LANGBANK COMMUNITY COUNCIL
MINUTES OF MEETING
WEDNESDAY 13TH JANUARY 2021. 7.30PM. (VIA ZOOM PLATFORM)
Present: Carly Deheer (CD), Caroline Bryce (CB), Neil Barrington (NB) chairperson, Cllr James MacLaren (JM), Gloria Dunn (GD) treasurer, John O’Brien (JO), Mercedes Harms (MH), Neil Shaw (NS), Jacqueline Doherty (JD) secretary, Julie Arbon (JA) and Julie Gilmour (JG).
Apologies: James Hunter and Maggie Hancock,
Minutes of previous meeting:
Proposed by Carly Deheer and seconded by John O’Brien – no changes requested.
Police Report:
1 car theft on Main Road (undetected) and 1 fraud. Car theft was also reported on Community Facebook Page.
Village website:
No changes to report, although access fee is due by 18th March. Carly Deheer to find out more details.
Rules of Community Facebook page have been temporarily relaxed to allow local businesses providing an essential food delivery service to post during the current pandemic restrictions.
A8 Roundabout:
No accident activity to report.
Roads, pavements, drains and gullies:
Middlepenny, Station and Main Roads have all been gritted recently, along with the pavements also being gritted once last week – this was a response to several accidents in Renfrewshire.
Leaves still need to be cleared down Station Road.
Drain at junction Elmbank and Stations Roads has been cleared but drain further up Station Road still blocked.
No issues reported on Middlepenny Road.
Local Partnership Meeting:
Pre meeting due via Teams platform this week, however the chairman has suggested that this be cancelled due to current issues with Teams and limited material to discuss. Full meeting is due 28th January, this has yet to be confirmed.
Advertizer Magazine:
Both the chairman and the secretary have contacted Advertizer - re delivery to village, but neither has received a response. Noted that the office may be currently closed due to restrictions.
Christmas Events:
Formal thanks were given to the team who created and managed to organise the superb village Christmas events, which were very well received and provided a much needed lift to many villagers.
Parking Concerns at Coast:
This remains an area of great concern.
At previous meeting Renfrewshire Council (RC) had sought views of Community Council (CC) with regards to adding additional road markings/parking spaces further west along Main Road, but the chairman has received no update from this.
The chairman has written to Cllr Natalie Don asking if she could pursue the issue of ownership of the land opposite the Coast Restaurant as a possible parking solution. The CC know this will be difficult, but are hopeful Cllr Natalie Don and RC will assist, however no further update has been received yet.
Gloria Dunn asked about the addition of double yellow lines, which had been discussed previously. As this is a legal matter it could take up to 2 years for a resolution. All members present agreed that due to the serious safety issues caused in this area, then this possible part resolution should be pursued. The chairman will request that Cllr Don begins this process.
Annual Transport Conference:
The chairman has forwarded on an email that CC received yesterday inviting any interested members of CCs to attend this virtual conference. Anyone with an interest should apply for a place by following the link on the email.
COSS – Community Asset Transfer Webinar:
There are two upcoming webinar’s looking at the process of community asset transfer. This would be beneficial for the CC and therefore Jacqueline Doherty will attend the webinar on 28th January 7pm – 9pm, if the Local Partnership meeting does not go ahead. An alternative date for this would be the 21st at 10-12pm. Details are on the email circulated by the chairman if anyone can attend.
Tennis Court:
No update further to last month’s meeting. Julie Gilmour has additional contact details for villagers who are keen to be involved.
Defibrillator:
Following a successful fund raising Facebook campaign Caroline Bryce has now secured sufficient funds from villager donations to allow the installation of a second defibrillator at the railway Station (platform 2). There will also be sufficient funds to provide ongoing maintenance for approximately 8 years. Due to current pandemic restrictions Caroline has been unable to access exact financial details, but will provide figures once she is able to get to the bank to obtain them.
AOB:
Maggie Hancock has been working behind the scenes to see what can be done to improve the footpath between Marypark and Middlepenny Road. She contacted RC and has managed to secure a meeting on site with Billy Jones on Friday 15 January at 11am. The chairman will also attend and possibly Cllr James MacLaren.
Over the last few weeks a walker has regularly been seen picking up litter along the road between Bishopton and Langbank. This should be encouraged within the village and the chairman does have a few spare litter pickers should they be required. He has also written to Renfrewshire Council Refuse Dept asking if they can supply more for villagers to use when out walking. Also a note to go on Community Facebook Page to encourage more activity in this respect.
Report from Cllr James MacLaren
1. Roads
i) Gully Cleaning: - The gully at the junction of Elmbank Rd and Station Rd under the mud should have been cleared and also gullies on Station Road.
ii) Gritting: - I instructed more gritting this morning after seeing Facebook posts warning of icy roads.
iii) Pothole, Old Greenock Road: - I reported a pothole just west of Gleddoch back at the beginning of December and have chased it up yesterday when I found out that it had not been repaired. There is now a 24 hour repair notice on it. The chairman also mentioned a section of roadside along from this pothole which has been washed away resulting in a potential hazard, Cllr to mention this also.
2. Missed Bin Collections
Residents on Marypark Rd have suffered over the festive period with missed bin collections which I have been chasing up.
3. Houston Rd flooded footpath
There is ongoing flooding on the footpath/cycle path that starts on Houston Road and runs alongside the A8. The rising water is suspected to be from a burst water supply pipe and council are currently chasing up Scottish Water to carry out the necessary repair to their apparatus. I will chase up the response from Scottish Water.
4. Marypark Rd ROW Footpath
A meeting has been arranged for this Friday at 11am to determine if a watercourse can be diverted. I will try to attend this. JG mentioned that light at foot of stairs is still out, JM will chase this up too.
5. Station Rd Park Footpath
A supervisor was going to visit the park and assess what can be done to prevent further erosion of the footpath leading down from Dennistoun Road. I will chase up this report.
Feedback from Meeting 13/01/21
1. Gullies: - The gully on the left along the narrow section of Station Rd has still not been cleared and I will chase this up.
2. Street Sweeping:
More sweeping of leaves is needed for Station Rd. I will request this.
3. The Lantern for the light on the footpath from Station Road to Dennistoun Rd is still to be replaced. I will chase this up.
4. Potholes: - Approaching Gleddoch on Old Greenock Rd from the west, the side of the road has been eroded leaving a sharp edge to the road. I will report this.
5. Litter Picking: - I have a number of green bags and spare litter pickers for anyone who requires one.