Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 8^th July 2024 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Cllr Neil Freshwater

Apologies:

• Margaret Traylor
• Charles MacLaren
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters
• PC Ben Samson

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

3 actions which were covered in the relevant section of this meeting

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

From 22^nd April 2024 (last CC meeting) there have been 26 calls to Police from the Cleish and Blairadam area and 4 crimes recorded on Police systems.

23/04/2024 – 24/04/2024: Theft of motor vehicle (Templeton, Cleish) – Steal a Ford Transit Connect van via true key. This crime is subject to live investigation

11/06/2024: Theft by housebreaking (Mawmill, Cleish) – Intruders used metal ladder to scale onto first floor roof enter the building via skylight and into communal bathroom, once within enter various room ransacking each in turn, taking items from each before egressing via rear porch door leaving it ajar. This crime is subject to live investigation

Traffic Update

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.

Roads Policing officers have been carrying out speed checks on the M90 at junction 5 which has resulted in drivers being reported for speeding, no insurance and dangerous driving offences.

Correspondence

None received.

Co-opting a New Councillor

With the decision of Margaret Traylor to step down from the role of CC Treasurer later this year, the membership of the CC would drop below the minimum number of members needed, so the CC has decided to co-opt an additional member to the CC.

The meeting unanimously agreed to co-opt a new member Jes Bunce of Keltybridge to the Community. The co-option paperwork will now be submitted to PKC’s Community Council team and the Mr. Bunce will officially be co-opted at the next Community Council meeting in September.

Broadband Update

Keltybridge Area

The final phase to connect the remaining 13 properties in the Blairadam area is progressing well, with 6 of the remaining properties already connected. Openreach has committed to complete the remaining work by September this year. The Tabernacle Hall now has an installed Fibre Broadband line and although this is yet to be activated by Openreach. It is hoped that it will be commissioned in time for the next Community Council meeting which is due to be held at the Tabernacle Hall in September.

Drainage

Cleish

There are on-going flooding problems in Cleish, and in particular into the cemetery. This flooding appears to be linked to a drainage problem in the fields to the South of the main road through Cleish.

Keltybridge

The road gully has now been repaired and is draining as expected, however Keltybridge is still experiencing intermittent problems with sewage flowing onto the road near Middleton Park. Scottish Water have attended the scene and confirmed that the problem is not related to their sewers. The problem has been raised with PKC Environmental Services, but we are still awaiting a response.

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

• 24/00941/FLL: Erection of 5 dwellinghouses formation of vehicular access and associated works – Land 90 Metres North Of Nivingston House Cleish Kinross KY13 0LS
  • Representatives of the Community Council will meet with the developer to discuss this application.
• 24/00734/FLL: Change of use of land to form extension to garden ground – 8 Abbot’s Wynd Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JS
  • The Community Council has raised concerns about this application given that the ground lies outside the settlement boundary of the village. The CC is requesting that no development should be permitted on this land beyond the conversion to garden space.
• 24/00703/IPL: Residential development (in principle) – Land 140 Metres North East Of The Bungalow Benarty Road Kelty

Applications Approved

• 24/00513/FLL: Extension to dwellinghouse – 4 Middleton Park Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0GZ
• 23/01695/FLL: Erection of a dwellinghouse – Land 15 Metres East Of Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge
  • A number of planning conditions were applied to this approval due to the proximity to a listed building, and the prominence of the site in relation to the entrance to the village.

Agricultural Applications Notified

• 24/00946/PNA: Erection of agricultural storage building – Mawmill Farm Cleish Kinross KY13 0LN
• 24/00917/PNA: Erection of agricultural storage building – Land 300 Metres East Of Grianan Blairforge KELTY KY4 0JD
• 24/00248/PNA: Erection of an agricultural storage building – Ardgairney Farm Kinross KY13 0LG
• 24/00130/PNA: Erection of an agricultural building – Land 140 Metres South East Of Bonny Brae Cleish Kinross KY13 0LS Cleish

Planning Enforcement

PKC Planning Enforcement has been referred to the PKC Scrutiny Committee because of apparent disparities in how the Enforcement Team operates and how it chooses to enforce particular cases.

The Planning Enforcement Charter will be reviewed by the Scrutiny Committee in September, and this will be the opportunity to provide input into the way in which the Planning Enforcement Team operates. The current PKC Planning Enforcement Charter can be reviewed here: https://www.pkc.gov.uk/article/24042/Planning-Enforcement-Charter-2024-Our-Approach-to-Planning-Enforcement

Village Updates

Blairadam

• Attendees expressed concern that the multiple planning violations at Blairfordel Farm are not being enforced despite already subject to a Planning Enforcement Notice (24/00123/LAND).
  • Cllr Freshwater noted that the Planning Enforcement team have entered into a mediation process with the residents who are impacted by the enforcement notice.
• Concerns were again raised in relation to the enforcement of planning decisions, and in particular the lack of progress on enforcement of the planning violations at Blairfordel Farm which appears to be leading to the unconstrained growth of a settlement where there are increasing numbers of structures without planning consent.
• In addition, concerns were again raised about the perceived lack of equal treatment of residents by Perth & Kinross Planning Enforcement. The commonly held view still being that Planning Enforcement discriminate against lawful settlements by aggressively pursuing “soft” targets for planning violations while allowing more “difficult” cases like Blairfordel Farm to go unchallenged. Such an approach makes a mockery of the planning process in Perth and Kinross where individuals are apparently able to ignore planning regulations with impunity.
• It was noted also that the conditions of planning consent for Numbers 29 & 31 Keltybridge have not yet been fulfilled. Specifically in relation to the restoration and re-wilding of the area of land to the North of 31 Keltybridge where a condition was included in the planning consent.
  • The CC agreed to again write to PKC Planning Enforcement to request that they investigate why the developer has not complied with the conditions in the planning consent.
• Cllr Freshwater raised the question of cleaning and maintaining the historic “County of Kinross” sign which is at the entrance to Keltybridge village.
  • CC member agreed to contact the owner of the land where the sign is located to confirm that they are amenable to the sign being cleaned and maintained.

