Action Notes - Ward Forum - West Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh (Ward 10)

Meeting held on 17 March 2008 in Ullapool Village Hall

Agenda 

Chair: Kenneth Morrisson, (Lochbroom Community Council)

Present:  Cllr Biz Campbell; Cllr Richard Greene; Cllr Audrey Sinclair; Cllr Jean Urquhart; K. Morrison (Lochbroom CC);

And 15 Members of the Public

Officials in attendance: Robbie Bain (Ward Manager); Andy McCann (Economy & Regeneration Manager), Insp Paul Eddington (Northern Constabulary); Robert Muir (Highlands & Islands Enterprise)

Apologies: Mairi Chisholm, (Aultbea CC), Gordon MacLean (Contin CC)

Introduction

Kenneth Morrison welcomed everyone to the meeting, introduced the Councillors and Officals to the meeting and presented the apologies.

Community Safety

Inspector Eddington, reminded everyone that community safety was everybody’s business, not something that was solely the responsibility of the Police.  He outlined the operational arrangements for policing in the Ward and ongoing changes to the Police operational areas.  Key Priorities would be: Drugs; Road Safety; Serious Crime; Safer Communities.

HIE

Robert Muir (HIE) outlined the ongoing changes in HIE which would mean the abolition of the old Enterprise Companies structure and their individual Boards.  A new body Skills Development Scotland, would be responsible for all the training programmes and the Government’s new Economic Strategy sets out what the Enterprise Networks should do.  In the future HIE will focus strongly on businesses with growth potential, which will mean them working with fewer contacts.  Local Authorities will take on the advisory role for new businesses.  Robert further outlined towo pieces of current work: investigating the supply and demand for commercial property in the area; and addressing the deficit in Further Education provision in Skye & Wester Ross.

Business Gateway

Andy McCann outlined the early thinking on how the Business Gateway would function in Highland.  He stressed that this should allow a wider range of advice to be available by linking business advice to that of Council services such as Environmental Health rules etc.  More information would be available as decisions are taken, but the proposed start date for Business Gateway is October 2008.

Review of Ward Forums

There was a short discussion on the Ward Forum process.  There was agreement that good arguments could be had for a fixed venue and for moving venues with perhaps a “bit of both” being the only pragmatic solution.  It was agreed that very local issues should not be brought to Forums but addressed elsewhere.

Out of Hours Group

The recent letter to all CCs from the Wester Ross Out of Hours Group was brought to everyones attention with the request that infomratino be returned to Liz Pritchard so that she could collate responses well in advance of the visit by Nicola Sturgeon