Minutes of the Mull
Community Council (MCC) Meeting held on Wednesday 8th
October 2008
Present:
Linda Cameron (Chair), Graham Brown (Tobermory), Ronnie Campbell (Bunessan),
Jim Corbett
(Lochbuie), Bert Leitch (Ulva
Ferry), Tony Proud (Dervaig, Treasurer), John Clare
(Minute/Correspondence
Secretary).
Chair reaffirmed that meetings would be kept to a
strict duration of 2 hours.
1.0
Apologies:
Fiona Brown (Pennyghael/Tiroran), Adrian Fitness (Craignure), Paul
Forster (Salen, Vice-Chair), Andrea MacPhail (Tobermory), Cllr.
Gordon Chalmers, Cllr. Mary-Jean Devon, James Hilder (MICT).
Chair confirmed that apologies, including those for
having to leave the meeting early, should be submitted before the
meeting commenced to avoid disruption to the whole meeting.
Action
2.0
Police Matters:
No representative of Strathclyde
Police present. Following press
reports, Councillors complemented police action in
carrying out a raid for drugs in
Tobermory.
3.0
Minutes of the meeting held 10th September
2008:
3.01
Proposed by Ronnie Campbell and seconded by Tony Proud.
3.02
Outstanding Action Points:
4.00 Glenforsa
Airstrip
It was felt
that the Mull community could have more say in the running
of the
airstrip and Cllr Devon agreed to raise the matter at the next
Argyll
& Bute
Council meeting and to establish how the airstrip is managed.
Cllr. Devon
5.04
Cal-Mac
Adrian Fitness stated that a
petition (in support of additional traffic
calming measures) from the Java
residents would be prepared.
Adrian Fitness
7.01
Salen recycling bins
Paul Forster is to contact local
residents to establish whether placing of
notices on the bins has reduced
the noise. Relocation is still
required.
Paul Forster/MICT
9.01 Road
Weight Restrictions
Chair requested that Cllr.
Chalmers should send her copies of
correspondence received to
date.
Cllr. Chalmers
9.03
Keep Mull Moving
A request for financial assistance had been submitted
by Chair to Cllr.
MacIntyre as requested. No reply had been received
to date – Cllr.
Devon to
investigate.
Cllr. Devon
11.05
Plan for Mull
James Hilder has prepared a proposed Forward Plan (20
years) for
discussion/comment. Chair asked that this Plan be
circulated to Mull
Community
Councillors.
James Hilder
11.08
Clarification of the
age limit for unattended swimming is to be
sought.
Adrian Fitness
3.03
Correspondence Received:
Septic tank emptying
- Scottish Water have responded to the MCC letter stating
that they are currently carrying out investigations
into the problems and will
be providing a substantive response to MCC shortly.
HITRANS
– A letter has been received stating that an economic consultant has
been
appointed to investigate ferry service development from the Oban
hub.
Infrastructure requirements, including air services and the
potential for a freight
only service
will be taken into consideration. Input from MCC is requested.
Options for
investigation were discussed and included:
- Provision
of a dual Oban/Craignure ferry service;
- 8.00am
service from Craignure to enable workers from Mull to reach
their Oban
workplaces at a reasonable time;
- Restoration
of inter-island ferry services;
- A dedicated
freight service (agreed it would be a good idea but should
be an
additional service, not at the expense of an existing one);
- Improvement
of the appalling service currently provided at the Oban
ferry
terminal, where (still) only one of the linkspans is in operation;
- Development
of air links and the use of the airstrip should be
encouraged.
It was agreed
that representation of these points should be made.
Chair/Sec
It was also
noted that Cllr. Chalmers was on the HITRANS committee.
Argyll & Bute
NHS Highland Meeting
– Details of correspondence regarding
a meeting on
the role of religions and beliefs in patient care was read out.
Argyll & Bute
Circulation of Committee Reports & Agendas
– Confirmation that
hard copies
will no longer be routinely issued has been received (a charge will
be made in
future). A request should be made if e-mail notification is
required.
It was agreed
that this was another backward step in provision of services by
Argyll & Bute
Council.
Community
Engagement Meeting
– Very short notice has been given of the next
meeting of 9th
October 2008 at 7pm in the Corran Halls, Oban.
Chair also
confirmed that she has met with Alan Reid MSP, who provided
copies of the
POSTCOM correspondence.
4.0
A More Effective Community Council:
Because of the low number of Councillors attending
the meeting, Chair postponed
the discussions until a future meeting, but confirmed
her opinion of the importance
of Mull Community Council becoming more effective.
