Community Council Meeting Minutes - April 2017
LANGBANK VILLAGE COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
MINUTES OF MEETING – 12th April 2017
7:30pm – 10.00pm in Langbank Church Hall
LCC Members & Local Cllrs Present:- Neil Barrington (Chairman), Dav McKenzie, (Treasurer), Janice Buchanan, Cllr James MacLaren and James Hunter,
Apologies:- Russell Overend (Secretary), Alex Dunn, Gloria Dunn (Treasurer), Joe McGarrigle (Deputy Chairman), Eileen Mather, Jacqueline Docherty, Carly Deheer and Jayne Lasley.
Also in attendance:- Tom Adair. Neil Shaw, David Brown, David Dresser, Mrs Wilkie, Graeme Brown, PC Steven Reid and PC Eilidh O’Hanlon and Gavin Newlands MP.
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Police Report:
The two constables gave the following Police Status for the preceding reporting month -
2 Road traffic reports and 2 vandalisms within the village, both of which had positive lines of enquiry.
They also intimated that in line with the new policing model outlined by the Area Commander at an LAC Meeting, there would now be a dedicated rural team of 2 constables assigned to the village for the foreseeable future. They will be PC Connor and PC Mullen.
They further commented on an increase in housebreakings in the Lochwinnoch area and advised everyone to be security conscious.
It was reported at the meeting that cars parked on Middlepenny Road were at times causing an obstruction to other vehicles and pedestrians using this road. PC O’Hanlon said that she will speak to any owner of such a vehicle if it is reported or witnessed by them.
Minutes of last meeting:
Accepted with no changes
Proposed: Dav Mackenzie and Seconded – by Graeme Brown
Guest Speaker:
The guest speaker for this meeting was our MP, Mr Gavin Newlands.
Mr Newlands gave a short précis of his political career so far - starting out as a community councillor for 5 years and he admitted he had no long standing ambition to become a member of parliament before being encouraged to stand. In Westminster he is involved in the Scotland Contribution Policy Group and is on several back bench committees. One of these is the Immigration Committee Bill, the work on which he stated was very intense with a very in-depth focus on the detailed content. He also works on the Scottish Sport and Broadcasting Committees.
He runs, what he terms as an “open constituent office” encouraging the public to drop in at any time. He holds up to 13 local surgeries per month. He summarised by saying that there has never been a more interesting time to be involved in politics, due to current events.
He now volunteered to take any questions from the meeting.
Broadband speeds: A discussion was held on this topic covering many of the current complaints from users in the village, and it appeared that the telephone lines the Main Road seem to be faulty. This opinion arises from comments supplied by Openreach Engineers and the constant appearance of Openreach employees working at the green boxes at the foot of Station Road. The meeting explained that they were trying to encourage Virgin Media to provide their superior service within the village, but apparently this company are not allowed to utilise the BT Openreach ducts for their fibre cables. Mr Newlands said that he would look into this aspect and see what could be done.
A8 Roundabout: The MP was fully aware of the situation and the concerns to do with this roundabout and said that he would get involved with the current issues to look for a solution.
Flooding: Again, he was aware of this recurring situation within the village and he would watch this concern for the future.
The meeting thanked him for attending and for his input to us and his willingness to assist us further.
Chairman's Report:
Wheelhouse Inn:
The LCC had received a reply from Douglas Campbell, Assistant Licensing Solicitor for Renfrewshire Council, who explained the current Licence details for these premises. The tabled concern from the LCC was that prior to the refurbishment, customers were being discouraged from attending this hostelry solely for a drink at the bar, and were encouraged to be seated or not be served. It was understood that the current licence from Renfrewshire Council allowed customers to be served at the bar area.
To clear up this understanding it was decided to ask a member of the Cawley Hotel Group to attend one of our future meetings.
Scottish Water: The LCC had finally received a reply from Scottish Water concerning the report from the Scottish Fire Brigade report of low water pressure at a recent house fire in the village. Scottish Water stated that there was no issue with low water pressure and that as two fire appliances were drawing water from the same hydrant, this would affect the water pressure. (see attachment of letter with this minute.)
Paisley 2021 City of Culture Bid:
Still no follow-up from Jean Cameron. Dav Mckenzie to follow up with Jean.
Recycling:
Dorothy Kerr of RC has confirmed that an officer of the RC Recycling Team will attend our May 10th Meeting to explain the recycling policy in depth.
