LANGBANK COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING MINUTES WEDNESDAY
9th MARCH 2022
7.30pm in the Langbank Church Hall, Main Street, Langbank.
Present: Neil Barrington (chair), Gloria Dunn (treasurer), Jacqueline Doherty (secretary), Carly Deheer, Caroline Bryce, James Hunter, Julie Gilmour, Julie Arbon and Cllr James MacLaren. Also in attendance: Iain McDougall, Lesley Fairlie and Gordon MacPherson
Apologies: Langbank Bowling Club, Ian Millar, John O’Brien, Maggie Hancock and Cllr Colin McCulloch..
Start and welcome: The chairman thanked everyone for their attendance at our ”first face to face” meeting since the Covid Restrictions began. Police Report: During the month of February there was 1 reported theft - of fox boxes from a farm - and 2 road traffic offences - 1 x Section 1 (a) RTA 1988 (causing serious injury by driving in a dangerous manner) and 1 x Section 2 RTA 1988 (Dangerous driving). Both of these were detected. These may be related to the same accident.
Acceptance of last meeting minutes: No concerns raised. CarlyDeheer proposed and Gloria Dunn seconded them.
Recent accident at A8 Roundabout: This serious accident could so easily have resulted in a fatality - either driver or pedestrians. The chairmanl has written to Andrew Thomson, Inspector for the traffic police for this area, to raise this as a major safety concern. The chairman had previously sent a copy of this letter to LCC members and read this letter out to the meeting. This letter outlines main concerns, previous measures taken and suggestions on how to make this safer, including reducing speed limit and traffic lights. A response was received, and it was also read to the meeting. This reply offered an on-site meeting of interested parties and stakeholders, once the Police had received the full report of the accident. No details have yet been released; however, it is known to be down to unsafe driving. Attempts to purchase land adjacent to Coast Restaurant for parking: No further update from Alan Cawley despite repeated efforts. It is very unlikely that the landowner will sell land. Discussion around the ongoing parking issue, which is noted to have worsened over recent weeks with cars parking on both sides of Main Road outside Coast. Also noted that in previous correspondence Alan Cawley agreed to consider operating an “ in and out'' one way system to car park, but this isn’t in place yet. Cllr MacLaren was going to try and get plans for the proposed double yellow lines outside the Coast Restaurant - for further discussion at these meetings, however nothing forthcoming from RC at this time. Russel Findlay (MSP) has been down to Langbank, following an email from a concerned villager, and thus he is aware of this parking situation.
Renewal of Zurich Municipal Insurance policy for the LCC activities: This is slightly cheaper than last year, at £170.58 and all were happy to proceed. Hire of the Church Hall to LCC Meetings – new system of charges: Due to theft/loss of the main door key which meant the lock had to be changed. Cost for this was £500. Each keyholder must take full responsibility for their key including replacement cost. Charge increases to £10 for the first hour, thereafter it will be £5 per hour. A brief discussion ensued around perhaps using Village Hall instead. Gleddoch Hotel have also offered to host our meetings plus tea and coffee. It was however agreed that meetings should take place in one of the halls within the village (for ease of access), and thus Caroline Bryce (village hall convener) will enquire about availability of Village Hall, for the second Wednesday of every month @ 7.30pm, as the charge is £3 per hour for regular users.
Clyde Coastal Path developments. Feedback from latest meeting.: THe last meeting was held 2nd March 2022. Input from Renfrewshire Council re proposed improvements to the current cycle path. This has been badly neglected and is currently unsafe. Working with Transport Scotland to get a crash barrier along A8 (only within RC boundary) and improve the section towards West Ferry. The group was encouraged to support this and not to view it as being - instead of their proposal - but to be an alternative route in conjunction with the proposal. Agreed way forward is to approach Sustrans with a business plan and seek funding initially for feasibility study. To do this, we need to gain information from a variety of groups to ensure the needs of walkers, cyclists, disabled users and horse riders are all met. Path must be 3m wide and bridge must be attractive (encourage users) as well as comply with disabled access. Jacqueline working on this with several other members of the group.
