Author: Sean Gordon

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

Monday 1st June 2026 in the Tabernacle Hall, Keltybridge at 7:30pm

Present:

• Charles MacLaren
• Sean Gordon
• Simon Jenkins
• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Jes Bunce
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters
• Cllr Neil Freshwater
• PC Ben Samson
• PC Ashley Duncan

Apologies:

• Cllr Dave Cuthbert

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous meeting.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Correspondence

• The CC received an invitation to attend a demonstration of the Headstone Safety Programme inspection process, which will be held at Orwell Churchyard, Milnathort, KY13 9YQ on Thursday 4^th June, from 10:00am.

Resignations

After the previous meeting Fred Whalley announced he was standing down from the Community Council after many years of service to the community. The Community Council members expressed their thanks to Fred for his efforts and support over the many years of service.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

From 6^th April 2026 (last report) there have been approximately 26 calls to Police from the Cleish and Blairadam area and 6 crimes recorded on Police systems (3 for Road Traffic offences).

Traffic

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 our speeding matrix and we will continue to make efforts to carry out speed checks across the area during our patrols.

• 07/05/2026 No insurance, no MOT and driving under the influence of drugs (B996 at the junction of the B9097, between Kinross and Kelty)
  • 1 X reported to the Procurator Fiscal

Roads Policing Officers have also been doing speed checks on the M90 with 8 tickets being issued for speeding and 2 for drivers using their mobile phones whilst driving. In addition to this, 13 reports were made to the Procurator Fiscal for speeding, 1 for driving with no insurance and 1 for drink driving.

To make the Police aware of regular speeding issues, please email TaysideCommunityPolicePerthandKinross@scotland.police.uk , visit our “contact us” page or phone 101 to provide full details.

Police Community Team

Community Police Email Address – TaysideCommunityPolicePerthandKinross@scotland.police.uk.

Financial Update

Current state of accounts shows a balance of £425.91, with recent outgoings for the Community Council WordPress site, and Hall rentals for CC meetings.

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 Approved

• 25/01331/FLL – Siting of a residential caravan (in retrospect)
  • Land 150 Metres North of Benview Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0HR
• 26/00374/FLL – Erection of stable block and formation of hardstanding (in retrospect)
  • Land 140 Metres West Of The Birks Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HZ9
• 26/00291/FLL – Extension to dwellinghouse
  • Gairney Bank Filling Station Gairney Bank Kinross KY13 9JZ
• 26/00444/CLP – Alterations (proposed)
  • 20 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH

Applications Pending

• 26/00704/PNA – Erection of agricultural building
  • Land 160 Metres North West Of Craigton House Cleish
• 26/00544/FLL – Erection of a chalet, storage shed and 2 hard-standing caravan pitches
  • Land 150 Metres North East Of Log Cabin, Blairfordel Farm, Kelty, KY4 0HP
• 24/01873/FLL – Siting of three residential caravans with ancillary buildings forming two pitches, installation of septic tank, access and car parking (in part retrospect)
  • Land 275 Metres East Of The Willows Blairforge Kelty KY4 0JD
  • The Community Council are objecting to this application
• 26/00443/LBC – Installation of replacement windows and doors
  • 20 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH
• 26/00531/FLL – Erection of 4 dwellinghouses and associated works
  • Land 70 Metres West Of Woodlands Maryburgh Kelty KY4 0JE
• 25/01748/FLL– Formation of 7 residential caravan pitches with ancillary facilities buildings, septic tank, ancillary touring pitches, vehicle parking and access, erection of stable building and associated works (in part retrospect
  • Land 180 Metres North Of Hawthorn Wood Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0JH
  • The Community Council have objected to this application

Applications Refused

• 26/00213/FLL – Erection of ancillary accommodation unit
  • Station House Blairadam Kelty KY4 0JA

Enforcements

• 25/00002/ALUNDV – Alleged unauthorised erection of a garden building
  • Hillview Kinnaird Blairadam Kelty KY4 0JB
• 26/00001/UNAUSE – Alleged unauthorised use of garden ground for commercial purposes and land engineering
  • Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JG
• Blairforge – Concerns were again raised about the continued lack of enforcement by PKC of the numerous planning violations which have been allowed to proceed un-checked over the last several years.
  • The residents and CC are again requesting an update from PKC and the Elected Local Councillors.

Sustainability Group

The Community Council is continuing to participate in in the Sustainability Group, with both local wind farms proceeding towards completion dates around 2035.

Village Updates

Blairadam

• Broken Drain Grating in Main Street – This will be reported to PKC via the Council Portal.

