Glen Urquhart Community Council



Glen Urquhart Community Council 


Minutes of meeting held on 

Monday 25th September 2023 at 7pm 

Craigmonie Centre, Drumnadrochit 


 



Please note: Minutes will be updated when officially approved at the next meeting.







1. Present: Dianne Fraser (Chair), David Ferguson, Iain Riddle, Stuart Ross. Fiona Urquhart and Val Cooper. 
Also present: Councillor David Fraser, and 3 members of the public. 

Apologies: Councillor Chris Balance, Bill Smart, Dominic Thierry, Tina Morrow, Soirbheas, Susan Clark, GURCA.

Conflicts of Interest 
No conflicts of interest in relation to planning applications declared. 

2. Minutes of the last meeting 
The minute of meeting held on 28th August 2023 was also approved as an accurate record (Fiona Urquhart / Stuart Ross).   

3. Matters arising from minutes 
Balmacaan Road Trees – The removal of the trees at Balmacaan Road end was discussed and it was agreed to revisit this once there was more clarity on the plans for the old shop site.  It was hoped that this would be before the end of the year, and discussions regarding the trees could also include GUSC and GURCA.  Action – November Agenda
Scotmid – Dianne confirmed that she would contact Scotmid again to request that a representative attend a GUCC meeting to discuss issues relating to paths, grass cutting and car parking.  Action – Dianne Fraser
Wildfire Liaison Group – Dianne confirmed that she would follow up on this and invite relevant representatives to set up a liaison group.  Action – Dianne Fraser
A831 verges – David Fraser confirmed that he would continue to press for work to be undertaken to cut back the vegetation along the A831 verges.  Action – David Fraser
Loch Ness Hotel – Iain confirmed that new signage and changes to the front of the hotel had both been approved by planning.
Forest Huts – Iain confirmed that he had contacted Highland Council planning for guidance for the consideration of planning applications for forest huts.  Under the National Planning Framework 4 (NPF4) such developments aligned with policies relating to tackling the climate and nature crisis, climate mitigation and adaptation, biodiversity, natural places, soils, forestry, woodland and trees, design quality and place, and rural development.  They also met criteria relating to the Highland Wide Local Development Plan (2012) in relation to sustainable design, design quality and place making, developer contributions, wider countryside, and trees and development.
Bearnock Developments – Iain Riddle confirmed that has corresponded with Highland Council Planning and is awaiting a reply.
Springfield Community Liaison Group – Dianne confirmed that she has contacted Springfield again to request a liaison group meeting, and is still awaiting a response.
Community Council Forum – Dianne advised that she had attended the recent Forum.  The 20mph roll out had been discussed and this had included a Powerpoint with useful additional information, this would be circulated to GUCC members and added to the Facebook page. Further information on the 20mph roll out can be found at 20mph@highland.gov.uk. It had also been confirmed that there are not enough resources for Police Officers to attend all community council meetings but they would have representation at the Forum events.  Dianne had requested that crime statistics might be collated from their national database and circulated to Community Council areas, and this was taken as an action from the meeting.  The next Forum is scheduled for 5th December, Dianne advised that she would be attending, and any other GUCC members are welcome to attend also.  
Scottish Water – Bill had confirmed that he had contacted Scottish Water for an update on works at the Cover and is awaiting a reply.

4. Treasurer’s Report
David Ferguson provided the following update:

The bank account holds funds for Glen Urquhart Community Council only.  At our last meeting in June, the total balance in our account was £8,918.01.

In the last month, there has been some activity in our account, details as follows;

20th September, received £638.51 annual grant from Highland Council

New balance = £8,918.01 + £638.51 = £9,556.52

£7,211.77 is ring fenced for Glen Urquhart Place Planning, so actual funds held by Community Council = £9,556.52 - £7,211.77 = £2,344.75

5. Roads / Drainage
Bunloit – David Fraser confirmed that a meeting had taken place to look at signage and road markings following the recent road works at Bunloit.  

Pedestrianisation of Academy Street – There was a brief discussion on the proposed changes to the city centre.  Those visiting Inverness city centre from the A82 would need to access Eastgate car parks via the Longman or Crown, which it was felt would lead to further congestion and pollution in other parts of the city.  There is a proposal to surface and line mark the parking area at Torvean and use this as a park and ride, however the practicalities of this were not yet known.  There is a lot of consultation yet to take place and Inverness City Community Councils have been consulted.  It was agreed that Dianne ask for this to be included on the agenda for the next Community Council Forum so that all those affected could input feedback.  Action – Dianne Fraser

6. Planning 
Active Applications 
23/03779/PIP – Erection of annexe, Rivermill House, Milton – application has since been withdrawn.

Winfarms - Bill Smart had advised that GUCC comments to ECU on the Loch Liath and Chrathaich Wind Farms had been submitted.

