AUCHTERARDER & DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL
MINUTE OF THE MEETING OF 27th APRIL 2006
Members attending: Peter Everett (Chairman), Johannes Surkamp, Michael Benton, Alan Mickel, Ross, Diane Lockhart, Donald Duff, Karen McRostie
In attendance: Councillor Colin Young and members of the public.
1. Apologies
Apologies for absence had been received from Marjory Ross, Peggy Jardine-Paterson, Jim Paterson and Cllr. John Mair and Cllr. David Dow.
2. Minutes of the meeting of 16th February 2006
These were agreed as being accurate.
3. Matters arising from the Minutes of the meeting of 16th February 2006
(a) Aytoun Hall - David Homewood reported on the actions of the ALRA as follows:-
The First Minister's Gift - The ALRA has been given clarification from the Scottish Executive on what basis the £500K 'gift' to refurbish the Aytoun Hall has been made. There is no requirement to match the money on offer, but it is dependant on the submission of a costed Refurbishment Plan. Money required to meet the cost of refurbishment over and above £500K has also to be in hand. The ALRA is now actively seeking partnerships to take matters forward.
Refurbishment Plan - Work has now started on forming a Refurbishment Plan. Preliminary discussions with Education & Children's Services and PKL relating to building fabric and budgetary matters have taken place. It is hoped that these discussions will lead to strategic policy guidance about the future of the hall being given by PKC. A proposed date for a meeting is awaited from the Lead Officer Cultural & Community Services, which we expect to be in mid May. This will be a critical meeting in determining a workable partnership and way ahead.
ALRA Coffee Morning in Aytoun Hall 1st April 2006 - The Coffee Morning event was a success. 227 people came through the door to support the ALRA. £1,247.67 was raised. What is encouraging is the number of people from clubs and organisations who volunteered to help run the function. There was genuine community spirit in evidence.
ALRA Presentation - Eighty-seven people attended the ALRA Presentation on the 11th April. Feedback has been pretty good and it maybe worthwhile repeating the effort later in the year as the ALRA picks up momentum and progress is made. A doctored copy of the script has been offered for inclusion in the May issue of the Community News Magazine. Talks to Auchterarder Probus and the Rotary Club about the ALRA and the Aytoun Hall are scheduled for May and July.
ALRA Office - PKL has agreed to allow the ALRA to convert the Robing Room in the Aytoun Hall into an office and small conference room to give the Association a presence in the building. Donations of furniture and equipment are being sought. It is hoped to use the ALRA office to conduct consultancy sessions with Aytoun Hall users, clubs and associations.
Expressions of Support - Expressions of Support forms are starting to come in at an encouraging rate, but quite a few have been returned unsigned, which renders them useless. We will continue to pursue this line of support during the summer and beyond.
ALRA Newsletter - A newsletter will be issued shortly, with the aim of keeping the ALRA and the Aytoun Hall 'in the eye' of the community and to offer lean and simple information about what is happening. Collating and distributing the newsletter is a big job and ALRA will need help from Aytoun Hall users to disseminate it.
Northern Edge Development - The ALRA has responded to the Muir/King/Richmond Northern Edge Development Plan. There is very little in the plan for the community and certainly no evident 'community gain.' The letter has been sent to PKC's Development Plans Manager. Subject to the agreement of editors, the response will appear in the CNM, Strathearn Herald, the Perthshire Advertiser and the Courier.
Next ALRA Meeting - The next public meeting of the ALRA Management Committee will be held in the Institute at 7.30pm on Tuesday 9th May 2006. This will be followed by an AGM on the 13th June, at which nomination papers may be submitted from anyone working or living in postcode PH3.
(c) A9/Western Road Junction - The repair work has now been carried out and the surface at this junction is now much safer.
(d) NHS Tayside - At the 29th May meeting there will be 3 representatives from NHS Tayside present to discuss the issues that have been raised with Community Council over the last few months. If, however, there are any other health issues that members of the community would like included then should contact the Chairman, Peter Everett.
(e) Paths/Rights of Way - Diane Lockhart will be following up the request for a letter of support from the Community Council that was requested by the Auchterarder Walkers Association.
4. Local Police Matters
Constable Graham Ogilvie introduced himself as the new Community Police Officer for Auchterarder, replacing Constable Fairley who is now located in Crieff. He also introduced Constable Dave Forbes, another of the officers located in Auchterarder, and then reported on the following matters:-
(a) HGVs in the Gask area - A visit had been made to the transport firm concerned and the relevant drivers had been reminded of the speed limit along this section of road. This will continue to be monitored.
(b) Speeding traffic on Orchil Road & other locations in Auchterarder - Drivers have been caught, stopped, charged or offered the fixed penalty option. The Police will continue to operate speed traps at variable times and at different locations in the future.
(c) Gleneagles Station Entrance - Constable Forbes will request the necessary statistics from the Road Policing Unit and provide them to the Community Council.
(d) Western Road - The proposal to introduce a 40mph section from Strathearn House to the start of Western Road is being considered by Perth & Kinross Council Road Safety Forum but will take some time to implement, if it is approved.
