Action Note - Ward Forum - Dingwall and Seaforth (Ward 9)

Meeting held on 17th June 2009

Agenda

Present: Cllr’s David Chisholm (Chair), Margaret Paterson, Peter Cairns; Dingwall Community Council, Nigel Greenwood; Muir of Ord Community Council, Tom Davis, Vic Clouston; Conon Bridge Community Council, Alister MacKinnon; Maryburgh Community Council, David Duguid; Northern Constabulary, Insp. Matthew Reiss; Highland Council, Richard Hartland, Head of Planning and Building Control, Simon Hindson, Graduate Planner, Anastasios Kitsos, Planner, Liz Cowie, Ward Manager.

Item 1 - Welcome. Cllr. Chisholm opened the meeting. The format of the Ward Forum was explained and the topic for the meeting outlined.

Item 2 - Apologies. Cllr. Angela MacLean; Highland Youth Voice Rep’s.

Item 3 - Good News Items.

Town Centre Regeneration Fund application submitted. Decision on first round applications expected at the end of July
Streetscape tenders due back on 3rd July, work to commence 31st August
Dingwall Academy formal opening on 2nd July
Dingwall Community Councillor, Eunice Macrae, had attended the Garden Party

Item 4 - Action Note for Previous Meeting. The Action Note was approved. Cllr. Chisholm asked for it to be noted that he had stated his objection to bulky uplift charges at the previous meeting.

Item 5 - Main Topic: Planning and Enforcement. Highland Wide Local Development Plan. Simon Hindson, Graduate Planner. An outline was given of the background to the planning process. A ‘walk through’ of planning in Highland Council was given by SH. SH emphasised that planning is a means to an end and not an end in itself and that the Planning Service see themselves as facilitators of development rather than regulators of development. SH then referred to ‘Delivering Planning Reform’ a document issued by the Scottish Government. Highland Council now has to implement this. End result will be improved planning applications, more transparency in planning through e-planning and greater understanding of the planning process. As part of the Planning Reform agenda Highland Council are working with SEPA, SNH, Transport Scotland and a number of other public agencies. Delivering a better planning system is the aim and this will be adopted by the Scottish Government by the end of the summer. All documentation needs to be fit for purpose. SH then referred to the National Planning Framework and discussed the Highland Structure Plan 2001 and how this related to local planning. SH then moved on to the Highland Wide Development Plan and outlined how Highland Council would like the public to get involved. 17th August sees publication of the main issues report. There is real challenge in bringing together the full range of issues and from this to distil down to the agreed options for Highland.

SH then opened the topic up to the floor. It was suggested that two groups be formed to look at the issues and to use the map system to pinpoint key areas both for the Ward and for Highland. This was agreed. Following the break out session comments and questions from the floor were as follows:

