Ward 8 –Tain and Easter Ross Ward Forum
Meeting held on Thursday 2 October 2008
in Tain Royal Academy Community Complex
Present:
Cllr Alan Torrance (Chair)
Cllr Alasdair Rhind
Cllr Richard Durham
Sandy Park, The Convener of The Highland Council
Alistair Dodds, The Chief Executive of The Highland Council
Campbell Stewart, Area Roads and Community Works Manager
Ian Hargrave, Corporate Manager – Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Acting Inspector Peter Allan - Northern Constabulary
Andy Brown, Area Commander for Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross
Frances O’Connor, - Fearn Community Council
Angus Scobbie - Balintore and Hilton Community Council
Liz Whiteford - Fearn Peninsula Partnership
Peter Whiteley - Tain Community Council
Sarah Lumb - Inver Community Council
Robert James - Balintore Residents Group
Richard Cross, Nigg & Shandwick Community Council
Carol Elliot - Ward Manager Tain & Easter Ross
6 members of the public
Apologies:
Hamish Mackenzie – Tarbat Community Council
Fiona Robertson, Tain Initiative Group
Rose Hazell - Kilmuir and Logie Easter Action Group
Isabell McLaughlan – Milton Housing Forum
Susan Russel, NHS
1. Welcome and Introductions
Cllr Torrance welcomed everyone to the Forum. A special welcome was given to Sandy Park, The Convener of The Highland Council, Alistair Dodds, The Chief Executive and Area Commander for Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross, Andy Brown
2. Apologies for Absence
As listed above.
3. Community Safety/Police report – Northern Constabulary
Inspector Allan gave an outline of recorded incidents in the Ward including oil spillages at Nigg roundabout; vandalism; traffic offences; serious incidents and fire arms incidents.A Traffic Warden is now covering Tain and is issuing penalty notices.
Q - How many officers are based in the area?
A - Uniformed and non-uniformed patrols are deployed across the areas as needed.
Q - How many officers are there in the CCTV van?
A - The CCTV van is manned by 2 officers all the time. ACTION: Insp. Allan hopes to organise a visit to the CCTV van so all Ward Forum Members can see it.
Q - Can CCTV cameras be extended to cover Tain Tennis Club as they have had some problems recently.
A - Police will keep an eye on the site. Details to be discussed after meeting.
The Balintore Community Council representative thanked the Police for all their efforts in the area. It was noted that the Fire Brigade took 20 minutes to attend a recent fire in Balintore. ACTION: Write to Chief Fire Officer on behalf of Ward Forum to notify them of the concern. It was noted that in the Highlands & Islands only retained fire-fighters can attend fires that require breathing apparatus.
Andy Brown, Area Commander for Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross, reported the Police were committed to increasing their numbers in Tain. A proactive unit based in Dornoch has been set up to tackle crime. The Police are also investing in new technology called ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) which will help tackle drug trafficking. Local Cllrs have been invited to experience front line policing at Tain Police Station. Staffing is always a challenge. New officers are coming to the area but we need to make sure they are trained properly. A new shift system at Tain Police Station allows doubling up of officers at certain times so the Police can be more proactive. Staff can also be moved into the area as necessary. A new Community Safety Officer will also be based in the area.
4. Ward Update
At the last Ward Forum it was agreed that Forum members would form a steering Local Area Partnership. This group will allow the Ward to progress with the production of a local development plan and the formation of a Local Area Partnership to satisfy the Highland LEADER Programme requirements. The Highland LEADER Programme was the subject of the last Ward Forum for those that weren’t there. More information is attached to the notes of the last Forum at appendix 1.
A consultants’ brief was drafted and the new steering Local Area Partnership members had the opportunity to comment on it. The brief has been sent out to those on a consultants list provided by the LEADER team. An advert inviting tenders is also in the papers this week with a closing date of 20 October. Tenders will be considered at the Local Highland Council Members Ward Business Meeting on 27 Oct if all goes according to plan.
Community Councils were reminded that they only have until 10 Oct to nominate Highland Council staff (either individuals or teams) for the ‘CC’s nomination for Employee of the Year’ category of the Councils own Quality Awards.
5. Feedback on action points from previous Ward Forum
The Notes from the previous Ward Forum are attached to the agenda. Feedback on actions is shown at appendix 2.
6. Presentation – Winter Maintenance Programme 2008/9. Campbell Stewart, Area Roads & Community Works Manager.
Transport, Environment & Community Services (TECS) are responsible for the non trunk road network in the Ward. For TECS winter officially runs from November to March although they are always ready from 1st October. Forecasts come from the Met Office on a daily basis but forecasting is not an exact science and sometimes doesn’t match the conditions actually experienced. Salt is used to treat roads.
All routes cannot be treated at the same time so roads have been prioritised into 4 levels. These have been agreed by The Highland Council (HC). Treatments are done at set times and all four priorities area are, under normal conditions, completed by 11am. These times will differ under adverse conditions and on holidays and at weekends. Footpaths are also prioritised.
The routes taken are strictly governed by a HC agreement and are continuously reviewed by stakeholders such as Education (school bus routes). TECS is open to suggestions to improve the service but any changes may have repercussions to the service provided elsewhere, so this has to be taken into account. Last Winter TECS only had a few complaints about the service provided, but are always looking to modify and improve routes.
TECS works to meet the HC Policy on Winter Maintenance but conditions dictate what can be done. Council lorry drivers have to adhere to European Directives on working time. Only priority 1 routes are pre-treated in the evening, as per policy and due to resources.
