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

Meeting held on 26th August 2009

Present: Cllr’s, Margaret Paterson (Chair), Peter Cairns, Angela MacLean; Dingwall Community Council, Nigel Greenwood; Muir of Ord Community Council, Tom Davis,; Conon Bridge Community Council, Alister MacKinnon; Ferintosh Community Council, Colin Craig; Northern Constabulary, Chief Inspector Mike Coats; Highland Council, Tracey Urry, Area Housing and Property Manager, Kate McLennan, Tenant Participation Officer, Liz Cowie, Ward Manager; Helen Cameron, Programme Co-ordinator, Albyn Housing; representatives from the Bridaig Park Residents Group (BPRG), Tulloch Wood Residents Association (TWRA) and from Docharty Residents Group (DRG); Members of the public were also present.

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

Item 2 - Apologies. Cllr. David Chisholm; Highland Youth Voice Rep’s.

Item 3 - Good News Items.

• Town Centre Regeneration Fund success. Streetscape Project will commence on 14th September. Pat Munro announced as the contractor. THC working closely with Dingwall Business Association. Stakeholder group meetings will be held regularly with local reps.

• Normandy Veterans event. This had been a moving and poignant ceremony.

• Mill St Depot, Dingwall. The area is being cleared up and plans are afoot locally to develop the site.

• Conon Centenary Celebrations success. Cllr Paterson congratulated Conon Bridge Community Council on their highly successful event.

Item 4 - Action Note for Previous Meeting. Amendment to the Action Note of 17th June, David Lynch had attended for Dingwall Community council, not Nigel Greenwood as minuted. The Action Note was then approved.

Item 5 - Main Topic: Housing

Tracey Urry, Housing & Property Manager Ross, Skye & Lochaber, gave an overview of local housing issues including statistics relating to Ward 9.

• In summary, there are 800 Council and 200 Housing Association properties in the Dingwall and Seaforth Ward. This breaks down as 450 in Dingwall, 170 in Muir of Ord and 160 in Conon Bridge with the balance in Maryburgh and Ward environs. Last year 450 applications for housing were received for Dingwall, 109 for Muir of Ord, 87 for Conon Bridge and 47 for Maryburgh. In terms of vacancies, there were 43 in Ward 9 last year so for every vacancy there are 16 applications. Of 114 3 bedroom properties only 3 fell vacant.

• In terms of allocations the housing available is vastly oversubscribed. TU gave an overview of the allocations process and confirmed that Councillors are legally prevented from influencing allocation decisions and do not have involvement in the allocations process.

• Regarding the Landlord role, all tenants now have a Scottish Secure Tenancy. This gives both parties rights and responsibilities.

• Currents pressures include changes in 2012 to Homeless legislation which places greater responsibility on Local Authorities to house homeless people. The Scottish Housing Quality Standard dictates how Local Authorities spend their funds and on what. All LA’s have to meet the standard by 2015.

Helen Cameron, Albyn Housing. A short update was given from Albyn Housing.

• There had been much affordable Housing built in Ward 9, however Government funding has now been drastically cut. Two years ago 243 houses were built in the Highland Council Area. This year it numbers 83 from Albyn and 60 from Cairn. Government funding is not expected to improve.

Cllr Paterson then opened the topic up to the floor.

• Alister McKinnon, Conon Bridge CC. Could specific statistics for Conon Bridge be provided with regard to allocations and vacancies?

• TU could not provide but will provide to go out with the minute.

• Cllr MacLean asked statistics provided to detail homeless units and rural lets.

• TU offered to provide full information.

• Christina MacRae, TWRA. Any there plans to build sheltered housing locally such as the Glenurquhart Centre?

• TU advised that THC does not build houses; Housing Associations largely fulfil this role. Cllr Paterson advised that THC is well aware that there is need. TU also advised that Council policy is now to make all properties suitable for older people. 25% of all development is for social need and to be supported at home.

• Tom Gray. Where does the affordable housing proportion fit in?

• HC planning policy is that 25% of development is determined as affordable.

• Nigel Greenwood, Dingwall CC. Re the Dingwall North Development. Will this include affordable housing? NG would not like to see development stifled through lack of funds.

• Ian Catto. If the target is to abolish homelessness by 2012. How will this work?