Cleish

• Verges around the village need to be cut to improve visibility.
• Thanks to Cllr Watters recommendation the Community Payback Team visited Cleish and painted the railings at the cemetery, and benches in the village.
• The new school sign has still not been removed and replaced, despite agreement with PKC to do so.

Any Other Business

• Local Place Plan – With the deadline for submission approaching, it was suggested that the CC takes the lead in helping to develop a Local Place Plan for the Cleish and Blairadam area. As noted in previous CC meetings, creating a Local Place Plan for Cleish & Blairadam, which reflect the views of the community 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, and when they develop the next Local Development Plan.
• The Local Place Plan for Cleish and Blairadam would need to be submitted by January 2025 to be considered as part of the next PKC Local Development Plan which will run from 2027 to 2037.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on Monday September 16th, at 7:30pm in the Keltybridge Tabernacle Hall.

Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 22^nd April 2024 – Keltybridge Tabernacle Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Margaret Traylor
• Charles MacLaren
• Sean Gordon
• Cllr Willie Robertson

Apologies:

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

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

None

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

Vandalism of Road Signs

The police are aware of road signs in Cleish being vandalised and have shared the information with other officers in the Kinross area to bring to their attention during routine patrols.

Crime Update

20/03/24 – Vandalism (Bus Stop, Benarty Road) – Subject to a live investigation

Traffic Update

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

Community Pay-Back

Cllr W. Robertson agreed to contact the Justice Department to see about getting offenders to remove the graffiti as part of their Community Pay-Back Orders.

Correspondence

Concerns were raised to community councillors by two separate residents regarding speeding vehicles traveling through the Lochran settlement. This concern has been raised with PKC in the past, and the suggestion was made that Lochran should be designated as a settlement and have a 40mph speed limit on that section of the road, however it is understood that PKC is resistant to this idea due to the cost of installing the necessary signage.

Reports were also received of multiple instances of speeding through Gairney Bridge, with cars and vans witnessed travelling above 60mph past the vehicle activated speed signage at the start of the 40mph zone!

On-going concerns expressed about speeding in Keltybridge, with vehicles regularly seen travelling in excess of the 20mph speed limit.

Broadband Update

Blairadam Area

The final phase to connect the remaining 13 properties in the Blairadam area is progressing well, with 6 of the remaining properties already connected. Openreach has committed to complete the remaining work by September this year. When this work is complete Cleish and Blairadam will be one of the best-connected rural areas in Scotland!

Drainage

Cleish

At the previous CC meeting a drainage issue was identified in Cleish main street where a recently repaired gully has stopped draining water and is now flooding, and causing further problems as the road around the gully is eroding. This issue has still not been resolved.

Keltybridge

The gully at the foot of the Dullomuir Farm Road has been repaired by PKC, and now drains correctly. A problem remains in relation to drainage water rising up from below the road at this junction, however this problem is on a private road – although the water does then flow onto and across the public road at times.

Financial Update

Financial balance is £494.51

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.

Awaiting Decision

• 24/00513/FLL – Extension to dwellinghouse, 4 Middleton Park Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0GZ
• 24/00248/PNA – Erection of an agricultural storage building, Ardgairney Farm Kinross KY13 0LG
• 24/00130/PNA – Erection of an agricultural building, Land 140 Metres South East Of Bonny Brae Cleish Kinross KY13 0LS Cleish

Approved

• 24/00095/LAW – Alterations to dwellinghouse, erection of garage and formation of driveway (proposed), 6 Blairadam Grove Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JU
• 23/02039/PAA – Erection of an agricultural building, The Willows Blairforge Kelty KY4 0JD
• 23/01655/FLL – Change of use, alterations, and extension to ancillary accommodation to form dwellinghouse, The Flat 6 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH

Keltybridge

It was noted that the conditions of planning consent for Numbers 29 & 31 Keltybridge have not yet been fulfilled. Specifically in relation to the restoration and re-wilding of the area of land to the North of 31 Keltybridge where a condition was included in the planning consent.

The CC agreed to again write to PKC Planning Enforcement to request that they investigate why the developer has not complied with the conditions in the planning consent.

Windfarm Related

It became apparent at the CC meeting that many of the discussions around the impact of the proposed windfarms have not included details on how these windfarms will be connected to the National Grid to enable them to export the power to be generated. The CC will monitor this and share any information which is available regarding proposed routes of any interconnection power lines.

Tree Felling at Nivingston House

A number of residents of Cleish area have raised concerns to the Community Council about the amount of tree felling which has been occurring at Nivingston House. The Community Council agreed to raise these concerns with Perth & Kinross council, and to investigate any appropriate action given the significance of this building within the landscape, the proximity to a conservation area.

Planning Enforcement

Several concerns were raised in relation to the enforcement of planning decisions, and in particular the lack of enforcement of the planning violations at Blairforge which appears to be leading to the unconstrained growth of a settlement where there are increasing numbers of structures without planning consent.

In addition, concerns were raised about the perceived lack of equal treatment of residents by Perth & Kinross Planning Enforcement. The commonly held view being that Planning Enforcement discriminate against lawful settlements by aggressively pursuing “soft” targets for planning violations while allowing more “difficult” cases like Blairforge to go unchallenged. Such an approach makes a mockery of the planning process in Perth and Kinross where individuals are apparently able to ignore planning regulations with impunity.

Cllr Willie Robertson has referred the Perth and Kinross Planning Enforcement Service to the Council’s Scrutiny Committee.

Local Place Plan

As noted in previous CC meetings, the CC would like to explore the possibility of creating a Local Place Plan for Cleish & Blairadam, to reflect the views of the community on how they would like the community to develop over the coming years. 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 plan to canvas the local community in the coming months to gauge interest in developing a Local Place Plan for Cleish and Blairadam, and in the meantime if you have an interest in helping develop or contributing to this plan please reach out to the CC at: cleishandblairadamcc@gmail.com

Village Updates

Cleish

Concerns were raised about the condition of the road at the junction of the B996 & B9097 where the kerbs at the edge of the road are displaced, and the white line Give Way markings at the junction are almost completely missing, making it very difficult for traffic to judge where the Give Way line is in darkness.