7. Presentation - Sandy Park, the Convener of The Highland Council and Alistair Dodds, The Chief Executive.
The Convener and The Chief Executive are visiting Ward Forums around the Highlands. The Highland Council is now a political Council with an Administration formed by Independents, Libral Democrats and Labour and a SNP Opposition providing scrutiny. The Convener works very closely with the Chief Executive and the Scottish Government. Scutiny by Ward Forums and Community Councils is very important and a great source of information.
The Council has a £600million budget. 80% is funded by the Scottish Government and 20% from Council Tax. Ther is also a £60million budget for capital expenditure.
The current forcast for the 2009/10 budget shows a shortfall of £20million due to increased energy and related costs. Other issues affecting this are National Pay Negotiations rates which are impossed at a Scottish Level.
There will be a £15million gap in the 2010/11 budget year. Elected Members will have to make some hard decisions. The Scottish Government also sets a target of finding 2% efficiency savings (£7-8million for HC) for every Council. The Council Tax freeze means the gaps can’t be filled with a tax rise
The Chief Executive encouraged communities to let the Council know if they have any ideas to save money.
The Highland Council has to have a Single Outcome Agreement which links Scottish Government Policy to Council service provision and budgets. There are over 100 commitments in this including education, community safety, efficiency etc. The Council has to work with partners to achieve this.
The Ward Forum allows communities to bring up issues with the Council and with Ward Councillors and other partners.
• Community Care - 1 of 5 new care homes being built is in the Ward.
• Community Safety – Community Wardens are provided on a part time basis in Balintore and Tain.
• £54million is being invested over 3 years on roads and bridges in the Council area with £85,000 programme of resurfacing, £70,000 on surface dressing and an additional £15,000 of drainage works being carried out over the last year across the Ward.
• Recycling Waste. The Council is improving in this area and meeting government targets set.
• Approx £50-£60million is being spent on the Capital Programme in The Highland Council area.
• TECS Community Works Officers are communicating better with Community Councils.
• The Council is investing in communities.
The Ward Forums are important to question Councillors and to see the area at the wider Ward level. Area Committees weren’t attended by the public so the Ward Forums encourage communication. The Council needs to listen and to react to what Forums are saying.
The Highland Council is developing a whole suite of information about services provided at Ward Level, at the moment it is being piloted with Councillors which will help scrutinise spending and performance. It will eventually be put on the internet and will allow the public to have access to details on Council performance information.
It is important to use the Ward Manager and the Corporate Area Manager to pick up issues in communities. Councillors will continue to take up issues on their Ward’s behalf.
8. Public Question and Answer session.
Q - The Council has long lead in times and we can wait a long time to see results. It would be useful to know what the Council is working on for the future so we can comment before the final outcome.
A – We do have to be better about consulting on what we do up front. Open discussions with communities can lead to better decisions. ACTION: Get Public Relations Manager to provide the picture for the coming year. The programme could be in a more readable format.
Q - When did the Council decide to change the way village halls should be run?
A - The Highland Council meeting in February decided as part of the budget process. The Council looked to see if halls could be transferred to communities. Most halls already are run by communities. Local Members keep The Highland Council informed of local opinion.
Q - From the announcement the timescale is daunting for small communities.
A - If community representatives feel the Council is unreasonable tell us. The majority of halls are already community owned. Council staff can assist communities in looking at ways to run their village halls.
Q - On what basis did The Highland Council pick the halls to be transferred?
A - ACTION: Get response.
Q - Are there any further plans to consult with the Nigg community and can they be involved so the interests of the local community are addressed?
A - It is a big issue for the area. There will be a 12 week consultation period. ACTION: Arrange for an update.
Q - Concerning rubbish in back gardens of Council houses in Balintore. Housing staff have visited but there has been no improvement, and it isn’t being enforced.
A – It is difficult to enforce as the only way to do this is to end the tenancy and the court won’t agree to do this for rubbish. People should act responsibly and use the Council’s free bulky uplift service. Peer pressure usually works best although the community has tried various initiatives. Names to be passed to Ward Manager to pursue with Housing & Property.
Q - Are there any plans to increase the types of rubbish picked up from local people?
A - There are plans to extend plastic recycling. The Highland Council is investing in increased recycling and has targets to meet. Recycling and Waste Management are the topic of the Ward Forum on 15 January.
Q - The Council’s Education Service can be improved by giving it more money. You can’t expect improvements without money.
A - The Education Service budget has increased over the last 5 years and money is going to schools. Education has to fund increasing energy costs too so budgeting is difficult.
Q - We are not getting the services we have paid for because of staff taking industrial action.
A - Industrial Action relates to National Pay Negotiations. There are genuine efforts being made to resolve this at a National level.
9. Date, location and topic of next Ward Forum
Thursday 13 November, 7pm for 7.30pm. Milton Primary School Community Wing. The host Community Council will be Kilmuir & Logie Easter.
Main theme: Education, Culture & Sport. Kicking off with the question – How can schools and communities work together better? If your organisation would like any other aspects of the Education, Culture & Sport Service covered please let Carol know in plenty of time.
Secondary short topic: David Inglis, Licensing Standards Officer for Caithness, Sutherland & Easter Ross. What communities need to know about The Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005 and the changes to licensing laws.
10. Thanks for attending.
Cllr Torrance thanked everyone for their attendance, Kelly Skinner from TRACC and Tain CC for hosting refreshments.
Responses to ACTIONS can be found here.