Action Note of Ward 9 Forum held on 30th January 2008
Present: Councillors, Peter Cairns (Chair), Angela MacLean, Dingwall Community Council, Nigel Greenwood, David MacDonald, Muir of Ord Community Council, Tom Davis, Northern Constabulary, Inspector Pamela Ross, Highland Council, Larry Wilmot, Area Community Care Manager, Liz Cowie, Ward Manager, also present representing Crossroad Care was Robert Moore. There were 8 members of the public present.
Apologies: Councillors, David Chisholm, Margaret Paterson, Highland Youth Voice, Andrew Cronie, Siannie Moodie.
Listed below is the action required as a result of the discussion and decisions taken by the Dingwall and Seaforth Ward Forum at their meeting held on 30th January 2008.
Item 2 - Action Note from Previous Meeting
2.1 Education, Culture and Sport had advised that the work was now underway on the Youth and Ward Audits and that it was hoped to have this information available by March.
2.2 The Ward Manager outlined the Local Action Fund bids that had been approved. A total of £11,537 was available to the Dingwall and Seaforth Ward and this had been allocated as follows. Mobile Youth Club equipment for Ward 9 communities £1,570. Dingwall Leisure Centre increased opening hours £1,867. Highland Alternative Music funds for equipment and for music £2,000. Dingwall Youth Kafe support for running of the facility £5,000. Dingwall Media Project £1,100, this application was approved in principal but had to be resubmitted with more detail and would be considered at a future Ward Business Meeting. All present were happy with the allocation of the funds and felt that the local projects that had been supported were worthwhile and in need of the funds allocated.
2.3 The Dingwall Streetscape questionnaire had returned 560 completed responses and work was currently underway to incorporate both this data and the data from the public consultation event into a database. This was still on the agenda to be a future Ward Forum discussion item.
2.4 On item 4 from the previous action note Community Safety, the Ward Manager moved to amend the action note of the previous meeting. Superintendent John Darcy had advised the Ward Manager that a Police representative had been on route to attend the meeting. However an emergency had arisen and the officer had been diverted to attend to the matter. In future if the Police did not manage to attend the Ward Forum, it could be fairly assumed that an emergency had arisen and that officers were employed in dealing with that as a priority. This was agreed by all present.
2.5 The Ward Manager had been advised by Malcolm Macleod, the Development Plans Manager, that the Dingwall Master Plan process would commence in March.
2.6 A guidance note providing clarification on Planning Gain and Community Benefit had been produced by Bob Cameron, Corporate Manager, and this note would be made available to the Community Councils in Ward 9.
2.7 Tom Davis, Chair Muir of Ord Community Council, again raised the issue of lack of progress on the bridge replacement at Muir of Ord. He also raised again his concerns at the lack of response to letters written by the Community Council to TEC Services, Highland Council. An Action was agreed for Bob Cameron, Corporate Manager to take this matter forward on behalf of Muir of Ord Community Council.
Item 3 - Public Consultation
3.1 Post Office Closure Consultation. Councillor Peter Cairns covered the item in detail and advised of the public meetings that would be held in both Dingwall and Maryburgh on Tuesday 5th February. The Dingwall public meeting had been organised in conjunction with Dingwall Community Council. The Maryburgh meeting had been facilitated by the Maryburgh Amenities Association. A member of the public present who was also a member of Dingwall Community Council advised that a public petition was underway and that signatures were being collected on Dingwall High Street on Saturday 2nd February. A number of points were raised by the Community Councils present but all felt strongly that support needed to be shown to support and save local Post Office services. The Ward Manager advised that it was Highland Council’s policy to support provision of Post Office Services in the Highlands and that full support would be given to retain postal services for Ward 9. It was also advised that Councillor Peter Cairns, as Chair of the Member Working Group with regard to the Post Office Closure issue, would be chairing both meetings on Tuesday 5th February.