Morag Black, Tulloch Wood Residents’ Association. MB felt that there should be more amenities for houses being built for younger people and life should be made easier for older people. Open space needed to be considered. Transport issues should be looked at, particularly links out to Easter Ross.
Colin Craig, Ferintosh Community Council, example given of rural transport and the ability of transport providers to serve rural communities. The example was given of the Leanaig where the local population cannot access buses. He also highlighted the long term impact of development if this is not being thought out.
Renewable Energy was discussed - and Community Benefit. The question was posed should this be sorted out before planning is agreed? The Fairburn Windfarm example was given.
David Lynch, Dingwall Community Council. Consideration should be given to micro-renewables in and around estates. Better planning on a smaller scale was required.
David Duguid, Maryburgh Community Council. Could ground source heat pumps in open spaces be used for heating a number of houses rather than just individual homes? Materials in houses should also be looked at to ensure sustainability.
Cllr. Peter Cairns. The link should be made between development and industrial estates. There is the aspect of seeing the value in provision of micro-renewables.
Cllr. David Chisholm highlighted Planning for Real exercises and asked if those present felt that this had worked. He felt that there could be merit in repeating the exercise.
Vic Clouston, Muir of Ord Community Council. Ensure that Development Plans consider health provision, for example doctor’s surgeries.
SH responded that this is provided for but Cllr. Chisholm interjected to say that he felt this area was weak and that it should be noted. Cllr. Chisholm then highlighted the real issue of lack of provision of facilities for communities, increased growth and housing provision with no community facilities considered.
Morag Black, Tulloch Wood Residents’ Association. Should the Planning Department open up to entrepreneurs and learn from them?
David Duguid, Maryburgh Community Council. Is there joined up thinking between Highland Council departments in terms of policy? Working groups with reps from all departments looking at developments of fifty or over? There is a need to identify community requirements and also what can be considered for smaller schemes. Are Policy and Strategy being developed side by side?
David Lynch, Dingwall Community Council. Planned open space is a key issue. It would be good to have some long term plans to have quality open space and the ability to access that through walking and cycling. The example of the Abriachan Forest facility was given. Walking and cycling safely between communities should be on the agenda. SH confirmed that an open space audit is being carried out looking at quality of accessibility, DDA issues, how to get to etc.
The issue of green space that is not usable was touched upon by Cllr. Chisholm particularly in Dingwall and Muir of Ord. (Ex landfill sites.)
Vic Clouston, Muir of Ord Community Council. Problems with out-of-town developments and retail impact of this on smaller local businesses highlighted.
Tom Davis, Muir of Ord Community Council. Discussed the need for support for small local businesses.
David Duguid, Maryburgh Community Council. Support for small local markets. Strong feeling that these should be held weekly if possible to encourage local shopping and development of local products.
Nigel Campbell, from the floor. Planning has to facilitate not regulate. In the past local authorities seem to have been preventing development and not promoting quality development.
David Duguid. How does the Highland Wide Development Plan cross over to the current Local Plan? Definition of this given.
Ian Catto, from the floor. Will development of scale be addressed by the Plan? SH said that this would be picked up.

In drawing the discussion to a close SH said that comments would be posted electronically and asked if members of the public would leave their names and addresses if they wish to be added to the distribution list for this. SH thanked all for their informed and quality contribution and gave details of how feedback would be given both for the Ward and across Highland at http://hwldp.blogspot.com

Richard Hartland, Head of Planning & Building Control. Mr Hartland began by complementing Ward 9 on the Ward Forum and how it ran. He said it was civil, points were well made and it was a good Forum for public debate and discussion. He asked for this to be minuted. Picking up on comments made in the Forum - there was definitely a need to have a range of open meetings re making things happen. Draft regulations on enforcement were discussed. The existing regime is certainly not up to scratch and the Council is not well equipped to deal with issues raised. In terms of proportionality it is not in the public interest and it is not always good value to pursue smaller issues at great cost to the public purse. Unauthorised development is pursued. These can be time barred from action however. When enforcement action is taken, Planning contravention notices are issued. Two main types: 1) Breech of conditions. A notice is served, there is no appeal but must be considered reasonable and times are given. (RH said that it is recognised that there are developers who will attempt to work the system.) Fines are being looked at as part of the current review of the process. 2) Stop notices. This has to be accompanied by an enforcement notice which can be appealed in six months. On waste land a notice dictates what can be done. There are powers if owners or occupiers do not comply and Highland Council will recharge. There is a problem in this approach however with companies changing company details and essentially hiding assets. Temporary stop notices can also be issued. In terms of Planning Law there is the aspect of case law. The planning process can be null and void. Completion Notices - the developer has to get this signed off and it can be a good mechanism to ensure quality completion. THC has now started using these in terms of roads and developments. There are also Planning fines and Interdicts can be used. The key issue in all of this is resourcing and THC needs to address resourcing the enforcement function for it to be effective. Powers are also available to other services in enforcement. RH will be producing an enforcement advice note.

Cllr. Chisholm then highlighted the problems with developers not maintaining open spaces per planning conditions. Examples were given of open spaces not being maintained, developers not putting in play areas as agreed, not putting up road signs as agreed. This does not affect the greater population but does affect the quality of life of those living in the areas affected.

