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MINUTES OF THE MULL COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING
HELD ON WEDNESDAY 9th FEBRUARY 2010
CRAIGNURE VILLAGE HALL
Minutes of Mull Community
Council (MCC) Meeting - Tuesday 9th February 2010
1.00 Present:
Steve Willis (Vice-Chair), Fiona Brown, Ronnie Campbell, Jim
Corbett,
Rory
Forrester, David Graham, David Greenhalgh, Bert Leitch, Stewart
MacDougall, Cllr. Mary-Jean Devon, Sgt. Angela MacDonald, John Clare
(Secretary) and six members of the public.
Apologies: James Heggie (Chair), Tony
Proud (Treasurer).
2.00 Police Matters
Sgt MacDonald
outlined a pilot scheme for an island communication network
to enable
information on crime trends, safety, etc. to be sent out to
volunteer
residents. It will
be advertised locally asking for comments.
Sgt. MacDonald also
confirmed that she had received promotion and would
eventually be
transferred to another area. Vice-Chair thanked her for all her
work
for the community.
3.00 Minutes of the 12th
January 2010
Corrections/Approval
Proposed by Fiona Brown and seconded by David Graham.
Action Points
A contact list of
MCC members was sent to Round & About and Am Muilleach
and published with
the report/minutes.
Discussions on the
provision of ferry cards for pensioners is ongoing.
4.00 Mull Rally
Bert
Leitch confirmed that Ian MacFadyen was unable to attend the meeting
due to family illness, but confirmed that he was seeking a full,
public apology for the misinformation and inaccurate report in the
local press, which was only partially retracted. Eddy O’Donnell and
Bert Leitch outlined the history of the payment agreement between
the rally organisers and farmers and how the system had broken
down. It was also explained how the accident had occurred. It was
confirmed that Ian MacFadyen had made every attempt to keep his
cattle away from the road and it had been reported that marshals
were aware that cattle were near the road prior to the accident, but
had not shifted them far enough away or informed officials.
Bert
Leitch stated that Ian MacFadyen had been placed under a tremendous
amount of stress by the rumours, but that he had not claimed damages
for the animal.
Sgt.
MacDonald stated that there was a requirement for a review of safety
procedures, especially relating to the instruction of marshals.
It
was agreed that a local liaison representative should be involved
with rally meetings and that Ian MacFadyen, Neil Molyneux and John
Clayton should be invited to the March MCC meeting.
5.00 Mail & Newspaper
Deliveries
The process of
objecting to the current method of operation by Royal Mail has been
started again.
6.00 Housing &
Development
Fiona Brown reported that there had been a lot of objections to the
planning application for 21 houses in Tobermory on a variety of
grounds. Rory Forester confirmed that he had spoken to the
applicant, who had submitted the application to raise money to
provide accommodation for his workers. Ronnie Campbell reiterated
MCC’s concern at the inadequacy of the existing water provision in
Tobermory that necessitated the tankering of water from other
sources on the island. Cllr. Devon confirmed that Scottish Water (a
statutory consultee) do not object to applications but state that
developers have to find their own water supply.
Action TP
It was agreed that MCC should again contact Scottish
Water to express their concerns regarding the inability of the water
infrastructure to cope with current demand and request information
on what was being done to remedy the situation. Also, that these
concerns should be expressed again to Argyll & Bute with relation to
new planning applications on the island.
Vice-Chair stated that the problem was not solvable
without a new or additional treatment plant. David Graham also
confirmed that there were concerns with the Tobermory application
regarding excessive surface water run-off potentially causing
flooding.
Cllr. Devon confirmed that the new Landscape Capacity
Plan was due to be approved on 10 February 2010 and that the review
of the Local Development Plan is currently open for comment. Fiona
Brown stated that she had attended the planning meeting relating to
the Local Plan Review and that the draft proposals can be viewed on
the Argyll & Bute Council website. It was thought vital that local
people have their say. The consultation process, which ends on 31st
March 2010 is to be highlighted in the local press and it was agreed
that all members of MCC should contact local people to get them to
comment.
7.00 Cal-Mac
Ronnie Campbell
reported that he would be raising the issue of withdrawal of the
free
travel card for pensioners at the next ferry meeting on 25th
February 2010.
8.00 MICT Report
Not received.
9.00 Roads & Transport
Bert
Leitch raised the problem of wildlife watchers stopping in dangerous
locations on the roads. Fiona Brown stated that stopping on blind
bends was the most serious problem, but noted that there were very
few places that visitors could park.
Sgt.
MacDonald confirmed that there would be a dedicated police officer
dealing with these issues this year rather than different officers
each week.
Vice-Chair asked whether there were spare copies of the yellow
no-parking notices.
Sgt
MacDonald confirmed that she would check how many there were and
whether they could be placed at danger spots.
Rory
Forester reported that A & B Council Roads Directorship was vacant,
therefore he had spoken to Stuart Turner and arranged a meeting on 2nd
March 2010 to discuss the issues relating to Mull roads. It was
agreed that Keep Mull Moving should be informed and that a request
should be made for an island-wide meeting to discuss roads.
Questions for the meeting should be e-mailed to Rory or Jim Corbett
and Rory Forester will prepare an agenda for circulation.
Bert
Leitch asked when the meeting to discuss road weight limits was to
be held. Cllr. Devon agreed to inform MCC of the revised date.
10.00 Correspondence Received
A range of correspondence was to be reviewed by the
Vice-Chair subsequent to the meeting and circulated as necessary.
11.00 Financial Report
Closing balance: £2,224-10
Rory Forester
offered to host a farm sale to raise funds for MCC.
12.00 Any Other Business (including Area
Reports)
Vice-Chair requested guidance on the current issues
relating to the Chairmanship of MCC. Cllr. Devon had sought
guidance from A & B Council and confirmed that
1. Everyone is innocent until proven guilty
FB Sec
MCC RC
Vice-Chair
2.
The incident(s) did not occur while the Chairperson was in position.
3.
That the Chairperson had broken no rule of the Community Councils.
Following discussion, it was thought that the Chairperson be
contacted and suggest he temporarily stand down until matters were
settled. It was agreed that this was the best course of action and
that Vice-Chair would contact him personally.
Replacement Secretary: One enquiry had
been received relating to the position of secretary. Information is
to be provided.
Bunessan School Bus: Stuart MacDougall
asked that a letter be sent by MCC in support of the provision of a
replacement school bus for Bunessan. It was agreed to contact A &
B Council Education and Transport Departments to seek a practical
solution.
Mull Butchers: Bert Leitch confirmed that
Mull Butchers had gone into liquidation. A possible rescue package
is being investigated.
Bunessan Recycling Bins: The bins had
been re-sited. Ronnie Campbell stated that there was a requirement
for a more compact layout and frame enclosure. David Graham
confirmed that James Hilder was dealing with these issues in Marie
Greig’s absence.
Salen Resource Centre: Jim Corbett asked
if there was any truth to the rumour that the Centre was to be
closed. Steve Willis agreed to make enquiries (subsequently
confirmed not to be true).
Road
Condition: Ronnie Campbell reiterated the appalling state of Mull
roads and the lack of gritting during recent freezing weather.
Fiona Brown
submitted her apologies for the next meeting.
13.00 Date of Next Meeting
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