Community Council Meeting Minutes - June 2017
LANGBANK VILLAGE COMMUNITY COUNCIL.
MINUTES OF MEETING – 14th June 2017
7:30pm – 9.30pm in Langbank Church Hall
LCC Members & Local Cllrs Present:- Gloria Dunn(Treasurer), Russell Overend (Secretary), Dav McKenzie, Janice Buchanan, Jacqueline Docherty, Deirdre Maclean
Apologies:- Tonight’s meeting clashes with the first LAC meeting of the new financial year and various holidays so we have more apologies than usual - Neil Barrington (Chairman), Alex Dunn, Cllr James McLaren, Cllr Natalie Don., James Hunter, Graeme Brown, Joe McGarrigle (Deputy Chairman), Eileen Mather, Carly Deheer, Julie Gilmour, PC Tom Connor and PC Paul Mullen of Police Scotland.
Also in attendance:-. Tom Adair, Trish McLennan, Nora Watson, John Smith, Derek McPherson, Karen Anderson from RC, PC Gordon Thomson and PC Stephen Gray of Police Scotland.
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Police Report:
Three crimes were recorded in the village. One breach of the piece (domestic), one driving without insurance and one speeding offence (non residents).
The Police have had complaints about vehicles speeding downhill within the village from Houston to Langbank. As a result speed checks will be carried out. We also asked that additional speed checks are carried out at the top of Station Rd at 8:15-8:30am next to the Primary School bus stop (during term time) and also on Main Road.
Janice reported a driver speeding through the roundabout eastbound on him mobile phone (Reg No C11DOH). The Police said that an additional witness or dash camera footage would be required to successfully charge someone.
Nora asked about cycling proficiency training for school children. Jacqueline and Julie are now trained as cycling proficiency tutors and plan to offer classes next term. The Police offered to attend the lessons to back up the training.
The LCC thanked Cassie Glass of Police Scotland for their support in purchasing the next batch of Smartwater Kits for the village at a discounted rate of £12 per kit. The LCC now have further kits available for sale to villagers (Contact Russell Overend).
Residents reported that parking at Coast is becoming an issue. The Police reported that parking is usually a council responsibility. Neil Barrington has already had discussions with Coast about creating parking spaces to the north of Main Road so we agreed to discuss with Neil at the next meeting. John Smith also confirmed that he had discussed this with Coast but that the owner of the land was not easy to find.
Minutes of last meeting.
Accepted with no changes
Proposed: Tom Adair and Seconded: Russell Overend.
Recycling in Renfrewshire
Following an invitation from LCC Karen Anderson (the Recycling Officer from Renfrewshire Council) attended the LCC meeting to explain current recycling and future recycling in Renfrewshire.
Currently household waste is collected in either a Blue Bin (recyclable materials), a Brown Bin (garden waste and food waste) or a Grey Bin (general waste).
Blue bin recycling materials are currently recycled in Ireland in a large high speed sorting facility. Commodity prices for recycled materials have dropped so low that the council currently pays £100 per tonne to have materials recycled (more if the material is contaminated with non recyclable waste). Currently there is about 15% contamination in recycled materials.
Brown bin garden waste and food waste are currently co mingled and turned into high quality compost at a facility in Blantyre.
Grey bin general waste currently goes to landfill or incineration (after heavy metals and plastics are removed). Landfill tax of about £80 / tonne has also made this an expensive operation. RC estimate that between 30-60% of all grey bin materials could be recycled.
In 2020 a new landfill ban will come into effect. RC have joined together with 5 other councils to take out a contract in support of a new “Energy from Waste” plant at Dunbar (between the cement works and the nuclear power station). This plant will generate electricity from burning waste (with any harmful emissions filtered out).
RC will also be taking measures next year to encourage households to recycle more by restricting the use of grey bins (either smaller bins or less frequent collection).
At household waste recycling centres there is a problem with commercial dumping of rubbish. Businesses need a SEPA certificate to dispose of waste. Generally larger businesses comply and it is the smaller businesses that are the problem. Any residents getting household work done that involves the removal of waste should ask to see the contractors SEPA certificate to prevent fly tipping or illegal disposal. As a result RC may ask users of the recycling centres to show proof of ID / proof of address.
Jacqueline raised the point about the vast amount of food waste generated by the school as a result of the over supply of catering in order to meet some school policies. There was also additional waste generated by single use plates and grab and go bags. Karen agreed to look into this.
The LCC thanked Karen for her very educational update.
Chairman's Report:
- Smartwater Kits and Signs have been received - The final price is £12 each. Please speak to your neighbours and persuade them to participate. Russell will install a further 6 Smartwater signs.
- Planter Tubs on Main Road. Julie Gilmour purchased plants for the 22 planters. Margaret Stevens planted the planters. Russell sprayed the surrounding weeds. They look great. Thanks to all involved.
- Middlepenny Road to Marypark Road path. Mark Ellis was consulted about the drainage on the path. He confirmed that there was always a drainage problem there (in “Issue”) and it was not as a result of any recent work. The suggestion is that stepping stones or a raised walkway should be installed to get over the mud (and the Japanese Knotweed). LCC and Graeme Brown will follow up.
- Greening Langbank. Russell reported that Greening Langbank has a bank balance of £4,162.58 and will be used to support future gala days.
- Renfrewshire Community Planning Conference- This year’s events will focus on RC’s priorities and vision for Renfrewshire. There will also be an opportunity for Langbank residents to have their say on the development of “Our Renfrewshire Plan” – Renfrewshire’s new community plan – at one of 4 outreach events. This event will be held Langbank Parish Church, Tues 11th July, 9am – 1pm. ALL WELCOME.
