Draft Minutes for Fossoway and District Community Council (FDCC) meeting

Tuesday 7th March 2023, Carnbo Village Hall

Attending: Community Councillors (CCllrs) Sarah Bruce-Jones, Trudy Duffy, Nicola Marchant, Faiza Hansraj-Jackson and Graham Pye; Assoc. CCllrs Carol Farquhar and Angus Cheape; Perth & Kinross (P&K) Councillors David Cuthbert, William Robertson and Richard Watters; 27 members of the public (MoP).

Apologies: Cllr Neil Freshwater

Declarations of interest: None

Police report

• The police sent apologies for not being able to attend the meeting in person and sent a list of local incidents of note from the previous 4 weeks. These included incidents of sheep worrying in Crook of Devon and Glendevon, a theft from a quad bike in Rumbling Bridge, a theft from a garage in Crook of Devon and housebreaking in Carnbo.
• Updates on police activities can be found on Twitter by searching “#KinrossCPT” or by following “@PerthKinPolice”.

Minutes of the previous meeting: The minutes of the previous meeting were reviewed and signed off.

Presentation of plans for Seamab school

• There was a short presentation to discuss plans for the new school building at Seamab as the current school doesn’t meet building standards and wasn’t purpose built. It will therefore need to be replaced with the new school, the old one then being knocked down
• The models shown have been approved by planners as they fit into their environment and will house a similar number of children with no significant changes to the design of classrooms. The new building will also be more energy efficient
• The new building will include a large indoor play area which the current building does not provide. This new indoor hall will also benefit the local community and can be used outside of school hours terms for meetings and activities such as badminton, football, cubs, brownies etc.
• The build is due to start in a year or so, once sufficient funding has been secured, and the anticipated build time is 18 months. Once the start date has been confirmed, plans will be shared with the community with the aim to complete the build during school holidays to minimise disruption. More information is available at https://seamab.org.uk/

Matters Arising

Road Safety in FDCC Area (Including A977 Mitigation and Carnbo)

• The TRO process in Carnbo has started!

• The A977 School Road junction works are to recommence 7th August 2023 for approx. 3 weeks. There are three remaining major road schemes on the A977 Mitigation Measures list:

  • School Road/Station Road traffic signals (partially completed and due to start again on 7 August 2023) which will be funded from the remaining A977 budget (£190,000).
  • Drum crossroads signalisation, anticipated to be in the region of £150,000 to deliver (from capital funding)
  • A977/B9097 junction realignment is anticipated to be in the region of £200,000 to deliver. This may not be necessary, depending on the outcome of the previous 2 projects. This money is earmarked for the A977 so if it’s not used on this project, it can be used elsewhere
  • We are very grateful to our PKC councillors, especially Cllr Cuthbert for ensuring that funding has been made available for these mitigation measures

Cut-Out Cops

• Communities can fundraise for cut out cops (£85 per cut out cop) and they also have to be responsible for putting these out and taking them in again.
• The FDCC can organise purchasing of these (anyone interested can email FDCC at: fossoway.cc@gmail.comthere is money in the CIF available.

Community Speedwatch

• Volunteers are needed for community speedwatch - teams of three people are required to operate the equipment. Volunteers should email fossoway.cc@gmail.com to register their interest. Once there are three teams of volunteers, the process can begin
• Carnbo have their traffic survey lines in place, however it was noted these are only heading towards Kinross and they are still needed at the other end of the village
• An MoP noted that speeding is rife in Powmill, as it’s a more rural location than some of the other villages and police don’t appear to be carrying out speed monitoring in these areas. It was suggested that Powmill village can ask for traffic survey lines etc to monitor speeds, and in the meantime use lampposts, signage, fencing, walls, flowers etc to clearly demarcate where the village starts.
• It was noted that there are sections of the A977 that fluctuate between 30, 40 and 60mph. Cllr Robertson noted that there need to be physical measures to ensure that speed limits are being followed and that average speed cameras are not an option for the A977. He also reiterated that any additional budget available in the A977 mitigation project will be used for whichever village has been identified to have the greatest need