There is an on-going problem in relation to the lack of visibility at the motorway exits at Junction 5 of the M90 as these meet the B9097. The construction of the pedestrian fencing on the motorway overpass obscures any traffic approaching from the right on both the Southbound and Northbound exits from the M90. This means that traffic at these exit junctions needs to edge out into the B9097 to be able to see approaching traffic from the right, and as a result there have been several near misses at these junctions.

A question was raised about the future of the carpark in Cleish, as this is a vital resource for the village, however it is owned by Cleish church which is expected to be part of a sales process in early course. The CC will contact the Church of Scotland to ensure that the community’s interest in the car park is known and considered in any disposal of the church and associated land.

Keltybridge

Keltybridge is seeing continued problems with vehicles parking on the pavements and causing a safety concern where pedestrians (particularly those with prams or baby buggies) are being forced onto the road because the pavement is obstructed.

This problem is particularly concerning in relation to access to the Tabernacle Hall driveway, as this is where the village’s defibrillator is located, and vehicles parked on the opposite side of the road can inhibit vehicular access to the Tabernacle Hall.

Cllr Robertson suggested that the CC investigates the possibility of having double yellow lines added to parts of the road through Keltybridge to help prevent this dangerous and inconsiderate parking.

After 22 years of service Margaret Traylor announced her intention to step down from the Community Council and was warmly thanked for her dedicated service to the community over the years!

The CC will look at co-opting a new member to take on the role of Treasurer.

Wind Farm Community Benefits Survey Results

There are good examples from around Scotland where groups of Community Councils have come together to collaborate and to negotiate a better deal for the community, and the Cleish & Blairadam Community Council would like to explore this option.

The CC recently surveyed all the households in the Cleish & Blairadam area to determine the local resident’s attitudes to wind power in general, and to seek their agreement to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to allow the CC to collaborate with adjacent community councils to maximise the community benefit from any nearby wind farm developments.

Of those residents who responded, the overwhelming majority was in favour of the CC signing the MoU and pursuing the opportunity to cooperate with the nearby Community Councils, so it was agreed to sign the MoU.

As this collaboration proceeds the CC will continue to give the local residents the ability to feedback before any significant decisions are made.

Next CC Meeting

The next Community Council Meeting on Monday July 4^th, at 7:30pm in The Village Hall in Cleish.

Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 5^th February 2024 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Charles MacLaren
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Cllr Neil Freshwater
• Cllr Richard Watters

Apologies:

• Margaret Traylor
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

None

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

Theft from a container on Hatchbank Road, Gairney Bank

Criminal(s) broke open shipping container and stole two off-road motorcycles. This crime is subject to live investigation.

Crime Update

Two men aged 31 and 22 will be reported to the Procurator Fiscal in connection with offences relating to the intention to commit theft after a series of incidents at farms in the Kinross area.

The incidents happened at various farms across the area in April 2023 involving the males driving a blue van.

The 22-year-old man has been arrested and charged in connection with the incidents. The 31-year-old will also be the subject of a report to the Procurator Fiscal.

The incident received a lot of local attention at the time and Kinross community officer Police Constable Ben Samson would like to thank the members of public who contacted police to report incidents and with information.

Traffic Update

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.

Traffic units have recently been carrying out speed checks in the area most notable on the M90 at junctions 5 & 6. During which tickets have been issued for speeding and a driver charged for driving under the influence of drugs as well as other traffic offences.

Neighbourhood Watch Scotland

PC Samson encourages members of the public to sign up to their local neighbourhood watch alerts. Police post localised updates and information requests that might not otherwise be posted on Facebook or Twitter.

Sign up at www.neighbourhoodwatchscotland.co.uk.

Correspondence

None

Broadband Update

Blairadam Area

The final phase to connect up the remaining properties in the Blairadam area has moved into the design and planning stage with Openreach. The next update on the project is due from Openreach in April and it is hoped that the project will be completed later this year.

Drainage

Cleish

There has been no progress to remediating the drainage problems raised at the last meeting; this has been due to the continued bad weather and poor ground conditions.

In addition to the flooding referred to above there may also be a blocked culvert in an adjacent field – the CC will investigate and speak to the landowner to see if this problem can be rectified.

A fresh drainage issue has been identified in Cleish main street where a recently repaired gully has stopped draining water and is now flooding, and causing further problems as the road around the gully is eroding. This issue was raised with Cllr Watters who attended the meeting and inspected the problem.

It has been noted by several members of the community that the drainage problems are causing problems with access to the church and graveyard.

Keltybridge

The gully at the foot of the Dullomuir Farm Road continues to cause problems with flooding, and during winter this area of the road and pavement was completely iced over, leading to one of the residents of Keltybridge falling and being seriously injured!

The Community Council sent best wishes for a speedy recovery!

Sean Gordon spoke to the PKC Roads Department in early January, and they agreed that the drain needed to be repaired so that it functioned correctly. Cllr Watters will speak to the Roads Department to determine a likely date for this work.

Financial Update

Financial balance is £604.06.

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.

Awaiting Decision

• 24/00095/LAW – Alterations to dwellinghouse, erection of garage and formation of driveway (proposed) 6 Blairadam Grove Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JU
• 23/02135/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse; Land 20 Metres South Of Hillview Kinnaird Blairadam Kelty KY4 0JB
  • The CC has objected to this application.
• 23/02102/FLL – Erection of 2 dwellinghouses; Land 50 Metres South East Of Craigton Gardens Cleish
• 23/02039/PAA – Erection of an agricultural building; The Willows Blairforge Kelty KY4 0JD
• 23/01695/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse; Land 15 Metres East Of Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge
  • The CC has objected to this application.
• 23/01655/FLL – Change of use, alterations and extension to ancillary accommodation to form dwellinghouse; The Flat 6 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH
• 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
• The CC has objected to this application.

