Proceedings of the Virtual Meeting of
Fossoway and District Community Council
2nd March 2021

As it is still not possible to hold physical meetings of the CC we are continuing to publish this description of what was discussed in our Virtual meeting, including any updates that we are aware of. Members of the Public are encouraged to comment on and question the items below, by email to fossoway.cc@gmail.com or via the CC’s Facebook page, which we will answer in our next meeting, be it virtual or physical, on Tuesday 6th April 2021.

Contributing: Community Councillors Sarah Bruce-Jones, Trudy Duffy, Carole Haigh, Michael Haigh, Nicola Marchant and Graham Pye; P&K Councillor Willie Robertson.
Apologies: CCllrs Angus Cheape and Carol Farquhar; P&K Councillors Michael Barnacle, Callum Purves and Richard Watters.
Declarations of Interest: None.

Police report: There were no incidents to note in our area since the last CC Meeting from the Commander’s Reports received via Perth and Kinross Community Watch. The CC will write to the Police requesting more frequent attendance at our meetings in future.

Minutes of the previous meeting: The minutes of the March 2020 meeting (the last face to face meeting) will be signed off once normal meetings resume. Any significant decisions made during the virtual meetings held since then will be brought to the next physical meeting to be formally recorded and ratified.

Matters Arising
Bank of Scotland Kinross Branch Closure: CCllr Marchant, Cllr Purves and David Siddle (Liz Smith MSP’s assistant) met with Patrick Leavey from the Bank on 11th February. The Bank will definitely close on 22nd March 2021. The mobile branch will start visiting Kinross on Tuesday 9th March at the Green Hotel car park. It will be there fortnightly (every other Tuesday) after that. Initially, it will be open from 10:00 until 13:00 hrs. It will then be open 10:00 to 12:00, closed for 45 mins at lunchtime, then open 12:45 until 15:00 hrs.

A special phone number has been put in place for customers over the age of 70 years and those that are vulnerable to provide them extra reassurance and support when they use telephone banking. The bank is in the process of calling all of these customers to provide any additional support or training. CCllrs Duffy and M Haigh are concerned that vulnerable customers might think that the calls are scammers. CCllr Marchant replied that the Bank’s response was that the website lists the special number, but it was generally agreed that it was quite likely that those customers wouldn’t be online.

Mr Leavey confirmed that the Bank has a contract with the Post Office for customers to deposit and withdraw cash, although Cllr Purves has been contacted by some members of the community who had not been able to do this. SMEs that have a Business Account can arrange, at a cost, to deposit or withdraw cash outside of PO hours.

Mr Leavey promised to provide flyers regarding the closure and alternative service at the Post Office which will be displayed on noticeboards. Currently the Bank does not have a community banker service but they are part of the National Community Access to Cash Pilot. Cllr Purves has contacted the Cambuslang pilot, but they would prefer to run with the scheme for a while before we meet with them. If the pilots are successful we should encourage Banks to offer this service in Kinross.

A977 Mitigation: There has been discussion on the CC’s FB page about the proposed 20mph limits in Crook of Devon, with opinions on both sides about including the main A977 in the scheme. CCllr Duffy stressed that there will be full consultation before the changes. CCllr Bruce Jones added that it’s important that people who are commenting on Social Media need to understand that they must answer the official consultation process if they want their concerns to be heard.

Fossoway Area Transport/DRT: The next Community Transport Forum Meeting is Thursday 18th March via Zoom. Cllr Barnacle’s Kinross-shire Community Transport Group will be meeting on 1st April - CCllr M Haigh will attend.

Community Development Trust: CCllr Duffy reported that the first meeting of the Trust was on 3rd February – twelve people from all over Fossoway attended this meeting. Topics discussed were the legal status of the Trust, the scope of the Trust, initial funding and engagement with the community. The Trust should move to a membership organisation and membership should be open to all members of the community. The Board will then be elected by the members – the current members are a steering group to get the Trust established.

Engaging with the community will not be an easy task, so having a “winning project” to set it in motion would be most helpful. The Rumbling Bridge Gorge Bridge could be such a project – The CC Members present agreed to this.

