Caerlaverock Community Association [CCA] Minutes of Meeting held at the Nith Hotel, Glencaple on 29th August 2018
Present
David Gilbert, Douglas Anderson, Malcolm Laurie, Helen Clark, Ian Brown, Rob Wells, Ronnie Clark, Cllr John Campbell, Ward Officer Chris Woodness, PC Bowie, Lynne Sydes, Mila Garson, Sue Greig, Jimmy Kirkaldy, Kitty Kirkaldy, Rev. David Logan, Alison Robertson, Gail Stewart, Jane Baxter, Norman Brown, May Curry, Culver Curry, Judith Mylne, Margaret Donovan, Shirley Little, Billy Little, Ann Kilpatrick, Stephen Powell, Sue Gilbert, Liz Ballard
Apologies
Lady Clare, Gordon Kerr, Cllr Ellaine Murray, Chris Jackson, David Buoy, Jean O’Toole, Kelly Green, Brenda Craik, Beryl Walker
David Gilbert opened the meeting with a welcome and thanks to so many people for coming.
Minutes of last meeting – Agreed
Matters Arising
Motorhomes – New large, prominent sign is making a difference. Motorhome parking has been monitored regularly and is now much more contained to the designated areas. Boathouse opening in evenings [Thurs/ Fri/ Sat from 20/9/18] – see how this works as space shared with Nith Hotel and Boathouse customers.
Castle Corner – Donation box now in place. Sign welcoming donations to be installed. Estate to change ‘Free of charge’ sign at entrance [replacing with ‘no fires’].
Public toilet – Ward Officer Chris Woodness has been assured that Community Assets team would be down. Scottish Water also been contacted by both Ward Officer Chris Woodness and Cllr Ellaine Murray. He will follow up as action should have been taken.
Trees – A matter between the Estate and the individuals concerned. However, the Estate has issued a formal statement expressing the position of the Estate regarding trees in the community:
Caerlaverock Estate reiterate that they will not tolerate the removal of trees by individuals. Any such actions will be reported to the Police and action taken by the Estate as deemed appropriate. This includes the replanting of the trees as well as compensation planting elsewhere on the Estate. [Compensation planting is 10 trees for every tree removed]
Assurances given that this matter will be pointed out in advance to the potential new developers.
Castle Corner – Bins emptied on a more regular basis. Dog fouling – signs up, occasional council staff patrols. Fines can be issued. Some difference noticed.
Bankend Bus Stop – Repainted thanks to Kelly Green and young helpers. Notice boards on order for Bus stops at Bankend and Kelton.
Community Police Report
PC Bowie reported that there have been no recorded crimes to note in our area.
Scams to be aware of – significantly a ‘mandate fraud scam’ where the scammer will make contact pretending to be from a legitimate company who have had to make changes to their direct debit mandate. They ask you to pay your direct debit into this different bank account. They sound bona fide but be aware not to make any changes to your finances without making contact with your own bank yourself.
Bogus callers may use local knowledge to gain your trust (e.g. say that they are from the Municipal Chambers/ local roads dept etc). Be aware. They may come back the next day and be persistent. Call the police.
Please report any suspicions to police so they can investigate – person/ activities/ people nearby/ bogus caller/ drink drivers/ drugs or anything out of the ordinary or unusual that you see. The information could be crucial.
Children First knitted Trauma Teddies are being collected locally. Promoted through Police Scotland, they are to help in significant incidents where there are children present, as a distraction to what else may be going on. Please hand into the Police Station or local Officer. [Caerlaverock Kirk knitting needles are busy clicking away!] https://www.children1st.org.uk/what-we-do/news/bear-withthe-trauma-teddy-knitting-pattern-is-here/
In response to DG, PC Bowie agreed that speed control monitoring is something that can be done with regard to the 20mph campaign.
Financial report
Balance at start of period: £1,632.35
Income
Motorhome donations plus donation of £140 from Veteran Car Club
Total income – £1,493.66
Expenditure –
Plants and padlock = £28.40
Additional Expenses –
£500 – donation to school
£220 – noticeboards
£198.50 – charity calendars
£50 – coffee afternoon donation in aid of Marie Curie nurses
£412.59 – various (website security, hosting, SSL certificate, Facebook boosts, petrol for grass-cutting, Castle Corner board etc)
Total expenditure = £1,409.49
| Balance at start: | £1,632.35 |
| Plus Income: | £1,493.66 |
| = | £3,126.01 |
| Less expenditure: | £1,409.49 |
| Balance at end: | £1,716.52 |
Both phone boxes (Bankend and Glencaple) need repainted, cost tbc
Nith Inshore Rescue Report
Our crew have been heavily involved in two searches for missing persons over the past month, these involved the use of both our boats and foot searching alongside Police, Coastguard and Mountain Rescue teams. Thank you to crew and their families for giving up their time to assist with these searches.
