Denny & District Community Council Meeting Minutes-Monday 5th March 2012 Meeting held in The Red Hoose

6.30p.m. 9.00p.m PRESENT Colin Belbin Sharon Tait Brian McCabe Peter ODonnell Julie McCaffery Cllr Waddell Cllr Blackwood PC S Neill PC L Paul MJ Armstrong H Smith Cllr McNally (part) REPRESENTING DDCC DDCC DDCC DDCC DDCC Falkirk Council Falkirk Council CS Police CS Police TC Management TC Management Falkirk Council Minutes by J McCaffery REPRESENTING DDCC DDCC

APOLOGIES John Cooper Steve Ratcliffe Kirsty McKnight PC A Nesbitt Christine Bell

Denny High School

CS Police DDCC

ABSENT Matt Mulligan Cllr Martin Oliver

REPRESENTING DDCC (resigned) Falkirk Council

Members of public in attendance: J Craig, M Drumgoole, M McCorie, A Mulligan, J Muir, K Kapusiak, J OConnor, J Henderson, A Mitchell, J Duff, J Owen, B Owen, L Jack, A McLagan, M Delaney, Z Gibson, W Buchanan. 1.0 Welcome Action Convenor C Belbin welcomed everyone to the meeting and following protocol, invited members of the public to address the meeting. 2.0 Members of Public Business All members of the public who attended the meeting did so to ensure their objection to the wind farm proposed for Rullie was heard. The objections are based on, 1) the destruction of rare habitat; 2) health grounds; 3) highly visible to town; 4) destruction of area of outstanding natural beauty; 5) potential for low vibrational hum. Some members of the public also expressed concern over reduction on property values; the way in which the plan was submitted; and the general lack of consultation. There were several questions asked of the CC. Q. Why was the application hidden and why have the community not been properly consulted? A. Community Windpower are a private developer. DDCC are unable to answer on behalf of Community Windpower. Q. Who are the Denny Development Group and what is their link with the DDCC? A. Wind farms are constantly on the CC agenda. The Denny Development Group is an independently constituted group, open to anyone. They talk to all energy groups planning to site wind turbines within the Denny ward. DDCC has agreed that they have the authority

C Belbin

to maximise any potential community benefit and inform of future wind farm proposals to DDCC. A DDG member usually attends monthly CC meetings to provide an update, as do CS Police; Denny High School reps; council officers; etc. This set-up ensures that DDCC members can vote on wind farm issues based purely on community feedback, and are not involved directly in the financial or planning aspects of any development. It is recognised that often proposals go ahead despite objections from the DDCC and it would be remiss of the CC if they did not ensure maximum community benefit for any potential community inconvenience. Q. Why does the Development Group contain members living outside the ward? A. It doesnt. Cllr Waddell named the current members all of whom live within the ward. Q. Why was a member of the development group campaigning outside Sainsburys and only receipting those in favour of the proposal? A. The DDG member stated that this was not true. Q. Has a member of the Development Group been distributing posters for Community Windpower? A. Yes, as a private individual, not in his capacity as DDG member. In the same way any member of the public can join Denny Development Group and campaign against windfarms - as an individual. Q. How does the DDCC intend to consult with the community? Why has there not been a community ballot? A. CC has neither the authority nor the finance to support community ballots. DDCC advertise their monthly meetings and invite the general public along to listen and express their own views. The strong turnout by members of the public was recognised and welcomed. Pro-active feedback from the community makes the decision making process much easier. Q. How many of the CC members have been elected? A. 5 elected members, 3 co opted members. Q. How can we join? A. DDCC cannot currently co-opt any more members without breaching Constitution. C Belbin to check with B Pirie, Democratic Services Manager when next elections are scheduled. Colin did however urge people to join the Denny Development Group, especially if they had a strong opinion on wind farming. Q. What are the personal opinions of the CC members on wind farms in general? A. The personal opinions of the CC are private when it comes to voting. However, CC members are elected and co-opted to represent the views of the full community. Whilst some members may lodge personal objections or letters of support to any single proposal, they may vote differently when voting on behalf of ALL of the people of

