Sederunt: Gordon McAllan (Vice Chair); Les Hoggan (Secretary); Sheila Munro Tulloch (Treasurer); Morag Arnot; Linda Brown; Alister Hendry; Margot McDonald and Aileen Stewart. Councillors: I. Dorman. Minute Secretary: John Graham. Visitors: Matt Burns; Dr Lisa Cameron MP and Robert Murray. 

Apologies: Councillor G. Campbell; Councillor M. Cooper; Mairi McAllan MSP; Aileen McMann (Chairperson) and Douglas Scott. 

Minutes of Previous Meeting (25/05/2021).

The Minutes were approved with the following changes:-

(a) Section 15 (i) – The word ‘states’ changed to ‘stated’.

(b) Section 16 (a) – The word ‘Digital’ to be added before ‘Station’ in sentence – ‘…the siting of a Station in Strathaven’.

Proposed: Les Hoggan. Seconded: Sheila Munro Tulloch. 

Matters Arising.

(a) Repairs have been carried out on Brackenridge Highway and Glassford Road.

(b) An instruction has been issued to have safety defects on Carnduff Highway repaired and this is scheduled to be completed by 22/06/2021.

(c) The lining on Commercial Road will be refurbished including the junction of Hamilton Road/Glassford Road during the summer period.

(d) The gullies on Glasgow Road are included in the annual cyclical cleaning programme. If the gully motor is unsuccessful in cleaning some of the gullies at the first visit, they routinely follow up with high pressure jetting/ hand cleaning as required. A Report is awaited from the cyclical cleaning operation to issue follow up work instructions.

(e) A response is awaited regarding the fly-tipping at Hareshaw. (The Chair thanked Councillor Dorman for providing the above updates prior to the Meeting). 

(f) Strathaven Academy has been contacted regarding the incident at the Barrie Shelter in the Park and a positive response has been received from the School. A Community Council constituted under section 52 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended.

(g) An article has appeared in ‘The Echoes’ from the young man advocating that a Skate Park for young people be provided in Strathaven. Robert Murray said that he was trying to arrange a meeting with the family on behalf of Dr. Cameron MP and he invited a Member of the CC to attend this meeting. It was agreed that a CC Member would attend. 

Community Action Plan (CAP).

(a) Paper copies of the Review have been placed in 6 locations within the town. It is not know how many have been taken up.

(b) No responses to the electronic version have been received. It was agreed the deadline for returns be extended until Glasgow Fair Friday (16th July). 

Community Council Membership.

(a) One E-Mail has been received expressing an interest in becoming a Member.

(b) Alister Hendry indicated that he may know of someone who might be interested in becoming a Member.

(c) Les Hoggan to continue promoting the search for new Members. 

Plans for an Incinerator at Overwood.

(a) Prior to the Meeting, Les Hoggan sent out a Draft Response on the possible impact of an Incinerator at Overwood on Strathaven and Glassford to Members. This was a very comprehensive Response and the Chair thanked him for his work on the Report. (b) A brief discussion followed and there was a feeling that it may now be possible to prevent the Plan going ahead. Dr. Cameron said that she had submitted an objection and that this had been passed to Viridor. (c) It was agreed that the CC would put in a formal objection once the Plans had been submitted. In the meantime the objections could be put on to the CC website asking the public to comment on them. Action – Les Hoggan and Alister Hendry. 

Toilet Provision in Strathaven.

(a) At present four businesses have confirmed their interest in taking part in a Toilet Scheme. They are:- The Crib; Creative Strathaven; The Drawing Room and No. 13 Barn Street. Climate Action Strathaven have indicated provisionally that they are considering taking part in the Scheme.

(b) It was agreed that a Sub Group be set up to look into toilet provision in the town. Linda Brown and Sheila Munro Tulloch agreed to make up the Sub Group. 

Transport Sub Group.

(a) A Report on the Sub Group Meeting was sent to Members prior to the CC A Community Council constituted under section 52 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended. Meeting. Items covered were as follows:-

(b) Hazardous parking at the junction of Overton Road/Commercial Road.

(c) Poor sight lines caused by the island at the junction of North Street/ Commercial Road. Bushes are to be cut back to allow better sight lines.

(d) Lethame Road: effective mitigation of traffic hazards and risks to pedestrians. The Planning requirements associated with the visibility requirements for the new Housing Development on Threestanes Road to be checked and liaison with the Developer to be undertaken to ensure compliance with consents. The junction of Lethame Road and Threestanes Road to be reviewed in relation to accident history, visibility and junction priority. Dr. Cameron agreed to write to SLC in support of the work being done by the CC. She will also do a site visit with Robert Murray.

(e) Town Centre One Way System – The CC’s views were listened to by SLC and they were receptive to them. Any change would go straight to a Traffic Order. Les Hoggan has received comments from a Strathaven resident regarding suggested changes for Bridge Street and Wellbrae which he will circulate to Members. It was agreed that the CC should respond to the resident and include it in any Report about the changes.

(f) The 20mph Review and extension – Once the works are completed, further speed surveys will be undertaken and feedback from the community will be sought.

