HELMSDALE

AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL

Minutes of the meeting held on Thursday 6th September 2012 at 7.30pm in the Community Centre
1. Present: Stan Amey, (Chair), Edward Mackay, (Vice-Chair), Barbara Jappy, (Treasurer), Penny Kane, (Secretary), Malcolm Bromley, Alison Cowie, Paul Harrington, Gerry Wood Councillor Deirdre Mackay Apologies: Chris Ratter Guest speakers: George Lavery, Area Manager, McColls. Alison McGowan, General Manager, HomeAid, Rosemary Findlay, Brora Shop Manager 2. Police report: No crime reported this month. Penny reported a complaint had been made about the speed of cars entering the car park off Golf Road. It was also reported that dog-fouling was again a problem. PK to contact James Sanderson 3. Delivery times to McColls: George Lavery, Area Manager, kindly attended the meeting to discuss this. He reported that all deliveries were back at the original times except milk/dairy. This had been put to later in the day some time back after a complaint from one resident. This had made life very difficult for other villagers who take taxis into the village early to buy fruit/veg, but who then could not get the dairy products they needed. This had a knock on effect to the other village store whose milk was therefore also delayed. The Council members asked why one person should be able to demand a change without the democratic process being followed. The Chairman suggested that the original times should be reinstated as soon as possible and this was carried unanimously. George agreed to contact the suppliers to request this. 4. Ali McGowan and Rosemary Findlay: WHAT HOMEAID DOES o 1996- A worker in CAB Thurso identified a gap that people on low income were unable to furnish their home, set up the charity to redistribute donated goods for the home o Referral client- someone on a low income as a result of homelessness, illness, disability, crisis o Referral client pays a one off payment of 5 for all essential items for the home small charge for white goods because of additional testing required o Cover Caithness and Sutherland APRIL 2011-MARCH 2012 506 requests for help 6,306 households donated to HomeAid 25, 133 items donated SINCE APRIL 2012 Helped 126 people Saving them an est. 67k on 2nd hand prices Diverted 77.288 tonnes of waste from landfill o 3 shops: Thurso, Wick, Brora. Shops help fund the cost of providing the service to our core customer o Warehouse and office at Thurso o Containers in Kinlochbervie, Lochinver o Containers at the Thurso & Wick utility sites OTHER SERVICES:

o Uplift large goods for donation free of charge o PAT test electrical goods o House clearances o House removals Recycling o Rags-Nathians o Books- pulp o Broken crockery-aggregate: Blythswood o Local scrap merchants o Broken furniture-kindling 5 Agencies we work with: o Key housing o Beechview Day Centre o Criminal Justice o 20/20 o Social Services o CAB Success of HomeAid-donations from the local community are redistributed to the local community Happy to develop relationships with community groups e.g. provided wood to local crofters/farmers for barns and hen coops; share a store for donations before uplift with the Durness Highland Games Committee Know there are a lot of activities in Helmsdale particularly with Helmsdale Development Trust 5. Approval of Minutes of July Meeting: Proposed by Stan, seconded by Edward 6. Matters Arising: Strath Road repairs: McLeans were only paid for the work carried out. The unfinished work was taken over by the Council; this was paid for by the forestry people for carrying the heavy loads. This was a difficult contract which ran of money. The question was raised about why McLeans were on site for 8 months when their contract said 3 months. Deirdre to investigate. Deirdre also reported that if all roads needing an upgrade were done the cost would be C70 million. Repairs are being done, currently the potholes outside the bank. Cemetery: Rabbits and deer are still infesting the cemetery. The fences and gate need repair. When mown/strimmed, the grass is not being picked up and is very messy. Deirdre to investigate this. 7. Approval of Minutes of August meeting: Proposed by Stan. As there was not a quorum at the August meeting the minutes must be taken as read. 8. Matters arising: a) Ambulance service abuse: The Ambulance Service is being constantly called out by one resident. This means that the service is not available to others. The patient has to be recorded as having received an acceptable level of care, therefore they cannot refuse to attend. If this patient then becomes abusive it may be possible to take action. Deirdre to investigate. Penny to write a letter to the Ambulance Service and copy Ross McKenzie to express concern on behalf of the community regarding the stress on the service and therefore the knock-on effect on other potential users. b) Brown bins: There are no brown bins to be supplied to Sutherland c) VG-ES :Barbara to complete application form for group membership d) Medical Equipment Fund: It is important to raise the profile of this group, both in terms of raising money and also on spending it. Money has been raised by gift, donation etc. Paul has applied for wind farm money on behalf of the fund. Councillors asked to make the Medical Equipment Fund Committee aware of anyone who may need some help with equipment. (Sec Penny Kane)