MUGA: NB: In relation to the next two items the Langbank Bowling Club (LBC) had been invited to tonight’s meeting Members of the LBC had been invited to the October meeting and again tonight, but unfortunately were unable to attend, however the new chair, Mr Mitchell, sent a letter of introduction to the LCC Chairman, which was read out to the meeting. In addition, the secretary sent an email which contained a letter from Mr Mitchell and a copy of their constitution. The email also included apologies for tonight’s meeting, due to an outbreak of Covid at the club no-one was able to attend. As the letter from the club president contained information pertaining to both items this has been added to the end of these minutes. Discussion on the MUGA updates and further developments. Network Rail removed the trees on the wall behind the old Tennis Club Hut as these were unsafe; this was done with minimum disruption and at no cost to the community. Thanks were extended to Iain McDougall for his help with this. The next part of the project is to deliver floodlights using the “Awards for All” funding which was secured a year ago. Kent PHK (Scotland) Ltd have given a charitable donation to the community and as a result agreed to supply and complete the works within our £10,000 budget, which we are very grateful for. Langbank Swingpark Regeneration (LSR) contacted Langbank Bowling Club (LBC) in early February to let them know about the planned work and to assure them it would be completed before the start of the LBC season in April to avoid disruption to their club meetings. Access would also be required to the LBC Hut to reinstate the power supply connection, which had been temporarily disconnected to allow the old Tennis Hut to be demolished. The civil work is now complete and delivery of the floodlight columns are expected over the next few weeks. Kent Ltd requires access to the LBC Hut to reinstate the electricity supply, but unfortunately LBC have now refused access and have further refused to meet LSR on several occasions since February to discuss the options. The LSR are keen to find a cost effective and mutually beneficial solution as the power supply goes through the LBC Hut and has been shared by the two clubs for many decades. At the time the supply was temporarily disconnected LBC did not mention anything about not permitting the connection to be reinstated; had this been the case action would have been taken to avoid this. In recent exchanges LBC informed LSR their membership and funds are low and their future is not stable. They confirmed their electricity bill last year was £126, - £122 being the standing charge and only £4 electricity used. LBC noted they have been paying all of the electricity costs for a number of years, Langbank Tennis Club (LTS) or LSR have not been asked to contribute - an oversight on all sides! Initially LBC suggested LSR be the payer of all electricity and LBC would piggyback on LSR thus reducing standing charges for them. Given the financial position of LBC, LSR proposed doing a village fundraiser for all the electricity, leaving LBC to pay for what they use, saving them approximately £122 per year. Iain McDougall was given access to the hut on 15 February 2022 and he was able to confirm the power supply was adequate for both clubs, including the floodlights, and he suggested a sub meter would be a good solution for both parties and would cost £35 to install. LBC had a meeting of their members and on 24 February 2022, and unfortunately it was voted 7 votes to 2 that ‘sharing the electricity was no longer an option’. It is still not clear what the proposal is, however it seems LBC are insisting LSR have a separate supply installed at a cost of between £1000 and £2000 as well as both groups having to pay an annual standing charge. This does not seem to be in anyone’s best interest except the power company! This is disappointing, as it has delayed the process and will incur additional costs to the community of Langbank. LBC has been difficult throughout the process and their treatment, particularly of the women of the LSC committee, has been disappointing. Julie Gilmour, in her capacity as Chair of LSR, has felt a particular burden and shared it as having an impact on her mental health. It is important that we establish what the LBC understanding of the proposal is, as there have been a number of conflicting items of correspondence from different members. Cllr James MacLaren confirmed he has had some correspondence with the Vice President (now President - Mr Mitchell) of LBC over recent months – although none of these have been brought to the attention of either LCC or LSR – but that he was now happy to approach Mr Mitchell to ask about the current situation. Langbank Bowling Club CASC status and disabled access: This led into the next discussion point which was an item that had been carried over from the October meeting, as the LBC had been unable to attend that meeting and the club was then closed for the winter. Gordon MacPherson had attended our meeting to ask about the benefits to the village from the LBC’s CASC status and to enquire about their provision of disabled access. Having no member of the LBC able to attend tonight’s meeting, then made the discussion difficult as there was no-one available to answer any questions, however several points were raised. m1. Not sharing CASC documentation – this should be possible, as the LBC simply needs to redact any information containing personal addresses. A copy of the redacted documentation will be requested