Gairney Bridge

• Speeding Vehicles – There have been multiple reports of vehicles speeding through Gariney Bridge, particularly at the weekends when a large proportion of the passing vehicles are travelling in excess of posted sign limit – as indicated by the speed warning display at the start of Gairney Bridge. This issue has been reported to Police Scotland.

Cleish

• Fly-tipping – The recent fly tipping incident near Cleish was cleared up within a day thanks to the PKC Fly Tipping team!
• Cleish Village Trust – A Community meeting will be held on 11^th June to discuss the purchase of the church. The purchase of the church is proceeding, but the Trust are still negotiating with the Church of Scotland in relation to parking and access to the existing car park.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on Monday 3^rd August 2026 at 7:30pm in the Village Hall, Cleish

7:30pm, 6^th April 2026 – Cleish Village Hall, Cleish

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

Present:

• Charles MacLaren
• Sean Gordon
• Simon Jenkins
• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Fred Whalley
• Jes Bunce
• Cllr Neil Freshwater

Apologies:

• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous meeting.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

From 1^st February 2026 (last report) there have been approximately 23 calls to Police from the Cleish and Blairadam area and 4 crimes recorded on Police systems.

Traffic

• 20/02/2026 – Driver fail to wear a seatbelt (B9097 at junction with M90)
  • 1 x issued with a conditional offer (ticket)
• 24/02/2026 – Driver with no insurance (Hatchbank Road, Gairneybank)
  • 1 x issued with a conditional offer (ticket)
• 27/02/2026 – Careless driving (B9097 near Loch Leven Equine Practice) (vehicle pulled out into the opposing carriageway and collided with another vehicle)
  • 1 x reported to the Procurator Fiscal
• 08/03/2026 – Open door of motor vehicle whilst on road so as to injure or endanger any person (Cleish Hill) – Open door of motor vehicle causing victim to swerve and fall off motorbike causing injury
  • Subject to live investigation

Roads Policing Officers have also been doing speed checks on the M90 with 7 tickets being issued for speeding and 1 for careless driving after a driver failed to observe stationery traffic and collided with another vehicle.

To make us aware of regular speeding issues, please email TaysideCommunityPolicePerthandKinross@scotland.police.uk, visit our “Contact Us” page or phone 101 to provide full details.

Police Community Team Activity

New Community Police Email Address – The Police Community Team email address has changed – Previously there were 10 email addresses for community Police in Perth & Kinross and this has now been streamlined to one: TaysideCommunityPolicePerthandKinross@scotland.police.uk.

School Talk – 26th February PC’s Samson & Duncan attended Cleish Primary School and held a talk about drugs, alcohol and vapes. The students engaged well and we hope they learnt something useful.

Drainage

Cleish

The gullies in Cleish, particularly in the Borland area, have now been thoroughly cleaned, along with the gullies in the village of Cleish. The Community Council would like to commend the level of effort, and the quality of the work carried out by the PKC personnel!

Financial Update

Current state of accounts shows a balance of £559.21

The CC are still paying ongoing bank charges to Bank of Scotland which are in excess of £60 per year, so the CC plans to move the account to RBS.

As agreed at the previous CC meeting the CC have restarted the subscription to the APRS (Scotland’s Countryside Charity) [https://aprs.scot] at a cost of £40.

The subscription to Parish On-Line mapping service has also been renewed at a cost of £60, as this has proved to be a useful tool when creating local plans etc.

Rental of Tabernacle for the previous meeting has also been paid – £40

The CC has also purchased a laptop for use by the CC members, and to support the virtual meetings and secretarial work, at a cost of £199.

Kinross-shire Committee

CC agreed to rotate the attendees to this committee to ensure that each CC member can attend.

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 Approved

• 25/01331/FLL – Siting of a residential caravan (in retrospect)
  • Land 150 Metres North of Benview Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0HR

Applications Pending

• 26/00444/CLP – Installation of replacement windows and doors (proposed)
  • 20 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH
• 26/00291/FLL – Extension to dwellinghouse
  • Gairney Bank Filling Station Gairney Bank Kinross KY13 9JZ
• 26/00374/FLL – Erection of stable block and formation of hardstanding (in retrospect)
  • Land 140 Metres West Of The Birks Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HZ
• 25/01748/FLL– Formation of 7 residential caravan pitches with ancillary facilities buildings, septic tank, ancillary touring pitches, vehicle parking and access, erection of stable building and associated works (in part retrospect
  • Land 180 Metres North Of Hawthorn Wood Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0JH
  • The Community Council have objected to this application

Enforcements

• 25/00002/ALUNDV – Alleged unauthorised erection of a garden building at Hillview Kinnaird Blairadam Kelty KY4 0JB
• Blairforge – Concerns were again raised about the continued lack of enforcement by PKC of the numerous planning violations which have been allowed to proceed un-checked over the last several years.
  • The residents and CC are requesting an update from PKC and the Elected Local Councillors.

