•
•
Barr Village .co.uk
Barr Community Council Meeting
Treasurer, Mr J Craig(JC) Secretary, Mr J Leil(JL),
Mr J Gracie(JG), Mr A Smith(AS),
Strathclyde Police K Scobie & L Johnstone.
Item Minute Action
1 Apologies. JC said that apologies had been received from SS, WG, IF and JW.
2 Register of Interest. None.
3 Police Report. KS said that two instances of theft from local farms had been
reported and advised that this type of crime, along with scrap metal theft,
seemed to be on the increase. He also said that police had responded to a report
of bullying involving two ten year olds. There was also a case of damage to a
motor vehicle in the village but whether this was malicious or accidental had
not been established. JR asked if there were any officers allocated specifically
to rural areas such as Barr. KS said not really. The mobile office is general
to the area. But he stressed that any concerns that we had as a village should be
notified and they would be followed up. JR thanked the officers for their
attendance.
4 Open Forum.
Two members of the public attended the meeting to raise separate issues.
Mrs Craig raised a question in relation to an earlier decision by Barr
Community Council (BCC) to part fund an outing for senior citizens of Barr
and surrounding districts which has been arranged annually for a number of
years by the same local group. She said that it was apparent that the method of
selection for inclusion to the excursion had been changed this year and that
because of this some senior citizens resident in Barr had been denied the
opportunity to apply for a place. She asked if, given our contribution to the
cost of the trip, we were happy with this situation. JG said that the trip had
been advertised on a notice board for three days and then the notice was
withdrawn because it was fully subscribed. Mrs Craig said that she had
observed the bus leave the village on the day and it had been little over half
full. By definition that would mean that only about half the people going on
the trip were from Barr. JG said that it was full by the time it reached Girvan.
Mrs Craig said that she wanted to record her disappointment and anger at the
way this trip, using in part community funds, had been organised. She then left
the meeting. At this point the meeting was interrupted by a community
councillor who had earlier intimated that she would not be attending the
meeting. JR asked the councillor to withdraw and the meeting resumed. In the
debate that followed JG confirmed that the way this particular trip had been
intimated had, in fact, differed from the methods employed in the past. AS said
that it was a pity that this change to procedure had not been made clear. JC said
that in future loose terms such as surrounding areas should be clarified. JR said
that it was important that opportunity was perceived to be equal and that in
future full and transparent advertising of such trips, when aimed at specific
categories, should be a requirement when community council contributions are
involved. WD said that he and his wife had not been aware of the trip. Had they
been they would have applied for places. In the end it was agreed that ambiguous statements
on funding applications should be clarified and that the Community
Council should be mindful of the general conditions relating to Hadyard Hill
on funding applications should be clarified and that the Community
Council should be mindful of the general conditions relating to Hadyard Hill
Community Benefit Fund Ltd (HHCBFL) grants. WD said this could mean
proportional funding commensurate with the benefit accruing to Barr Parish.
A response along these lines will be sent to Mrs Craig. JR
The meeting was then addressed by a representative of Alton Albany Estates.
She was concerned about an item that had appeared in the minutes of the
14th May 2011. The item recorded that WG had told the meeting that she had
heard that children playing in the river at `The Pot` had been reprimanded by
the owners opposite. The representative said that no such reprimand had ever
been made. She said that the children were not allowed to encroach onto the
land on the Alton Albany side and that they had been advised of the dangers
of playing on slippery rocks. But apart from that, no attempt had ever been
made to stop people enjoying that stretch of the river. JR confirmed that prior
to this meeting she had had similar conversations with the manager and estate
owners. And that she had reported these conversations to the Community
Council. These comments are noted.
5 Minutes of last meeting.
These were accepted as accurate. Proposed AS, seconded WD.
6 Matters arising.
6.1 JC said that as agreed he had sent a letter of support to the Ayrshire Rivers
6.1 JC said that as agreed he had sent a letter of support to the Ayrshire Rivers
Trust (ART) and that an acknowledgement had been received in response.
6.2 JC said that there were still some Register of Interest (ROI) forms outstanding.
6.3 JC said that he had contacted the chap concerned about the Cairnryan ferry
6.3 JC said that he had contacted the chap concerned about the Cairnryan ferry
terminal move for more information but that the response had not been
encouraging. It was decided after some discussion that BCC did not need to
become involved.
6.4 JC said that BCC had now received a cheque for £3,583.00 from the HHCBFL
in response to our application for funds to place three seats at strategic points in
and around the village. He also had £220.00 in cash that had previously been
collected for a memorial seat for the late Tam Loch. Cheque and cash to WD.
JL can now go ahead and order the three seats. JL 6.5
The NHS notices relating to Ambulance Service Workshops and Mystery
Visitors have been posted.
6.6 JC said that he had advised the Tralorg Windfarm Liaison Group of our decision
to join and that the BCC reps were JR and WD.
6.7 JC said that he had contacted Thea Petticrew (SAC) regarding grass cutting
at the foot of the steps on the Back Road. She confirmed that this was
included in the contract and would be cut in future. She also, as requested,
enclosed a colour coded chart of the areas within the village that are covered
by the maintenance contract but unfortunately there is no explanation as to
the significance of the various colours. We have requested one but there has
been no response as yet.