Windfarms

• Last month Gallileo attended the meeting in Carnbo to discuss their plans for the Craighead wind farm. They have submitted their scoping opinion paper and plans to Scottish Government and asked the FDCC to also submit comments by 20th March.
• FDCC will put together comments in line with the submission for Brunthill windfarm, highlighting relevant groups to include in any discussions and will make this available on the FDCC Facebook page (available from https://www.facebook.com/fossoway). N.B. There is no need to have a Facebook account to access the FDCC Facebook page

Fossoway Area Transport

• PKC has secured funding for the 202 bus for this year despite other budget cuts and inflationary pressures
• We are grateful for the efforts of the PKC councillors to ensure these buses have been funded

Crook Moss Travellers Site

• Assoc. CCllr Farquhar has lost touch with her previous contact and is going to find a new contact on the site to liaise with

Matters arising with no update since last meeting: Fossoway Primary School Playground Noise, Community Development Trust, LDP3 (CCllrs Duffy-Wigman and Marchant will be part of the engagement process)

Consultations

There are four consultations open for the public to comment on:

• Your Police 2022-2023: https://consult.scotland.police.uk/strategy-insight-and-innovation/your-police-2022-2023/ Closes 31st March 2023. The CC has responded, but individuals should comment too. The consensus is that the Police are resource constrained but do what they can well.
• Scottish Government Draft Energy Strategy and Just Transition Plan: https://consult.gov.scot/energy-and-climate-change-directorate/energy-strategy-and-just-transition-plan/. Closes 4th April 2023. This outlines The Scottish Government’s vision for Scotland's energy system to 2045 and a route map of ambitions and actions to transform the way Scotland generates, transports and uses energy. The strategy includes sections on offshore, onshore, wind farms, hydrogen, solar, wave and tidal, bioenergy and hydro and details how each will grow and contribute to achieving the targets set by the Government. However, it is clear that onshore windfarms do and are expected to continue in the near term to provide the most energy. The strategy refers to NPF4 which provides a supportive planning framework for onshore windfarms. The draft strategy supports ongoing research on the possible impact of all sources of energy on the environment in particular peat deposits and marine environment. There are 66 questions in the consultation paper the vast majority of which are not really relevant to our community and hence the CC has decided not to respond.
• SEPA stakeholders survey: Closes 17th March. This survey aims to find out how SEPA is viewed amongst stakeholders to inform their work on regulation and flooding services. The FDCC has responded.
• PKC Consultation: Common Good Asset Register: Under the terms of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, every Local Authority in Scotland is duty bound to prepare and publish a comprehensive register of all Common Good assets within their ownership. Common Good assets are the heritable (land and buildings) and moveable (paintings, furniture, etc.) property that belonged to the former Burghs of Scotland. Common Good assets are owned by the local authority, although administered separately from other local authority funds for accounting purposes. There are no assets in our district hence there is no need for a response.

New Business

Recycling and waste management

• PKC will be auditing the blue bins in Kinross-shire the week of 23rd March to check what people are putting in their recycling (blue) bin. This is to find out common items that people are trying to recycle (that are not in the 6 items allowed) and to provide leaflets and information to the community on how to recycle effectively
• PKC note that if the recycling bins are contaminated with items that they should not have, the waste management company imposes hefty fines on PKC. If the community can be encouraged to reduce contaminating recycling bins, and thereby avoid PKC being fined by waste management, this can save a significant amount of money (these fines are reflected in council tax) that can then be used elsewhere
• More information is available on PKC’s website: https://www.pkc.gov.uk/sticktothesix

Community Council Business

Meetings attended:

• Kinross-shire fund panel, 6th March 2023

  • Funding applications were approved for Arngask Parent Council, Perth Autism Support, Kinross Agricultural Society and the Rural Access Committee for Kinross-shire
  • Anyone who would like to apply for funding should contact CCllr Cheape at a.cheape@langley-taylor.co.uk

Kinross-shire Local Committee Meeting 16th February 2023

Wind Farms

• A verbal report was provided by PKC Development Manager of the position relating to Brunthill and Craighead Farm Wind Farm and process that will apply. At this stage PKC have not been formally notified but as both will be Section 36 Applications PKC will be a Statutory Consultee. PKC will look at applications separately and each on its own merits but will look at cumulative impact.
• All the CCs should submit their own comments on the scoping documents and any objections or calls for mitigation measures through Energy Consents Unit. CCs present proposed that we should work together on this as all CCs will be impacted although agreed Fossoway likely to be most affected. Requested that it come within remit of KLC however advised that this may not be possible and they will take legal advice.