Local Place Plan

The registration of the Cleish and Blairadam Local Place Plan is proceeding, as reported in the previous minutes. The CC received a request for clarification on two points in the plan, relating to additional parking in Keltybridge and the actual routes of local paths. The CC has responded with the requested information and the Local Place Plan has been submitted for registration.

Sustainability Group

The community council continues to participate in the Sustainability Group, and attended the meeting recently held in Glenfarg Village Hall on Thursday 19^th March. Among the outcomes of this meeting was a continued commitment to the aims of this group and a desire to stay engaged with the group. However, it was recognised that that the level of commitment necessary to do justice to our participation in this important activity would mean that we need to recruit members of the local community who have the skills and the bandwidth to devote to representing Cleish and Blairadam’s interests at the Sustainability Group.

If you are interested in in helping, please contact the Community Council.

Village Updates

Blairadam

• Pavement Parking – The problem with inconsiderate residents parking on the pavements and rendering them impassible to foot traffic continues!

Cleish

• Cleish Village Fete and Classic Car Show will be held on May 9^th.
• Cleish Village Trust – Agreement has been reached with the Church of Scotland regarding purchase of the church but is currently awaiting agreement regarding the use of the Glebe for parking.
• Damaged Wall – A section dry stone wall has been damaged on the outskirts of the village, opposite the Telephone Exchange – the CC will investigate who is responsible for the repair of the wall and if any funding is available to help fund the repair.

Any Other Business

• Community Speed Watch – Milnathort Community Council are starting the Community Speed Watch program up again, but they are looking for participation and support from the surrounding communities. If anyone is interested in participating in this program, please contact the Community Council.
• Community Flyer / Newsletter – The question of whether the CC should restart the printed CC newsletter or produce some form of information flyer which could be distributed to the local community was raised. If you are interested in this, or want to offer support, please contact the Community Council.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting at 7:30pm on 1^st June 2026 at the Tabernacle Hall, Keltybridge

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 2^nd February 2026 – Tabernacle Hall, Keltybridge

Present:

• Charles MacLaren
• Sean Gordon
• Simon Jenkins
• Jes Bunce

Apologies:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Fred Whalley
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• Cllr Neil Freshwater

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

There were no matters arising from the previous meeting.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Kinross High School Update

Jillian Shaw (Headteacher) and Nayyarah Bilal (School Captain) attended to provide an update on the activities and plans, and to connect with broader community which is served by Kinross High School.

Updates were provided on the activities of the S6 pupils and their work with local charities and community activities such as Polio Awareness and Rachel House

Future events include an afternoon tea on the 27^th of February, which will be raising funds for this year’s school charities – UNICEF and Cancer Research UK. Tickets for the Afternoon Tea can be purchased by contacting Jillian Shaw (JillianShaw@pkc.gov.uk)

One of Kinross High School’s latest initiatives is “Ambitious Attire”, which has now been running for a of couple months. This is a school charity shop for a uniform, (separate to the uniform order system), and is targeted for pupils who may have forgotten their uniform on the day, and pupils in the school who are from financially disadvantaged backgrounds. Uniform packages can be ordered with, for example, two trousers, three shirts and a tie and a jumper or a cardigan.

Kinross High School also has around 20 pupil mental health ambassadors who help promote mental health, and who will be supporting the upcoming Mental Health.

Kinross High School also has a Pupil Parliament which engages the pupils in discussing key topics of importance to the pupils, including a recent debate on the use of mobile phones in schools; a topic which has been getting press coverage around the globe.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

No crimes reported since the last CC Meeting in December, however 11 speeding and traffic offences were reported on the M90.

Correspondence

• Planning – Several representations were received from concerned members of the community relating to planning violations – these are covered in the Planning Section.
• Request for Input from SEPA for input into the new flood risk management plan. At this stage the request for input relates to identified “at risk” areas, however there are none of these areas within our CC area. There are identified areas in adjacent CC areas, so the CC is encouraging individuals to review the plan and to comment if there is an impact on their travel or activities beyond our CC area.
  • https://consultation.sepa.org.uk/evidence-and-flooding/frmp-phase-1-consultation/

• Kinross-shire Civic Trust copied the CC on their input to the recent Call for Sites in the PKC LDP.
  • The Community Council will review this feedback and provide our own in relation to areas within our parish.

• Cyber Security Guidance was recently issued by Police Scotland in relation to the heightened Cyber Security threats across the UK. This is available to download from the CC website https://cleishandblairadam.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/police-scotland-cyber-security-alert.pdf

Drainage

Cleish

There are still on-going problems with the gullies in Cleish, particularly in the Borland area.

