Ward 16 Inverness Ness-side
Action Note of Ward Forum held on Thursday 22nd November, 2007, at the Bun-sgoil Ghaidhlig Inbhir Nis Gaelic School at 7.00 p.m.
Attendees:
Councillor Fraser Parr (Chair)
Councillor David Henderson
Councillor John Finnie
Councillor Norrie Donald
Geoff Potter, Project Design Manager, Highland Council
Mike Stephens, Principal Engineer, Highland Council
Jim Mackay, Planning Unit Manager, SEPA
Martin Boshoff, Senior Hydrologist (Flood Risk), SEPA
Tom Ogilvie, Northern Constabulary
Roddy Dyce, Lochardil and Drummond Community Council
Hugh Grant, Lochardil and Drummond Community Council
Jess MacLennan, Castle Heather Residents Association
May Brindley, Holm Community Council
P Barton
Karen Hamilton, Ward Manager – Ness-side Ward, Highland Council (Action Note)
Apologies:
Steve Rodgers, Holm Community Council
Joanna Peebles, Regional Communities Manager, Scottish Water.
Following welcome, and Introductions
1. A Presentation on Flood Relief Plans by Geoff Potter (Project
Design Manager)
Geoff gave a very informative and useful presentation of the plans for a Flood Relief Scheme across the south of Inverness. He described the responsibilities of the Home Owner, the Highland Council and the Scottish Government in turn. He also drew people’s attention to the leaflet produced by the Council ‘Flood Alleviation in the Highlands’ available at www.highland.gov.uk or from Local Service points and provided useful information on how one might protect their home.
During and after the presentation a number of questions were asked.
Q How is the scheme to be funded?
A The Council anticipates 80% funding for this project costed at £10m and £2m has been set aside in the Capital Works Programme to meet this. There is some concern that the Scottish Government my remove the ring fencing of the funds for flood relief schemes however it remains a high priority for the current Administration.
Q Worst case scenario how long will the Scheme take to complete?
A If objections were withdrawn 3-5 years, otherwise could be considerably longer.
Q Would keeping the ditches clear on the SDR help?
A They are not integral to the working of the scheme and are designed to cope with considerable blocking and debris although it is accepted that they do not look nice unless kept clear.
Q Properties in Caol, Fort William have been selected to test Flood Prevention equipment – why was this area selected?
A This area is at high risk of flooding and contains a large proportion of Council owned properties which are with the gift of the Council to use for test purposes.
Q Does housing development and planning take in to account flood risk as the ponds on Lochardil no longer drain as they did in the summer?
A This may be as a result of developments however it was a very wet summer in 2007 and water tables across the area are significantly higher that in previous years. SEPA are keen that all new housing developments are sensitive to flood risk and there is a requirement for improved connectivity between planners, developers etc.
Q An advance question was submitted in relation to the provision of sandbags and the response is as follows;
A Whilst it is primarily the home owner’s responsibility to prevent flood damage to their property,where a property is under imminent threat of flooding, the Council will provide assistance to individuals, including the provision of sandbags, on a priority basis. To report when a property is under such a threat contact staff at the Inverness Area Office in Diriebught Road. Where there is no immediate flooding threat to a property, but there is sufficient need to take action to protect properties, then sandbags can be made available for collection at Diriebught Depot to those at risk. Where there is a localised problem, the Council sometimes deliver a supply of bags to a particular area for use by householders. It must be remembered that when flooding is actually occurring our staff are kept very busy; requests at that time have to be prioritised against other duties. The Council recognises their duty of care and always consider sympathetically requests from vulnerable members of the community – eg the elderly and those without access to transport. There followed a helpful suggestion by Lochardil Community Council that if TECS Services were provided with details of those individuals in an Area who may be unable to collect set out sandbags themselves then this would help the Services prioritise those in greatest need. This suggestion was welcomed and the offer extended to other Community Councils if they so wish.
2. Community Safety
Inspector Ogilvie provided the group with information on Crime statistics for the Ward and explained about the recently introduced Community Beat Policing. As the festive period approaches the priorities will be Shop Lifting, Anti Social behaviour and Traffic Offences. He mentioned the Street Pastors Project which will be launched in January. This project is designed to provide trained individuals to work with the Police and offer support and care to people out in the town on Friday and Saturday nights where events may have taken a turn for the worst. Some members of the group were unhappy about the approach and concerned that they may be overly focussing on an evangelical message. It was suggested that as the launch drew near more information will become available the approach will become clearer. It is important to note that this scheme has worked extremely well in other part of England and Scotland.
Q Are spot fines a good way of dealing with problems and how can it be certain that the fine is correctly administered.
A Spot fines are an extremely effective way of reducing police time spent on paperwork and bureaucracy. The guidelines are clear and adhered to as far as the Inspector is aware.
3. Further Questions from the Public
Q What plans are there for the area of ground adjacent to the Gaeilc School?
A The land was gifted to the Council by the developers along with the requirement to provide a community/recreational facility.
There is to be a feasibility study into the provision of Gaelic pre-school facility and all plans will be shared through the Community Consultation process.
4. Date and theme of next meeting
The group noted the disappointing turn out for the meeting despite the Topic being very relevant to the general public and people who live in the Ward. It was suggested that the advertising for the Forum was not good and in future there should be an advert of reasonable size in the Courier and posters in local shops etc as well as communicating through the Community Councils.
Action Karen Hamilton
The next Forum is to be held in January/February 2008 and was suggested as Community Safety and Policing. This was agreed by those present as it bears a relevance to the entire Ward and will be an opportunity to explore further the Street Pastors project which should be operational by then.
There was no further business and the meeting closed with the expression of thanks from the Lochardil and Drummond Community Council Chair for an informative evening despite the poor attendance.