Lochaber Joint Ward Forum – Caol & Mallaig and Fort William & Ardnamurchan (Wards 12 and 22) -
Monday, 4 February 2008

Summary and Action Sheet

Present:

Councillors Sandy Park, Jean Urquhart, Brian Murphy, Bren Gormley, Bill Clark; Eddie Hunter; Allan Henderson, Donald Cameron; Upper Achintore Parent Council; Nether Lochaber Community Council, Caol Regeneration Company; Voluntary Action Lochaber; Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council, Glencoe and Glen Etive Community Council, Ballachulish Community Council.

 

Officials in attendance:

Andy Tuckwood, Ian McLelland, Chris Strong, TEC Services;  Alistair Dodds, Dot Ferguson, Chief Executive Service; John O’Kane, Education Culture and Sport; Mary Ellen Campbell, Iain MacKay Housing and Property; Inspector Dougie Allan, Northern Constabulary

 

For Action

Chief Executive’s (CE)
Education, Culture and Sport (ECS)
Finance (F)
Housing and Property (H & P)
Planning and Development (P & D)
Social Work (SW)
TEC

 

Listed below is the action required as a result of the decisions/discussions taken by the Lochaber Joint Ward Forum at their meeting held on 4 February in Caol Community Centre

Please arrange to take the required action on the basis of this Action Sheet.

 

1 Apologies: Sunart Community Council; Morven Community Council; Jim Tolmie.

 

2 Action Sheet – update received from Transport Scotland/Transerv – attached    

 

3 Local Plan Update - presentation by Colin MacKenzie, Principal Planner.  A  presentation of the draft Local Plan was given and timescales outlined for  responses.   When the consultation period is complete, the Council tries to resolve objections.   If objections cannot be resolved it will go to a Public Inquiry which will make  recommendations to the Council.  Then up to the Council to decided whether to  accept recommendations or not.  Specific points raised and responses (in  italics) are  as follows: 

 - concerns re accuracy of names and sites allocated
 - will Community Councils be able to see the draft before it is finalised ?  The final   version will be reported to PED Committee and progress can be followed via the   Council website.  It was agreed that it should go to Community Councils in   advance of this.
 - what notice is taken of objections?  Anyone lodging an objection will be kept   informed of progress
 - Torlundy development originally shown in different area – what has been done   to rectify this?  As a result of work with focus groups, the locations were    reviewed and this was reported to a meeting held in the community last year
 - concerns were expressed re level of information available at community    sessions – not a great level of detail at this stage.  Will become clearer as    masterplans evolve
 - concerns re the Council’s readiness to consult - representations already made   have not been taken on board.  Not everyone’s aspirations can be met and a   balance is always sought
 - Action - all Community Council’s to be informed of dates

 

4 A82 Update – Cllr Brian Murphy outlined the background to this issue and the creation  of a Campaign Group which seeks to ensure the inclusion of all the actions  outlined in the 2006 Scott Wilson Route Action Plan and secure the £90 million  previously committed.  Works are due to start at Crianlarich and Pulpit Rock in  2011/12. 

 Action – Transport Secretary to be invited again to meet with Group
 
5 Community Safety update – Inspector Dougie Allan presented the Community Safety  report (attached) and particularly highlighted improving detection rates and the  increasing problem of the availability of Class A drugs.
 
 Points raised and responses (in italics) are as follows: 

- concern re loss of civilian presence at Glencoe police station which can mean long round trip for anyone needing to hand in documents etc plus concerns that this is the beginning of a process to close the station completely.  Back office support being reduced to help fund more officers on the street, but being covered by Fort William.  Officer cover should not change.  Action – Cllrs Cameron and Murphy will raise concerns with Police Board
- concern that one female police officer attended a violent incident in Kinlochleven – backup is always available

6 AOCB –

 

 Dates of ward forums for 2008 

Parcel Force – will no longer offer next day service to the South due to new legislation around drive times etc.  Anyone concerned about this should make representation direct to Parcel Force.

Formation of Council Working Group – the administration of the Highland Council has formed a working group to address claims of widespread concern over the perceived ‘undemocratic’ council structure.

 

Question and Answer Session

 

1 Planning Committee – 5/2/08 – who will attend meeting in Portree and who will use video-conference?  Cllrs Foxley and Murphy will use VC, others will travel to Portree. 

2 Condition of Road at Argos – cause of consistent subsidence is the peat base the road is constructed on.  Needs to be completely dug out and reconstructed.

3 Lochaber Hydrotherapy – have £32,000 shortfall in VAT bill – still no response from ECS.  Action – ECS

4 Poor state of local pitches – efforts are being made to obtain additional external funding to allow creation of an all weather pitch at the High School.  Action – ECS/CEx

5 Update requested re Morbaine development – both Morbaine and Aldi planning applications are to be the subject of Public Inquiries. 

6 Update requested re Invernevis – no dates available at this stage, but process is ongoing.  Lochaber Health Partnership feeding into process in terms of capacity and site.

7 Concerns re Council structure – concerns were expressed regarding the current arrangements, particularly in relation to Planning issues.

