Ward 8 –Tain and Easter Ross Ward Forum
Meeting held on Thursday 11 June 2009
in the Seaboard Memorial Hall
Present:
Cllr Richard Durham (Chair)
Alice Smith, Balintore and Hilton Community Council
John Scott, Fearn Community Council
George Dobbie, Kilmuir and Logie Easter Community Council
Richard Cross, Nigg and Shandwick Community Council
Robert James, Balintore Residents Group
Helen Campbell, Fearn Peninsula Partnership
Rose Hazell, Kilmuir and Logie Easter Action Group
Isobell McLaughlan, Milton Housing Forum
Maureen Ross, Seaboard Memorial Hall
Fiona Robertson, Tain Initiative Group
Tony Watson, Tarbat Discovery Centre
Scott Armstrong, Visit Scotland Regional Director
William Mainus, Stagecoach Commercial Manager
Colin Simpson, HC Tourism Co-ordinator
Insp Ramsay Aitkin, Northern Constabulary
Ian Hargrave, HC Corporate Manager, Caithness, Sutherland and Easter Ross
Carol Elliot, HC Ward Manager Tain and Easter Ross
7 members of the public
2 members of the press
Apologies:
Cllr Alasdair Rhind
Cllr Alan Torrance
Hamish Mackenzie, Tarbat Community Council
Sarah Lumb, Inver Community Council
Phil Green, Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
William Scott, Highlands and Islands Fire and Rescue Service
James Gordon, Fearn Peninsula Partnership
1. Welcome and Introductions
Cllr Durham welcomed everyone to the Forum.
The commitment of Val Williamson, the Secretary of Kilmuir and Logie Easter Community Council, who had recently passed away, was recognised.
2. Apologies for Absence
As listed above.
3. Community Safety/Police report – Northern Constabulary
Since the last Ward Forum (23 April 2009) to date there have been 367 calls for service in the Ward on top of the work generated by the Police themselves. 51 of these have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal. Examples of incidents were given, these include 2 drugs cases.
The Police have also set up a community surgery in Balintore and have been working with Crime Stoppers on a leaflet drop. They will shortly be working on a Road Safety summer campaign.
The Police Policy on attending Community Council meetings is that they will attend if required when there is a reason or issue for them to come along for. They have an obligation to attend Ward Forums so can always be seen there.
Advance Question – What is the defined policing area (in extent and in square miles) which includes the Seaboard villages?
A - The Easter Ross and Sutherland area which Inspector Aitkin covers is approx 200 square miles.
Advance Question – What is the number of police personnel assigned to this area?
A - There are 23 Response Officers as well as Crime Management Officers and Public Protection Officers who deal with Child Protection/vulnerable adults and community safety.
Advance Question – What is the number of police personnel per shift (with shift times provided)?
A - This cannot be provided as it may compromise the security of staff or the area.
Advance Question – What is the number of officers who are available for active/reactive policing duties (i.e. on street policing) and the number who are assigned management/administration duties (other than administration arising from arrest or other active policing) for part or all of their time on duty.
A - There are 33 officers available for responsive policing. There is 1 officer (Inspector Aitkin) assigned management/administration duties.
Q - Where is the community surgery held?
A - 12.30pm – 2pm on the last Tuesday of the month in the Seaboard Memorial Hall, Balintore.
Q - There are issues with speeding on the B9175 Nigg road. Are there any actions that the public can take e.g. taking photos? Example given.
A - No. The best action the public can take is to give the Police a specific time a reoccurring problem is taking place so they can monitor. Since the last Ward Forum this area has been patrolled extensively.
Q - How many vandalisms and breaches of the peace have been reported since the last Ward Forum?
A - ACTION 1: Insp Aitkin to get exact figures. It is a low figure but the Police may not be getting told about the problems. The public are encouraged to report incidents to Crime Stoppers. Resources are deployed specifically to demand.
Q - What are the response times for call outs? If people have a long time to wait they may be less encouraged to report problems.
A - Geography means the Police won’t always be in the right place at the right time. Each call is prioritised and a blue light call sent if necessary. If not, the Police get to it when they can.