Springfield – It was noted that revised proposals for 3 phases of works requiring road closures are to be submitted to Highland Council, and GUCC reiterated the importance of maintaining access for all those affected.  It was agreed that GUCC contact the Highland Council Planning department regarding Springfield’s lack of communication and consultation with the community, and the associated lack of Liaison Group meetings. Action – Dianne Fraser  

A82 Road Works in Drumnadrochit– It was noted that there have been problems with the traffic control lights, however on some occasions the lights at both ends are set to red while work is undertaken on the road and motorists need to be mindful of this.  Highway authorities are aware of the risk of the potential for bottleneck once there are two sets of lights in action.  

7. Community Action Plan Update
Green Space – The community are invited to submit suggestions on what the green space within the Compass site might be used for.
Place Planning – Dianne advised that it was hoped to have all the relevant information collated and ready for community consultation around the beginning of November.  The Small Communities Housing Trust have been asked to assist with a housing survey to tie in with this.  The consultation period will last for 6 weeks, and thereafter the findings will be submitted to Highland Council.
Statkraft, Loch Liath Broadband Consultation - Dianne will share the information received to date, and any members of the community who are particularly affected by poor broadband, and would like to be involved in the consultation, should contact Dianne.  Action – Dianne Fraser  

Update from Soirbheas
The following update was submitted in advance of the meeting:
Sarah Selby, our new Befriending Co-ordinator, started with us in September.  Sarah’s role is to support our volunteer befrienders and clients.  She is also looking at how we can develop the service and reach more people across all age groups.
We are running two information mornings for the community.  Both mornings run from 10 am to 12 pm, the first one is in Cannich Hall on 30th September and next one is at Blairbeg Hall on 7th October.  We will have stalls manned by various community organisations and people can come along and learn about activities available to them as well as get information about Soirbheas grants and activities.
Soirbheas hope to run two digital awareness sessions in Cannich and Drumnadrochit in October/November.  The purpose of the sessions is to help people to understand how to use the digital world safely and we will be coving topics such as online safety and paying bills online.  Sessions will be open to everyone of any age.   
We are currently working with GUCC to inform a piece of work commissioned by Stratkraft about broadband connectivity in Glen Urquhart
Sunflower Home Care have been providing about 40 hours of care across Glen Urquhart and Strathglass since 25th July.  They are currently in the process of moving into an office at the Care Project.

 If anyone would like any more information please contact Tina Morrow, tinamorrow@soirbheas.org

Update from GURCA
A welcome had been sent from GUCC to Anne Clarke, the new Community Development Officer.  
An update had been requested from GURCA, and Susan Clark had advised that these may not be available in written form in the future due to limited resources, but rather, updates may be provided by GUCC reps on GURCA and vice versa.   Dominic, the GUCC representative on GURCA had sent apologies for this meeting, and no GURCA representatives were in attendance.  

8. Consultations 
Democracy Matters – Further information is available on the Scottish Government website   Democracy Matters - local governance review: phase 2 - gov.scot (www.gov.scot) GUCC members and the community are invited to consider how communities might have more say in decision making, the lack of funding, the volume of work undertaken by community council members who are all volunteers – and whether this is the way in which we want local government to run.  GUCC will provide a response in advance of the consultation end date February 2024.  Action – Dianne Fraser

9. AOCB 
Parking in Milton – It was noted that there are no parking restrictions in Milton, and congestion due to parked vehicles was causing problems, especially for larger vehicles.  It was agreed that a note be sent to Shane Manning, Principal Traffic Officer at Highland Council.  Action – Dianne Fraser
Community Council Elections – GUCC members and members of the community have until next Tuesday at noon to submit information.  It is important to retain the voice of GUCC and thus ensure quorate membership.  Action - All
Community Payback – At the last meeting the possibility of having a community payback team perform specific jobs within the area was discussed.  Since then Val had spoken with a colleague in the Criminal Justice sector who had advised that the most likely way to get a team out to the area would be to make a list of the types of things we would like help with, and where possible these should have a good visual impact to the community eg repairing benches, painting, gardening.  It is less likely that a team would be deployed doing work on road verges.  Some suggestions included painting benches on the village green, ground maintenance around the bowling green, clearing the right of way from the A82 to Lewiston, and work around St Drostans.  Litter picking had been suggested but it was felt that there was already a good community team who did a great job keeping the village litter free.  It was agreed that Dianne would draft a note to the relevant contact and request a site visit. Action – Dianne Fraser
Community Information Days – As per item 7 above, Soirbheas are holding community information sessions to highlight key groups within the community, these are planned in Cannich Hall on Saturday 30th September (10am until 12pm), and Drumnadrochit Hall on Saturday 7th October.  GUCC will attend the session in Drumnadrochit and welcome others to attend and represent GUCC.

10. Details of Next Meeting
The next meeting was scheduled for Monday 23rd October, 7pm in Blairbeg Hall.   

There was no further business and the meeting closed at 8.30pm.   


Action List – September 2023