 

Date of Next Meeting – Monday 8 September – 7.00pm – Chambers, Lochaber House, Fort William

 

JOINT WARD FORUM – 4 FEBRUARY 2008

TRANSPORT SCOTLAND/TRANSERV UPDATE

 

COSTS/UPDATES

• £1.25 million to be spent on resurfacing between Spean Bridge and Corran before the end of March

• A further £460,000 will also be spent on signing , markings and high friction surfacing at bends.

• Press releases for the individual works have been or will be issued by Transerv Scotland at appropriate times over the next 8 weeks.

• With regard to Glencoe 40 restriction and adjacent 50 restriction, update will be given at next A82 Working group meeting.

• Layby proposals in the View from the Road section are being discussed with Police at present and Community Councils will then be advised of any proposals in their areas.

WORKS DETAILS

• A82 Route Accident Reduction Scheme Phase 2 Fort William to Invermoriston – instruction received and materials ordered - work starting next week.

• A82 Route Accident Reduction Scheme Phase 3 Fort William to Tyndrum – instruction expected next week with works to be completed by end of financial year.

• A82 Tree clearance operation for visibility now progressing at Invergloy area.

• A86 Roybridge slip area remedial works now started

• A82 Nevis Br to Ben Nevis Ind Est access resurfacing – instruction expected this week with works programmed as soon as possible.

• A82 Corrychurichan resurfacing – preparation works started.

• A82 Drumarbin resurfacing – follows Corrychurichan.

• A82 Achnabobane resurfacing – follows Drumarbin

JOINT WARD FORUM
WARD 12 – CAOL AND MALLAIG
WARD 22 – FORT WILLIAM AND ARDNAMURCHAN

 

MONDAY 4 FEBRUARY 2008

 

COMMUNITY SAFETY UPDATE
Joint Report by Area Commander and Lochaber Wards Manager

This report provides an update on current activities within the Community Safety Initiative and on Policing Issues in Lochaber.

1. Lochaber Recorded Crime
From 1 April 2007 to 31 December 2007

Made Known  Detected

Crimes Against the Person   31 (55)   29 (53) 
Crimes Involving Indecency   22 (15)   17 (12)
Crimes of Dishonesty    461 (358)  306 (208)
Crimes of Vandalism    242 (267)   96 (110)
Other Crimes     215 (208)  203 (207)
    Total   971 (903)  651 (590)
    Detection Rate 67.0%
        (Brackets relate to 2006/07)

2. Road Accidents/Traffic Enforcement
From 1 April 2007 to 31 December 2007

                                        2007/8   2006/7

Fatal Accidents                          3      5 
Serious Injury Accidents            15      5
Slight Injury Accidents              42      58

 

3. Performance
Lochaber Area Command performance remains very high with our detection rate being the best for the mainland part of the Northern Constabulary area.  Over the coming months emphasis will be placed on the enforcement of drugs legislation through a pro-active, intelligence led approach. Seasonal crime variations are likely to impact on us as we approach the Easter holiday period and intelligence suggests that we will see an increase in opportunist crimes of dishonesty. Damage to non-housing council property, such as schools, is also likely to increase during the holiday period.

4. Road Safety
Northern Constabulary are part of the A82 action group which is a multi-agency partnership aimed at seeking improvements to the A82 trunk road. Staff from the Area Command are gathering figures in order to capture an accurate account of all A82 incidents. These are in addition to statistics relating to road casualties. Meantime enforcement activity is ongoing through Operation Prone which has the aim of enforcing all aspects of road traffic legislation. In particular emphasis is given towards detecting drunk drivers, speeders and seatbelt offenders. All these offence types have a significant bearing on road casualties. Analytical work is ongoing in order to further identify information which will be of benefit to partner agencies.

 

5. General Community Safety
 
A new Community Warden was appointed and commenced work on Monday 14 January 2008. 

The Anti-Social Partnership Group continues to meet every 6 weeks.  At present there are 6 priority cases being monitored by the Group.

The Community Safety Action Team continues to meet on a monthly basis.  Issues being addressed include –

- domestic abuse – trying to establish a Multi Agency Risk Assessment process
- road safety – particular concerns around the A82
- CCTV – being installed
- Drug and Alcohol Forum – wishing to retain its Lochaber focus

January 2008

DATES FOR WARD FORUM MEETINGS FOR 2008

Month     Date                                     Venue

Feb          Mon, 4 (Joint Ward Forum)      Caol Community Centre
Mar          Mon, 10 (Sth Ward Forum)       Ballachulish Primary School
               Tues, 11 (Nth Ward Forum)      Banavie Primary School
May          Mon 12 (South Ward Forum)    Council Chamber, Lochaber House
               Tues 13 (North Ward Forum)    Glengarry Community Hall
Sept         Mon 8 (Joint Ward Forum)         Council Chamber, Lochaber House

Oct          Mon  6 (South Ward Forum)       Kinlochleven (venue to be con)
               Tues  7  (North Ward Forum)      Mallaig (venue to be confirmed)
Dec          Mon  8  (South Ward Forum)      Sunart Centre, Strontian
               Tues  9  (North Ward Forum)      Spean Bridge (venue to be con)
 
 
Meeting times:

North Ward Forum – 7.30pm
South Ward Forum – 6.30pm
Joint Ward Forum – 7.00pm