Tony Proud mentioned the meeting of the Association
of Argyll & Bute Councils
where a presentation by Dick Walsh suggested that
Community Council
boundaries may be reorganised in the near
future/before the next elections.
5.0
Housing & Development:
Issues regarding the recent handling of planning
applications were raised
and discussed. A consensus was reached that Chair
should ask the new
Argyll & Bute Chief Executive to attend Mull and
respond to a number of points
including that the planning process is inconsistent,
has an inequality, and that
decisions are unrepresentative of the wishes of the
local people. Chair
6.0
Cal-Mac:
5.01
A letter in support of the additional traffic safety measures at
Craignure
had been sent.
5.02
Discussions were
held regarding the 3.8% fare increase due next March,
and the RET proposals.
5.03
Ronnie Campbell
confirmed that the remedial work to Iona slipway had
again been delayed and was now due to start on 23rd
October 2008.
7.0
Mail Deliveries:
Tony Proud confirmed that satisfactory replies from
questions raised in
correspondence and at meetings were still awaited.
Jim Corbett suggested that Royal Mail should carry
out a 6 months trial run
of the suggested improvements to service and
confirmed that early morning
payments for postal employees had been withdrawn.
Chair stated that Alan
Reid MSP is still pushing for improvements to the
mail delivery service.
It was agreed that a letter should be sent from MCC
to request a trial period.
Chair/Sec
8.0
MICT Report:
No representative present.
9.0
Mull Renewables:
The most recent minutes were made available to
Councillors.
10.0
Roads & Transport:
9.01
Road Weight Restrictions – After the last MCC meeting,
comments on
the proposals were submitted to Argyll & Bute
Council. Chair also requested a
meeting with MCC, NFU and Local hauliers. It was
agreed that Jim Mather MSP,
or the Transport Minister, should be asked to attend
the meeting.
Chair
Chair asked Jim Corbett to raise his concerns by
writing to her.
Jim Corbett
11.0
Finance Report:
Closing Balance of £ 2,880-77. Payment received from
Bunessan Show
Committee although £6-00 short.
12.0
Any Other Business
(including Area Reports from
Community Councillors):
12.01
Progressive Care Centre
– A letter has been received by the Directors
confirming that a meeting is to be held on 10 October
2008 at which it is hoped
to reach final agreement of plans, water supply and
finance for the new centre.
Councillors agreed that it is vital that the existing
centre at Salen be kept in
operation until the new centre opens.
12.02
Dervaig
Community Renewable Trust
– Tony Proud reported that it is
proposed to build 3 wind turbines at a location near
Dervaig. The income
generated will go into a Trust Fund for the benefit
of the whole of Mull.
12.03
Tobermory Toilets
- Cllr. Devon was due to attend a meeting to discuss
community ownership. Councillors stated their strong
support for the retention
of the toilets and Chair expressed her hope that the
Tobermory community would
fight to keep them in operation as an important asset
for the town and island.
12.04
Plan for Mull
- Chair confirmed that she is in contact with Cllr. Devon
regarding the second meeting (following the recent
postponements). A further
date is to be announced.
12.05
Area Reports:
Ronnie Campbell
(Bunessan): No information regarding the delay in construction
of the bus shelter. Chair is to
contact the contractor.
Chair
Repair work to bridges has been
carried out.
The poor state of the existing
sewer in Bunessan, together with details of the large
number of new houses being built,
was raised. Ronnie Campbell asked that a letter
from MCC should be sent to
Scottish Water requesting updating of the sewage
system to enable it to cope with
demand.
Chair/Sec
Jim Corbett
(Lochbuie): Resurfacing of a c1m. stretch of the Lochbuie road has
been completed, but is
insufficient. Significant damage has also been caused to
the tarmac surface on the approach
by maintenance vehicles.
Tony Proud
(Dervaig): Details of the remainder of the Association of Argyll &
Bute
Community Councils meeting were
given, including information on a presentation
promoting a National Park on the
west coast of Scotland.
Four large stones had been put
down in the entrance way to the Calgary camp site
to prevent access of caravans and
other large vehicles. Some interference has
occurred.
Due to other commitments Adrian Fitness will be
standing down as Craignure
representative from December. MCC will be looking
for a co-opted member -
please contact Linda Cameron (Chair MCC) if
interested.
12.00
Date of next meeting: 7:30pm Wednesday 10th December
2008 at Craignure Hall.
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