Multiple attempts have been made to raise a request to have these gullies cleaned via the PKC Portal, however each time a new request is entered the system automatically closes the request with a response that the gullies are on the existing cleaning schedule.

Financial Update

• Current state of accounts shows a balance of £897.70
• The CC are still paying ongoing bank charges to Bank of Scotland which are in excess of £60 per year, so the CC plans to move the account to RBS.
• The CC agreed to restart the subscription to the APRS (Scotland’s Countryside Charity) [https://aprs.scot]. This subscription was paused last year due to a lack of CC funds.
• CC agreed to purchase a laptop for use by the CC members, and to support the virtual meetings and secretarial work.

Kinross-shire Committee

• CC agreed to rotate the attendees to this committee to ensure that each CC member can attend.

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

• 25/01331/FLL – Siting of a residential caravan (in retrospect)
  • Land 150 Metres North of Benview Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0HR
  • Received: Wed 03 Sep 2025 | Validated: Mon 13 Oct 2025

Enforcements

• 25/00002/ALUNDV – Alleged unauthorised erection of a garden building at Hillview Kinnaird Blairadam Kelty KY4 0JB

• Blairforge – Concerns were again raised about the continued lack of enforcement by PKC of the numerous planning violations which have been allowed to proceed un-checked over the last several years.
  • The residents and CC are requesting an update from PKC and the Elected Local Councillors.

• Borrowdale – Several residents have contacted the CC and PKC planning to raise concerns about the level of excavation carried out on this site, and the lack of any shoring up of the vehicle access track to the South of the plot. In addition, a large static caravan has now been installed in this plot without any planning permission, and a significant amount of damage has been inflicted on the pavement to the East of the plot, rendering it dangerous to use for foot traffic due to the amount of dirt and debris.
  • The residents and CC are requesting an update from PKC and the Elected Local Councillors.

Local Place Plan

The registration of the Cleish and Blairadam Local Place Plan is proceeding. The CC has received a request for clarification on two points in the plan, relating to additional parking in Keltybridge and the actual routes of local paths. The CC will respond with the requested information.

Village Updates

Blairadam

• Pavement Parking – The problem with inconsiderate residents parking on the pavements and rendering them impassible to foot traffic continues!

Cleish

• Cleish Village Trust – Negotiations with Church of Scotland regarding purchase are continuing, and funding is progressing well with £20,000 still to find. Further fundraising events are planned. 

Any Other Business

• Maintenance of the Secession Monument at Gairney Bridge – This monument is believed to be the responsibility of PKC and is in need of some maintenance due to the damage being caused to it by a nearby tree.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on 6^th April 2026, at 7:30pm in Cleish Village Hall.

Extraordinary General Meeting of the Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

Held as a virtual meeting on Monday 24th November at 7.30pm

Attendees

• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Francis Principe-Gillespie
• Charles MacLaren
• Sean Gordon
• Jes Bunce
• Simon Jenkins

Apologies

• Cllr Richard Watters
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• Cllr Neil Freshwater
• Fred Whalley

Welcome

Cllr Willie Robertson welcomed the attendees and the elected members then convened the new sitting of the Cleish and Blairadam Community Council.

Francis Principe-Gillespie was elected Chair of the Cleish and Blairadam Community Council and took over chairing the meeting.

Roles

The members of the Community Council were then elected to the following roles:

• Francis Principe-Gillespie – Chair
• Charles MacLaren – Vice Chair
• Jes Bunce – Treasurer
• Sean Gordon – Secretary/Data Controller
• Fred Whalley – Planning
• Simon Jenkins – Member of the CC

Dates for 2026 CC Meetings

The following dates and locations were agreed for the 2026 meetings of the Community Council:

• Monday 2^nd February at the Tabernacle Hall in Keltybridge (7:30pm)
• Monday 6^th April at Cleish Village Hall (7:30pm)
• Monday 1^st June at the Tabernacle Hall in Keltybridge (7:30pm)
• Monday 3^rd August at Cleish Village Hall (7:30pm)
• Monday 5^th October at Tabernacle Hall in Keltybridge (7:30pm)
• Monday 7^th December at Cleish Village Hall (7:30pm)

AOCB

Pavement Parking: There is an ongoing problem with pavement parking in Keltybridge, and the CC undertook to investigate options for additional parking spaces in Keltybridge.

Accounts: The accounts of the Cleish & Blairadam Community Council for 2025 have been audited and accepted by PKC, so the Administrative Grant will be paid into the CC bank account later this month.

There being no further business, the meeting was closed.