There was then some discussion about the approach to the village at the
Stinchar Bridge corner. Some members felt that safety was being
compromised as the view to the bridge was becoming obscured by
vegetation in the corner of the field. This is private land managed on behalf
of the owner by a factor.
7 Treasurer’s Report.
7.1 WD said that bank balances currently stood at £11,877.00 but that £845.00
7.1 WD said that bank balances currently stood at £11,877.00 but that £845.00
recently paid out was not included in that figure so the actual position would
be just over the £11,000 mark.
8. Secretary’s Report.
8.1 We have received notice of another military exercise in the area. From 8th to
23rd July. Appropriate notices have been posted.
8.2 We have been advised of a HHCBFL employment opportunity for a village
project development officer. If we know of anyone who might be interested
we should let them know. All
8.3 We have been advised that we can nominate candidates as torch bearers for our
area for the forthcoming Olympic Games. All
8.4 I passed on a resident’s complaint about the verges at the Old Dailly junction of
the B734 where the long grass is obscuring the view of drivers trying to turn
towards Girvan. I had a positive response from SAC Roads Dept and indeed I
see that the verges at the junction have now been cut.
8.5 Stewart Sheddon of Smith and Valentine has sent three forms relating to the
setting up of our community company. He wants these signed by AS, WD and
JC. He has also advised that the immediate cost of setting up will be £777.20.
Cheque issued and forms signed at the meeting. These will be sent to Smith
Valentine. JC
9. Planning Matters.
9.1 An application to erect an agricultural shed at Traboyack Farm has been
9.1 An application to erect an agricultural shed at Traboyack Farm has been
granted.
9.2 An application to erect a dwelling house and garage on land between
Tapothebrae and Clash na Croy on the Pinwherry Road has been granted.
9.3 An application has been lodged to erect two wind turbines at Traboyack Farm.
9.4 An application has been lodged for renewal of planning consent at Dularg Farm.
9.4 An application has been lodged for renewal of planning consent at Dularg Farm.
No details are given.
10. Funding Applications.
No applications this month but we have thank you letters from Barr Community Association (BCA), Barr & Dailly Horticultural Society, the Barr Bowling Club
and the Percussion Ensemble.
and the Percussion Ensemble.
11. AOB
JL Part of the coping on the small wall on the burn bank at the foot of
JL Part of the coping on the small wall on the burn bank at the foot of
Glenginnet Road is damaged. Can anything be done about it? Seek advice
from local builder. JC JL
Memorial Arch is in a bad state of repair and may even be dangerous. Also,
still no water at the cemetery stand pipe. JC to contact South Ayrshire Council. JC
JL Location of third seat. After some discussion it was decided that since there
were already two seats on Changue Rd the third should be sited on the
Pinwherry Rd south of Alton Albany Farm. JL
WD Can we arrange for a SAC skip to be brought to the village periodically for
the general use of residents? Apparently if skips are provided they are delivered
on a Friday evening and lifted on the following Monday morning. It is up to the
village to ensure that the area round the skip is kept tidy. To make best use of
this facility we will need to publicise in advance. JC
JG The inappropriate signage has not yet been removed from the cemetery gate.
JR said that IF was dealing with this issue.
JG The three cairns that feature on the Barr Trails are in need of some attention.
These are the responsibility of the village. JR will arrange to have the cairns
inspected and photographed so that we can assess what needs to be done. JR
JL Concerns that village organisations are not making use of the village web site.
Difficult to know what to do to encourage them other than to remind them that
the web site is maintained and updated regularly.
JC Report on Carrick Community Council Forum (CCCF) meeting & AGM on
14th June 2011. There were two lots of guest speakers at the CCCF meeting.
The first were from the Galloway Biosphere. Their basic message was that they
were seeking to identify projects that would be compatible with the Biosphere
concept and the aspirations of the local communities. They will be happy to
come to Community Council meetings to discuss. The second was Steven Lindsay
from Scottish Power Renewables (SPR). He spoke about the career opportunities
in the field of renewable energy. Particularly for wind turbine engineers. T
hese are currently being recruited from the ranks of agricultural engineers and motor
mechanics. SPR is working with Ayr and Dumfries colleges to establish specific
courses with universally acceptable qualifications. Progress so far has been very encouraging.
hese are currently being recruited from the ranks of agricultural engineers and motor
mechanics. SPR is working with Ayr and Dumfries colleges to establish specific
courses with universally acceptable qualifications. Progress so far has been very encouraging.
At Arecleoch an ‘access officer’ has been appointed to look into tourism
opportunities. He also gave an update on the Straiton development. Progress here
has been delayed because of concerns about turbine interference with the radar
approaches to Prestwick airport.
CCCF AGM David Kiltie was concerned that the accounts were not properly
presented or audited. This was accepted and will be addressed.
Office Bearers. JL was nominated and accepted as the representative for Barr CC.
Elections. Chair Peter Mason, Secretary Betty McQuiston, Treasurer Jim Leil.
AOB (CCCF) Dailly Activity Centre going well. It now has 140 members. Barrhill residents incensed by SAC decision to refuse permission for their local shop to
supply take away meals.
supply take away meals.
Their being no further business the meeting closed at 8.35pm.
There will be no meeting in August.
Date of next meeting Thursday 8th September.