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Minutes of Cleish and Blairadam Community Council Meeting, 7:30pm, 4^th December 2023 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Charles MacLaren
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• Cllr Neil Freshwater

Apologies:

• Margaret Traylor
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

• Keltybridge Pavements – There was a site visit by PKC Roads Manager Garry McConnel where it was discovered that the pavements in Keltybridge have not been adopted by PKC.
• Keltybridge Drainage – The drain at Borrowdale remains blocked. Scottish Water closed the excavation as the drain runs under the nearby private road and so is not within the jurisdiction of Scottish Water or PKC Roads Department.
• Cleish School Sign – The PKC Education committee is looking at removing the sign and replacing with one which is more appropriate for the area.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

Crimes of note since last meeting:

• 25/09/23 – Driving whilst unfit and careless driving (B9097, Cleish Road). Driving while unfit through drugs / failure to negotiate left-hand bend and left road into a field.
  • 1 Person charged and reported to the Procurator Fiscal
• 20/11/23 – Wilful Fire-raising (Fruix). Motor vehicle set on fire. Subject to an active investigation.

Community officers are aware of regular areas where there are complaints about speeding in and around Cleish and Blairadam. These have all been added to the speeding matrix and they will continue to make efforts to carry out speed checks across the area during our patrols.

Traffic units have recently been carrying out speed checks in the area most notably on the M90 at junction 5. During this period tickets have been issued for speeding and a driver charged with driving under the influence of drugs.

Broadband Update

Blairadam Area

The final phase of the Keltybridge and Blairadam Fibre Project is now underway, with funding secured to connect the remaining 12 properties. Openreach has started the survey work and will be providing an update in the near future on estimated timescales. There are 2 remaining properties in the area which are excluded from this project due to being part of the R100 rollout scheduled for later in 2024, however it is hoped that these properties will be pulled into the new Openreach project as they are served by the same access point.

Cleish Area

Deployment is progressing, but there are a small number of properties around Cleish Castle which may not yet be connected.

Kinross-shire Committee

The CC Chair provided an update from the latest meeting:

• PKC is adopting a “No Mow” strategy in PKC Parks and Verges to reduce costs and improve the environment for wildlife. The CC raised concerns that verges at junctions would still be mowed to ensure safety for vehicles. Advice was to use the PKC Portal to report any junctions where growth on the verge was causing a road safety issue.
• A future meeting will be looking at the planning process and how the community and CCs can engage with the planning process.

Drainage

Cleish

Flooding in the village resulting from water and mud run off from a nearby potato field has resulted in extensive erosion of the recently repaired road surface leading to Cleish Cemetery, raising health and safety and access concerns. Resultant water build-up in the cemetery car park endangers the stability of the stone wall, already in a poor condition due to tree root damage. PKC are liaising with landowners  with a view to improving flood resilience going forward. However, it is noted that saturation of the ground is currently preventing remediation work being carried out.

Keltybridge

The entrance to Middleton Park regularly floods during heavy rain as the nearby drain appears to be unable to deal with the volume of water. The drain appears to be partially blocked, or restricted as the water does eventually clear after about a day.

Despite intervention and excavation by Scottish Water during November and December 2023, the flooding problem remains as water is not flowing away from the drain on the main road at the corner with Borrowdale.

Financial Update

Financial balance is £604.06 which includes the PKC top up of £290.38 received into the bank account on 7th November.

Wind Turbine Applications on the Ochil Hills

Charles Maclaren provided a report from a meeting with the local windfarm group where a successful community organisation in East Ayrshire presented how they had grouped together the 9 local Community Councils to negotiate collectively with the windfarm developers to provide the best benefits for all the local community areas. It was clear that the local community councils in the Kinross area can learn from the approach taken by the East Ayrshire group. The Cleish and Blairadam Community Council will canvas the local community to gauge interest in joining a similar local initiative.

Local Place Plan

Sean Gordon attended the PKC Planning Users Forum where the Local Place Plan was discussed. The Local Place Plan is the most effective way that a local community can express their vision for the future of their local area as the council is required to take into account any existing Local Place Plan when looking at planning applications.

The Local Place Plan for Cleish and Blairadam would need to be submitted by September 2024 to be considered as part of the next PKC Local Development Plan which will run from 2027 to 2037.

The Cleish and Blairadam Community Council will canvas the local community to gauge interest in developing a Local Place Plan for Cleish and Blairadam

Planning

Under the new guidance, an objection by the Community Council automatically refers an application to the Planning Committee; otherwise, it requires 6 objections from separate households to refer an application.

Applications Pending

23/01695/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse

• Land 15 Metres East of Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge
• The Community Council will object to this development.

23/01655/FLL – Change of use, alterations and extension to ancillary accommodation to form dwelling house – The Flat 6 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH

23/01565/LBC – Installation of replacement roof window and garage roof covering – Middleton House Blairadam Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JG

22/02113/IPL | Erection of a dwellinghouse (in principle) – Land 30 Metres North East Of Craigbank House Cleish

22/02018/FLL – Siting of 2 holiday accommodation units, stable building/log store, 3 sheds and garage, formation of access road and associated works (in retrospect) – Land 190 Metres North West Of Blairfordel Farm Kelty

• This land is already subject to multiple enforcement orders for PKC for unapproved development.

23/01706/FLL – Change of use of woodland to form extension to garden ground and erection of garage – 8 Abbot’s Wynd Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JS

• This land is subject to enforcement notice.
• The Community Council will object to this development.

Applications Approved

23/01281/FLL – Erection of a garage – East Locharn House Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HU

23/00934/FLL – Alterations and extension to dwellinghouse, alterations to driveway, formation of parking area and landscaping, installation of oil tank and associated works – Darnley Cottage Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HU

23/00112/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and formation of vehicle access – Land 140 Metres North East Of Hardiston Farm Cleish Kinross Cleish

Applications Refused

23/00532/FLL | Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works – Land North Of 31 Main Street Keltybridge

• This application was opposed by the Community Council and attracted a large number of objections from the local community. The refusal has now been referred to the PKC Local Review Body and is on the agenda for the December 18^th Meeting.
  • This site is also subject to an enforcement notice as a condition of the planning consent of the previous development of No’s 29 & 31.

Blairforge

The land around here is subject to a number of enforcement orders by PKC for breaches of planning.

Residents of the development known as Purple Meadows raised concerns about their interactions with PKC planning, particularly in relation to the recent attempt to enforce the removal of unauthorised structures on this land. The advice given was that any attempt to develop or build on this land must have the appropriate planning permission from PKC, so any developments should be applied for so that the relevant planning process and legislation can be followed.

The local councillors also suggested that the residents submit for a pre-planning enquiry for the whole site to understand any planning concerns.

Village Updates

• A number of properties still have not received their grey lidded recycling bins, but it is understood from the attending councillors that the distribution of these bins is still a work in progress.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on Monday 5^th February, at 7:30pm in Cleish Village Hall.

It is hoped that with the imminent arrival of fibre broadband at the Tabernacle Hall in Keltybridge that the CC can once again begin meeting there on alternating dates in 2024.