The landscaping works at the Lifeboat Station are almost complete. Grass seed is to be sown on the top of the bank. A gas tank is currently being fitted and will then be screened off, this serves our heating system.
There is a new area of hard standing which will mean crew no longer need to park their cars along the edge of the road when attending training or callouts. A kind reminder that this parking area is strictly for Lifeboat crew and other emergency services. It will also make things easier for our next Open Day which will be next summer.
It is time for the annual service of all our life jackets. This ensures that if we ever needed to use our life jackets, we can be sure that they will operate correctly. Half of the jackets have been serviced and returned and now the second half will be sent for service.
Thanks to the Coastguard Sector Manager for providing our crew with some refresher training in first aid.
Fundraising Halloween Dance – 22nd October at the Barbour Hall – all welcome!
School Report
Gail Stewart reported that the fun day in June raised almost £1800 – a fantastic result, a great turn out and a brilliant day. Thank you for all donations, including from the CCA. The school have raised around £3000 in order to apply for a £10,000 lottery grant for a trim trail for the playground. Unfortunately, recent changes to the applications mean that they have been refused. School currently rethinking plans, tbc.
School roll remains at 24 with 3 p7s leaving and 3 p1s coming in.
CCA extend offer of help.
Caerlaverock Kirk Report
100th Anniversary of WWI in November will be marked by the Church. 11th November is a Sunday, there will be a service at the memorial. Harvest service during the week with the school and community – venue tbc. Caerlaverock Kirk Dance 31st Aug 2018. Rural Mission Sunday will go ahead next year.
DA has arranged for a member of the services who is currently serving to lay the wreath on behalf of the CCA at the memorial service.
20 is Plenty
Jean O’Toole’s campaign to reduce the speed in Glencaple village to 20mph now includes a draft, detailed document. This incorporates a proposal and rationale and has been produced with the help and effort of a lot of people, including layout and presentation by Nick O’Toole. Once finalised, it will be presented to the council alongside the community petition.
In summary the proposal is that:
- Existing 30mph signs be replaced with 20mph signs
- 30mph signs moved further out of village at all 3 entry points
- Countdown markers and rumble strips
A ‘voluntary 20’ in the meantime is something we can all consider. It takes less than a minute to travel from North to South through Glencaple at 20mph.
DA responded to a question about digital signs by explaining that the CCA had to buy one for Bankend village at a cost of £1500 as it wouldn’t be provided by the council. There haven’t been funds to purchase the same for Glencaple [which would require 3].
On why other schools have a 20mph limit, but not here, Cllr John Campbell agreed with the frustration, as it has been council policy since 2012. He has spoken to the Officer for Roads Safety and they are ‘working their way through a number of schools which need 20mph zones’. The council are restricted by budget restraints and funding. Cllr JC has forwarded a link to the document to Steve Herriott, Head of Infrastructure and Transportation; Graeme Allison, Roads Manager and Tony Topping, Network Strategy and Road Safety. Once there is a final document, Cllr JC would like to get things moving with the council.
In response to why Glencaple hasn’t had the support that other communities have, Ward Officer Chris Woodness stated that it comes down to the success of the community that prosecutes their campaign to have the speed limits changed or new limits imposed. If you leave it just to the Association to speak on your behalf without any further campaigning, then it will fall flat. It requires the residents of the community, the school, the children involved, the organisations and businesses to get behind the campaign so the Association acts as your voice but speaks as one community. It’s a case of adding all the pieces together so there’s not only a weight of evidence but a weight of support. And it’s continued.
David Logan will write a letter of support as Parish Minister.
The school are going to do a project on road safety, and will produce posters etc.
Support has been noted from MSP Joan McAlpine, MP Oliver Mundell as well as elected members Ellaine Murray, John Martin and Malcolm Johnstone (via Cllr John Campbell).
Concerns were raised about the speed of some club cyclists coming through Glencaple. They are silent. Malcolm Laurie will approach the cycling clubs once the document has been presented.