(g) Cycle Parking Facilities. Consideration to be given to potential locations in the town centre area for Cycle Shelter Provision.

(h) Concerns about speeding in Glassford.

(i) Traffic Signal Phasing/Capacity improvement at Common Green.

(j) Footway parking on Common Green adjacent to the Bus Stop. 

Working Together for Avondale (WTA).

(a) Confirmation has been received that the Application for £4,000 funding to run Mindfulness Sessions and Art Workshops during the summer has been successful. The total funding raised for WTA has now reached £40,000.

(b) Peer Support Groups continue to be supported and Mindfulness Camps will be run during July.

(c) A successful Fun Day was held at the Miniature Railway in the Park and those attending were entertained by Uncle Billy. Around 120 children enjoyed a ride on the Wee Train. 

CARS. There are 6 or 7 Projects live at present. All planned Projects are funded until the end of the year. 

Kype Muir Community Fund.

(a) The Kype Muir Community Fund Meeting was held on the 28th June and Margot McDonald attended for the CC.

(b) The Kype Muir Extension is still scheduled to be completed by the end of 2022.

(c) Monies for next year are yet to be apportioned. The sum for the CC will be around £30,000.

(d) Grants agreed were:- Climate Action Strathaven (CAS) – £5,000 (Bicycle Repair Project). Whiteshawgate Sports (W3ST) – £3,500 (CCTV provision).

(e) Sandford and Upper Avondale CC agreed to pay £1,000 towards the CAS Award and £500 towards the W3ST Award. This is in appreciation that people in their area make use of these two resources. This spirit of understanding and co-operation is appreciated.

(f) Further investigation is needed regarding the Application from Frets Creative.

(g) Further information about the Fund is available and it will be sent to Les Hoggan and Alister Hendry for downloading on to the CC website. The new logo is also available for use.

(h) Connect2 Renewables Employability Initiative – There is concern that half the money for this Scheme is given to the Kype Muir Fund and it is felt that there has to be a full reappraisal of how this operates. A Presentation on the Scheme was given and Margot McDonald will send this to Members. 

CC Micro Grants.

(a) £5,000 has been awarded to the Grant Fund for the current year.

(b) The CC would like to see more Applications for Grants from this Fund from small local groups. Members were asked for ideas for Applications from such groups and an article will appear in ‘The Echoes’ informing the community that money is available from this source. 

Secretary’s Report.

An Introductory Letter has been received from Mairi McAllan MSP. 

Treasurer’s Report.

(a) The Audit of the CC Accounts for 2020/2021 have been successfully completed by SLC. This was confirmed on 14th June, 2021. Funds will be paid back to the CC within 14 days of this date.

(b) Town Centre money has been received from SLC and passed back as a claim from the Town Mill as part of the CARS Project.

(c) As authorised at the May Meeting, £60 has been paid to 360 Graphics for the printing of the Community Consultation Forms.

(d) COVID Fund 2020-2022 – As the Covid Grant will be operational for a finite A Community Council constituted under section 52 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended. period the Accounts for this Fund will be reported on a rolling basis over the financial period 2020-2022. 

Reports from CC Members.

(a) The Strathaven John Hastie Museum Trust (SJHMT) hope to start a display of their COVID Archive at the end of August to the beginning of September. Dates and site have still to be confirmed. (M. McDonald).

(b) Dr. Lisa Cameron MP said that she had still to send her contribution to the COVID Archive.

(c) The Balloon Festival Committee has been selected and planning has begun for 2022. It is hoped that, although there will be no Festival in 2021, some balloon flights may be possible on what would have been the Festival weekend in August. (L. Hoggan). 

Reports from SLC Councillors. Councillor I. Dorman. A new Town Centre Fund will have less restrictions and there will be a Place Based Investment Programme. The Chair thanked the Councillors for getting work done on the walls of the Powmillon Burn. 

AOCB.

(a) Flooding on the A71 at the Town Mill is still a problem and it seems to be worse since the latest work was carried out. Councillor Dorman agreed to take the matter up with SLC. (Since the Meeting Councillor Dorman has reported that a CCTV inspection took place on 1st July, and this identified a blockage in the road drainage system. A further visual inspection on 5th July, following the heavy rain, was done and this found a further two gullies were sitting full of water. An instruction has been raised to have the blockage repaired and the gullies high pressure jetted. This work is scheduled to be completed within 30 working days).

(b) It was reported that there was rubbish in the Pond in the Park and that the Powmillion Burn was also littered with rubbish. It was suggested that this be reported to the Community Police.

(c) The question was asked if a Licence was needed to carry out Dog Training in the Park. It was said that this was not required.

(d) Dr. Lisa Cameron MP thanked the local community for the work done in the area in recent months and said that she had spoken about this in the House of Commons.

(e) CAS has agreed to put a shelf in its premises to take food for the Strathaven Foodbank. 

Date of Next Meeting. Tuesday 31st August, 2021 at 7.00pm on-line via Zoom. Members of the Public are most welcome to all our Meetings. All correspondence to:- strathavencommcouncil@gmail.com.