Category: government

## **KILNINVER AND KILMELFORD COMMUNITY COUNCIL** 

## **Draft Minutes** 

The meeting of the above council was held on Tuesday 8[th] February 2011 at Kilmelford Village Hall. 

**Present:** Nigel Mitchell (NM) Chairman, Antoinette Mitchell (AM),Colin Clark(CC),Sheila Whitlow (SW). 

Also in attendance were Councillor Elaine Robertson, Councillor Neil Mackay, Councillor Duncan MacIntyre and 19 members of the public. 

**Apologies:** Matthew Anderson, Sarah Edwards, John MacLean, Councillor Donald MacDonald. 

**Minutes of the previous meeting** : The minutes of the meeting held on 14[th] December 2010 were taken as a true and accurate representation of the meeting and approved. Proposed AM, seconded CC. 

## **Matters arising from previous meeting:** 

**Raera Wind Farm:** There is no news of an appeal. An appeal would need to be made within three months of the date of determination, which was the 14[th] December. 

**Clachan Wind Farm:** NM had contacted Rory Young. The planning application is currently being finalised with a view to completion in four to six weeks. A drop in session is planned in February and Rory Young has a meeting with the planning department on site in early March. 

**Kilmelford Notice Board:** The application for a grant for the notice boards at the shop and the village hall is being considered at a meeting on 9[th] February. 50% of the grant will be for the C.C. Noticeboard neer the shop. The Community Council will pay 50% of the cost to K.K.C.A. for the village hall notice board. 

**Fences around the Glebe:** The wooden fencing around The Glebe has been completed. The Herries fencing is due to be considered at a meeting on 9[th] February. 

**Setting up a Trust fund:** There is no update on the trust fund. Mr Ewan Kennedy Offered to discuss the setting up of a trust fund with Matthew Anderson. 

## **Planning Applications:** 

New Application for the change from a bungalow to a larger dwelling at Ethie. No concerns were raised. 

Kames Farmstead- A bore hole is to be drilled.  Polytunnels have been put up, as temporary accommodation for Alpacas and Merino sheep (160 head of livestock) and there has been quite a lot of work on site in the last two weeks. Jane Rentoul raised concerns regarding the private water supply. Will water to the bore hole impinge on the existing supply? A survey is believed to have been carried out. The existing water pipe crosses the 

land for development. During the preparation of the land, the pipe was damaged. The development is due to be discussed at a planning meeting on 16[th] February. The monitoring of the water table was discussed. NM enquired whether the community council could write on behalf of the community, for consideration at the meeting on the 17[th ] February. AM agreed to write to David Love. The access to the pipe and the countryside access path is to be raised with Douglas Grierson, the Access Officer. The path has been used for 40 years and is on the core paths map. New access has been organised for the Forestry Commission and agreed with Colin. This is still going through the legal process. 

KamesTwo houses are now replacing the 6 houses on a previous application. The paved and tarmacked access off the main road would not seem to be economically sensible for 2 houses. 6 houses were originally denied for the environmentally sensitive land. The water pipe goes straight across the land where garages and a house are being built. As a commercial business, reverse bad neighbours applies for one or six houses. Paul Reynolds the Enivronmental Health Officer has been involved with this issue and a report was against the 6 houses. 

Letters against the first application do not apply to the second application. The first application was withdrawn. The first application was from a limited company and the second from an individual. It is understood that no fee has been paid for the second application. 

Fergus Gillanders commented that there has been considerable development over a relatively short space of time in the last five years. There are concerns that the community is going to be swamped with new developments, considering the other planning consents that have already been granted in Kilmelford. 

Before an application can be validated it is understood that a fee has to be paid. In this instance it appears that the planning officer has acceded to plans being accepted without a fee. If it is a continuation of the original application, then letters against the first application should stand. 

Marine Fish Farm – Ardmaddy – This is still not an application. Opinion is that the area is far too shallow and there may be issues with pollution and recreational use in that area. The application would not come under the scope of Easdale Community Council. 

## **Correspondence** 

NM had spoken to Insp Julie Mcleish at Oban Police regarding the situation with road closures. Julie suggested checking with the Traffic Scotland website and if anyone was concerned they should ask to be connected to the Oban Office for updates. 

A letter had been received regarding concerns about grit supplies to grit the area of the Degnish road for the area up to the fire station. 

An email had been received from Sarah Edwards, with her apologies for being unable to attend the meeting. Sarah expressed concern that the summary made regarding the Raera Wind farm, was one sided and only aired the views of those against the wind farm . 

Fiona Wylie read her letter regarding the Wind Farm presentation. Fiona did not feel that the presentation reflected the overall views of the community, and raised concerns regarding the code of conduct for Community Councilliors. 