On a similar note, has the relatively silent engine of electric cars been included? A fair point which will take on board.
30mph wheelie bin stickers to be distributed.
Will it strengthen our case that we have increased traffic coming to The Boathouse? DG responded that ‘we hope it will’, and that this is one of our main points detailed in the document, along with relevant council policies. https://issuu.com/nickotoole49/docs/20mph_v1
With thanks to the following who have confirmed their support of this proposal: Caerlaverock School, The Nith Hotel, The Boathouse, Caerlaverock Estate, Nith Inshore Rescue and Caerlaverock Kirk.
It was unanimously agreed that the document is presented to the Council.
Wildfowling
In response to a lack of consultation from SNH regarding new policy restrictions, David Gilbert was interviewed by ITV news and spoke about the social and economic effect changes will have on the community. He has submitted a formal complaint to the head of the SNH and submitted a freedom of information request.
The bylaws for the Nature Reserve are due in February 2019 and DG is concerned that there is full consultation with the CCA on this matter.
CW noted that everybody needs to meet the 7 set standards for community engagement for consultation.
There was a meeting held on 21st August 2018 in which assistance has been offered on the matter of budgeting for wardens.
In reply to a question of annual cost to the SNH, DG explained that in order to warden the area, the additional annual cost to the SNH is around £18,000.
It was noted that whilst there is the heritage aspect which is very important, not everybody in the community is ‘for’ wildfowling.
Memorial benches
Following discussion on location, what size/ style/ material, maintenance (and costs) and parameters/ limits of plaque etc, it was agreed that the community write a policy for memorial benches.
CW pointed out the BPI factory uses recycled plastic benches and the community payback team can refurbish and renew benches.
Calendar 2019
Rev David Logan came up with the idea, got in touch with Malcolm Laurie and there are now printed 100 A3 calendars. Costs covered half/ half between the Kirk and CCA. Stocked at the Church, Boathouse, Nith Hotel and at the Autumn Fayre. All profits to local causes – up to £600 profit if they all sell. To be run as a photo competition in coming years, this year photos have been donated by several local photographers.
Any Other Business
School Bus – Concerns that the council haven’t approved the bus to go down the Blackshaw Road. They will drop pupils off at the road end. The potholes (there are 14 of them) are so bad that the road will be impassable shortly.
Potholes – DA has enquired about timing of filling potholes and has purchased equipment and materials to do the potholes ourselves. Cllr JC will raise it with the council, although it will take a good 3 or 4 months. Many potholes were brought up, DA has a list.
DA has reported the hole on the short road between Wellington Street and Front Row to Scottish Water and the Council.
Laying of the wreath – it was clarified that for this year, for the 100-year ceremony, that a serving member of the forces would lay the wreath.
Grass cutting – ML noted the core path to/from Bankend that is maintained by the Curries and suggested that we offer them some reimbursement for their petrol costs. Agreed.
Litter picking – ML has been given a form to apply for community payback people to pick the litter on the road between Kelton and Glencaple. It has previously been deemed ‘unsafe’ for them to do so for Health & Safety reasons. [Please stop throwing litter onto the verges – take it home – it is dangerous for us to pick it up too]. Worth reapplying this year? Yes.
Mirrors – Following the meeting the CCA have now ordered 2 mirrors. 1. for the junction at Wellington Street/ Shore Road and 2. For the bad ‘Z’ bend north of Conheath.
Monthly ‘Caerlaverock Catch up’ Newsletter – ML reminded us that it is available for pick up/ distribution from the 2 bus shelters (Bankend and Kelton), The Boathouse, and The Kirk as well as on the noticeboards. Please help distribute to let everyone who isn’t online know what’s going on.
Sustrans/ Cycle/ Walking path – There is up to £2million funding available per project for alternative travel. We can apply to upgrade the path from Dumfries/ Kingholm Quay to Glencaple – there has been a lot of very positive support online.
Nith National Scenic Area Advisory Group – Access – The council is looking at repair to the ditch bridges along the Nith. Request for grips to be put in. Bridge north of Kelton Bank needs to be re-sited – in discussions with the landowner.
Footpath signs gone – It’s been noticed that 2 signs have gone – on the way up the Quay Hill (just beyond the green box) and at Howmains. [The Council have now been notified]
Thanks to the Nith Hotel for the use of the Function Suite.
Next meeting – Wednesday 28th November 2018 at The Nith Hotel, Glencaple
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