(e) Vandalism in the Park - There have been no further incidents reported.
(f) Police Station - A question was asked about the times when the Station is open. This is between 1pm and 5pm Monday to Friday when a member of the Police Support Staff is present. At all other times, there may be Police Officers in the building but it is best to telephone (662212) and arrange an appointment.
(g) Neighbourhood Watch - Constable Ogilvie will provide information about this scheme and will pursue the matter of an annual up-date for those already involved in the scheme.
5. Northern Edge Masterplan
There had been several letters relating to this matter as follows:-
(a) Community Council letter to Head of Development Control at Perth & Kinross Council
(b) Letter from Len McConnell, Interim Director of Education & Children's Services, by way of a response to the issues raised in a letter from the Community Council to the Chief Executive of Perth & Kinross Council on the subjects of Social and Recreational Facilities in Auchterarder and District.
(c) Letter from Katrina McWilliam regarding Development in Auchterarder in response to the Community Council.
(d) Draft comments on Master Plan for the Northern Edge Development - this was then discussed at the meeting and the following response was approved:-
(i) This Master Plan is for the development of the Northern edge and should not be entitled "Auchterarder Master Plan". With the major developments now being considered for Auchterarder, it is indeed necessary to produce a Master Plan that would address the impact these developments will have on the infrastructure, leisure, social and cultural facilities in the town. This Master Plan should be produced by Perth and Kinross Council and should replace the existing "Strathearn Area local Plan" that was written in 2001 and is now seriously out of date.
(ii) For some 5 years, the Community Council has been addressing two major problem areas with Perth and Kinross Council and these areas are either not mentioned or superficially addressed in the developer's Master Plan. The first of these areas is the continued availability of the Aytoun Hall for community use. The Developer's Master Plan mentions that the Community School is the civic focus of social activity in the town. This is clearly not the case at the present time and is unlikely to be the case in the future. Quite clearly, the increased population that will result from the Northern edge development will only increase the need for the Aytoun Hall to be available for the community and the Community Council would like to see the discussions with the Council coming to a satisfactory conclusion in the near future.
The second area is the availability of adequate parking in the town centre. The Master Plan mentions the forseen need for a further 76 parking places in the town centre as a result of their development. The logic to derive this number seems "flakey" and, intuitively, this number seems much too low. However, even if it is correct this will totally overload the already stretched parking spaces. The possibility of parking fees is mentioned. A few years ago the local businesses were consulted on their attitude to parking fees, and they were virtually unanimously against charging for parking until there was additional off High Street free parking made available. They believed that parking fees would make Auchterarder less attractive to visitors and would damage their businesses. Some additional parking space could be made available and various possibilities have been discussed with the Council. For example, the garden of Waverley House could be added to Crown Wynd Car Park and the space in front of the telephone exchange could be made available for public parking. These proposals would provide a measure of short term relief but, despite pressure from the Community Council, progress on developing these possibilities has been dismally slow.
(iii) Some time ago Mr. Peter Bing of Perth & Kinross Leisure came to the Community Council to explain the Council's pricing structure for hiring football pitches. During the discussion, he mentioned that according to the Council's own criteria a town the size of Auchterarder should have access to 7 more football pitches. It was not mentioned at the time, but the clear impression was that this number applied to Auchterarder's current population. The inclusion of 4 football pitches in the Developer's proposals seems to scarcely approach what the Council's own criteria are justified for the much larger population that will result from the Northern Edge Development.
(iv) The Northern Edge Development when it was originally proposed, covered an area of 1o hectares. After significant local objections, a Reporter was appointed and he suggested that the area should be reduced to 50 hectares. After the intervention of the Scottish Executive, Perth & Kinross Council finally approved the smaller area recommended by the Reporter. It is interesting to note that the developer now proposes to locate the football pitches outside the area that was approved for this development. There must be a very good case to locate the football pitches next to the school, which would allow the development of a compact campus and would make maintenance and management of the sports facilities much easier. In addition a number of families with young children have mentioned that they would be unhappy to send their children to the pitches if they were located down Castleton Road, which is fairly remote from the centre of town and would be happier if the pitches were located at the school.
(v) While the proposals to improve the A9 junctions are very welcome and are strongly supported by the Community Council, the effect will be to significantly increase the amount of traffic that will use Orchil Road to access the A9 going south. Many of the residents along Orchil Road are already complaining about the weight and noise of traffic using this route. This problem could be alleviated by building a road parallel to the A9 from Western Road near its junction with the A9 to join the A823 at the Loaninghead Junction. This would divert traffic wishing to go south on the A9 away from Orchil Road.
(vi) There are other areas of the Developer's Master Plan that cause the Community Council to have some concerns. For example, with the increased population that will result should more shopping facilities be provided? If these facilities are provided, will there be capacity in the new sewage plant to accommodate them? Will there be adequate additional leisure and recreation space in the relatively high density housing areas in the new development? Although the plan makes reference to the provision of open space, it does not give enough details to form an opinion on whether it is adequate.