Approved

• 23/01565/LBC – Installation of replacement roof window and garage roof covering at 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

Withdrawn

• 23/01706/FLL – Change of use of woodland to form extension to garden ground and erection of garage
  • The CC objected to this development

Planning Committee

• 23/00532/FLL | Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works | Land North Of 31 Main Street Keltybridge
  • The PKC Local Review upheld the decision to refuse planning permission for this site.
  • The CC objected to this development

Local Place Plan

As noted in the minutes from the previous CC meeting, the CC would like to explore the possibility of creating a Local Place Plan for Cleish & Blairadam, to reflect the views of the community on how they would like the community to develop over the coming years. 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 plan to canvas the local community in the coming months to gauge interest in developing a Local Place Plan for Cleish and Blairadam, and in the meantime if you have an interest in helping develop or contributing to this plan please reach out to the CC at: cleishandblairadamcc@gmail.com

Wind Farm Community Benefits

The CC attended a meeting with the sustainability group which is looking for a way to have the local Community Councils work together to coordinate our negotiations with the wind farm developers in relation to the benefits and community funding which is made available as part of any windfarm development. There are good examples from around Scotland where groups of Community Councils have come together to collaborate and to negotiate a better deal for the community, and the Cleish & Blairadam Community Council would like to explore this option. With this in mind we will shortly be surveying everyone in the local area to understand how the community would like to proceed, and to gauge the interest in our CC joining with the nearby CCs for the overall benefit of the community.

The goal will be to complete the survey before the next CC meeting where the results of the survey will be shared, and a decision will be made on how to proceed.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on April 22^nd, at 7:30pm in Tabernacle Hall in Keltybridge. Please note the change of venue as we are now restarting the practice of holding the CC meetings in alternating locations to better serve the community.

Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 17^th April 2023 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Charles MacLaren
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Margaret Traylor
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert

Apologies:

• Cllr Neil Freshwater
• Cllr Richard Watters

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

Update on the Gairney plantation – Cllr Freshwater reported that the plantation has been inspected by Forestry & Land Scotland and found to be partly replanted. The owner has said he will complete planting this season and it will be inspected again by a Forestry & Land Scotland in March 2024.

Drainage in Keltybridge – Blocked drains reported to PKC and have since been cleared.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

The Police were unable to attend in person, but provided a detailed update:

• Fly Tipping on the unclassified road near to the Shank Burn in Cleish – Subject to a live investigation.
• Dangerous Driving on the B9097 near Gairneybridge – 1 person reported to Procurator Fiscal
• Driving with no Insurance on the B996 Kinross to Kelty road – 1 person reported to Procurator Fiscal
• Driving with no Insurance, Disqualified Driving, in charge whilst unfit on unclassified road from B996 near Kelty B996 – 1 person arrested, charged, and reported to Procurator Fiscal
• Worrying Livestock on a farm at Keiry Craig field, Blairadam – Subject to a live investigation.

Traffic – Community officers aware of regular areas where there are complaints about speeding in and around Cleish and Blairadam. The Police will continue to make efforts to carry out speed checks across the area during patrols. Traffic units from Perth have also been carrying out speed checks across the area.

Community Team Activity – Following the incident at Blairadam where 16 lambs were killed Police Scotland held a “day of action” on 12^th April to raise awareness of crimes like this, and the importance of keeping control of dogs. There were also social media posts on Police Scotland Facebook & Twitter accounts as well as news articles on STV and in local papers.

Correspondence

CC received suggestions from one of our residents:

• For an organised litter picking activity – Tabernacle Hall used to arrange this regularly a while ago, but it stopped for some reason.
• Organise a walkaround of the local area to identify areas of concern – it was agreed to roll this into the “Big Place Conversation” activity which will be arranged soon.

Broadband Update

Keltybridge and Blairadam Area

Last month, after 2 years of work by the Community Fibre Partnership, Openreach completed work to enable 54 properties in Keltybridge with a Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) service. There was much rejoicing!

There are still 16 properties which were not enabled by this latest work, so the Community Fibre Partnership will continue to work to get Keltybridge and Blairadam to 100% coverage.

Openreach are currently in the process of producing a detailed quotation for the project and creating a formal offer which will be available in 2-3 weeks’ time, and which will include the exact costs for the project.

There are on-going challenges in getting a connection to the Tabernacle Hall in due to it lacking an appropriate reference number in the Royal Mail and Openreach systems. This is being raised with the Openreach Community Fibre team.

Cleish

Work is on-going, but there is confusion as to who is getting the service and when, because the various web sites are out of date. In addition, there is some confusion about the dates for the R100 roll-out in the area with some reports stating that this has been pushed back to 2024, despite all the obvious Openreach activity in the area.

• Action – Cllr Freshwater is going to follow up with Andrew Mitchell and to clarify the situation.

Starlink (low earth orbit satellite broadband) is now available in the UK, so this may provide another option for more remote properties to be able to obtain a faster broadband service.

Drainage

Cleish

Till Hill have been in contact with the CC to confirm that the felling operations are now complete and have cleaned the drains and reinstated any drains which were blocked.

Keltybridge

Blocked drains in Keltybridge were reported and they have now been cleared.

Financial Update

Paid 2 x Hall hires, Annual Subscription to APRS and Insurance for Cleish Phone box paid.

CC account has a balance of £612.70, with 3 outstanding invoices for hall hire.

Planning – “Big Place Conversation”

Robert Wills, a Planning Officer from PKC presented an overview of the “Big Place Conversation”, which represents the start of the next Local Development Plan and provides the opportunity for local communities to share their views on how they would like their local areas to be developed in the future.