Fossoway and District Community Council Benefit Fund (a.k.a. Hydro Scheme Fund): CCllr Duffy reported that Elspeth King (Board member of the Rumbling Bridge Hydro Co-op) wants to set up a funding scheme that covers Muckhart, and asked CCllr Duffy how the Fossoway Fund operates. Subsequently Ms King approached the Fund with a proposal that rather than set up a new fund it should extend the coverage of the current fund to include Muckhart. CCllr Pye asked how the funds would be handled – would they be ring-fenced per community. CCllr Duffy replied that the details weren’t yet known. CCllr Bruce Jones commented that in her opinion MoPs believe that the fund should be principally for the benefit of Crook of Devon as that was the area most impacted by the Hydro Scheme works. Since Muckhart is in Clacks and not PKC and the two councils have quite different models for public spending this might lead to problems with prioritising funding between the two areas. CCllr Marchant added that as Fossoway District is in the process of establishing a Community Development Trust (CDT) and wants to encourage our Community to engage with it she felt that it would be confusing to set up a joint fund with Muckhart at the same time. Conversely it may be more beneficial to link the Fossoway Fund to the newly formed CDT. CCllr Duffy suggested that it might be better to keep the CDT and Fossoway Fund at “arm’s length”.

Rumbling Bridge Gorge Bridge: Cllr Robertson said that TRACKS were waiting for the CC to give the go-ahead for the surveys, whilst the CC thought this had already been done! CCllr Duffy will notify TRACKS formally, copying Cllr Robertson as chair of TRACKS.

Crook Moss Travellers Site: CCllr Farquhar reported that apparently there is an unauthorised septic tank on the site. Cllr Barnacle has been informed.

Planning Officer Site Visits: The CC continues to be concerned that these are not happening at the moment due to PKC’s interpretation of the COVID-19 restrictions. The issue was reported in the press. A MoP who attended the meeting had her planning application turned down – in her view this was because without a site visit the officers were unable to appreciate the constraints affecting the design as a member of her household is disabled. Cllr Robertson described a similar situation near Kelty where it was proving very difficult to get a planning officer on site. None of us can understand why such visits are not considered to be acceptable under the current rules allowing normal business to continue if it’s not possible to perform it at home. Cllr Robertson suggested the CC should write to the Acting CEO Barbara Denton to say that we think PKC are not carrying out their statutory duty. CCllr Marchant said that if the “due process” says a site visit should be made, then a decision should be deferred without one. Cllr Robertson explained that the Scottish Government is encouraging Councils to decide applications timeously – which surely means that the visits are essential and hence should be allowed!

Crook & Drum Growing Together: CCllr Duffy reported that the group have made plans for the Spring.

Aldie Road Vegetation: CCllr Marchant said that there was no change, although some of the local famers have cleared sections of the ditches themselves. However a new problem is that potholes are appearing. Cllr Robertson said that the easiest way to report any problem to the council is via https://my.pkc.gov.uk/. A registration process enables tracking of your reports, but reports can also be submitted without an account.

Fossoway Gathering: CCllr Duffy said that there is a provisional plan for an event on 4th September.

Matters Arising with no update since last meeting:
Powmill in Bloom, Blairingone War Memorial, Crook of Devon Skate Park, Devonshaw Whinstone Quarry, Ivy Cottage Powmill and Cemetery Car Park Extension: No information at present.

New Business
Royal Mail Deliveries: A MoP had raised concerns about lack of Royal Mail deliveries during bad weather, but this seems to be resolved now.

Community Council Business:
CCllr Duffy will attend a meeting of the Scottish Rural Parliament on 8th March.

Minutes Secretary: A volunteer has kindly answered the advert on FB and offered to take on this role; they will be invited to the next meeting.

CCllr M Haigh attended a training talk from Kinross First Responders about operation of the Powmill defibrillator.

PKC have notified us that any website remotely connected with receiving public money must conform to Accessibility Regulations and be usable by all abilities. The Fossoway.org Website has some information about this CC, but is not owned by this CC, and does not currently fully comply. CCllr Duffy will speak to Jim Pritchard, who operates the site, and look into whether this can be addressed.

