Item

Details

Action

1

Chairwoman's Welcome and Apologies

Anne welcomed CCC members to the meeting.

Apologies

Ronald Young, Lynne Sproull, Paige Shepherd, Bob Clunas

Approval of previous minutes

Proposed: Douglas Cooper

Seconded: Vivienne Griffiths

3

Multi-Court

Jane advised that she had received the cheque for £6k from the Black Isle Ward Fund so work can now begin. It is hoped that the base will be in place before Christmas and the equipment in the Spring, but it could be quicker than this.

Vivienne proposed a vote of thanks to Jane for all her time and efforts in progressing this project. This was endorsed by all present.

4

PC Williams stated that there had been 37 incidents reported during the month but not many in Cromarty. These included:-

• I assault involving a youngster

• Alcohol has been confiscated from youngsters in the park

• A couple of cases reported of fireworks being used in the park

Matters arising from previous meeting

5.1

4.1 Play Equipment

Anne has not followed this through with Grays yet due to the current difficulties in Townlands Park. She will speak to them soon.

AS

5.2

6.1 Green Gym

David of Junglebusters has quoted £265 to clear the areas/prune as required. He will contact Anne or Jane about the provision of new shrubs as required. It was agreed that he should progress with this work, although some concerns were expressed that the Highland Council should actually carry out this work.

Wilf will ask Green Gym to tidy the area at the South Sutor viewpoint again. He said that the trees are really blocking the views. Anne will contact John Nightingale again about this.

AS

5:3

6.2 Stolen Finger Point

Rachel has spoken to Albert about fixing the finger point. It may be possible to fix it but only if the collar part can also be removed from the post. Douglas Cooper will look at this.

DC

5.4

12.2 Ken Muir

Anne has spoken to Ken. He is happy to organise a working party to look at the drainage ditches on the South Sutor path.

5.5

13.5 Graveyard

Anne has received an email from Sam Lowe. He will arrange for a squad to prune back the ivy where necessary.

5.6

13.6 Wall on Marine Terrace

This had not been reported but Ian Hay will arrange for it to be made safe as soon as possible.

5.7

13.13 Rats

The pest controllers have visited and there have been no further sightings.

6

Gaelic Chapel

David advised that John Nightingale’s Solicitor has met with the Highland Council’s Solicitor to determine legal ownership of the Chapel. The Church of Scotland has confirmed that they do not have ownership.

(Item to be retained on agenda for next meeting)

7

20mph Speed Limit

David circulated street maps of Cromarty and explained the plans for the introduction of 20mph areas within Cromarty. The plans were discussed and the Councillors gave their support to the proposals. A public consultation is now required. David will send a letter to each household detailing the proposals and publish details in the local paper. This will give an opportunity for any objections to be raised by members of the community. If there are no objections within 14 days, the proposal will be processed.

8

Sea Defences

Jane expressed concern about the rise in water level at high tides. This is now only 10 inches from road level at high tide. If there were strong winds at high tide, there would be flooding. She asked if there were any plans for flood prevention work to be carried out. After some discussion, it was agreed that was a need to prepare a new 5-year plan for Cromarty. This should be a community led initiative so a sub-committee will be formed at the January meeting to progress this.

9

All paperwork from this meeting has been circulated to Councillors for information.

The meeting took place in Culbokie School and was well attended. It was chaired by David Alston, and attended by other Highland Councillors.

Action Points from the last meeting were discussed, the main topic was the "Dial-a-Bus" service. It was agreed that better publicity was required to inform the public about the service. Anne will speak to Mary Thomson (a regular user) about the possibility of a press release.

David asked the Councillors to consider :-

"How many days a week should the service be made available to the public?" and "How far should it divert from the scheduled route?"

(Item to be included on the Agenda for the next meeting.)

The main theme for this Forum was " Services to Older Adults" led by Larry Wilmot. and key topics covered were:-

• what are the gaps in services provided for older adults

• services provided by district nursing

• lack of pharmacy/ prescription service in Avoch

• affordable housing/ warden assisted housing in Fortrose

• Healthways awareness

The next BI ward Forum is to be held on 13 December.