Communities would like to see more community policing but in reality there are limited resources. It is important the public report incidents as soon as possible, the Police depend on the public for information.
ACTION 2: Councillors to write on behalf of Ward Forum to the Northern Joint Police Board asking them to make a representation to the Scottish Government for more Police officers.
Northern Constabulary has the most staff it has ever had. With these it needs to address local issues and national issues such as child protection.
Balintore and Hilton Community Council has set up a working group to look at Community Safety to work with Police and support people to have the confidence to report issues.
Cllr Rhind has expressed a strong view that the area would be better served by the old area boundary with Dingwall, Alness and Tain together. This should be included in the letter to the Northern Joint Police Board.
Q - If there is a road traffic accident on the A9 do some of the 33 officers assist?
A - If there is a fatality, no. If it is a normal road traffic accident, yes.
4. Ward Update and feedback from the previous Ward Forum.
The first meeting of the Tain & Easter Ross LEADER Local Area Partnership was held at the end of April. The Ward has £303,580.00 available to allocate over the next 3 years to eligible projects.
Two applications were considered at the first meeting and both were supported:
• Seaboard Memorial Hall was awarded £10,550.00 for a kitchen upgrade project.
• Tarbat CCs Facelift for Portmahomack project was awarded £8,897.00.
This leaves £254,133.00 still to be allocated.
The Local Area Partnership met again immediately before this Forum and considered another 2 applications.
5. Stagecoach – bus timetabling in the Ward. William Mainus, Stagecoach Commercial Manager
Stagecoach is looking at the possibility of providing an express service from rural parts of the Ward to Inverness to speed up journey time. And at the possibility of providing a local bus service within Tain.
Q - Buses from Balintore to Tain only leave people half an hour to spend in Tain before returning unless you opt for a much longer wait. In the evenings there is too long a wait for a connecting bus to Balintore. There is no bus from Tain to Balintore after 5.45pm until the 11pm bus.
A - Issues noted. ACTION 3: Stagecoach will have a fresh look at this, but it needs to fit around what the Highland Council will allow. There have been a few concerns around behaviour on the late bus.
Q - Why is there no Sunday service?
A - This is not in the Highland Council contract so it is up to the Highland Council to do something about. ACTION 4: William Mainus will report this to the Council’s Public Transport Unit.
Advance Question - Buses connecting to Portmahomack should wait for the main bus from Inverness to arrive in Tain, rather than leaving before the main bus has arrived. Can something be done about this?
A – The timetable for Portmahomack can be altered. ACTION 5: It was suggested that the Ward Manager organise a local meeting with a few bus users, Stagecoach and a representative of the Council’s Public Transport Unit, to look at improving the timetabling.
Q - People leave their cars and get on a bus at Nigg Roundabout. Where is the safest place to get on and off the bus?
A - It is at the discretion of the driver to decide where it is safe to stop. Stagecoach is trying to encourage park and ride stops. ACTION 6: William Mainus will speak to Transerve to see if a lay-by can be put in.
Q - The 25 Service. Users couldn’t get off at the Balintore Hotel despite there being a stop on the opposite side of the road.
A - Stagecoach is aware of this and has spoken to their drivers. The Council will be putting a bus stop sign up tomorrow following a request from the Community Council last week.
Q - A double ticket to travel on the bus and train would be useful.
A - ACTION 7: We don’t have this in the area at the moment but the request will be noted and passed on.
Q - The bus is not meeting the train on time at Fearn.
A - This has been resolved and Scotrail is now ensuring Stagecoach is notified of timetable changes.
Q - Sometimes a service does not turn up at the bus station.
A - Stagecoach is trying to improve communications with the bus station to make sure people are advised.
6. Presentation - Tourism - The Highland Council and Visit Scotland. Colin Simpson, HC Tourism Co-ordinator and Scott Armstrong, Visit Scotland Regional Director.
As well as part funding Visit Scotland for some of its activities, the Council provides a lot of services that tourists benefit from. Such as: Countryside Rangers; Access Officers; Planning and Development are involved with trails, for example, the Pictish Trail and the new Dolphin and Seal Trail which is being extended and improved at the moment; Museums; Leisure facilities; Parks; Gardens; Cycle routes; Trading Standards; and Licensing.
