologised for omitting the police representatives from the circulation list for the Agenda. She had sent a copy and invite, but one of the email addresses given appeared to be incorrect. (Note: Correct address now rcvd.)
- CORRESPONDENCE
- It was agreed that a letter be sent to D Kelly on behalf of CCC to mark his retirement as a Councillor and thank him for his service.
- I was agreed that CCC would support the Southend Community about the proposed closure of the local Primary School.
- David Young has raised a request that CCC organise a Hustings for the upcoming local elections. C Dobbie noted that the number of candidates isn’t yet known and the matter should be further discussed at the next meeting.
F Macpherson to respond appropriately to the above
- CCC REPRESENTATIVE TO ATTEND MACC MEETINGS
Meetings are the last Tuesday of the month at 16.30; contact is Jane Cackette, Secretary. Theree were no volunteers.
- LUSSA WIND
£82, 387.57 received from Windfarm.
- TRENCH POINT PATH
A Baker has received four quotes. It was agreed that A Baker should proceed with cheapest quote. There may be a shortfall of approximately £500 due to engineers’s expenses. CCC agreed to fund any such shortfall.
- BURNSIDE SQUARE/WITCHBURN ROAD/MEADOWS AVENUE
These had been discussed at length during Cllr T Macpherson’s Report
- CCTV
V Nimmo has spoken to Sheena MacLean, Area Social Behaviour Officer – cameras currently being upgraded to digital. Burnside Square will be attended to after works there are complete. She will check the one at Clydesdale Bank and is also looking at installing one at Bus Terminal. Camera at roundabout covers Hall Street and as far as Davaar. One at Boots gives clear view of Main Street and Longrow South.
- Bench at Hospital
Cathy Duncan wants to install a bench at the Hospital. K Gillies is aware and will liaise on progress.
- AOB
Deferred to next meeting due to lack of time:
Cycling on Pavements
Longrow (full length) one-way system proposals
Drug use and underage vaping
Next Meeting: 10 October 2023