A meeting of the above Council was held on Tuesday 12th August 2003 at Kilmelford Village Hall.
Present: Community Councillors: Angus MacFadyen (Chairman), Colin Clark (Vice-chairman), Neil Manchester (Secretary), Dorothy Carmichael,
Also in attendance were Argyll and Bute Councillors Alan Macaskill and Duncan MacIntyre, and 16 members of the public.
1 Apologies:
Apologies were received from Jamie Mellor, Stuart Cannon, Jayne Brown
2 Minutes: The minutes of the meeting held on Tuesday 8th July 2003 were approved and signed.
3 Matters Arising:
Inverliever Wind Farm: Cllr Macaskill advised that the proposal would now be discussed at the Area Committee meeting in October or November
Melfort Pier & Harbour: the secretary advised that he had still not received a letter of apology from John Christlieb of Melfort Pier and Harbour, and asked whether the community council felt that this issue should be pursued further. Robin Grey stated that the community council should support the secretary fully, and should seek legal advice on further action. Cllr Macaskill advised that the community council insurance policy would not cover personal liability for members of the community council. The chairman agreed that Mr Christlieb’s actions should not be tolerated, so some action must be taken. Robin Asbury asked whether Mr Christlieb was a member of the community anyway. The secretary advised that Mr and Mrs Christlieb were not on the electoral register for Kilmelford, and only contributed to community council meetings at the invitation of the chairman. It was agreed that legal expenses should not be incurred, but that the chairman would write to Mr Christlieb demanding an apology and threatening a ban on all representatives of Melfort Pier and Harbour until a suitable letter is received. Cllr Macaskill said that the community council was not bound by Argyll and Bute Council standing orders, so the chairman has full rights to exclude individuals from meetings.
Celtic Seafoods Access at Arduaine: the chairman read out a letter from Ewen Stewart, Senior Planning Officer, stating that the access will be monitored, but that all planning conditions were met in the application. Fiona Wyllie reported that in discussions with Bill Watson of the roads department, it was apparent that the visibility splay to the south of the access was 140 metres, not the stipulated 215 metres. Cllr Macaskill said that he would consult the Director of Planning and investigate further, and report back at the next meeting.
Blaran Road End: Cllr Macaskill advised that Neil Brown would put tar on the access drive as soon as possible, with some reshaping work to be carried out. Peter Menzies pointed out that a load of tar would not resolve the issue, as lorries will still have difficulty turning off the main road. Peter Menzies noted that this was a situation that had developed over the last thirteen years, with no remedial actions taken by the council despite it having an impact on his business, and now affecting the means for his son to catch the school bus in the mornings. Cllr MacIntyre stated that the telegraph pole issue was also a problem, and that the police were now demanding that action be taken. Cllr Macaskill agreed to take this up with Argyll and Bute Council, and demand that action be taken to address the issues of road access, telegraph poles and school pupil collection.
Whelk+ Leader Programme: it was noted that Jayne Brown had agreed to investigate the hiring of a skip for the community, and that the Feochan lay-by issue would be covered by Cllr MacIntyre. No progress was reported in any of the areas previously agreed, but status will be reported at the next meeting.
Community Council Notice Board: Colin Clark reported that the notice board should have been completed by now, but he would look into this and report at the next meeting.
Lagganmore Planning Application: the chairman advised that planning permission had been approved, but complained that the application had not required advertising, despite earlier applications in the same area receiving many objections. Cllr Macaskill stated that earlier applications had been for much large developments, and that applications need be advertised only if they contravene the local plan, are classed as ‘bad neighbour’ developments, or affect listed buildings. Cllr Macaskill noted that there had been no objections from public or statutory bodies, thus the application was passed via delegated powers. The chairman felt that the application did contravene local plans, and that no time limit had been stated with the application. Which did not allow adequate time to review and respond. Fiona Wyllie felt that the inconsistencies regarding the processing of planning applications should be addressed. Cllr Macaskill said that all application should be responded to quickly, since one of the key performance indicators for the planning department was the time to process applications. Cllr Macaskill also noted that the community council receives notice of all planning applications in Argyll and Bute. The secretary described the current system of reviewing planning applications within Kilninver and Kilmelford Community Council, noting that on occasions, due to timing of meetings, an application may not receive the same scrutiny as others, but generally the system was more robust than previously. Cllr MacIntyre noted that this community council was the most effective in this department within his ward. Cllr Macaskill said that since there were so many variables, inevitably there would be some inconsistency, but since many applications are for extensions or modifications, it would not be realistic to expect every application to be advertised. It was agreed that when the community council notice board became available, the weekly planning list for this area could be displayed.
Future Health services in Argyll and Bute: It was agreed that a presentation be arranged for the next community council meeting.
Hebridean Marine National Park Partnership: the secretary advised that there was no further information available on this.
4 Planning Applications Dorothy Carmichael reported the following applications:
Scottish water Board: upgrade of power supply for new water works
Mr Knowles: erection of dwellinghouse on land west of boatyard shed, Kilmelford. Dorothy advised that she would obtain plans for the second application shortly, and notify community councillors if action needed to be taken.
5 Correspondence
The secretary drew attention to a range of documents, leaflets, various minutes and agendas available for public review.
In addition the secretary reported the following correspondence:
Judith Stannard: noting that at the AGM in July, the office of vice-chairman had been proposed by Etonella Christlieb, who was not on the electoral register and was therefore ineligible to vote on any matter within the community council, and as such the current appointment of vice-chairman was invalid. To ensure that correct procedures were followed, Colin Clark was proposed as vice-chairman by Judith Stannard, and seconded by Elisabeth Asbury.
West Coast Motors: highlighting the plight of one tourist who failed to catch the Oban bus from Kilmelford. The secretary noted that bus timetables were widely distributed throughout the community, but that it was a failure of West Coast Motors to display timetables at the bus stop.
6 Any Other Business
Dorothy Carmichael noted that brush cutting along the Oude dam was required. Cllr MacIntyre agreed to deal with this.
Georgina Dalton noted that the summer festival would be held on 24th August, with Isobel Smith as the chief organiser.
Dorothy Bark suggested that warning signs be placed at the bridge in Kilmelford, as traffic generally didn’t slow down in the area where the road narrowed. Cllr MacIntyre will review this.
Cllr MacIntyre suggested that the bus timetables could be reviewed by the community council, and that West Coast Motors generally welcomed community advice on providing a better service.
The chairman noted that plans had been placed in Kilmelford Village Shop for a wind speed measuring device at Kilmore, indicating that another wind farm may be in the offing.
The secretary advised that the last of the Kilmelford Village Hall Summer ceilidhs was to be held on 28th August, and that community support was welcome.
7 Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of Kilninver and Kilmelford Community Council will be held in Kilmelford Village Hall on Tuesday 14th October 2003 at 8.00pm.
There being no further business, the chairman closed the meeting at 10.00 pm
Neil Manchester Secretary
Signed as approved: Angus MacFadyen
Date: Chairman