A local session will be arranged soon to allow the residents of Cleish & Blairadam to engage with the “Big Place Conversation”. In addition, local communities can develop a Local Place Plan to outline what they want for their local area; this influences the PKC Local Area Plan and there are funding & resources available to help communities develop their own Local Place Plans – https://www.pkc.gov.uk/localplaceplans

It was agreed that the Community Council would organise a local “Big Place Conversation” for the Cleish & Blairadam area – details of this event will be shared on the CC Website – https://cleishandblairadam.org.uk

More information on the “Big Place Conversation” can be found here – https://www.pkc.gov.uk/bigplaceconversation

Planning – Travellers Sites

A question was raised by attendees of the CC meeting regarding the planning rules relating to travellers’ sites. This was referred to Robert Wills (the PKC Planning Officer attending the meeting) to provide further information to those interested.

Planning Applications

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

• 23/00425/FLL – Renewal of permission 20/00524/FLL (Erection of 4 dwellinghouses)
  • Land 45 Metres South of Hillcrest Maryburgh
• 23/00210/FLL – Erection of replacement garage
  • Dunandrew Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0HR
• 23/00112/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and formation of vehicle access 
  • Land 140 Metres North East Of Hardiston Farm Cleish Kinross Cleish
• 23/00034/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and garage/ancillary accommodation
  • 5 Boreland Steading Cleish Kinross KY13 0LT
• 22/02113/IPL – Erection of a dwellinghouse (in principle)
  • Land 30 Metres North East Of Craigbank House Cleish
• 22/01446/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works
  • Land 30 Metres South East Of Gairney Bridge Farm Cottage Gairneybridge
• 22/01334/AML – Erection of a dwellinghouse, garage, workshop, wall, fence and associated works (approval of matters specified in conditions of 20/00499/IPL)
  • Land 60 Metres North West Of Craigbank House Cleish
• 22/01025/IPL – Residential development (in principle)
  • Land 140 Metres North East Of The Bungalow Benarty Road Kelty

Applications Approved

• 22/02134/LAW – Extension to dwellinghouse (proposed)
  • Gairney Bridge Farm Gairneybridge Kinross KY13 9JZ
• 22/02076/FLL – Renewal of permission 18/01331/FLL (alterations and erection of gatepiers and gate)
  • Craignish Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HX
• 22/01410/FLL – Erection of garage building 
  • 8 Middleton Park Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0GZ

Applications Withdrawn

• 22/02027/FLL – Erection of dwellinghouse
  • Land 15 Metres East Of Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge
• 22/01945/FLL – Erection of dwellinghouse and associated works
  • Land North Of 31 Main Street Keltybridge

Applications Refused

• 23/00116/FLL Extension to ancillary accommodation
  • 6 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH
• 22/00707/FLL – Siting of 2 static caravans for welfare/storage use, erection of animal shelter and associated works (in part retrospect) (for a temporary period)
  • Land 100 Metres North East Of Blairfordel Farm Kelty

Village Updates

Blairadam

• Reports of damage to the verge by contractor carrying out sewer works at Middleton House – verge used as a dumping area for excavation spoil and not restored.
• Suggestions from one of our residents:
  • For an organised litter picking activity – Tabernacle Hall used to arrange this regularly a while ago, but it stopped for some reason.
  • Walkaround of the local area to identify areas of concern – it was agreed to roll this into the “Big Place Conversation” meeting.
• Keltybridge has the only remaining Kinrossshire sign in Kinrossshire and there was a suggestion that this should be cleaned and preserved.
  • Action – M. Traylor to contact owners of the land where the sign is located.
• Reports of fly tipping on the Maryburgh road, these were very quickly removed by PKC once the issues had been reported. It was suggested that the use of CCTV cameras may be an option if the problem continues.
  • Action – Cllr Robertson will investigate the options for this.
• Ongoing problems with parking on the pavement in Keltybridge, and the collapsed pavements in Keltybridge
  • Action – Cllr Robertson will look again at what options there are to address this.
• The Keltybridge Dog Poo bin on the Sawmill Road has degraded and fallen off the post.
  • Action – Cllr Robertson to look at the options for getting this replaced.

Cleish

• New meeting technology kit has been delivered and is already helping to make the CC meetings more accessible.
• Fly tipping outside the forestry and a caravan has been abandoned on agricultural land. It was suggested that the use of CCTV cameras may be an option if the problem continues.
• Update on the Fibre Broadband from Andrew Mitchel suggests that the delay in R100 rollout may not come to pass given the amount of work which is currently going on in the area.
• PKC is checking the contents of Blue Recycling Bins and tagging any bins with the wrong kinds of materials in them – these bins will not be emptied by the council until the offending items are removed.
• CC is still awaiting an update on the plans for the upgrading of Cleish Primary School, it is hoped that there will be an update in time for the next CC meeting.
• The Friends of Cleish Kirkyard Cemetery group has been established to help maintain the cemetery.

Next CC Meeting

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

Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 6^th February 2023 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Francis Principe-Gillespie
• Charles MacLaren
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Cllr Neil Freshwater
• Cllr Richard Watters

Apologies:

• Margaret Traylor
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• Cllr Willie Robertson

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

Status of the Gairney Plantation – this was due to be replanted by July 2021. It is due an inspection by Forestry Scotland so this will be prioritised. We will keep this item on the agenda until we hear back from Forestry Scotland.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

PC Samson was unable to attend, but provided a written update:

• The recent theft of a caravan from Blairadam is subject to a live Police investigation.
• Officers are aware of regular areas where there are complaints about speeding in and around Cleish and Blairadam. These have been added to the Police speeding matrix and they will continue to make efforts to carry out speed checks during their patrols.
• Units from Perth have also been carrying out regular checks in the area and have issued tickers over the last month for a number of speeding and other road traffic offences.
• From 5^th December 2022 there were 11 calls to the Police from the Cleish and Blairadam area, with 1 crime recorded in Police systems.
• Guidance was provided on preventing house breakings, and this has been uploaded to the Community Council website – https://cleishandblairadam.org.uk

Roads Policing Day of Action

• Officers from the Road Policing Department recently engaged in a day of action around Loch Leven. Enforcement was carried out in areas including Kinross, Milnathort, Portmoak, Scotlandwell, Crook of Devon and Gairneybank. In total, 21 vehicles were stopped with warnings issued for the following:
  • 4 for Speeding
  • 2 for defective lights
  • 1 number plate offence
  • In addition, one driver was reported for having no insurance and the vehicle owner was charged with causing and permitting the offence.