• TU said that much is about support, money advice, working with partners, Social Work etc, however throughout Scotland there are grave concerns that this will not be met. It is a very challenging target

• Morag Black, TWRA. What plans do THC have to bring up Ward 9 houses to the quality standard by 2015?

• TU responded that survey works are being carried out. A complete picture is being obtained and THC will then prioritise. Some houses are quite old and will demand a higher level of works. TU advised that THC can let HA’s know by March 2010.

• Christine Macrae, TWRA. What was wrong with survey carried out for stock transfer?

• TU advised that the survey works carried out then were for a different purpose.

• Florence MacLeod, BPRA. Can anything be done about bought houses that are left empty? Cllr Paterson advised that THC is limited in action that can be taken. TU advised that local Authorities can serve a repairs notice.

Questions from Bridaig Park Residents Association were then addressed.

1. Planning for communities

Q. We see plans for new homes to be built in Dingwall, Conon Bridge and Muir of Ord. We welcome any increase in the supply of affordable homes, but would like assurances that community facilities and infrastructure will be available to meet future demand. This includes adequate parking spaces, school places and community facilities – are these being planned for too?

A. Cllr. Cairns responded that the Planning process makes allowances for facilities and infrastructure, and developer contributions can be sought to ensure that the provisions outlined above are met.

2. Parking

Q. Parking congestion is becoming an increasing problem for many, as multi-car households become more common. At worst, this can lead to neighbour disputes over limited parking spaces, and can lead to dangerous situations as sight lines are disrupted by congested parking.

What plans are there to address parking issues on housing schemes where there is parking congestion?

Does the council see the issue of parking congestion linked to the need for more affordable housing, so that family members (with cars) in their 20s can afford to move out to their own place? Do future housing plans include the need to address the need for more affordable houses?

A. TU acknowledged that there is an issue and responded that the Council are looking at residents parking schemes. It is recognised that it is a difficult area to deal with. There are limited opportunities to create new parking spaces although in some areas parking bays can be marked out. Residents also need to work with the Council to look for local solutions and this has proved successful in the past.

BPRA responded that some of the problems in the Bridaig area are caused by Police parking.

TWRA advised that that a mail shot letter regarding parking to all households in the Tulloch area had had a positive effect and that there had been a reduction particularly with commercial vehicles parking. TU also advised that she could write to people but to some extent success is dependant on good will.

3. Seagulls

Q. Seagulls dive bomb residents. This is a concern to many, and impacts on their ability to enjoy their homes – in particular gardens and outdoor spaces.

Is someone from the council looking in to what projects in other areas have been effective in reducing this seagull hazard? Can ideas from elsewhere be implemented here?

Will the council be placing netting around chimneys on council houses, to discourage nesting on chimneys next year?

Can the council offer this “netting” service to non tenants at “cost price”?

Does the council think an education programme to discourage people from feeding gulls would be effective?

A. TU advised that THC is looking at a Scottish Government funded pilot project in Dumfries and Galloway. Good practice could emerge from this that would be looked for implementation by THC. TU confirmed that THC do not offer a netting service.

Education and enforcement could play a key part as seagulls are attracted by the availability of food. People feeding seagulls could be fined. This is something that could be looked at with the TEC’s Education and Enforcement Officer.

Cllr MacLean referred to a study carried out and advised that local authorities can remove nests. THC is producing an advisory leaflet. The issue has been well debated at committee and TEC’s Education and Enforcement Staff will visit individuals who are known to be feeding gulls.

Cllr Paterson advised that she had asked the Area Solicitor if there could be a By-law introduced prohibiting the feeding of seagulls.

4. Improving unkempt areas

Q. Can people with community service sentences be involved in bringing unkempt areas up to standard? For example, cutting back and edging rough areas of grass, repairing fences, litter picking, addressing dog fouling, & creating and maintaining floral displays? Can someone take charge of making this happen?

A. Cllr Paterson advised that the Councillors had discussed this issue at the Ward Business Meeting and had met with the Community Service staff. Community Service can do non statutory work and the Councillors are looking at progressing this for projects for the Ward.

5. Policing

Q. We understand that the police have to cover a very large geographical area with limited resources. However, we also have reports of residents calling the police out to incidents where the residents have felt threatened, but the police have not come out in response to these calls. In light of this, we would like to know:

How do the police prioritise attendance?
How can the community influence how such priorities are set?