e) Community Empowerment and Renewal Bill: Looking at what is happening politically to give more power to local areas in terms of resources, training, guidance, and support to help local people sort out local problems f) Balnacoil Windfarm Proposals: They are asking for 3 Community Council representatives to attend a meeting (date/time to be arranged later) to explain what is happening. Paul and Edward agreed and Paul to ask Evelyn McKenzie g) GP Locums: There was discussion around the number of locums at the surgery. Penny had discussed this with the Practice Manager. Locums are brought in to cover holidays etc. There are not enough Doctors to cover both practices at holiday times. If individuals have complaints about the service they should deal with this directly and not through the Community Council. h) Untidy land: The land where the lights used to go is looking unkempt. As this is private land there is nothing that can be done 9. Councillors Report: Following the success of the Helmsdale skiff, Garry Smith has contacted Deirdre about Wick also wishing to make one There will be a meeting on 24th September 2012 at 7pm at Brora School, regarding the Highland Council budget. 12million has to be found. There is a focus group which can be found on the website and some of the suggestions are controversial Deirdre spoke about the Challenge Fund. This is 1,000,000 available yearly. If local communities can take over an existing service and run it better and cheaper they can apply for funding Lots of complaints have been received about grass cutting with verges left looking very untidy. The cutting appears to be done by strimming and not mowing and the result is very rough.. Edward commented on how nice the flowers were this year. 10. Treasurers Report: We have 2057.42 in the bank which includes the 1800.00 small grant money. No grant from Highland Council has been received as yet this year. Deirdre will check with Phil Tomalin There have been 2 applications for money from the small grants fund. One from the Christmas Lights Committee for 250.00 which will be refunded if they receive money from their sponsor. The other from Timespan Heritage Centre to part pay to set up an inter-active map of artists in the local area. No other applications had been received. After discussion both requests were agreed unanimously 11. Development Officers Report: HOUSING We have achieved 70% of funding towards the project cost. We have nearly exhausted all other means, we will be meeting with Alex Neil in the next few weeks to move this forward. Received funds from WDF towards the pre-tender works. FILLING STATION Awaiting civils cost adjustment prior to submitting application to Big Lottery Fund Once all costs have been received and plans produced, we will be going back to TSC/PO to confirm their report content has been addressed and will submit a formal written pre-planning application We will be having a 2 day information session in the Community Centre for comment and feedback from the Community. Feedback from the information and plans from the Games day has been very positive. OTHIN HOUSE The Community Consultation went out w/c 13 Aug, this will then be brought together at the end of the month for analysis. Feedback from the games day has so far been very positive. The Architect drawings have been completed and I have met with Planning to gain their feedback no problems, fully supportive.