Item 4 - Community Safety
Inspector Pamela Ross outlined the forthcoming restructure for Northern Constabulary in relation to Ward 9. She advised that the changes would take effect from April. Inspector Ross explained that the restructuring would result in the forming of a new central division within Northern Constabulary which would take in Easter Ross, Ross and Cromarty, West Ross, Lochaber, Skye and Lochalsh and the Western Isles. Superintendent John Darcy would be in overall command of the Division and Chief Inspector Paul Eddington would be his Deputy. Inspector Ross detailed that she would now be in charge of the Public Protection Unit, and that another Inspector would be appointed to take charge of operational matters. Inspector Ross then went on to detail the crime statistics and explained that there had been a significant drop compared with this time last year in incidents. There was an overall reduction in violent crime. The picture was positive for the Ward 9 and surrounding area. There had been proactive action taken in terms of licensing with the recent bottle marking scheme which had been very successful over the festive period. She also highlighted that on 27th January 2008 there had been a significant controlled drug seizure of £33,000 in the immediate area. Inspector Ross then gave an update on the Blue Light Disco proposal that had been detailed at the Ward Forum on youth issues. The events were hugely popular in Fife and the team had been to a recent event in Dunfermline to see how they were run locally. Following the Ward Forum that dealt with youth issues the Police had made contact with Highland Alternative Music who had agreed to provide the music and the lighting. The Dingwall Youth Kafe also hope to be involved in the organisation. Nigel Greenwood, Chair Dingwall Community Council, asked what age group would be involved in the discos. Inspector Ross responded that they were targeted at S1-S4 and essentially covered the 12-16 year old age group. Transport would also be offered and the Police were looking to partnership working with public transport providers to facilitate this. Inspector Ross then detailed the new ‘Drink Sensible’ campaign and advised that this would be run locally. There was also a ‘Safer Towns’ initiative and a three month pilot would be taking place in Dingwall working with shops to look at how to pass on information to the Police locally. PC Carrie Shanks was in charge of this initiative. David MacDonald, Dingwall Community Council Vice-Chair, commented that it was good to see the proactive side of Police work and that the Ward Forum was an excellent platform to reflect this. Councillor Peter Cairns thanked Inspector Ross for the very informative update.
Item 5 - Ward Discretionary Budget
The Ward Manager gave a comprehensive update of the current spend on the Discretionary Budget and outlined the process for the Community Council grants that had been detailed at the previous Ward Forum meeting. Dingwall Community Council are already underway with their application and this would be used to facilitate community and small grant projects locally. It was anticipated that the Discretionary Budget would be fully committed for this current financial year.
Item 6 - Community and Elderly Care
Larry Wilmot, Area Community Care Manager, Ross, Skye and Lochaber, gave a very comprehensive and informative overview of Highland Council Community Care Services. He focused specifically on services for Dingwall and the surrounding area and spoke about the Home Care Service, care homes, assessment services, mental health services, deaf services and then went on to cover future developments. He also detailed the recent move of staff from the Slioch building in Castle Street to the new offices at Fodderty Way on the Business Park in Dingwall. Specific issues affecting Ward 9 were covered including the replacement residential care home at Urray House at Muir of Ord which Mr Wilmot detailed had residents who hail from the Dingwall area. He outlined that this home is scheduled to be replaced by a purpose built care home with 30 residents on the same site. This was part of the Administration’s priorities for the next term. Following the comprehensive presentation, Councillor Peter Cairns opened the subject up for questions. Robert Moore, Treasurer, Crossroads, asked that it be noted by the Councillors present that he wished to highlight Crossroads situation with regard to funding. There had been the annual inflationary increase applied but no real, significant increase in funding over the last few years. This was a real and key issue for provision of service locally. The issue was debated and Members recorded their support for the organisation.
Question from Mr Tom Gray, Maryburgh. ‘I would not expect the speaker to know me personally, but I do expect that his department would be aware of me, in the context of the provision of the Government policy in regards to the Care in the Community. What arrangements exist within the department to identify those persons resident in the area who come within the terms of the policy and what arrangements exist to advise these persons as to the service to which they may be eligible?’
Mr Wilmot responded that there was a referral system in place and that individuals could make direct contact with the service or via The Highland Council Emergency Service. There is also the Nursing Service, GPs, and the Invergordon Hospital for referrals. There are various additional avenues including referrals through relatives and carers, and The Highland Council Duty Social Work Officer can also help and advise. However in response to Mr. Gray’s question, Mr Wilmot advised that there was no mechanism to individually identify residents in the Ward. Mr Wilmot made reference to The Highland Council produced booklet on Fair Access to Community Care Services. He made available copies of this document at the Forum meeting. LC undertook to send a copy of this document along with Mr Wilmot’s paper to the Ward Community Councils.
Item 7 - AOB
There were no AOB items raised.
Public Questions
Mr Tom Thomas, Maryburgh, wished the Forum to note his compliments on the high standard of Council gritting carried out in the Maryburgh area. His particular commendation went to Mr Ian Hay, TEC Services and to the Service Centre for handling all his enquiries. Mr Thomas then asked for a further compliment to be recorded on the swift and prompt Police response to a recent incident in Maryburgh. He felt that public awareness of what the Police do in positive terms was not recognised and wished this to be recorded.
Date of Next Ward Forum
It was agreed that the next Ward Forum would be held on Wednesday 19th March in the Council Offices in Dingwall at 7.00pm. It was anticipated that both Maryburgh and Conon Bridge would have representation present at the next Ward Forum and the opportunity would be taken at the meeting to review the structure timing and locations of the meeting and also the schedule for the year ahead. The date of the next meeting would be confirmed by the Ward Manager following the re-forming of Maryburgh and Conon Bridge Community Councils.