The next meeting of the Kinross-shire Forum was to have been Wednesday 3rd March at 7pm via Zoom, but has now been postponed to 24th March. Information had been sent to CCllrs Bruce Jones and Cheape rather than to the CC’s email account. CCllr Bruce Jones will ask the Forum to send the info to the CC’s account in future.

The next Meeting of P&K Stronger Communities is 10th March, CCllr Marchant will attend.

The Kinross-shire fund has not formally met, however CCllr Cheape has discussed the applications with the other members and grants have been made to Friends of Wallace Park, Kinross First Responders and Kinross-shire Local Events Organisation.

If the next meeting of this CC is virtual, as currently expected, we will be offering online attendance by members of the public. Anyone interested in “attending” should email the CC at fossoway.cc@gmail.com for details

P&K Councillors’ Reports:
Willie Robertson: The roads department has lost six weeks of work due to weather, and are trying to catch up on pot holes. The roadside litter problem has got worse as the litter picking teams are being redeployed to COVID-19 activities. Perhaps some local schemes could be set up? PKC’s Budget will be discussed next week, and is likely to require some tough decisions as money is tight.

Callum Purves: Although Cllr Purves could not attend the meeting, he reported by email that the road safety requests discussed last month, including the 20mph limits along the A977 have been entered into the system.

Planning:
New Applications:

21/00122/FLL Erection of two dwelling houses and garages with ancillary accommodation (Plots 3 and 4) at land 70m south east of Merryhills, Rumbling Bridge. No CC Comment.

21/00124/FLL Change of use of garden ground and garage to form office (Class 2) and associated parking area at Honeysuckle Cottage, Carnbo, Kinross, KY13 0NX. No CC comment

21/00125/FLL Erection of workshop/garage at Craigend House, Powmill, Kinross, FK14 7NS. No CC Comment

21/00176/FLL Part change of use and alterations to stables to form events venue and installation of air source heat pump at Fossoway Stables, Fossoway, Kinross, KY13 0UP. No CC Comment

Decided Applications:
20/01907/FLL Alterations to garage to form extension to ancillary accommodation 1 Braehead, Rumbling Bridge, Kinross, KY13 0PX. The application was approved, the CC had not commented.

20/01915/FLL Erection of a garage Whitewisp, Main Street, Blairingone, Dollar, FK14 7NU. The application was approved, the CC had not commented.

20/01954/FLL Alterations and extension to dwelling house at Earnieside Cottage, Dunning Glen, Dollar, FK14 7LB. The application was approved, the CC had not commented.

Reponse to request for Consultation:
Draft Mediation Guidance: CCllr Marchant prepared a response to this document, which was approved by the CC – We are concerned that a guidance document may become a process and hence needs to be open-ended, allowing mediation to be used at all stages if appropriate. Otherwise the CC generally agrees to the proposals.

Planning (Scotland) Act – Pre-application Consultation:
The new regulations are due to come into effect on 1st October 2021 – The CC commented that these consultations should be more inclusive and ensure that any pre-application meetings are accessible to the community – a view also expressed by other responders, but this has only been added as guidance not law.

Correspondence:
Elina Eronen, a final year student at the University of Edinburgh, has asked for input to a survey about Loch Leven Management Plans for her dissertation – https://edinburgh.onlinesurveys.ac.uk/dissertation-survey-10.

If the correspondence list is not attached to this document, it can be found on the CC’s FB Page.
Should anyone wish to see any items please contact the CC by email and a copy can be provided.

AOCB: CCllr Marchant noted that the Gigabit programme is gaining interest. CCllr Bruce Jones agreed, however there is no-one driving the scheme in her area.

Draft Agenda for Next CC Meeting:
Declarations of Interest, Community Policing, Minutes of last meeting. Matters arising: Bank of Scotland Branch Closure, A977 Mitigation, Fossoway Area Transport, Community Development Trust, Crook Moss Site, Powmill in Bloom, Crook & Drum Growing Together. PKC Councillors’ Reports, Planning, Correspondence, AOCB

Next Meeting: Tuesday 6th April 2021
Crook of Devon Village Hall - if Government guidelines allow, otherwise virtual.
Members of public wishing to join please email the CC at fossoway.cc@gmail.com

Correspondence February 2021