Road Safety

• Reiterated information given at earlier meeting. Confirmed changes of TROs to permanent with installation scheduled for Summer 2023

  • 20mph Crook of Devon North, South and Drum
  • 30mph Carnbo installation scheduled Summer 2023
  • 40mph in Drum to be extended on B9097 approx 40m to East – simply to cover junction awareness

Blairingone Former School

• Update on legal position and support for Fossoway Community Development Trust

Fund Grant

• Community Grant of £30,000 awarded to King George V Playing Field in Kinross for improvements to Rugby Club

Evaluation Report

• Interim report favourable but with recommendations to try to increase engagement with CCs. Full Draft Report due in May. Clarified that Committee has to operate within Framework of Council Regulations and Procedures. The group has evolved over the last year, in favourable ways that have enabled progress to be made on a variety of projects.

P&K Councillors’ Reports

• Cllr Watters reported from the PKC budget that although the aim was to ensure that funding cuts don’t impact the provision of core services and try to protect jobs, many budget cuts will mean staff leaving who will not be replaced. PKC have agreed a 3.9% increase in council tax. Biodiversity is another key issue- there is some funding for EV charging; we need to work with private sector, but the private sector are likely to be less interested in rural areas. Decarbonisation of buildings is another priority, there are temperature and energy controls in schools and other public buildings; as these are centrally controlled, there are savings being made. Increased funding to improve energy efficiencies further. There is a planned Council wide litter picking day at the end of the month (with time off in lieu for PKC officers) which can be shared with local bloom groups and the community.
• Cllr Robertson reported on old equipment in Live Active gyms which need replacing. There are plans to downsize in terms of buildings owned by the council, as large offices are no longer required in light of hybrid working. There have been reports of litter on B9097, council staff try to tidy this regularly.
• Cllr Cuthbert also discussed a focus on minimising the impact of budget cuts on communities and reducing waste. Funding has been guaranteed for the Kinross-shire area committee to continue for another year. Due to the ongoing budget pressures, there will be a regular process looking at aligning budgets and spending to find areas where savings can be made. The road safety team budget should have more resource to deliver projects.

Planning matters

DPEA Appeal

• 21/02133/AML, PPA-340-2151 Back Crook Road, next to scout camp. https://www.dpea.scotland.gov.uk/CaseDetails.aspx?ID=122826

  • There are still ongoing requests for information regarding compliance with NPF4. No decision until end of March 2023

Planning Applications

• 22/01974/FLL | Siting of temporary accommodation unit and erection of carport/store (in retrospect) | Land 245 Metres Southwest Of Craigton House Rumbling Bridge Kinross KY13 0QF

  • This was a condition that was part of 22/0541/FLL – see link to above 22/02032/FLL. The FDCC didn’t comment

• 22/02080/FLL Erection of a garage/ancillary accommodation building | Duanbrig Naemoor Road Crook Of Devon Kinross KY13 0UH

  • This application is for a separate building adjacent to the cottage which is a garage which is dug into the sloping grounds with a ground floor 2 bed cottage. FDCC will not submit a comment on this

• 23/00090/FLL | Alterations to dwellinghouse | St Thomas Cottage Crook Of Devon Kinross KY13 0UL

  • Proposal is to replace the existing porch to create a covered area. FDCC will not submit a comment on this

• 23/00114/FLL | Change of use of agricultural land to form extension to garden ground and erection of a replacement dwellinghouse | Westfield Of Dalqueich Farm Cottage Carnbo Kinross KY13 0NT

  • FDCC has submitted a neutral comment regarding the size of the dwelling house and sought confirmation on the type of land that will be incorporated into the garden.

