Item

Details

Action

1

Chairwoman's Welcome and Apologies

Anne welcomed the Councillors to the meeting.

The Councillors offered condolences to the family and friends of the late Margaret Mackenzie who died tragically at the weekend.

Apologies - Bob Clunas, Paige Shepherd

Item 6 Gaelic Chapel - amended to read:-

"David advised that Professor Rennie is of the opinion that the Gaelic Chapel belongs to the Highland Council. If responsibility is to be transferred to a community group, then it would be helpful to do so with the consent of the Cromarty Estate."

Proposed: Douglas McPhee

Seconded: Jane Clunas

3

3.1

Moray Firth Radio Awards

Jane advised that Wanda Mackay has won the top award for "Contribution to the Community". This was presented in Aviemore last week. All Councillors recorded their congratulations to Wanda on this achievement.

3.2

Basket Balls

Jane advised that basketballs from the multi-court are going on to the roof of Victoria Hall. Once the Highland Council have formally taken over responsibility for the court, she will ask them to put up nets on the roof to prevent this.

JC

PC Williams stated that there had been 28 incidents in the Black Isle reported during the month but less than one third occurred in Cromarty.

• vandalism to car wing mirrors – the individual will be charged

• underage drinking in the snooker club – the individuals have been given a warning

PC Williams has found a number of police diaries from the 1940s. David said that these will probably have to go into the Highland Council archives rather than the museum due to Data Protection issues. He has also found a gas mask which will be donated to the museum.

Matters arising from previous meeting

5.1

5.2 Nancy McAdam

Di Agnew is dealing with the Road Department to determine how much land is required for the provision of the bus shelter.

5.2

5.4 Royal Air Force

Anne has contacted Squadron Leader John Gilbert and offered a number of dates for a public meeting.

5.3

7. Cromarty 5 Year Plan

It was agreed that projects under the Cromarty 5-Year Plan will become part of the Councillors’ portfolios to progress. Allocation of the projects will be agreed once the new Council is in place.

5.4

8. Newspapers

Permission has been granted for the HMI to be used for the sale of newspapers and Naomi Ratcliffe has offered to sell the papers. However, Menzies have now changed their conditions. They have reduced the bond to £500 BUT they will charge £25/week to deliver, there will be no sale on return for 6 months. Naomi has calculated that this would offer her £2.05/hr which is unacceptable. (based on Kenny MacFarlane’s sales figures)

Naomi and Vivienne have tried to contact Menzies to arrange a meeting to renegotiate these conditions. Vivienne will continue to sell the local papers until this is resolved. Vivienne will update the Councillors when this meeting has taken place.

It was suggested that the Council could still offer the £1k bond if the weekly delivery charge was withdrawn, or the Council could pay the delivery charge.

Alternatively the Council could employ Naomi to provide this service but this would have an impact on the role of the Treasurer, who is a volunteer member of the Council. It was agreed that the Council could guarantee Naomi an income for the initial six months period if necessary

The best solution would be for the newspapers to be sold by an existing business. Vivienne cannot offer all papers as she has limited space, Fiona in the Londis store will not provide the service. There is a possibility that the new owners of the Post Office will consider offering this service.

VG

5.5

11. Highland Councillor’s Report

David has replied to Clan Davidson regarding their request to erect a marker. He has suggested that a brass plaque would be more appropriate in Cromarty. Wilf added that bronze would be better as it requires less cleaning.

5.6

Lydia Cottage –John Duncan has confirmed that there was consent granted for alterations in June 1999 but if works are proceeding now the original consent has expired. He will look into this and report back to Lynne.

LS

5.7

14.2 Flooding at Cromarty Mains

David has discussed the flooding on the access road with the Roads Department. It has been agreed that a culvert will be provided under the road to address this.

5.8

14.4 Pheasants on the Road

Anne has spoken to Sam Lowe about the danger of pheasants on the road. He will look into this.

5.9

14.8 Cromarty Medical Practice

Wilf has been advised that it is possible that the medical centre will close in the longer term and patients will be referred to a new Black Isle Medical Centre. The partners will make this decision, the health authority is not enforcing it.

5.10

14.9 Bothy Path

Douglas C has spoken to the new owners about removing the stones from the path. They have now submitted plans for a new garden area at the rear of the property. (see 11 Planning)

5.11

14.10 Townlands Play Area

Douglas McP spoke to Grays about the exposed pipe and the running water. These matters have been dealt with.

6

Gaelic Chapel

Nothing further to report.

7.

• Street Repairs – work on Allan Square, Denoon Place and Hospital Road to take place in the next couple of months

• Road Signs – concerns aboutrelocation of the sign at the top of The Denny have been passed to TEC Services

• Victoria Park Fencing - Concerns have been passed on to Education, Culture and Sport to address this problem

• Damage to Wall (Marine Terrace/Hospital Road) – this has been passed to Housing & Property to deal

• Cromarty House – a letter was sent to the owner regarding the state of the land. No response has been received to date, so a further letter has been sent. If there is no response to this, an Amenity Notice may be issued.

• 27 Bank Street (replacement windows) - case passed to planning officer who dealt with the application for possible enforcement

• 25 Bayview Crescent (removal of access door) – work has been carried out in accordance with the building warrant granted.

• Cromarty Mains – Consent was granted for a revised layout All conditions have been met. Work has commenced lawfully on site.

• Satellite Dishes – More property owners will require satellite dishes when the analogue signal is switched off. Guidelines should be issued to advise property owners of the constraints for erection of dishes in Cromarty. The mast needs to be upgraded but it is uncertain who owns it now.

• Treatment Works Path – needs to be upgraded. Anne will contact Scottish Water.