C Belbin

B. McCabe

J. McCaffrey

C. Belbin

B. McCabe

Denny & District. That vote, crucially, should be based on the opinions garnered from ALL members of the public. Q. Who would administer the community benevolent fund? A. Discussions are not yet at that point. Q. How can we object? A. By lobbying local Cllrs; lodging objections online; writing letters of objection to planning officers, you can push the planning application to a site meeting at which your objections can be made. Members of the public in attendance felt the application was made by stealth and they had not been properly informed by Community Windpower. All members of the DDCC encouraged the group to keep their campaign going to ensure that the views of the people most impacted by the windfarms are heard. Colin Belbin urged all present to attend the public exhibition being hosted by Community Windpower on March 15th, from 1pm -7pm to get more information and make their feelings known. Marjory Delaney informed the group that a website had been set up to campaign against wind farms at www.dennyagainstwindfarms.com. 3.0 Denny High School Report Katie McKnight could not attend but provided a report thanking all members for sponsorship for the sky dive which was rescheduled for 11th March. They are working on a litter campaign to improve litter around Denny high school area. Cllr Waddell agreed to discuss again with residents in Demoreham, the possibility of putting public waste bins in the street. Dance show will be held at the end of March tickets on sale soon. Denny Garden MaryJane Armstrong and Hania Smith attended the meeting to discuss plans for developing the land left after demolition of block A. They shared some ideas, and plan to involve local schools & heritage groups at the design stage. The DDCC were fully supportive and asked to be kept informed of proceedings. PACT Report PC Paul introduced PC S Neill who is replacing PC Toni and advised on the priorities for March PACT Priorities have remained the same since Dec meeting ASB at Demoreham and Cruikshanks Court. Continuing patrols around Castlerankine. Special constables are being brought in to support in helping disperse youths congregating in Cruikshanks Court. Investigations into vandalism at Denny Bowling Club and window

B. McCabe

Cllr Waddell

4.0

4.0

5.0

breakages at Home Deals and the Bank of Scotland are ongoing. Minutes of December Meeting Proposed by B McCabe , seconded by Peter ODonnell CCTV Cameras Old Denny High Cameras are owned by Falkirk Council. They will be retained but CllrWaddell unsure if suitable for old DHS. Town Centre Regeneration FC Officers are continuing discussion with 21st Century Denny on the plans for regenerating the Town centre. The local heritage group plan to object based on the unsympathetic design which takes no cognisance of the heritage of Stirling street. BMX & Skate Park The skatepark and bike trail project is currently with lawyers. Cllr McNally will provide an update at the next meeting. Tennis club is going well but has been hampered by the closure of the Denny football centre. Classes have been relocated to the Denny Centre for the next block. Cllr McNally informed the group of provisonal plans to put outdoor tennis courts in Denny. Two locations are being considered by the LTA. Treasurers Business John now has sufficient info from everyone for the expenses calculations for the coming year. Gift for Ray Richards still to be confirmed. Denny Development Group Update No update provided. Convenors Business P/12/0074/FUL extension to Dwelling house, 38 Soulliac Drive. P/12/0082/FUL extension to Dwelling house, single storey to side and rear 27 Avonbank Gardens, Dunipace. P/12/0014/FUL Removal of a mullion and installation of UPVC windows, 34 Glasgow Road, Denny. Any Other Community Council Members Business Roy Bogle provided feedback on a presentation of potential plans for the Gala Park. Feedback forms still need to be analysed and the CGI group will meet to discuss the next stage which will undoubtedly involve other local groups. Plans are still in Dunipace Church Hall and its hoped that an article will appear in the Falkirk Herald. Members reported windows smashed on the Old Stationmasters house. Cllr Blackwood committed to checking the status of the sale. Improving Communications and Consultation J McCaffery and Brian McCabe attended the CC training on Social Media. Both felt that Facebook offered the CC the best portal for

6.0

7.0

8.0

9.0

ALL

10.0

DDG

11.0

12.0

Cllr Blackwood

13.0

All

consulting with the general public. Concerns were expressed over policing the content of the site. Members to consider for further discussion at next meeting. 14.0 AOCB Cllr Blackwood informed the group of an intermittent fault with the traffic light detection system. This is causing lengthy tailbacks and will not be fixed for 2 weeks. Next Meeting The next meeting is due to take place on Mon 2nd April in Red Hoose at 6.30pm

15.0