Correspondence

Planning Updates

The Community Council received notification that 2 of the planning applications to which the Community Council had objected had subsequently been withdrawn by the applicants.

The details are covered in the planning update below.

Broadband Update

Blairadam Area

The community has been informed that the previous Openreach quote for deploying Fibre Broadband is not viable given the cost when compared to the funding available from Scottish Government. This is obviously disappointing; however, project team and Openreach Community Lead are continuing to pursue other opportunities to deliver fibre broadband to the area and will provide an update on progress at the next Community Council meeting.

Hatchbank

A query has been raised with Openreach in relation to some houses in Cleish which appear to have been left off the current deployment work.

Drainage

Cleish

The culverts in Cleish have been dug out and cleaned, however there were some drains in the village which could not be cleared. These issues will be raised via the PKC portal.

Keltybridge

The majority of drains in Keltybridge are still blocked and filled with silt / runoff from the development sites. The only clear drain in Keltybridge is clear because the nearby property owner had it cleared to prevent flooding of their property. These issues will be raised via the PKC portal.

Forestry

Cleish

No update has been received regarding the long-term plan for the forestry around Cleish.

Financial Update

The Community Council has received the top-up payment from Perth & Kinross Council, with the account balance now standing at £670.

Last month the CC paid the insurance on the phone box in Cleish and the invoice for use of Cleish Hall.

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

• 22/01334/AM – Land 60 Metres North West Of Craigbank House Cleish
  • Erection of a dwellinghouse, garage, workshop, wall, fence and associated works
• 22/00617/FLL – Land 60 Metres North Of Craigbank House Cleish
  • Erection of a dwellinghouse, garage and workshop/temporary residential accommodation, installation of air source heat pump, erection of gates, formation of landscaping and associated works (revised design)
• 22/01446/FLL – Land 30 Metres South East Of Gairney Bridge Farm Cottage Gairneybridge
  • Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works
• 22/01924/FLL – 8 Middleton Park Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0GZ
  • Erection of garage building
• 22/02027/FLL – Land 15 Metres East of Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge
  • Erection of dwellinghouse
  • The Community Council has objected to this application.
• 22/02134/LAW – Gairney Bridge Farm Gairneybridge Kinross KY13 9JZ
  • Extension to dwellinghouse (proposed)
• 22/02113/IPL – Land 30 Metres North East Of Craigbank House Cleish
  • Erection of a dwellinghouse (in principle)

Applications Approved

• 22/01812/FLL – The Thrums Cleish Kinross KY13 0LR
  • Extensions to dwellinghouse
• 22/02076/FLL – Craignish Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HX
  • Renewal of permission 18/01331/FLL (alterations and erection of gatepiers and gate)

Applications Withdrawn

• 22/01410/FLL – Erection of garage building 
  • 8 Middleton Park Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0GZ
• 22/01792/LAW – 8 Abbot’s Wynd Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JS
  • Erection of a storage building for domestic use (proposed)
• 22/01945/FLL – Land North Of 31 Main Street Keltybridge
  • Erection of dwellinghouse and associated works

Applications Refused

• 22/00707/FLL – Land 100 Metres North East Of Blairfordel Farm Kelty
  • Siting of 2 static caravans for welfare/storage use, erection of animal shelter and associated works (in part retrospect) (for a temporary period)
  • This application has now been refused twice and is being appealed to the Planning Review Board on Feb 13^th.
• 22/01475/FLL – Blairfordel Farm Kelty
  • Siting of an accommodation unit
• 22/01793/FLL – The Flat 6 Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH
  • Extension to dwellinghouse

Village Updates

Blairadam

• A large amount of litter around the loch area, particularly on the South side.
  • Local resident has been picking up waste in Maryburgh and Blairforge, and has made a huge difference, but there is a lot of litter North of Blairforge and along the road to Gairney Bridge.
  • There are no regular council litter picking activities, and most communities have their own litter picking activities.
  • Cllr Freshwater to follow up on litter picking options and investigate littering hotspots around Cleish.
    • Community payback orders may be an option for litter clearing.
• A question was raised from the community on if litter is contributing to flooding by blocking drains?
• Speeding is an on-going concern in Keltybridge, and it was suggested that the local community could get involved with the Speed Watch activity which is being coordinated by the Fossoway Community Council for the local area.
• Plot next to 31 Keltybridge – this was meant to be left as visual amenity and green space as a condition of the planning applications for 29 & 31 Keltybridge.
  • Action – CC to write to planning committee to ask what action can be taken to enforce this previous condition on planning consent.

Cleish

• Vehicle Activated Signage positioning is being revised in line with input from the Community Council, with installation planned for May/June. Signs will be installed at each end of the village.
• PKC Community Investment Fund has approved £2860 in funding to purchase hybrid meeting equipment to expand the accessibility and convenience of future community meetings held at Cleish Village Hall.
• Cleish School – Cllr Freshwater to arrange a briefing for the CC on the project.

Any Other Business

• Big Place conversations (https://www.pkc.gov.uk/bigplaceconversation) will be held in Kinross shire and Glenfarg in May – July. The main purpose of these conversations is to shape the next Local Development Plan which will run until 2037. The Community Council will to help identify venues and audiences.
• Individual communities can create a “Place Plan” which are local plans for how the community wants to develop, and the Community Council will sponsor meetings in Cleish and Keltybridge to gauge local interest in developing Place Plans.
• Windfarm planning applications in nearby areas are decided at government level, but PKC is included as a statutory consultee for these applications. The council is arranging consultation sessions for these planning applications.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on Monday April 17^th, at 7:30pm in Cleish Village Hall.

Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

Minutes of Meeting of Cleish & Blairadam Community Council

7:30pm, 11^th September 2023 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Margaret Traylor
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters

Apologies:

• Charles MacLaren
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• PC Ben Samson

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

• Maryburgh: Fly-tipping on Maryburgh Road – Community Council to advise on locations for warning signage.
• Keltybridge: Condition of Pavements & Parking on Pavements – Cllr Robertson has requested a site meeting with the PKC Roads department regarding repairs to the existing pavements which have been damaged and sunk due to vehicles parking on the pavements in Keltybridge.
• Cleish Primary School: Cllr Cuthbert spoke to PKC Planning and was advised that the Education Department did not require planning permission for the new signage despite the school being a listed building in a conservation area. Councillors will write to PKC Planning to request a sign which is more in keeping with a listed building in a conservation area.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

• 8^th – 9^th August 2023 – Theft by housebreaking (Lochran Farm) – Subject to Live investigation
• 5^th September 2023 – Drink driving and possession of offensive weapon (Fruix Road) – 1 Person reported to Procurator Fiscal

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

Traffic units have been carrying out speed checks in the area and have issued several tickets since the last meeting, most notably during speed checks on the M90.

In the last month local officers from Kinross have been carrying out speed checks in Milnathort, Crook of Devon and Gairneybridge.

Vehicle Activated Signage (VAS)

Vehicle Activated Signage has now been installed in Cleish and Gairneybridge.

Broadband Update

The latest report for Fibre to the Premises (FTTP) “ready for service” shows that 71% of properties in Cleish and Blairadam area have fibre broadband available. This compares with 50.4% for the whole of Scotland and 14.53% for the Perth and Kinross Council area as a whole.

Blairadam Area

Blairadam has now received the final quote from Openreach to enable the final 13 properties in the area, so this should be moving forwards in the coming months.

Properties in Blairforge are also now being connected to Fibre Broadband.

Cleish Area

Boreland and Carsegour are now live. The current data shows gaps in coverage for properties further out, but it is not clear if this is just a problem with the data.

Kinross-shire Committee

This will be added as a standing agenda item for the Community Council as it has proved to be a useful forum in helping understand how the council services operate.

A specific session has been requested to help understand how the Planning Department integrates views from the community through activities such as the Big Conversation / Local Area Plans, and what triggers enforcement actions.

The Kinross-shire Committee will be organising a more open meeting to discuss these topics – details to follow.

Drainage

Cleish

No updates

Keltybridge

Still a problem with a blocked drain in Keltybridge which is flooding the roads. This has been reported to PKC twice already and has been added to the cleaning schedule, but no progress has been made.

Scottish Water investigated this drain in September, but no further action has been taken. Additionally, there is a smell of sewage from this drain. The Community Council will again raise this problem via the PKC Portal.

Additionally, there is a blocked drain at the lower end of the main road through Keltybridge which has been causing rainwater to run into the property at the side of the road. This problem will also be reported on the PKC Portal.

Financial Update

• £290.30 – Total Expenditure for Year to Date.
• £409.62 – Current Balance

Planning

Applications Pending

• 23/00112/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and formation of vehicle access
  • Land 140 Metres North East Of Hardiston Farm Cleish Kinross Cleish
• 22/02113/IPL – Erection of a dwellinghouse (in principle)
  • Land 30 Metres North East Of Craigbank House Cleish
• 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

Applications Approved

• 23/00493/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works
  • Land 100 Metres North West Of Craigton House Cleish Kinross KY13 0LQ
• 23/01024/FLL – Erection of porch and formation of raised terrace
  • Carsegour Farm Cottage Kinross KY13 0LG
• 23/01281/FLL – Erection of a garage
  • East Locharn House Blairadam Kelty KY4 0HU

Applications Refused

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

Village Updates

Blairforge

• Enforcement is now complete on one area, but there are more enforcements still outstanding which have not been progressed.
• Concerns were raised by local residents about the complete disregard for planning regulations and the lack of enforcement of any violations by PKC Planning.
• More land engineering being carried out without planning permission with multiple truckloads of material being brought into the site.
• Concerns were raised by residents of Blairforge about the lack enforcement for multiple planning violations, SEPA infringements and the continued dumping of materials on the site.
• Cllr Watters has asked for an update in relation to enforcement on this site.

Blairadam

• Renewal of the water supply to the Tabernacle Hall has now been complete and tested by PKC Private Water team.
• Village noticeboard is in need of refurbishment.

Cleish

• A number of cast iron access covers have been stolen on the hill road, leaving dangerously deep holes exposed in the verge.
  • Cllr Freshwater to report this.
• The cutting of verges around junctions have not been carried out around Cleish.
  • Recommended reporting these via the PKC portal where there is a road safety risk.

Any Other Business

• CC to investigate involvement with the windfarm action group which is being coordinated by the Milnathort CC.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on 4^th December, at 7:30pm in Cleish Village Hall.

Download meeting minutes as PDF below:

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.

Minutes of Meeting of 3rd July

7:30pm, 3^rd July 2022 – Cleish Village Hall

Present:

• Fran Principe-Gillespie
• Fred Whalley
• Sean Gordon
• Margaret Traylor

Apologies:

• Charles MacLaren
• Cllr Dave Cuthbert
• Cllr Neil Freshwater
• Cllr Willie Robertson
• Cllr Richard Watters

Previous CC Meeting

Matters Arising

A number of actions were noted in the previous minutes, and these were covered in the relevant sections of the CC meeting.

Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were accepted.

Crime Prevention & Police Report

Crimes of Note since Last Meeting (17/04/23)

• 18/04/23 – 19/04/23 – Theft of quad bike (Blairforge) [Subject to live investigation]
• 24/04/23 – Fly-tipping (unclassified road near to Shank Burn in Cleish) [Subject to live investigation]
• 23/06/2023 – 26/06/2023 – Vandalism (Cleish Primary School) [Subject to live investigation]
• 01/07/2023 – Assault to injury (Unclassified road between B9097 & B996 near Cleish) [Subject to live investigation]

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

Traffic units have been carrying out speed checks in the area and have issued several tickets since the last meeting.