Langbank village clean up:
Agreed date to be Sunday 7th May. The Primary School head teacher has confirmed that the children’s posters will b e completed by Friday 21st April for judging.
Middlepenny Road Traffic Lights:
There is still a problem with the traffic lights at the rail bridge on Middlepenny Road. It appears that the red light which tells pedestrians not to cross can be confused by approaching vehicular traffic as the red stop sign. Hence the original complaint that red and green lights can be on at the same time.
LCC Insurance :
The insurance renewal premium from Zurich Ins. Co. is due for renewal 30th April 2017. The premium is £1 cheaper than last year at £163 including £60 for Gala day cover. The meeting have agreed to pay the renewal premium.
20 mph Speed Limits within the village:
Mark Higginbotham, Development Manager at RC has advised that there are no longer any green 20mph signs allowed and as such a 30mph sign will be erected at the entrance to the village on the south side of Station of Station Road.
Local Guide Dog Mobility Team:
Susan Harrison, Volunteering Consultant for Guide Dogs has written to the LCC, asking if anyone is interested in helping local people who are blind or partially sighted to get back out into their community. Anyone interested should contact Susan on 01189838123 or 07990540167 or at Susan.Harrison@guidedogs.org.uk
Main Road Concerns:
Dog fouling on Main Road is still an issue as is traffic restrictions outside the refurbished Wheelhouse Inn. It is acknowledged that the latter will be resolved when the refurbishment work is completed, but parking outside the premises will be a longer term concern.
Co-Option of a new member:
It was agreed that villager Graeme Brown of Mary Park Road should be co-opted onto the Langbank Community Council. The completed forms nominating him will now be forwarded onto Anne McNaughton, Senior Committee Services Officer at Renfrewshire Council.
Cllr MacLaren's Report:
His normal monthly report is attached below.
Langbank Community Council Report from Councillor MacLaren:
Street Lighting
Missing Lampposts: - I have reported a number of missing lampposts around the village. The council will replace these lampposts once they have replaced the old lanterns with the new LED ones. This is putting the cart before the horse. The posts should be replaced first as the old lanterns still provide light. I have drawn up a motion for the next council meeting to change this thinking.
Glasgow Airport Drop-off Parking Charges
The airport is investing £8 million in a new facility opposite the terminal, and it will cost you to stop and drop-off/pick-up passengers. There will be, however, a free drop off point in their Long Stay car park and a shuttle bus that runs every 10 minutes to take you to and from the terminal with a 5 minute journey time. You can park here for 30 minutes for free.
Food Recycle Bags
I now carry a small stock of these bags with me. The correct procedure is to tie a single liner on the outdoor caddy or brown bin and the crew will leave a roll of liners. Whilst this is successful most of the time, unfortunately sometimes this does not happen when the crew have had a particularly large number of requests and they have none left in the vehicle. Alternatively residents can request liners by calling 0300 300 0300 and we will deliver liners directly to them.
30 mph sign on Station Road
This will be replaced; however, the 20mph sign will be removed. I am told that erecting two contradictory signs in the same place will cause driver confusion. In addition, the advisory 20mph sign is no longer allowed. The statutory 'red circle' 20mph sign is the only type that can be erected now. As you will also appreciate, speed limit signs must be covered by an appropriate traffic order to make them enforceable by the Police. In this instance there is no extant traffic order for a 20mph limit.
Gleddoch Access Road
Work has taken place which seems to have stemmed the water running onto Old Greenock Road. The road needs resurfaced but the residents and hotel owners can’t agree as to whose responsibility it is.
I formal complaint has been submitted re the barrier that was erected without planning permission.
Core Path Upgrade
The path has been marked out for work by the Community Payback Team, but this will not resolve the wet area. Additional drainage will be required there or have the stream diverted.
Main Road Footpath
I have requested work to the pavement on Main Rd going west from the junction with Middlepenny Rd. Some work has taken place, but there are still a number of holes that need filled. Also, the pavement badly needs swept from here all the way to Marypark Rd.
12/4/17
Feedback from Meeting
Street Lighting: - The bottom three lamps on Middlepenny Road are lit 24/7 and I will report this.
Flooding Meeting: - A meeting was supposed to take place with the council, Network Rail and local land owners to discuss the ongoing flooding issues. I will chase this up.
Next Meeting Schedule – 2017 (second Wednesday of every month apart from July)
10th May 2017
14th June 2017
9th Aug 2017
13th Sept 2017
8th Nov 2017
13th Dec 2017