I have met with TECS and they have highlighted a couple of small issues bicycle shed, bins and extra parking traffic plan, disabled bay. We have addressed their concerns and had the plans amended. We will be submitting a formal written pre-planning application shortly. RENEWABLES OFFSHORE The AXIS 4EFF application has been submitted and has become a Highland Council led application ONSHORE Balnacoil see letter received from Peter Docherty Consulting see letter for discussion. They are expecting a meeting to take place end Sep / early Oct. OTHER The Community Minibus/Stagecoach service has started, bit slow at first, but will pick up. The Helmsdale Station update from Mike Willmot HELMSDALE STATION CIC As Council members are probably aware the restoration project at the station building has suffered frustrating delays through a number of causes: Conditions imposed by Historic Scotland on restoring this listed building Terms of lease agreement with ScotRail Highland Council requirement to undertake access improvement as condition to planning consent. It is pleasing to report that a satisfactory outcome has finally been achieved on all these points although the Historic Scotland conditions have added approximately 12,000 to the cost of the restoration through their insistence on the use of lime plaster and breathable internal insulation. This is frustrating as our professional advisers give an opinion that these measures are not necessary for a building with solid concrete walls. The CIC is most appreciative of the East Sutherland & Edderton Ward Discretionary Grant award which enabled us to engage Torrance Partnership to undertake a re-costing survey which has updated building costs originally quoted in 2009 and has included the extra costs of the Historic Scotland measures. Also we have taken out some original features such as the proposed air source heat pump to cut down the consequent cost overrun. The outcome, when all these measures are taken together, is that the restoration work will cost 15,000 more than the original estimate. However the Railway Heritage Trust has been most generous in increasing its grant from 35,000 to 50,000 to cover these cost increases. We are hoping that we are now in a position to move on to the grant spending phase of the project. On Wednesday 5th September (the day before the Council meeting) Mike Willmot will be in Inverness to meet first with the LEADER team and then with Munro Ross who oversees the loan scheme the Highland Council operates to bridge the gap between spend and grant payment. Maddy Ferrar will also attend the second meeting and may be able to update the Community Council on the outcomes of both. Assuming all goes well at these meetings, there will still be a delay of up to 12 weeks before work on the station building might be seen to start. This is because three preliminary activities must first be completed: 1. Acquiring a building warrant 2. Undertaking the necessary tendering procedure for the work in accordance with EU requirements 3. Completing the legal work on the 50 year tripartite lease with Network Rail and ScotRail for the station building. All of these processes should run .concurrently; all require expenditure of grant funding. This report would not be complete without thanks to my fellow directors and also particular thanks to Paul Harrington for his assistance and encouragement at every stage. The Helmsdale Station CIC is also pleased to acknowledge and thank Mackenzie and Cormack, the Tain based solicitors who have agreed to act on behalf of the CIC pro bono as part of their contribution to supporting community projects. Michael Willmot 03/09/12 MINIBUS: Garry Macmillan reported on progress with the Community Bus. A 3 month trial has started to get people who have booked a ticket from Helmsdale to Brora leaving at 6.15am. Slow start but picking up. The Committee are looking for a bus with easier access for disabled access to include wheelchairs if possible. The bus passed an inspection with flying colours. More driver training will take place on 6th October. The cost of borrowing the bus has increased to reflect increased fuel costs. Running the bus takes a lot of hard work. A.O.B. a) Gerry reported that Badbea houses are now seriously overgrown with bracken. The access path has been greatly improved. Deirdre to investigate who is responsible b) Malcolm told the council of the Highlands and Small Communities Housing Trust open day and AGM to be held on 28th September Town House Inverness

c) A music and dance group from Nepal called Kutumba are arriving in Helmsdale from 11th 15th September. They will be doing a workshop at the school on 12th, going out in the boat on 13th with Andy Sutherland and doing a Ceilidh at the coastguard hut on 14th at 5pm. They may also busk around the village. Barbara and Penny agreed to help with food, to liaise with Caroline Kelly d) An invitation has arrived for 2 Councillors to attend Police Community Consultation event on Friday 21st September at the Community Centre for 3 hours from 10.45am. Malcolm and Penny volunteered. Penny to inform organisers e) Letter re Licensing Act and late night catering really only relevant to Wick and Thurso-no action f) Community Council on-line training: for those who are interested the access is http://www.highland.gov.uk/livinghere/communitiesand organisations/communitycouncils/onlinecourse.htm g) Supplementary Guidance Proposal: Proposals for small scale wind turbines. The Highland Council is now inviting submission of views form the public, organisations and the renewables industry on-line at http://www.highland.gov.uk/yourenvironment/planning/consulations.htm comments should be received by letter to Development Plans Team, Highland Council, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness, IV3 5NX or by email to: devplans@highland.gov.uk by 4th October 2012. There is also an exhibition at the Service Point. h) Malcolm reported that the notice board in the Bridge car park has no cover on and notices get wet or blow away i) Village refurbishment: No word has come back from Sonia and she has now moved to another department. Deirdre to chase up j) Barbara has had details of the purchase of wreaths for Armistice Day for the memorials at Loth and Helmsdale. Community Council to pay for it Barbara agreed to organise. k) Paul reported that a planning application had been received to change the use of the old Tourist Information Office (more recently known as The Wee Cafe to domestic use. It was agreed that the Council should object and Stan and Paul will write a letter stating this Meeting closed at 9.15pm Date and time of next meeting: Thursday 4th October 2012 at 7.30pm in the Community Centre