David said funds from Highland Council for local projects will be tight this year so Community Councils need to be proactive in submitting applications for funding from the BI Ward Funds.

10

Treasurer’s Report

Income: ( 2 October to 29 October 2007)

Groam House Museum £50.00

Total income: £50.00

Expenditure:

Secretarial expenses £40.00

Calico UK Annual domain name charge £52.88

Total expenditure: £92.88

Accounts payable balance: Nil

Accounts receivable balance: Nil

Bank balance as @ 29.10.2007 = £13,084.32

No planning applications have been received

Highland Councillor’s Report

Nothing additional to report.

Correspondence

Natalie Boxton from CFPA

Natalie has written to ask if Captain Ken Gray (CFPA Port Manager) could be given the opportunity to address the Councillors about future developments planned for the Cromarty Firth. Anne will invite him to the November meeting.

AS

13:2

Highland Council Planning Department

There are a series of seminars to explain the new planning processes. It was agreed that Lynne and Vivienne will attend the seminar in Dingwall on 15 November from 6.30pm – 8.30pm.

LS/VG

14

AOB

14.1

Douglas Cooper asked for an update. David advised that the Committee had been provided with funding to get the business plan updated so that it can be put through the planning process. He said that the costs had increased for provision of the pool and also funds were now much harder to obtain from the lottery (due to the Olympics)

14.2

Problems with Bus service

Douglas McPhee advised that the bus had broken down again. He was also unhappy there are no buses between 11.20 am and 4pm on Saturdays.

EE to write to Rapsons on these matters.

EE

14.3

Wreath

It was agreed that Douglas Cooper would lay the wreath on behalf of the Highland Council and the Community Council.

14.4

Christmas Lights

Rachel advised that Ronald would be meeting the electricians on 19 November to obtain final quotes for the lighting. The lighting should be installed at the harbour and the Victoria Hall that week. There has been no progress with the provision of the extra power for the Denny. David asked for details so that he could chase this up.

DA

14.5

Nigg Yard

Rachel saw an article in her Sunday paper which stated that DSM (who deal in dismantling of nuclear submarines) is the preferred bidder for Nigg Yard. David said that this will only be resolved when the Wakelyn Trust and KPR come to an agreement over the sale. The CFPA are keen for the yard to be used for research and development/ engineering works or renewable energies.

Anne/David will write to appropriate government members to express concerns on behalf of the local community.

AS/DA

14.6

Nigg Wind Farm

It was agreed that a public meeting should be held to enable everyone to find out about the proposals. Anne will invite Fraser McKenzie from West Coast Energy to the West Church Hall on either November 20th or 21st.

AS

14.7

Cromarty Trust Fund

Anne asked the Councillors to suggest how this fund should be spent as Vivienne needs to submit the requests to John Nightingale.

It was agreed to ask John Nightingale if the money previously set aside for the Naval Plinth could be used instead for a tennis net for the multi-sport court. It was suggested that funding should be requested to provide a bench by the play area in the Victoria Park. Anne will obtain a quote for this.Any monies remaining will be donated to the First Responder vehicle towards its second year funding.

14.8

Sea Cromarty Sparkle

Anne saw an article in The Guardian which provided details of the Food Festival and featured Betty and her pancake recipe.

Anne presented Vivienne with a gift from the Sea Cromarty Sparkle Committee to thank her for all her efforts in selling tickets etc for their events.

Sea Cromarty Sparkle has also reached the finals of the 2007 Tourism Awards.

14.9

Cromarty Leaflet

Wilf said that a reprint of the leaflet will be needed next year. Highland Printers have now been taken over by Nevis and they did not hand over the artwork, but the material could be scanned. Jane advised that she found SpeedPrint to be much cheaper.

Wilf asked Vivienne to provide him with updated figures on the Guide Book funds.

VG