- LCC AGM – We were reminded by RC that we should have our annual AGM in October. As this clashes with school holidays Neil usually asks permission to hold in November.
- Planning Applications – Only one application received this month for discussion - for retrospective planning permission for an automated barrier at the entrance / exit to Gleddoch Hotel. No objections were raised.
- Capital Roads Improvement Program – RC have published their annual plan. Langbank features as follows – Resurfacing of 4000m2 at Barrochan Rd (Drums Cottage) and 1000m2 at Elmbank Rd and Footway resurfacing of 612m2 of Middlepenny Rd. Thank you to the councillors who campaigned on our behalf. Any further upgrades will have to be requested for the next financial year.
- Community Choices Fund – We have been made aware of a potential new source of funding.
The Community Choices Fund is available total £750,000. Community Organisations and Community Councils. The fund’s aim is to support public body activity which will significantly expand opportunities for more local people to make decisions on local spending priorities and contribute to local participatory democracy. The closing date for applications is midnight 21 July 2017. Any ideas?
- LCC Membership -We still have to Co-opt Graeme Brown onto the LCC – he gave his apologies for this meeting.
Dav McKenzie informed us that he will be leaving Langbank in the near future as he will be moving closer to his work in Glasgow. This will therefore be his last meeting at the LCC. Dav is still willing to help us with LM and the village web site. We all agreed that Dav has been a great asset to the LCC over the past years and as a result our use of Facebook, web site, printed LM has been dramatically improved. We thanked Dav for his knowledge, enthusiasm and participation in the LCC and wished him all the best. Thanks Dav.
Cllr MacLaren's Report
Street Lighting
Missing Lampposts: - My motion was successful to get the council to fix and replace broken lampposts before they install any more lanterns to LED. I will pursue this.
I have also noticed that the R13 appears to be missing on Middlepenny Rd and I have reported this.
30 mph sign on Station Road
This has now been replaced and the 20mph sign has been moved further down the road.
Flooding Meeting
I am disappointed to report that this meeting with the council took place without the presence of the community council or any local councillors. I will request a copy of the minutes of this meeting.
Core Path to Marypark Rd Upgrade
I have a meeting organised with Graeme Brown and officers from the council to look at the drainage issue.
Virgin Media
If you live in Langbank, please sign up to the Virgin Media Broadband scheme to request it for the village. The more interest shown in Langbank, the more likely Virgin Media are to lay their cables in your street. Go to http://www.virginmedia.com/cablemystreet/
Feedback from May Meeting
Children Crossing Sign
I will request this sign for the top of Station Road.
Fly tipping
There is a mattress that has been dumped at the bottom of Hatton Brae (A8). I will get this reported.
The Local development Plan
Please be aware that the consultation has been extended until the end of May.
Traffic Lights on Middlepenny Rd
It was reported that a bulb may be faulty. That the traffic lights seem to indicate that you should stop on the bridge. I will organise a site visit to look at these issues.
AOB:-
- A new handrail has been installed on Middlepenny Rd bridge. This is to protect utility supplies which were being eroded by passing traffic thereby creating a safety risk.
- There was a bit of discussion about the new Coast restaurant. We all agreed it looked more impressive from the outside but few of the attendees at tonight’s meeting had visited. Neil has had discussions with Mr Cawley about the refurbishments and about parking. Mr Cawley reported that he would be delighted to show LCC members and any other Langbank residents round, that he had added only 4 additional tables to give the restaurant a more spacious feeling inside with sea views from all tables. Neil also indicated that the LCC might be able to help create additional parking. We agreed to hold off on further discussion until more members had visited and until Neil was present.
- John Smith attended the Community Council to present a suggestion about renewable energy at Gleddoch. John’s company Scotplan is exploring options for Gleddoch to use 35 acres of undeveloped land to the SW of Gleddoch. These might include willow harvesting, Photo voltaics, a wind turbine or other options. Grants are available through Community and Renewable Energy Scheme (CARES) for communities to explore these options (LCC had a CARES Grant a few years ago to explore mico hydro) but not for businesses. John suggested that in principle a deal could potentially be reached between the LCC and Gleddoch whereby the LCC would apply for a Grant to review renewable energy options. This would significantly de-risk the initial investment from Gleddoch. If any options were feasible then the necessary investment could more reasonably be made by Gleddoch. Once operational then the LCC would receive a % of the income generated by the Gleddoch investment as payback for de-risking the investment and supporting any planning applications. We believe that other community councils have received a % income for similar support in the region of 15-20% of income.
We agreed that building a working relationship with Gleddoch would be useful but that we would like the ongoing sewage problems sorted as a pre-condition.
We therefore were in agreement that the principle was worth considering. Langbank would be open to applying to CARES for grant support and in return would seek to receive an income of 15-20% of turnover and assurances about the sewage capacity at Gleddoch.
John agreed to notify Gleddoch of our decision and report back.
- Derek pointed out that weeds on the kerbstones (Particularly Glencairn and Helenslee Roads) were getting very messy. Janice agreed to raise this with environmental services.
- Derek also pointed out that LCC minutes are not listed in the RC website and are not easy to get hold of. Russell agreed to ask Ann McNaughton for advice.
Meeting was closed.
After the meeting -
Members of the LCC agreed that we would hold a Gala day early Sept. The final date will be chosen based on the availability of marquees kindly provided by Richard Starrett. The likely date is 8th Sept.
Next Meeting Schedule – 2017 (second Wednesday of every month apart from July)
9th Aug 2017
13th Sept 2017
8th Nov 2017
13th Dec 2017