• 23/00173/IPL

  • Residential development (in principle) at 30 Metres North West Of County Fabrics The Water Mill, Crook Of Devon Kinross. The proposal is for 2x 4 bedroom houses to be built in the existing car park of County Fabrics. The planning statement states that County Fabrics has outgrown the building and will relocate locally. It is inferred that the old mill will be converted into flats but this is not included in this in principle planning application. Style of new houses will be in keeping with the Mill. FDCC will not submit a comment on this

• 23/00259/FLL

  • Erection of 29 dwellinghouses and associated works (phase 1 - allocated site H53) at Land 80 Metres North West Of Huize Baahock Powmill Dollar FK14 7NW. The proposed development is to be completed in the following phases:

    • Phase 1: proposal for 29 Houses, comprising of 22 dwellings for Kera Scotland Ltd and 7 affordable dwellings for Kingdom Housing Association Ltd.
    • Phase 2: proposal for 17 Houses at a later stage due to restrictions in the LDP. This phase is not included in this application. However, the phase has been drawn up as part of the masterplan.
  • There will also be developer contributions paid for adoption of new Public Open Space and a contribution towards maintenance and future upgrade of the existing Powmill play area. This was confirmed by the Pre-Application advice 22/00052/PREAPP, received on 25th October 2022.
  • Foul drainage from the Phase 1 site area will drain to the mains sewer to the east. A pre-development enquiry to Scottish Water has confirmed there is sufficient capacity at the local water treatment works and wastewater treatment works for the number of dwellings proposed to connect to the mains sewer.
  • All plots will be connected to the mains water supply. Because of the current decoupling from fossil fuels and imminent phasing out of gas boilers in 2024, the plots will not be connected to mains gas. All properties will be connected to the grid and supplement their power usage with use of renewable technologies. The Kera plots will use Solar PV arrays and Air Source Heat Pumps. The Kingdom Housing Association plots will also use Solar PV arrays and Air Source Heat Pumps. All services will be carried throughout the site, within services margins in, or adjacent to, the proposed road.
  • Discussions around this application included questions and comments from the MoP present including relocating the recycling point, capacity of Fossoway primary school, provision of connective walkways, environmental impact assessment, water run-off, activities for children of all ages, timescales/timelines and mitigation of the impact of disturbance to the community during construction
  • These comments and questions have been noted and included in a neutral response from FDCC to PKC planning, and which will also be available on the FDCC Facebook page. FDCC support the development of this site as per the adopted LDP2 and find it encouraging that the developer will deliver affordable housing alongside housing that is similar in character to adjacent properties. Everyone is welcome to submit any comments and concerns directly as all comments will be included in discussions by PKC
  • FDCC will submit a neutral comment as per above before the 25th March 2023

Planning Decisions

• 22/02032/FLL | Alterations and extension to dwellinghouse and formation of steps and planters | 1 Mossend Green Powmill Dollar FK14 7NJ

  • Approved. The FDCC had made no comment

• 22/01976/FLL Formation of access track (in retrospect) at Land 360 metres southwest of Craigton House, Rumbling Bridge.

  • Approved. The FDCC objected on grounds that conditions associated with the prior application (22/00541/FLL) had not been met. However, PKC informed us that our objection was not material and was a matter for enforcement

• 22/02064/FLL | Erection of 2 dwellinghouses | Land 15 Metres North West Of Ivy Cottage Gartwhinzean Road Powmill

  • Application refused, in line with Policies 1 & 17; close proximity of windows to neighbours (>9m); back garden should have depth of 9m to avoid overlooking – it’s only 7m and insufficient off-street parking – there should be 2 places per house. FDCC had objected

• 22/01695/FLL Erection of 2 holiday accommodation units Land 15 Metres North West Of Ivy Cottage Gartwhinzean Road Powmill

  • Approved – FDCC had made no comment

AOCB

LDP3 due 2026

• The community are encouraged to engage with the consultation process for LDP3 in order to have an impact on the future of the villages that we live in. Local place plans are used as input into LDP3, then it goes back out for consultation, then sent to Scottish Government

Devonshaw Quarry

• CCllr Marchant will find out if there any updates on this and ask the developers to remove litter and debris from the site.

Draft Agenda for Next CC Meeting: Declarations of Interest,** Community Policing, Minutes of last meeting. Matters arising: Access to Cash in Kinross, Community Development Trust, Fossoway Area Transport, A977 Mitigation, Crook Moss, Carnbo Speeding, Speedwatch, Community Council Business, PKC Councillors’ Reports, Planning, Correspondence, AOCB

The CC’s Facebook can be found at https://www.facebook.com/fossoway N.B. anyone can access the content on this page, and it is only necessary to have a Facebook account to post comments

Next Meeting: Tuesday 4th April 2023, Crook of Devon Village Hall

All are welcome!

Correspondence February 2023