As well as Highland wide work the Council do local area specific work. For example, cruise development work with an Invergordon group and cruise companies. There might be an opportunity to develop work in to this Ward as well.
There is funding available from the capital programme budget for village enhancement and other environmental projects. There is also a Council events budget and a tourism development budget that can be used for community projects and even to help start local tourist groups.
Visit Scotland is a Quango with an annual budget of £72million. 60% of its funding comes from the Scottish Government. £6million comes from the 32 Local Authorities in Scotland. Of this, The Highland Council’s contribution is £450,000. Other funding comes in from private sources and from tourists.
Visit Scotland is not a membership organisation. It has 800 staff across Scotland. It has 3 roles: marketing; information and inspiration; and quality assurance.
Visit Scotland doesn’t do: product development; business development; or training. Other organisations cover this.
85% of visitors to Scotland are from the UK. The 15% that come from overseas generate 37% of tourism revenue. This year a good tourism year is expected, especially from UK visitors.
Visit Scotland takes a segmented approach to marketing with ten market segments identified through research. Visit Scotland doesn’t do destination marketing.
There are 102 visitor information centres, this number has been reducing over the years as visitors using them are declining mainly because of the internet, mobile phones and a change in holiday patterns, that is, people don’t tour as they used to.
There are 6 quality assurance schemes which grade the accommodation sector and also welcome schemes. This is a common scheme across the UK and includes the AA.
In The Highland Council area there are 70 tourism groups/associations of various sizes actively promoting their area. Visit Scotland funding can provide 50% marketing support for promoting areas.
Q – How do tourists find out what’s on in the area?
A – It is important to provide this but it is difficult to provide as the information is changing all the time. Visit Highland’s website can provide this and so can Tourist Information Centres but there is not a uniform way of providing this across the area. No individual organisation can run an affective campaign; we need to work together collectively.
Q – How do we put Easter Ross on the map as a tourist destination?
A – You can bring together the businesses and visitor attractions that draw people in to the area and sell it as a package. The Council can help get a tourism group get started. ACTION 8: Ward Manager to see if there is any interest in forming a tourism group.
Q – Cruise ship passengers aren’t given time to look around local areas. Can anything be done?
A – The cruise operators organise excursions in advance to cover their port costs and maximise their own revenue. The ships’ crews are the best local customers. A group could try and work to attract people to local areas.
Q – Small businesses don’t register with Visit Scotland as they think the charges are excessive when they have a tight income. What can be done?
A – The annual fee to be quality assessed is £150. Marketing costs are additional. There is no membership fee. Visit Scotland is looking at providing a more basic entry fee in response to this concern.
At the moment the alternative tourist route (the Moray Firth Tourist route) north goes over the Struie. The Ward Forum supports the suggestion put forward by communities along the Cromarty Firth to create an additional tourist route north which would take in the Ward area. A potential tourism group could look at the route and could help with focusing advertising.
7. Date, location and topic of next Ward Forum
Wednesday 19 August 7pm for 7.30pm. Nigg Hall. The host Community Council will be Nigg & Shandwick.
Main theme: Planning – Consultation on the Highland Wide Local Development Plan. Work is starting on the Council’s new land use plan for the Highlands which will help shape the way our towns, villages and countryside look in the future. Come and discuss what is important to you.
Second topic: An update on the Core Paths plan for the Ward.
As always – Can Community Councils and other Ward Forum member groups ensure you gather views from your communities on these items via your own agendas to feed into discussions.
To help the Council find out which sections of the community attend Ward Forums and to help us make improvements we would ask those present to again complete the yellow Equal Opportunities and Monitoring questionnaire at the end of the Forum.
8. Public Question and Answer session.
Q – Could the Visit Scotland database be used to help market the local area?
A – Visit Scotland only has information that can target market segments they don’t target local destinations. They can offer target suggestions to groups.
9. Thanks for attending.
Cllr Durham thanked everyone for their attendance, Thanks to Balintore and Hilton Community Council for hosting refreshments.
Updates on ACTIONS can be seen at Appendix 1 attached.