We are aware that some of these suggestions are radical and will cost money. However, the developers will benefit significantly from building up to 800 houses and Perth & Kinross Council will also benefit in increased Council Tax payments. The Developer's proposals as they stand at the moment do not provide any "planning gain" to the present residents of Auchterarder. Once this proposal is approved, there is unlikely to be a similar opportunity for the next 20 to 30 years, and we feel that it is important for the Community Council and Perth & Kinross Council to take this "once in a lifetime" opportunity to significantly improve the infrastructure in the town.
The Community Council would be very happy to join with Perth & Kinross Council to update the Local Area Plan for Auchterarder to take account of the comments made above and any other comments that the Council receive as a result of the discussions on the Northern Edge Development Plan. The Community Council is also aware that it is now a requirement for Perth & Kinross Council to produce an Environmental Impact Statement in respect of the Northern Edge Development and would welcome early discussions as to how this is to be achieved.
6. Correspondence
(a) Paths/Rights of way letter.
(b) Convention of Perth & Kinross Community Councils - Minutes of AGM.
7. Councillors' Information
Cllr. John Mair had provided the Chairman with a letter highlighting the following items:-
(a) Middlethird Farm - potholes in the road - no response but Environment Services will arrange street sweeping to take place in Aberuthven.
(b) The Council has agreed to the new waiting restrictions in the High Street and Orchil Road and these concern the entrance to Ochil Towers School and the staff car park at Gleneagles Hotel.
(c) General Registrar for Scotland has published the population predictions for Perth & Kinross, and this indicates a 6% increase instead of the 2% decrease that was previously indicted. This will have implications for housing and other infrastructure.
(d) New traffic management proposals for Perth City Centre include a pedestrian area around St. John's Kirk.
Cllr. Colin Young indicted that he had been in contact with the Access Officer of Perth & Kinross Council who was responsible for the registration of rights of way. There are a huge number of areas where it has been suggested that Core Paths Networks be established but there has already been some discussion with Auchterarder Walkers Association about the best way ahead for the existing paths in this area.
Cllr. Young also mentioned the work of the General Registrar for Scotland and commented that this was not the first time that they had got the figures wrong for Perth & Kinross. The main area for concern is that the elderly population is continuing to increase while the younger population declines. This has serious implications for care of the elderly, and the Scottish Executive is not always as responsive in helping to meet the demands that this places on Councils.
9. AOCB
(a) CNM - The Chairman asked the Community Council to approve the increase in the cost of subscription copies of the CNM to meet the increased cost of the magazine and postage. This was agreed.
(b) Planning Applications - A number of applications have been lodged and if all were approved there would be almost 200 more houses built in Auchterarder, outwith the Northern Edge proposals. The Community Council was asked to specifically object to the proposal for the Old Gas Works site as they feared that the levels of contamination would place future residents at risk. This was agreed.
(c) Recent planning decisions - Alan Mickel raised the issue of a change of use from a retail shop to an office at a location in the High Street and indicated that this was not the most suitable use for such premises and that any future proposals should be resisted.
(d) Michael Benton indicated that he had been informed that the Library would only have a single member of staff on duty in the evening as from 1st April 2006 and that this was not satisfactory in terms of staff safety. Cllr. Young agreed to provide the details of the person who would confirm exactly what the new arrangements were.
(e) Alan Mickel asked about the condition of the buildings directly below the Aytoun Hall. The Girnal House is owned by Perth & Kinross Council and the other building is the Mason's Lodge.
(f) Donald Duff raised the issue of dog fouling on the area of grass alongside Darcy's and the need for 'No Dog Fouling' signs. Cllr. Young will contact the Dog Warden and request that some be erected as soon as possible.
(g) Diane Lockhart asked if it would be possible to get more Dog Waste bins at various locations in the town. Cllr. Young agreed to get the Dog Warden to make contact so that the precise areas of concern could be visited with a view to installing these in the most appropriate places.
(h) Donald Duff asked if anything could be done to ensure that the organisers of Discos in the Institute or the Aytoun Hall prevented alcohol from being available to potentially under-age people. It was suggested that Perth & Kinross Leisure issue strong reminders to the organisers of such events that they have a responsibility to prevent alcohol being present at their events. It was also suggested that the local Police be informed of any such events so that they can regularly patrol the area and stop any illegal consumption of alcohol.
(i) Karen McRostie reported on the plans for the Lang Toon in June 2006 events and indicated that the charity to benefit this year would be the ALRA.
(j) Children's Play Area in Auchterarder Park - Following the recent article in the press about the danger of children running out onto Western Road, there was a discussion as to how best to address this matter and prevent any further incidents. It appears that the 'grids' at the entrances to the Play Area do not deter some dogs from entering and are not designed to slow down any children who run out of the Play Area. The preferred solution would be to close up the gated entrances onto Western Road where the pavement is narrow and where ther is a great deal of traffic, and provide pedestrian entrances at other locations. The Friends of the Park have already raised their concerns about this matter and will be asking for an urgent solution to be found.
9. Date and Location of next meeting - 25th May 2006 in the Institute at 7pm.