Glen Urquhart Community Council
Glen Urquhart Community Council
Minutes of meeting held on
Monday 26th February 2024 at 7pm
Balnain Hall, Glen Urquhart
Please note: Minutes will be updated when officially approved at the next meeting.
1. Present: Bill Smart (Chair), David Ferguson, Stuart Ross, Dominic Thierry, Fiona Urquhart, Iain Riddle and Val Cooper.
Also present: Councillors Chris Balance and David Fraser, Susan Clark, GURCA, and 7 members of the public.
Apologies: Dianne Fraser and Dominic Thierry.
Conflicts of Interest
No conflicts of interest in relation to planning applications declared.
2. Minutes of the last meeting
The minute of the meeting held on 22nd January 2024 was approved as an accurate record (David Ferguson / Fiona Urquhart).
3. Matters arising from minutes
Road issues spreadsheet – Val to complete. Action – Val
Delays with Statkraft broadband – no progress to report. Action -
Bunloit quiet road – ongoing, Highland Council are currently looking at other areas and therefore further information will be forthcoming.
Ward Discretionary Fund – David Ferguson to submit application. Action – David Ferguson
Bear Scotland drainage at Dr Sutherlands – Investigatory work has taken place.
Work at Balnain Playpark – David Ferguson to liaise with Gordon Watson. Action – David Ferguson
Gym in High School – no further update at present
4. Treasurer’s Report
David Ferguson provided the following update:
Our bank account holds funds for, Glen Urquhart Community Council only. At our last meeting in January, the total balance in our account was £8,870.27. In the last month, there has been no activity in our account and the balance is unchanged.
However, £7,211.77 remains “ring fenced” for Glen Urquhart Place Planning, so actual funds held by Community Council = £8,870.27 -
5. Roads / Drainage
Community Warden – The appointment of a community warden was discussed and Susan Clark advised that she would raise this at the next community action plan meeting. Action – Susan Clark
Flooding Events – David Fraser advised that the operations teams were working on the backlog of issues which had arisen as a result of the recent extreme flooding.
Transport Scotland Programme of works – Discussion meeting has been scheduled.
Balnain Culvert – It was anticipated that the blocked culvert at the road end prior to the school / Balbeg junction would be rectified relatively soon.
Reporting of Road Issues – After reporting road issues online and receiving a reference number, the most effective way of progressing these, if required, is via a request to the local Councillor(s).
Major patching on West Lewiston -
aware and will be scheduled into programme. -
New Bus Stops – No response yet received about the repositioning of these.
Kilmichael Flooding – During the recent heavy rains, the flood protection system had prevented the water which was coming down the hill behind from escaping, however it was always know that this might be an issue, and the wall had prevented the river from flooding onto the road. Remedial works are required in the area, and resurfacing work is high up on the schedule of repairs.
6. Planning
Active Applications
23/05515/PIP – Planning in principle -
24/00208/ADV -
24/00211/ADV -
24/00205/ADV -
24/00206/ADV -
24/00207/ADV -
24/00210/ADV -
24/00209/ADV -
Springfield – It was noted that the Highland Council Planning Committee had met on 7th February and considered the amended application from Springfield. The amended drainage system was granted but the mix of housing and restriction of 15 builds per year was refused. These conditions had been imposed by the Reporter. Springfield did not provide any further evidence to support their request for these changes and therefore the Planning Committee did not approve. Springfield have now gone to appeal to the Reporter, if the Reporter agrees to these changes work will continue, and if refused they may submit an amended application or continue with their original application, ie 92 houses and the commercial area to be built next.
7. Community Action Plan Update
There is a requirement that communities submit their local place plan to Highland Council by September. This is closely linked with the community action plan but is a more visual way of representing the community action plan, with a focus on land use. The local place plan will be an important reference document for Planners when considering applications. As part of the development of this document the Community Council will be taking consultancy advice and will also be scheduling community consultation events.
8. Consultations
Bunloit Rewilding – A recent community event had been held in the Craigmonie Centre on Bunloit rewilding funded projects and how the community can get involved. Some of those present had attended the event and there was a feeling that it had been difficult to work out what was being proposed, that funding was available but there was no real focus on how this would be used, and what, if any, benefit there will be to the community from any projects undertaken. There had been previous discussions around a Memorandum of Understand with GURCA but this proposal had since been withdrawn. It was generally felt that at present there was nothing being proposed that the community would like to see being taken forward as a funding project. It was noted that the community action plan would be worth consulting as a starting point for discussion.
9. AOCB
9.1 Scottish Water Update – Bill advised that he had met online with Scottish Water representatives. The new treatment works have been commissioned and the quality of the water being discharged into the river had been improved. CCTV and mapping works was scheduled to take place to investigate the flooding issues at Kilmichael. Replacement of the water mains in the Balnain area was scheduled, however there was not yet a date for this.
9.2 Men’s Shed Update and Community Asset Transfer of Balnain Forest Site – David Ferguson advised that with the help of GURCA the community asset transfer application has been submitted and accepted by Forest and Land Scotland. GURCA has applied to the Scottish Land Fund for funding to buy the site and should hear back around the end of May. The conveyancing process will likely take a few months, however a request has been made for early entry and a response is awaited.
9.3 Tree Planting in the Village – Agreement had been given by Compass for tree planting to take place in the area adjacent to Lewiston Garage. This was scheduled to take place towards the end of March / early April, and would involve the community. Further details to be advised.
9.4 Local Activities and Events – It was noted that GURCA is actively looking at having one online page where everything that is happening locally can be advertised and all other local groups can feed in to that.
9.5 Litter – David Fraser and Chris Balance advised that they would request a list of all the local bins and their schedule for emptying. This would be useful information to refer to during the summer months when there is often problems with overflowing bins. Action – David Fraser / Chris Ballance
10. Details of Next Meeting
The next meeting was scheduled for Monday 25th March 2024, 7pm in Blairbeg Hall.
There was no further business and the meeting closed at 8.10pm.
Meeting dates for 2024
all meetings commence at 7pm
Monday 22ndApril Craigmonie Centre
Monday 27th May Balnain Hall
Monday 24th June AGM Blairbeg Hall
July no meeting
Monday 26th August Craigmonie Centre
Monday 23rd September Balnain Hall
Monday 28th October Blairbeg Hall
Monday 25th November Craigmonie Centre
December no meeting
Action List – February 2024
| Minutes Historical |