Draft Minutes of Torridon and Kinlochewe Community Council Meeting
Held in Torridon Hall on Wednesday 14th September 2016 6.30 – 8.15pm
Present : Terry Doe ( Chairman) Jonny Petrie ( Treasurer ) Anne Macrae ( Secretary ) Margaret Smith, Andy James, Tom Forrest. Two Members of the Public
Apologies : Carol MacIver, Yasmeen Hollenstein. Cllr. Richard Greene, PC Neil Rathbone, Gairloch.
- Welcome from the Chairman
- Minutes of the August Meeting agreed and signed following some discussion on how detailed the minutes need to be and whether they should be distributed publically in draft form before all had agreed on content. Andy pointed out that it had been mentioned at the August meeting that a letter had been sent to Highland Council from the previous Chairman of Loch Torridon Community Association (LTCA) against any use of Torridon School Building following mothballing in 2012. Torridon representatives highlighted the letter only represented the then LTCA Directors view and not that of many villagers or the wider community who had not been consulted.
- Financial Report from the Treasurer. Still awaiting the Bank of Scotland to approve signatures for cheques. No reason has been given for the delay and this is holding back a number of developments.
- Planning Applications
179791 859901 16/03662/FUL Erection of boat house/workshop and formation of access parking area Tighe A Cheidhe, Diabaig.
201748 854614 16/03671/PNO Formation of private way Coulin, Kinlochewe
- Correspondence received.
Copy of letter from Gairloch Community Council re proposed new Hydro scheme on land 3160m SW of Kerry Falls House ( on hill route to Torridon )
E mails re. Proposed Joint Meeting of Wester Ross Community Councils at Kinlochewe.
Copy of Garve & District Community Council Minutes
E Mail from Kenny MacLean re future removal of red phone boxes.
Letter Re. Public Car Park at Incheril from Mrs D. Garner, CnocAlainn.
Highland Small Communities Housing Trust Invitation.
Note from Clare O’Leary regarding state of local roads.
- Matters Arising from previous meeting .
Loch Torridon Community Centre (LTCA)
The Chair of LTCA has written to say that after consideration, the Directors have reversed their earlier decision and Torridon and Kinlochewe Community Council will be eligible for group membership of the TDCA at local rate as in past years. The annual subscription will entitle us to a 50% discount on hall booking rate.
However, they have decided that they will now only allow public access to the Gallery side of the Centre during normal opening hours when reception is manned although CCTV is in operation out of hours.
As members of the public may attend Community Council Meetings , only the large Main Hall will now be offered for evening meetings, curtailing the use of the smaller, heated Function Room and Audio Visual Upstairs Meeting Room considerably as opening hours are limited during winter months.
As members of the Hall Committee, Anne and Maggie had asked for clarification on who were TDCA Directors. Information and minutes of meetings are not shared but it was confirmed that current Directors are Clare O’Leary (Chair) Chris Davies ( Secretary ) Sandra Brown and Lisa O’Brien. Steve Schnappel is paid as Treasurer and Wilma Beaton as Manager of the Centre.
Wester Ross Biosphere- Anne and Tom to attend a forthcoming meeting to be held in Achnasheen and will give an update at our next meeting.
Kinlochewe Noticeboard
It is hoped to order a new notice board for Kinlochewe once the Bank have the signatures approved.
Defibrillators
Andy has organised defibrillator training for Kinlochewe. One defibrillator is available for public use at Kinlochewe Hotel and one at Kinlochewe Village Hall. In Torridon they are at Torridon Hall and the Gille Brighde Café in Diabaig.Emergency Services ( First responders, Medical, Fire and Mountain Rescue Teams) also all have defibrillators for their own use.
Hillview ( French Cottage ) Robbie and Richard have researched details on ownership of the cottage and it would appear it has been left to relatives who may well be abroad. It is possible it may be seen as a hindrance rather than an asset if expenses including Council Tax are required to be paid.
Housing and Campsite Anne responded to The Highland Council Development Plan making comments on behalf of the Community Council and separately from herself. We await word of a meeting to discuss future development.
Local Schools Estate We await an update on future developments in the area.
Fence by Kinlochewe Fire Station Fire Services are aware of the poor state of the wooden fence which is very noticeable from the main road through Kinlochewe.
