Colinsburgh and Kilconquhar Community Council
DRAFT Minutes of the delayed Community Council Meeting held
on Tuesday 25 October 2022 in Galloway Library, Colinsburgh at 7.30 pm
Apologies: Alistair Aynscough
Present: Trish Finlay (Chairperson), Anne Forgie (Treasurer), Anne Toye (Minute Secretary),
Mac Logan, Marian Paul, Rosalind Darville
In attendance: Cllr Alycia Hayes, Cllr Fiona Corps, Gillian Duncan (E Neuk First Responders) and nine members of the public.
Minutes of Previous Meeting
The Minutes of 14 July 2022 were approved by Anne Forgie and seconded by Patricia Finlay.
Matters Arising
Defibrillator Gillian Duncan provided additional information – the preferred option is the +CR2 cabinet at £1750 plus additional cost to either wall mount or erect it, and purchase a replacement battery. There remain some supply chain issues.
The Planning Secretary has written to Fife Council Estates and Planning with maps of proposed site, photos to seek permission to wall mount a cabinet on Estates’ property. (Two new-design solar cabinets were considered difficult to site to gain the requisite amount of sun).
Double yellow lines – for discussion under Councillors’ Reports.
Chairperson’s Report
The chairperson welcomed everyone and explained that today’s meeting was held over from September following the death of the late Queen, and to allow people to attend the pre-planning consultation meeting earlier today. The floor would be open to comment etc at the end of the meeting.
Police have responded to 13 calls in Colinsburgh for issues relating to theft, anti-social behaviour, traffic and noise. They also responded to 5 calls in Kilconquhar resulting in one crime being recorded. The chairperson noted the gradual increase in the number of calls.
Community Council Minutes and Agenda are posted on the village notice boards, to the new website and Facebook. A new notice Community Council notice board is being purchased for Kilconquhar to replace the vandalised one.
It was noted that the notice of the meeting and minutes had been removed from the Community Council notice board outside the Library in Colinsburgh.
Treasurer’s Report
The Treasurer successfully applied for the annual £528 grant. Currently, there is £4268.31 in the account including ring-fenced money for the defibrillator leaving £1773.31 to cover costs of hosting the website, purchasing the new noticeboard and room hire.
Councillors’ Reports
Fife Council is working to support people coping with the cost of living whether through cash payments, free food, or rebates of Council tax. A number of warm spaces is being established. Information is available on both the Fife Council and Scottish Government websites with the Scottish Government also launching a new Veterans’ Fund. NHS Fife is recruiting 160 new graduate nurses.
The roots of the dangerous tree in Barnyards appear not to be on private land and an approach will be made to Fife Council to have it felled.
Double yellow lines The 2018 plan for double yellow lines on St Andrews Road into Kilconquhar did not go ahead following local objections. Fife Council is willing to revisit this if there is sufficient evidence of need. It was noted that the Community Council acting on behalf of residents would not be sufficient evidence. It was further noted that:
- complaints re householders parking outside their homes may not be accepted
- parking within 10m of a junction is a traffic offence, liable to fines. Traffic wardens have been noted to be operating locally.
Action: Residents should submit points of view along with photographic evidence directly to transportation to evidence need.
This generated discussion from some attendees who expressed frustration at what they saw as a lack of action by Police regarding parking on double yellow lines and disabled bays along Main Street, Colinsburgh.
Tree Felling Following further surveys the tree in Barnyards is to be felled.
Website
The new website is now running and can be found at www.ckcc2000.wordpress.com
Planning
Defibrillator The Planning Secretary has made an approach to Estates and Planning into the need for planning consent for a powerless defibrillator, and consent to site it on Estate propery..
22/01913 – Application for the change of use of an agricultural store to a museum at Balbuthie Farm has been approved.
Pre-application consultation by Kirkwood Homes
Several residents attended this consultation for the possible development of 50 new homes off Colinsburgh Main Street and were present at the meeting. The purpose having been to gather public opinion of the proposal prior to considering the submission of a planning application. As a result there was a lively exchange of opinions including:
- the potentially positive impact on local business and the primary school
- the detrimental impact on an already congested, busy Main Street given the number of vehicles (1-3 for each house equates to an additional 50-150 vehicles)
- the concerns regarding road safety at the site of the proposed access road
Concern was raised that the development was already a fait accompli. Cllr Corps reported they had spoken with the architects who had found the comments helpful and would take them on board prior to any decision to go ahead with submitting a planning application.
In response to a question from the floor regarding the role of the Community Council in the event that the wider community object to an application going ahead the Planning Secretary and Chairperson commented:
- this is a pre-consultation event that is required to be carried out prior to any application being lodged
- meetings are open to the public and planning is a permanent agenda item
- the Community Council could and would hold a special meeting to gather views in the event of an application being lodged, in addition people could email comments to colkilcc2000@gmail.com
- the Community Council only counts as one voice on planning, and other, issues (whether objector or supporter) and would urge anyone with strong opinions to comment in the event an application were to be submitted
- objections or supporting comments needed to be based on valid planning issues in order to count
- queried the creation of a “kick” area when one already exists
At this point and following further questions about valid issues, a resident who regularly attends community council meetings stated that as a planner they had declared an interest in the matter with Fife Council. As a local resident, they could be available to offer impartial guidance if required. They also commented that the Scottish Government required developers to carry out these consultations and consider local views before submitting any application.
Other Competent Business
Availability of Agenda/Minutes These can be found on public notice boards, websites and Facebook. It was noted that these had been removed from the Colinsburgh noticeboard and this would be resolved going forward. Minutes can be downloaded from the community council website www.colkil2000.wordpress or read on local notice boards with paper copies available at meetings.
Anti-social behaviour There have been various instances of anti-social behaviour in and around Balcarres with items being removed from outbuildings. People were encouraged to report any incidents of anti-social behaviour to the police.
Asbestos has been removed from the barn which caught fire earlier this year.
Next Meeting
The next meetings will take place on:
Tuesday 13 December 2022 in Kilconquhar church hall at 7.00 pm.
Tuesday 14 February 2022 in Colinsburgh Galloway Trust at 7.00 pm
Colinsburgh & Kilconquhar Community Council 