2. Concerns as to why the LBC feel the need to withhold information from the village community.
3. The potential closure of the LBC and the implications for the village.
4. The issue of lack of help from the LCC as mentioned in the letter was discussed and the following points raised: • Despite the president and vice-president of the LBC both being asked if there was anything we could do to help on a number of occasions, no help was requested. • The LCC offered to publicise the Bowling Club via the Langbank Facebook page – as with other village clubs but this offer was not taken up. Since the last time this was discussed a member of the Bowling Club, living in Langbank, has put up a couple of posts but these are rare and not obvious that it is a LBC advert. • LSR offered to do a joint open day with MUGA and LBC, but that offer wasn’t taken up. • LSR suggested a drive towards increasing their junior membership but this did not receive an enthusiastic response. • LSR asked what consideration the LBC had to disabled members and were told that they didn’t have any at this time and therefore there was no need for the Bowling Club pursuing disabled access. The LCC did however consider disabled access to the shared facility and LBC were asked if they wished this to be a joint venture – they said they would not oppose disabled access and would consider jointly supporting this initiative. The disabled access is an area where the LBC are not fulfilling their CASC status and therefore the LCC felt it would greatly benefit them. • The LCC and LSR would admit that there hasn’t been a written trail of communication with LBC from the planning stages of the MUGA, however they have been aware of this since the point of conception. • Once the process began Julie Gilmourof the LSR, met with the then president of the LBC and informed him of what was happening. He was told that this would become a standing item at the LCC meetings and that these were open meetings, so members of the LBC would be made very welcome. On a number of occasions when the LSR members met with LBC this invite was repeated and they were also informed minutes were available on the Langbank Website. As the LSR are a voluntary group and have a number of demands on their time - separate meetings could not reasonably happen, but LBC were encouraged to come and raise any concerns at LCC meetings. • Whilst the Langbank Tennis Club was still active and afternoon sessions were run for children, members of the LBC would regularly be in attendance, allowing for some discussion. At this point they were informed about the village survey and proposal of a MUGA and asked how they felt about this. The response was - that an improvement to the aesthetic appearance would be appreciated - but that they didn’t want the facility to be open to the village and in particular were very set against it being an area regularly used by children – particularly if they were unsupervised. At this meeting it was stressed that as a ‘village recreational area’ the LSR was keen for it to be open to the village rather than locked and often unused. • Before applying for any funding Julie Gilmour enquired as to whether the LBC wished to have anything included within the grant and nothing was brought forward. 5. Areas of concern were raised by LBC during the installation of the MUGA and these had been addressed. These might not have been the answers the LBC wished, but they were given very appropriate consideration • Plans were not made available for them to view prior to build – the LSR did not receive plans as these were not required for grant applications, however the group did provide drawings of a MUGA and detailed description of works to the LBC. • LBC did not wish for villagers to have open access to the area where the huts were, therefore despite this increasing risk to children/users of MUGA, it was agreed the gate on the hut side of MUGA remained locked. The LSR group then had to consider additional passive security measures which meant clearing the bushes at the front of the MUGA beside the pavement. The LBC were not initially in support of these passive security measures, however as there were no other options available to ensure safety of MUGA users, LBC did to agree to have them removed. • This not only meant that the area was easily viewed from road, thereby decreasing risk of any possible bullying for younger children, but it was also to alleviate LBC member’s concerns, who felt that should children be playing in MUGA whilst the bowlers were also playing, then the bowlers could be exposed to any bad behaviour of youngsters both in the MUGA and at the Railway Station. • LBC asked for a named person either from LSR or LCC and a phone number to contact, should any youngsters behave in a manner the LBC found unacceptable – that person should attend the MUGA and deal with the situation. Unfortunately, LSR had to decline this request as no member of the LSR or LCC have the right to parent someone else’s children, and should the LBC have a serious concern it would be more appropriate to call the police. However the LSR and LCC have written and published a set of rules for users of the MUGA to hopefully address behavioural concerns and encourage considerate usage. • The LBC stated that they did not want to have a gate to go through to access the bowling green from their hut. LSR stated that there would be no problem in not having the additional fencing as it would help reduce their costs. However, the LBC then decided they wanted the extra security so the fence and gate would remain. Following the completion of the MUGA the LBC then raised a complaint that no fencing and gate had been placed between the site of the old Tennis Hut and the LBC hut, despite this never having been discussed previously and would have resulted in two gates being positioned between the LBC hut and the bowling green. • To protect the bowling green, the height of the perimeter fence of the MUGA was raised. • The LBC were asked about gate sizes prior to the placing of the order for materials. The original gates were the standard 90cm and we were asked to have gates, which were at least 1m wide. The gates were then replaced with 1.2m gates, which gave more than enough room for the LBC lawnmower to pass through. After the order had been lodged, the LBC came back to say they had a rethink and would therefore like gates to be now 1.5m wide. Recent storm damage to
Playing Field notice board: This would be best repaired and reinstated by a company rather than members of the LCC. In the meantime the broken noticeboard should be moved from entrance until such times as a solution was found. It may be that it is more cost effective to purchase a new lightweight noticeboard similar to the one at the church.