Broadband Update

Cleish Area

Update provided by Cllr Freshwater

• The June 2024 rollout date seems to be a bit of a red herring as progress does still appear to be being made at several sites. It is understood that some houses on Hatchbank Rd (also “June 2024”) have already been able to sign up to fibre services. A similar situation exists in Tillyrie with the same date, but actual progress. Andrew Mitchell has been as helpful as ever but agrees the ‘next few months’ is the best timeline, and you can check for planned Openreach works on www.roadworksscotland.org and when the property on www.broadbandchecker.btwholesale.com  has “WBC FTTP” listed it is essentially live. So, whilst June 2024 seems to remain the official date, it is an extremely liberal estimation and things are moving quicker.
• In addition, complaints were received of road debris being dumped in the ditches, on the Watergate-Carsegour stretch, suspected to be Morrisons/Openreach. This is a flood risk area as we know. Openreach have been responsive and there have been complaints for elsewhere too. Cllr Freshwater visited last weekend and there were still some pieces remaining, but Openreach have today said they will visit the site to remove.

Blairadam Area

There are still 16 properties which are not yet enabled, so the Community Fibre Partnership will continue to work to get Keltybridge and Blairadam to 100% coverage.

Openreach are still in the process of producing a detailed quotation for the project and creating a formal offer which it is hoped will be available in 2-3 weeks’ time, and which will include the exact costs for the project.

It is hoped that we can move ahead with the final phase of fibre broadband in Keltybridge in the near future, as it includes the installation of fibre to the Tabernacle Hall which would allow future CC Meetings to be held in Keltybridge.

Financial Update

Hall fees for the last 3 CC meetings have now been paid, along with the WordPress fee for the CC web site (https://cleishandblairadam.org.uk). This leaves a current balance of £447.90

The annual subscription for Zoom (to host the virtual CC meetings) is due for renewal – the CC Secretary will investigate alternatives and costs.

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 Under Review

• 22/01025/IPL – Residential development (in principle) | Land 140 Metres North East Of The Bungalow Benarty Road Kelty
  • This application was referred to the Local Review Body which has refused permission and dismissed the review.

Applications Approved

• 22/01334/AML – Erection of a dwellinghouse, garage, workshop, wall, fence etc.
  • Land 60 Metres North West Of Craigbank House Cleish
• 23/00034/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and garage/ancillary accommodation (revised design)
  • 5 Boreland Steading Cleish Kinross KY13 0LT
• 23/00210/FLL – Erection of replacement garage
  • Dunandrew Benarty Road Kelty KY4 0HR
• 23/00425/FLL – Renewal of permission 20/00524/FLL (Erection of 4 dwellinghouses and associated works)
  • Land 45 Metres South Of Hillcrest Maryburgh
• 22/01446/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works
  • Land 30 Metres South East Of Gairney Bridge Farm Cottage Gairneybridge

Applications Pending

• 22/02113/IPL – Erection of a dwellinghouse (in principle)
  • Land 30 Metres North East Of Craigbank House Cleish
• 23/00493/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works
  • Land 100 Metres North West Of Craigton House Cleish Kinross KY13 0LQ
• 23/00532/FLL – Erection of a dwellinghouse and associated works
  • Land North Of 31 Main Street Keltybridge
  • The Community Council has objected to this application.
• 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
• 23/01024/FLL – Erection of porch and formation of raised terrace
  • Carsegour Farm Cottage Kinross KY13 0LG

Applications Withdrawn

• 22/02027/FLL – Erection of dwellinghouse
  • Land 15 Metres East Of Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge

Planning Enforcements

• 23/00186/ALUNDV – Alleged unauthorised land engineering
  • Borrowdale Blairadam Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JG
  • Status: Pending Consideration
• 23/00147/ALUNDV – Importation of waste and unauthorised structure at site
  • Blairfordel Farm Kelty
  • Status: Pending Consideration
• 23/00112/UNAUSE – Use of ancillary accommodation as separate dwellinghouse/flat
  • Bridge House Main Street Keltybridge Kelty KY4 0JH
  • Status: Pending Consideration
• 23/00011/PLACON – Alleged non-compliance with condition 3 on approved planning permission 20/00201/FLL
  • Plot Adjacent To 27 Main Street Keltybridge
  • Status: Pending Consideration

Village Updates

Blairadam

• Keltybridge: Kinross County Sign – Keltybridge may have the only remaining Kinross County signs and there was a suggestion that this should be cleaned and preserved. The owner of the land where the sign is located has been contacted and is supportive of keeping the sign and of restoring it. The Councillors are alsosupportive of the cleaning and longer preservation this sign.
• Keltybridge: Fly-tipping on the Maryburgh road – Reports of fly tipping on the Maryburgh road, these were very quickly removed by PKC once the issues had been reported. It was suggested that the use of CCTV cameras may be an option if the problem continues.
  • Cllr Robertson will investigate the options for this.
• Keltybridge: Condition of Pavements & Parking on Pavements – Ongoing problems with parking on the pavement in Keltybridge, and the collapsed pavements in Keltybridge.
  • Cllr Robertson will look again at what options there are to address this.
• Keltybridge: Dog Poo Bin – The Keltybridge Dog Poo bin on the Sawmill Road had degraded and fallen off the post – this has now been replaced with a new bin.

Cleish

• Cleish Primary School – An initial phase of work is being carried out before the main project; this consists of the addition of an inside toilet facility.
  • The Community Council expressed concern that no planning applications have been submitted for the work being carried out on Cleish School, which is particularly concerning as the school is a listed building.
  • CC Chair to contact Cllr Freshwater for clarification.
• Road Condition on Hill Road – The condition of the road at the Fife County boundary is extremely poor. This probably requires collaboration between both councils to remediate this.
  • The problem will be reported on the PKC portal.

Any Other Business

• Publication of CC Minutes in Kinross Newsletter – April minutes not published.
  • CC Secretary will contact the Kinross Newsletter to update the CC contact details and to ensure that future minutes are submitted for publication on time.

Next CC Meeting

It was agreed to hold the next Community Council Meeting on 11^th September, at 7:30pm in Cleish Village Hall.