A. Questions dealt with in Police Report under item 6.

Additional Questions

Q. Cllr MacLean asked how often THC carries out cyclical maintenance e.g. painting.

A. TU responded that this should be on a five year programme.

Q. Cllr MacLean asked how tenants can progress issues such as overgrown trees and bushes.

A. TU advised that if the issue is on Housing land then the appropriate Housing Management Officer should be contacted. Housing has a contract with TEC Services for routine grass cutting and for shrubs, however trees have to be assessed as they might be covered by a Tree Preservation Order or there may be health and safety issues.~

Q. Cllr MacLean asked if there were issues with anti social behaviour reporting (e.g. people too scared to report).

A. TU said that Housing cannot take action unless an incident is witnessed and that they cannot act on anonymous complaints. Housing do have a ASB investigator who can look into problems, give reassurance and can, for example, install noise monitoring equipment. ASB Investigators can also contact the Police.

Cllr Paterson thanked Tracey Urry.

Item 6 - Community Safety: Northern Constabulary.

CI Coats gave an update on Policing across the Ward and advised that traditionally it was a busy time of year with school holidays however this year had been relatively quiet.

• Traffic Management for the Black Isle Show is an ongoing issue, with 30,000 coming out at the same time it is difficult to manage. The roads are simply not designed to cope with these volumes. However this is always being looked at for ways to improve traffic management.

• A bid had been put in for Street Football in the Ward area and if successful this should happen in October. With darker nights this would be a good activity to have on offer.

• Statistics on crime across the Ward were detailed and CI Coats said that there had been 74 callouts for the Millbank area.

• Key priorities are protecting life and property. If Officers are dealing with a more serious incident then the duty Sergeant decides where to send Officers. He has to make priority decisions.

• CI Coats advised that the Police would be happy to have a meeting to look at how community priorities can be reflected. All information supplied to the Police is treated with the strictest confidence and the public must also have the confidence to approach officers such as CI Coats and Insp. Reiss.

• A Community Response Initiative has been started and if there is a particular problem CI Coats will put resources in to deal with the situation. The sooner the Police know the sooner resources can be targeted at the problem.

• BPRA commented that there is a perception that Police use loading bays on the High St to park in and this does not set a good example. The comment was also made that Police are not seen ‘walking the beat’ and the question was asked why this is the case.

• CI Coats explained that there are not less Police on duty but that the recently changed shift pattern system meant that there were more Officers on duty at peak times e.g. Friday nights.

• A question was asked from the floor about the number of Police on duty at football matches.

• CI Coats responded that Officers were not there to steward, but to Police if necessary. Ross County pays for this and the numbers for policing games are set nationally. Local Forces have no control over this.

• Comment from the floor that cars are regularly witnessed turning right into the High St at the traffic lights which is not allowed. It was asked how often the police monitor this and are charges brought against offenders.

• CI Coats advised that drivers can be brought to task for this action. The Traffic Warden and the Police will deal with this.

Item 7- LEADER – Dingwall and Seaforth Development Partnership.
Cllr Cairns gave an update. Dingwall in Bloom have successfully applied for a grant for enhancing the Streetscape Planting Scheme. Dingwall Business Association is also applying to the fund for funding for a website project to upgrade and improve the existing Dingwall.org website. Cllr Cairns advised that there are plans to have a smaller LEADER Funding Fair for Muir of Ord to encourage the local community to come forward with applications for projects following the success of the Dingwall event. Marion Rhind, Ross-shire Voluntary Action, advised that she could give help to groups for match funding for LEADER applications.

Item 8 - Current Consultations.

Cllr Paterson drew attention to the two current consultations on the Allotments Policy and for the Scottish Ambulance Service.

TWRA Chair advised that some tenants would be happy to offer up their gardens for allotment use. Cllr Cairns advised that the idea of a landbank had been discussed but that there could be merit in matching up need to availability through, for example, the Environment Group.

Item 9 - Discretionary Budget.

Cllr Paterson gave details of spend to date. She advised that there was still over half the fund available for this financial year and encouraged groups to come forward with projects.

Item 11- Public Questions.

All issues covered during the course of the meeting

Topic for Next Meeting.

Topic agreed to be Community Regeneration with Cllr. Peter Cairns in the Chair.