AM explained that the presentation was,as directed by A&B Council, based on a letter sent to planning in February which had been sent to all the members of the community council prior to this for their comments .From the K.K area there had been four letters in favour of the application and over 40 against. Fiona suggested that objectors were more likely to write than those in favour of the plan. The incomplete phone poll had been taken before the application went in and Fiona felt that another poll should have been taken after the application was made. 

Fiona felt there was a duty to establish and reflect the views of the community as a whole and wanted to discuss how any contentious issues are approached in the future. Fiona referred to the guidance from the Association of Scottish Community Councils, which indicated that word of mouth should not be relied upon. 

It was suggested that in future a postal questionnaire, contributions to a website and a suggestion mailbox could be considered. 

Fergus Gillanders felt that the presentation by the Wind Farm applicants was not good. 

Neil Mackay explained that everybody in the community can make a comment and that all letters and comments would be taken into account and considered. 

Duncan Macintyre felt that this community council , as a Statutory Consultee should generally be complimented on their responses . Luing Community council had not given their opinion. 

NM felt that the Representation was appropriate and democratically represented the feelings of the Kilninver and Kilmelford Community.  He added that he had received countless phone calls of an evening prior to the Hearing and not one of those had been in support of the project.  AM pointed out that the Representation never mentioned OBJECTIONS but flagged up the many concerns the community had about the whole project, none of which N'power had addressed satisfactorily.  NM went on to say that a few days prior to the Hearing N'power had directly Lobbied the PPSL Committee, bypassing the Planners, directing the PPSL committee to approve Raera as the views and concerns of the community were irrelevant!   NM had given his personal opinion as part of the process, but had listened to other views and felt that both the original letter and the Representation fairly represented the majority views of the community. NM accepted responsibility and if anyone would like to make a complaint they should raise their concerns with him. 

Elaine Robertson commended this community council for their approach and the attempts made to garner public opinion. 

Jane Rentoul commended NM and AM for their fair involvement in dealing with the Raera application. 

Elaine Robertson explained that the next elections for Community Councils will be held in the summer after the elections in May. 

Core Paths- showed the Meeting the core paths plan for paths for this area and explained that a CD rom of the plan is available. There is an address search tab  when trying to establish where core paths are. There is a drop in session on the 9[th] March at 7.30pm at Oban Library, and the consultation will end at the end of April 2011. 

## **Any other business** 

Fergus Gillanders mentioned the significant amount of rubbish on the beach at Craigoull Bay, with some very large items including a large floating platform. AM suggested contacting Diane Scaife to find out more about beach clean details. Stuart Cannon offered to take a boat out from the fish farm to help with the collection. Duncan MacIntyre explained that the council could arrange a special rate for one special collection and uplift of the rubbish. 

Road repairs- Duncan MacIntyre explained that complaints about particularly dangerous pot holes should be made to the council. At a recent meeting the decision was taken to repair Category one pot holes. In March and April there will be a concentrated effort to complete proper repairs. From May to the end of July money from the new budget  will be used for a concentrated road repairs programme. NM suggested reporting serious potholes to the website. 

Municipal Building- This is due to be re-opened shortly and will be a one stop centre. 

Road Signs for the village- Concerns were raised regarding missing road signs in the village. Peter will give a list to Colin Clark. 

Ewan Kennedy Wanted to confirm that any future decisions regarding the land around the village hall would be discussed at the appropriate time. NM had spoken to Fergus Murray to explain the views towards the application. They have agreed that nothing will go through without the community council having the opportunity to discuss it. It is believed that some of the community along the Degnish road are very much against the application. NM invited opinions from those for and against it. The cairn was put forward as of archaeological significance. 

Fiona Wylie explained that there may not be an April Newsletter as Fiona is away. 

The Voluntary Car Scheme- Duncan MacIntyre thanked this Community Council for writing. Dalmally and Taynuilt Community Councils had also written and the scheme is to 

be considered at a meeting on 10[th] February. 

## **Date of the Next meeting** 

The next meeting of Kilninver and Kilmelford Community Council will be held in the Kilmelford Village Hall on Tuesday 12[th] April at 8.00pm. 

There being no further business the meeting was closed at 9.34pm. 



Question: When was the Kilninver and Kilmelford Community Council meeting held, what was the appeal deadline status for the Raera Wind Farm decision, and when was the next meeting scheduled?
Answer: The meeting was held on Tuesday 8th February 2011 at Kilmelford Village Hall. There was no news of an appeal on Raera Wind Farm; any appeal would need to be made within three months of the determination date of 14th December. The next meeting was set for Tuesday 12th April at 8:00 pm at Kilmelford Village Hall.