Here are the approved minutes of the November meeting.
No Item
2 Chair Welcome
Chair welcomed all to the meeting
Present: Maggie Bell, Jack Colquhoun, Kath Donnachie, Debbie Doyle (Chair), Anne Hay, Charlotte Howe, David Hynd, John Purdie, Stephen Nardone (member of the pubic), James Doig (Apatura), Cllr Linda Erskine, Cllr Lea McLelland.
4 Apologies
Sarah-Jane Ratcliffe, Lisa Reid, Stephen Scott, Maciej Ozdoba, Andrew Watson
19 Declaration of Interests
Charlotte Howe and Debbie Doyle declared an interest in the micro grant applications.
16 Armistice
Stephen Nardone gave updates on this year’s Armistice Service. Everything was in place including the service and the bugler but the children will not be able to attend from school – 11 am at Ballingry Cemetery with Mr James Carr doing a short service and service on Sunday at 2pm at the Bowling Club in Lochore on Sunday with everyone invited for tea and coffee after.
19 Constitution and Standing Orders
It was agreed to adopt the Constitution and Standing Orders
44 Local Place Plan
John Purdie gave a brief update and explanation of the Local Place Plan and it was agreed to discuss the Local Place Plan in more details at the agreed future meeting of 9th November
45 Battery Storage Facility
Chair welcomed Mr James Doig from Apatura. Mr Doig introduced himself and gave details on Apatura; they had 30% of the UK market with most of the projects in Scotland. Asked if other sites were considered the response was that land is selected on many factors, one of which was to be as close to a substation as possible. When asked about the owner of the land Mr Doig noted it was confidential and refused to name the owner, even after it was mentioned the information could be gained from Registers of Scotland. It was asked who the funders are and some information was given on that in that there is private funding and self-funding. They were working with Rolls Royce in Germany in regard to battery construction and a Swedish company on funding. On safety concerns about drainage from batteries going into the soil were raised and Mr Doig assured that there were systems in place for that and for fire suppression at the battery, and noted that battery fires were not extinguished by water and the risks were minimal. Construction of the batteries was also discussed, including what elements were in the batteries other than lithium ion and concerns were also raised about decommissioning and it was noted there are decommissioning clauses. The potential revenue of£5.4 million per year from the facility was noted and when the developer was asked on any fund meeting the Good Practice Principle of £5,000 per megawatt per year the response was, “that’s not happening” and there was some discussion about what other funds contribute to areas, and it was noted there was room for discussion. It was also mentioned by the Developer that the ‘whole country’ rather than Benarty only could be the area of benefit. Community Councillors noted health concerns from Mossmorran which the communities had been informed was safe and which now is linked with cases of diseases and air pollution; a similar situation is feared with the bio mass pant in Westfield and the battery storage facilities raise the same fears. Decommissioning was asked about and it as noted there were no plans in place at present, a lot of plans and reports are to be developed for the planning application which is due to be submitted by next spring. Chair thanked Mr Doig for attending and answering questions.
5 Minutes of the Previous Meeting
Councillor Linda Erskine took notes of the inaugural meeting. These were not passed on.
6 Matters Arising
There were no matters arising from any previous minutes.
7 Police Report
Police report was submitted by email and circulated to Community Councillors.
40 Reports
Jack Colquhoun presented and explained the new Treasurer Report layout. It was agreed the Treasurer could provide a report on the first of the month rather than a week prior to any meeting. The Community Council agreed to support the licence application by Benarty Fruits, the new issue of the newsletter was due at the beginning of December and the Newsletter Group thanked Cllr Linda Erskine for the generous donation of £100. The local community is supporting the newsletter.
46 Local Roads – B920, issue with path and crossings
This issue was discussed and it was agreed to write to Fife Council to urge the works to be carried out. It was agreed to send a letter to the Roads department to see what could be done.
12 Open Forum, Any other Competent Business
Cllr McLelland noted the recent flooding on Hill Road which was also an issue in Glencraig. There is an issue about this leading to ground erosion. It was noted that if measures were taken in Benarty then other areas further East, such as Cardenden, would also benefit as water flows from Benarty to these areas and flooding is prevalent there too.
Chair thanked everyone and closed the public part of the meeting, noting the date of the next meeting.
17 Citizen of the Year
The Community Council discussed the Citizen of the year and, on external personal approval, approved a new discretionary award.
36 Micro Grants
Micro grants were discussed. ParkRun was awarded £250 but two withdrawn due to a condition in the Terms of Reference. The Community Council will contact Foundation Scotland for clarity. The Community Council agreed donations of £250 each of Community Council funds to Save the Cage and Benarty Ladies Circle. Revision of the terms of reference was also discussed.
In private the Community Council voted to oppose the proposed Battery Storage Facility in Ballingry and agreed to draw up a statement for public issue on the matter.
Date of Next Meeting Thursday 7 December 2023, 7 PM