• Victoria Park – area damaged by contractors needs to be reinstated properly with turf. David has spoken to Sam Lowe who will follow this up.

• Townlands – area of ground used by contractors has been left in an unsatisfactory condition. Douglas McP will speak to Grays.

• Recycling Area – the bins could be repositioned along the wall of the nearby building. TEC Services are looking into this.

• Fit Range (for older folk) – Anne advised that 4 pieces of equipment have been selected. She asked if the Highland Council would fund the installation of the equipment.

• John Duncan will be retiring later this year and may not be replaced. Di Agnew will be invited to future meetings.

• The next meeting will be Wednesday 20 August 2008 at 10.30 in HMI.

8

Feedback from BI Ward Forum on 17 April

This meeting took place in Munlochy Hall and the main topic was "Planning".

A briefing was given on the new planning legislation and the role of the Community Councils in planning was also discussed.

An update on the last forum which covered "Services for Young People" was provided. Priority is currently being given to the provision of a new Youth Café in Culbokie which is being progressed by Wanda Mackay and Robbie Russell.

Under Community Safety, Inspector Matthew Reiss advised that there will be a new campaign to raise the profile of the implications of drinking and driving. He also said that there had been a number of incidents reported for theft of heating oil in the area.

The next meeting will take place on Thursday 12 June – venue to be confirmed. The main topic will be " Funding for Community Projects".

9.2

9.3

Treasurer’s Report

Income: (31 March 2008 – 28 April 2008)

Walks Leaflet income £50.00

Bank Interest received £13.58

Total income: £63.58

Expenditure:

Secretarial expenses: (March & April) £80.00

Leaflet Holders £28.67

Ross-shire Journal Election Notice £92.12

ASCC annual membership fee £15.00

Misc Admin costs – stamps etc £68.72

Total expenditure: £284.51

Accounts payable balance: Nil

Accounts receivable balance: Nil

Bank balance as @ 28.04.2008 = £14,059.08

10.2

Royal Hotel –David advised that the Royal Hotel would like to hire the digger to clean the beach. Last time David paid the £300 fee from his discretionary budget but he does not feel it appropriate to meet this payment this year. It was agreed that if he paid £150, the Community Council would pay the remainder. Ronald will arrange for the work to be carried out – and to ensure that the waste is not dumped further along the beach as last year.

Hogmanay Bells - David always rings the Courthouse Bell and Willy Hogg rings the East Church bell. There are also bells at the West Church, the school and the Gaelic Chapel. He would like all the bells to ring but volunteers would be needed to do this and safety checks would have to be carried out in advance.

RY

Please Note: David Alston did not participate in any planning related discussions and he left the meeting for this Agenda item.

• 11 Bayview Crescent – planning application has been submitted for an extension to the property – no issues raised

• Old Bank House – planning applications have been submitted for interior and exterior renovations – no issues raised

• Salmon Bothy – planning applications have been submitted for extensive renovations to include windows and a patio door and garden area on the seaward side. This will overlook/impact on the public pathway. The owners also need to notify all neighbours, including John Nightingale, about the proposals. Numerous public concerns have been raised about this so Lynne will write to David Baldwin about the concerns expressed by the Community Council.

LS

Correspondence

Wilf Taylor

Wilf has been in correspondence with Theresa Kemp and David Alston about traffic in Cromarty. He is particularly concerned about the impact of additional traffic which will be using the Denny to gain access to the Sandilands development and the access and exit point for this site. He also mentioned concerns about the increased traffic requiring access to the Cromarty Mains development. David has responded that he sees the introduction of the 20mph speed limit as the first steps in dealing with traffic calming.

13

AOB

13.1

Reprint of Cromarty Leaflet

Wilf and Jane have obtained several quotes for the reprint of the leaflet. The key issue is that the original artwork is unavailable so the existing leaflet will have to be completely redone or scanned and amended. The cheapest quote is from Highland Printers (Nevis) at £710 for 5k copies. This quote will stand for 6 weeks.

It was agreed that 5k copies would be sufficient and that Wilf should go ahead with Highland Printers. However, it was agreed that samples should be provided to allow proof reading and quality checking before the final print is completed.

Once completed, all Councillors will be given a supply to distribute.

WT

13.2

Community Council Election

Anne reminded everyone who wished to stand again to submit their nomination forms to Alan Hunter by 2 May. She also asked Councillors to try to recruit new members. The closing date is Friday 2 May at 5pm but any one submitting a nomination form then has until 9 May to withdraw. She will then let the Councillors know if there is to be an election or not. If there is to be an election, a timetable detailing the activities required and the timescales will be issued to all Councillors.

Anne wished to specifically record thanks to Rachel Robertson on behalf of the Council for all her hard work and efforts over her time as a Councillor. Rachel will not be standing this time.

13.3

Christmas Lights

Although Rachel is standing down from the Council, she has confirmed that she will work to Ronald to ensure that the Christmas lights will be in place this year.

13.4

Renewable Energy (Cromarty 5 Year Plan)

Rachel has spoken to a number of people who have shown an interest in forming a sub-committee to consider the options for Cromarty. She indicated that she would be interested in being involved in this project too.

13.5

Cromarty Paths Leaflet

This will be sold to all local retailers as appropriate for 10p/copy; who then sell to the public at 25p/copy. A list of retail outlets was agreed.

13.6

Dog Warden

Jane advised that the new notices about dog fouling had had little impact in Cromarty. She asked if a dog warden visit could be arranged. It is not certain whether the dog warden is back in post after maternity leave but Anne will find out.

AS

13.6

Vote of Thanks

Wilf offered a vote of thanks on behalf of the Councillors to Anne as Chair for steering the Council through another busy year.