Road Signsand Road Issues The sign by the jetty in Torridon has been repaired and Highland Council are hopeful of repairing and returning the electronic speed sign to Kinlochewe shortly.
Terry and Richard attended a site meeting held in Kinlochewe on Thursday 25th August to discuss road issues there. It is still intended that large 30s be painted on the road entering the village and there is a possibility of the speed limit being lowered in phases from 60-40-30 when approaching Kinlochewe from Gairloch.
Torridon Mailbox Kenny MacLean has supplied a number to phone regarding the mailbox. A member of the public pointed out that the post box was moved across the road with permission when Torridon Stores was being rebuilt.
Tesco – Still awaiting further news from the Tesco Manager in Dingwall regarding home deliveries to Torridon.
Police Response Times Tom highlighted the point that some calls are now answered from Glasgow instead of Inverness. It is of concern that the possible centralisation of the Police Control System will mean that Control Officers answering will no longer have the necessary level of local knowledge. A recent 101 call highlighted this problem when it was sent to Garelochead as the station required, as opposed to Gairloch as Gairloch apparently did not exist.
Any Other Business.
Winter Maintenance There was considerable lengthy discussion on provision of future road maintenance, especially in forthcoming winter months as residents in Diabaig felt let down over provision last winter. Staff could not get out to work and post across the wider area was also disrupted. It was pointed out that local health staff and schoolchildren also need to be able to travel along the Glen Road on a daily basis.
Although we are grateful to current staff for all the work they do, the Gairloch lorry clearing Torridon Glen was too large to then continue on the Diabaig road and it was felt provision was far better when staff and machines had been based locally.
Highland Council hadrecently issued an invite to tender for winter services in the Highland area and a member of the public volunteered information on this . Although the initial invitation appeared promising for both local communities and potential contractors, on looking in detail at the content of the tender, it was found to be disappointing that it was not specific about which routes or areas would benefit, if any, from the services being tendered for, therefore making it difficult to contribute to improving a much needed local service. It was noted that the deadline for applications was the end of the week but forms appeared complicated , taking time to fill in with no guarantee of any work being provided by the council.
Incheril Car Park Mrs Garner, Cnoc Alainn has written toourselves, Mr P. Wilson, Cllr R Green and Mr R. Fraser , Environmental Health, to express concern about overflowing bins and messleft in and around the car parking space at Incheril following an apparent increase in camper vans using the space overnight.
It was pointed out that campers in Scotland have a right to ‘wild camp’ but a member of the public thought the problem could be helped if campers were provided with information on alternative appropriate sites as the Caravan Park in the village is for members only. The Council empty the bins as a courtesy only.
Anne had visited the site and was pleased to see it tidy though bins had just been emptied recently.
With the increased popularity of North Coast 500 Route , the issue of campers leaving more mess, including human waste behind at local beauty spots has now been reported in a number of local communities.
Poppy Wreaths The Community Council have been asked to purchase poppy wreaths for both Kinlochewe and Torridon. Anne will buy these and be reimbursed when our finances are approved. Anne to contact Lilah ford regarding arrangements for Kinlochewe.
Highland Small Communities Housing Trust ( HSCHT)
Anne to attend an Open Day & AGM to be held on 16th September in the Town House, Inverness
Public Transport Poor provision of public transport for the area was highlighted and a suggestion made that the Wester Bus which travels via Dundonnel on Satudays could perhaps travel via Kinlochewe on alternative weeks. A request for one of the Lochcarron minibuses to travel to Inverness via Torridon had been made in previous years but it seems there is now only one minibus which travels from Applecross via Shieldaig on request. Days and times of all transport in the area to be clarified and recorded to see if there are any practical ways it can be improved to benefit local residents.
Any comments on local matters welcomed, thanks.
These can be made verbally to Community Councillors, by e mail or letter to the Secretary, Anne Macrae or by visiting our Facebook or web page for Torridon and Kinlochewe Community Council.
Date of next meeting
A Joint Community Council Meeting isto be held in Kinlochewe Hall on Thurs. 27th October 2016 at 7pm.
The next ordinary monthly meeting will be at 6.30pm on Wednesday 9th November 2016 in Torridon Hall.