Discussions with the General Manager of Gleddoch Hotel: The chairman met with the Manager - Mr James Anderson - and it was agreed that diary dates would be shared in advance. This information will be sent to Carly Deheer for the village website and shared on the Langbank Facebook page. It was noted that the proposed Scottish Government firework legislation would have no impact on these Fireworks events. Updates to Mary Park footpath: Materials have begun to be bought and paid for. The joiner should complete his work by the end of March with rest being completed by volunteers. Maggie Hancock has contacted Local Partnership to inform them of the delayed situation - re grant spend.
Community Speedwatch Initiative: Phone call from the Community Officer - PC Brian Dick who is keen to provide more details, he will attend our next meeting on 13th April 2022.
Primary School re-cycling initiatives: Looking for support with new initiative re Teracycle scheme. Langbank Primary School are keen to get involved and could coordinate during term time, but feel initiative is better driven by parent partnership and/or community council. LCC would be keen to support but would encourage the school to be the driving force for initiative. Jacqueline Doherty to liaise with school. Tree planting within the village: We have been approached with regards to trees being provided and planted within the village (suitable for all types of ground, particularly wet ground). More information will be provided at the meeting on 14th May, in the meantime can we have a think about any areas within the village that trees could be planted. Street lights on Mary Park and Middlepenny Roads: Street lights are still out on Marypark and Middlepenny Road. See below for Cllr James MacLaren’s update. It is a Scottish Power responsibility to fix this and they have agreed to expedite this, although RC must make this request as they are the customers. One broken post has been replaced but not the second at lower Middlepenny Road.
Cllr James MacLaren’s monthly input and updates. 1. Roads Middlepenny Road: - It has been suggested to me that traffic is going too fast on Middlepenny Road. As this is a steep, narrow, and twisty road, I would urge drivers to take care and drive slowly. Old Greenock Road: - Good to see the new resurfacing and white lining that has taken place. Station Road: - I have had a request for a centre white line through the bridge at Station Road but Roads Dept point out that, although the bridge is not width restricted, given the tight turn on the south side, there have never been lane markings directly under the bridge. This is to emphasise to drivers that care is required at this location. Traffic Regulations advise it is not possible to mark the road centreline. On roads below 5.5 m in width, such as the bend, “drivers might expect a road marked with a centre line to be wide enough for opposing lanes of traffic to pass. In these circumstances the centre line should be omitted”. However, those with long memories may recall that there was a line once upon a time. Road narrowing signs are at both sides of the bridge to advise roads users to take care.
Parking at Langbank Primary School: - Parking Attendants recently attended and spoke with staff and any parents causing issues. Where the issue arises again, Parking Attendants will be happy to revisit. Parking outside Coast Restaurant: - the parking bays were to encourage sensible parking but as that has not happened, the next step is a yellow line traffic order to prevent unsafe parking in and around Coast and the A8 junction roundabout. An RC Officer will draft a plan for yellow lines. I have contacted Russell Findlay MSP to talk to Transport Scotland about releasing the land opposite the restaurant for parking. Emergency TTRO: - Finlaystone Road from Cloak Road southwards for 200m. Reason for Restriction: Emergency overhead power line repairs. Alternative Routes: Cloak Road, A761 Port Glasgow Road, Woodrow Avenue, Finlaystone Road and vice versa. This closure will be in force from Thursday 10th March 2022 until Thursday 4th April 2022. Essential Maintenance on M8: - Amey are undertaking essential maintenance on the M8 between Junctions 30 and 31 from Monday 7th March 2022 for 12 weeks. Traffic management will remain in place 24/7 with a combination of day and night working. Vehicle causing an obstruction: - guidelines for the removal of the abandoned vehicle on the A8 at East Finlaystone Lodge have been followed and a notice was served on the vehicle with subsequent removal. 2. Local Partnership Applications Council are now inviting applications for Local Partnership funding for 2022-23. You can find all the important information on the council website, including the application form, guidance notes, and the Local Priorities for each Local Partnership area, along with details of online information sessions. The closing date for applications is midnight on 8th April 2022. 3. Good Friday Walk The Church Of Scotland Upper Clyde Local Area Mission Group are organising a procession on 15th April called the Good Friday Walk. Its starts at Renfrew Trinity Church and finishes at Langbank Parish Church. 4. Street Lighting The columns on Marypark Road are on Scottish Power live supply with individual photocells, meaning that these lights should not/cannot be on during the day. However, this street is part of Scottish Power’s cable fault on Middlepenny Road which SP has indicated will be repaired by 11/3/22. The cut lamppost on Middlepenny Road should now have been replaced. 