Cllr. Paterson raised the issue of landscaping not being kept up; THC does not seem to have the power or the will to deal with this. This is a real problem for the public and THC can be left with a legacy that is difficult to deal with. RH responded that THC needs to work with Community Councils as the eyes and ears of the community to raise these issues. Formally advising issues also helps to create a record of issues raised. Planning issues can be highlighted direct to Richard Hartland.

Questions were then taken from the floor.

Colin Craig, Ferintosh Community Council. Two temporary dwellings off the Leanaig have been reported. There are now bus stops and bins. RH asked if details could be provided to him direct on this particular issue. Colin Craig advised that Ferintosh Community Council have raised the matter twice.
Housing in the Countryside. How does the Council monitor this? Section 75 Agreements should be the mechanism. Section 75 Agreements tie the house to the land. Consistency across the Council is lacking as different local environments have dictated different approaches in the past.
David Duguid, Maryburgh Community Council. Would the Planning department look at a Highland Council decision and go against it? RH responded that Planning staff make recommendations but Committee makes the decisions.

Richard Hartland thanked the Forum for inviting him to attend and again said that the Ward 9 Forum was a good example of how the system can work. Cllr. Chisholm thanked the Planning staff for their informative and interesting presentations.

Item 6 - Community Safety: Northern Constabulary. Insp. Matthew Reiss.

Serious crime continues to drop, no complacency in Policing though.
Drink driving. Northern Constabulary were receiving a lot of calls from the public. This had resulted in two convictions locally.
Still reports of sporadic oil tank thefts.
Fly-tipping. Re the local situation at Muir of Ord, one issue was dealt with informally successfully. Another was dealt with formally and this had resulted in serious repercussions for the individual concerned.
Road accidents. Statistics are not so good on this with twelve fatals, six on motorbikes.
Speeding concerns were discussed. Enforcement was the key. Muir of Ord - example given of detection of 73mph in a 30mph.
Insp. Reiss clarified that statistics given are per month. Vandalism continues to be a problem but is down. Three vehicle seized in the Ward without insurance.
Alcohol related incidents. Still very high level of Police input here to reduce incidents across the Ward and the policing area.

Insp. Reiss then took questions from the floor. Cllr. Cairns asked about organised crime gangs as per recent reports. Insp. Reiss responded that no more problems were being experienced than were reported in the press.

Item 7 - Community Energy Audit. LC gave an overview of the energy audit being carried out in the Black Isle and outlined a proposal to do same for community buildings in Ward 9. This would be fully funded by Community Energy Scotland. A suggested list of buildings was distributed. This was agreed by the Forum. Action. LC to progress.

Item 8 - LEADER. An update was given on LEADER and the recently held Launch and Funding Fair for Ward 9. This had proved to be a very successful day with a number of applications to the fund resulting from the event. Local Action Partnership meetings would now be held prior to Ward Forums.

Item 9 - Consultations.

Boundary Commission Proposals. Cllr. Margaret Paterson reported on the submission made by the Ward 9 Members.
Dingwall Development Brief. The Forum was advised that Dingwall Community Council were holding a public consultation event on the Dingwall Development Brief on Thursday 25th June at 7.30 pm in the Dingwall Baptist Church (the old Ross County Social Club). Brian MacKenzie, Senior Planner, would be in attendance.

Item 10 - Discretionary Budget. An overview of Discretionary Budget spend was given by LC. The fund had been fully committed for 2008/2009 and was open to applications for the new financial year.

Item 11 - Public Questions. Nigel Campbell, member of the public, asked why minutes for the Ward Forum were not published on THC website. LC assured that the minutes had been posted and had been available for some time.

Topic for Next Meeting. It was agreed that the topic for the next meeting be Housing (with TEC’s present if possible to deal with car parking issues in estates). Highland Council Housing and Property Service and Albyn Housing to attend. Cllr. Margaret Paterson to Chair. Cllr. Paterson asked if invitations could be sent to all local tenant and resident groups. Action. LC to progress.