5. Road Sweeping Station Road was swept last week to address my concerns raised about a build-up of leaves in the gutter. 6. Planning Applications An application has been submitted for the erection of a dwelling house with associated access (in principle) at a site on western boundary of Marypark Road. 7. Overgrown Areas I am chasing up the hedge cutting at the top of Station Road. 8. Broadband A digital divide exists and Langbank is on the wrong side of it. This amounts to Digital Exclusion. 9. Levelling Up funding I am told that an application for a new footbridge over the A8 would fit the criteria for a Levelling Up Fund bid. Levelling Up bids do need to go through the council and this is unlikely to change in the next round. The proposal for a coastal path involves both Renfrewshire Council and Inverclyde Council. 10. Refuse Collection & Fly Tipping The green bins in Gleddoch Wynd were missed. I have asked for the black piping which looks to have been dumped at the corner of Houston Rd to be removed. 11. Improvements to the National Cycle Route network Last month I told you about my desire for a barrier. In the meantime I have also asked for better access to the track at Houston Road. 12. Fireworks It would appear that the proposed legislation would have little effect on the hotel letting off fireworks, assuming they have applied and received a permit. 13. Knotweed on Marypark Rd Network Rail says their use of herbicides to control vegetation at the trackside is as minimal as it can be – maintaining as much biodiversity as we can is very important. The staff who carry out this activity are well trained in identifying and controlling invasive species and do not carry out blanket treatment where there are multiple plant species. 14. Embankment Subsidence at Marypark Rd Network Rail says that the Japanese knotweed here is in their treatment programme and is sprayed twice a year until eradication. The maintenance team have been advised that there is an issue under investigation and have extended the distance over which the spraying takes place, and removal of the knotweed is planned to facilitate access to this section of the wall. I understand that the area is built on bedrock; an earthworks failure here is unlikely. Engineers are expected to attend sometime after March. Follow up from meeting: 1. Langbank Bowling Club: - I will contact them and try to reach a compromise. 2. Street lighting: - ● Middlepenny Rd: - Lamp number R8 has been cut down and requires replaced. I will request this. ● A8: - The street lamp under the bridge .p after their dog” stencil is required at the west end of Main Road. I will alert the dog wardens to this. It should be noted through these minutes, that Cllr James MacLaren, attends every LCC meeting (including all of the previous Zoom meetings) and is a driving force in following up on points raised during these meetings to Renfrewshire Council and other bodies, and as seen by the above text he also provides a comprehensive report of all his endeavours for every meeting. The LCC is very grateful for his hard work on our behalf. Any other Business: Request for RC to put the stencil markings about dog poo on pavements as this previously did have an impact. Caroline Bryce approached St John’s Ambulance - re defib training for Community and they would be delighted to provide this. Meeting closed. The chairman thanked all for their attendance and closed meeting at 9.25pm. Addendum. As mentioned within the above minutes - below is the letter received from President of LBC: Langbank Bowling Club was founded in 1890 by the merchants of Langbank and has survived over 130 years. Over the past three years we have been haemorrhaging members and money. Our membership has halved since 2020. Our Treasurer at the AGM on 4th March optimistically predicted that the club would last for 2 years without further members or further funding. Our committee comprises 5 grannies and two grandpas. We requested COVID funding in 2021 but were turned down because we did not have a licence to sell alcohol. During 2021 we received no funding from Renfrewshire Council nor help from Langbank Community Council. We currently have 20 members, the majority over 70 years of age whose only recreation is the activity of bowling. We have tried on many occasions to recruit local residents without much success, although our President in 2018, 2019 and 2020 lived in Langbank. We have a solution which meets our joint needs. To avoid any future debate on who pays which proportion of the electricity bill and maintain the security of the clubhouse, we propose that we both have our own separate meters and pay our own charges. This would involve minimum disruption to you if we became insolvent. Any other solution would involve needless complications. Although there is a precedent for your request of using our electricity, we don’t want to go down that road as payment terms would be complicated. We would require: A guarantor for payment A monthly direct debit to our bank A float to eliminate delay in payment We may consider this option only if Langbank Community Council guarantees payment. We do not want to get involved in long term commitments when we may only have a short term future. Ewing Mitchell President