Minutes of Meeting
Benarty Community Council 1 February 2018, Benarty Centre, 7 pm to 9 pm
Present:
Community Councillors: John Purdie, Davie Moore, James Rafferty, Mary Ellen Rafferty, Willie Clarke, Brian Menzies, Frankie Hodge, Anne Hay, Mary Nardone, Tom Kinnaird.
Fife Councillors: Rosemary Liewald
Also Present: Claire Graham, Mossmorran Action Group
Apologies:
Stephen Nardone, Gordon Mackie, Cllr Lea McLelland, Cllr Mary Lockhart, Cllr Linda Erskine, PC Barry Smith, Andy Kirk
Before the meeting started John Purdie was elected Secretary. Approval was given for the purchase of a printer for John Purdie to use for Secretary duties.
The Chair welcomed all to the meeting.
Minutes of January Meeting
The minutes of the January meeting were read by those present. They were moved as correct by Tom Kinnaird and seconded by Frankie Hodge.
Matters arising
Mary Nardone said that she had given a cheque to Remploy which would be used for the purchase of a pen machine, which can produce printed pens in small quantities, which they haven’t been able to do, and they will come back to us.
Tom Kinnaird, regarding the industrial land at Baynes, had a meeting with Lesley laird, also present were Gordon Mackie and from Brag, Brian Robertson-Fern. Fife Council had given some feedback on the zoned land, saying it was up for sale, had been for some time but there were no takers. Options were discussed, including clean up of the area and removal of trees, and the need for a plan for the zoned area, with small units being in particular demand. Cllr Liewald said that approaching parks to help with the cleaning would make the area more attractive to potential buyers. Tom Kinnaird mentioned that Brag are full up so business units are needed. Willie Clarke said there are other places in Benarty where business units can go, including Glencraig, at Ivanhoe Avenue in Lochore and the old community centre in Ballingry. The old centre is currently only used for people walking dogs, and kids playing, sometimes dangerously. That area could be used for industrial units but is marked for housing. Tom Kinnaird said that a local plan is needed. Willie Clarke said the council had done good work at the area of the old Benarty centre but he was concerned about youngsters walking on the walls and falling. There was also damage being done to the walls. Tom Kinnaird said he raised it a lot of times and Cllr Liewald asked if Tom Kinnaird wants feedback on the ground and if it has been transferred between departments at Fife Council. Frankie Hodge asked if there was a valuation on the old community centre ground. Cllr Liewald said the district valuer would deal with that and she would ask. Tom Kinnaird said people would put off buying the property as there is a burn underneath it.
Mary Nardone raised the point about the topic of spaces in Ballingry Cemetery from the previous meeting that Liz Murphy had contacted her and that Liz could visit the Community Council if required and Liz confirmed that there are spaces left in the Cemetery.
Tom Kinnaird has been confirmed as the Community Council’s representative on the new Lochore meadows board by Kevin Sayer. There was a question about the Community Council being a statutory consultee and this was cleared up, with the secretary writing to ask that the Community Council be registered as a statutory consultee and a local stakeholder in the Lochore meadows country park.
Mary Nardone brought up the letter from the last meeting sent to Kevin Sayer regarding the wall, and mentioned that it had been passed to Raymond Johnston but had not yet had a response.
Mary Nardone mentioned that she had not had reply from Mr Henderson re the Community Council boundaries. Cllr Liewald said that she was under the impression Glencraig would already be part of Benarty. Willie Clarke said the map says it shows Glencraig North only, with part of Glencraig South being in Lochgelly Community Council boundaries, and that clarification was being asked for. Mary Nardone was unsure where the original letter to Mr. Henderson came from and Brian Menzies says they (he and Willie Clarke) asked for it, but the Community Council seems not to have received a copy yet.
The letter to Cowdenbeath Area Committee on the subject of the Community Council boundaries was read out to the Community Council. Cllr Liewald said the letter is precise and clear and is presenting the community but don’t be surprised if it is not on the agenda for the next Cowdenbeath Aare Committee meeting, the agenda for which is in the main decided. Tom Kinnaird pointed out that the Cowdenbeath area map shows the boundary for Glencraig going to the train station bridge.
Willie Clarke said he and Brian Menzies asked Fife Council about the Community Council boundaries and Fife Council is adamant the boundaries have not changed since 1973. Tom Kinnaird confirmed he had written to Lochgelly Community Council on the subject to discuss the boundary issue and will get back to Benarty Community Council. Brian Menzies pointed out that the new cycle track in Glencraig has been referred to as Lochgelly by an ex councillor who said Lochgelly would benefit from it but it is to be noted that the sign has changed from Lochgelly cycle track to Fife cycle track.
It was agreed that the letter read out would be submitted to Cowdenbeath Area Committee by Willie Clarke and Brian Menzies.
Councillor’s report
Cllr Rosemary Liewald apologised for not submitting a written report. There was nothing major in relation to the Benarty area, the main item was the recent spate of bad weather. One question which was prominent was ‘Would Fife Council grit dead ends and cul-de-sacs’ the answer to which was no, and that Fife Council had not gritted those areas in years. It was mentioned that there were usually grit bins at streets but they were being taken away. Cllr Liewald said they were not being taken away by Fife Council but there were some witnesses to Fife Council vehicles removing grit bins. Frankie Hodge asked if bins can be replaced and the answer was that Fife Council was working on it, and would get round to replacing grit bins.
Cllr Liewald said that all the councillors were invited to the new building opening at Lochore Meadows. There were some questions on the pricing of items in the cafe. On the subject of drinks the Cafe will give recycled drinks containers and would fill up of people who bring their own cups. Cllr Liewald will clarify if there is any price reduction for bringing own cups. They then went to the new Golf Pavilion which was estimated to be zero carbon emissions. There were areas of concern but the new buildings were to be welcomed.
Cllr Liewald raised the issue of a campaign against her online which wrongly stated she said she was not only against the new building at the Meadows but campaigning against it. Cllr Liewald made it clear that this was a lie and she had never campaigned against any redevelopment. Cllr Liewald is refuting and challenging the lie online also. Brian Menzies said that no one had ever campaigned against developing at the Meadows, just the design was an issue for a lot of people. Cllr Liewald said that everyone was allowed an opinion and the right to free speech but not to disseminate lies, and she would always challenge lies.
Cllr Liewald told that she had visited the crèche in Benarty on its open day, and that the staff had concerns about the numbers, and that the crèche was not being used as much as it could be. Cllr Liewald suggested that Community Councillors could get and distribute flyers for the crèche to help increase use of the facility. It was well set up with good nurturing and it would be good to see it sustained.
Cllr Liewald also informed the Community Council about the preliminary plans about the mini bike park and the proposed houses in South Avenue. Tom Kinnaird mentioned that the mini bike park has no plans or planning yet and Cllr Liewald said she will ask about it.
Tom Kinnaird said asked about the Fife Boundary sign between Fife and Kinross on Hill Road and was informed that Fife Council can’t put a sign there as the verge isn’t wide enough. Cllr Liewald said she thought there was a sign already there but will ask about it.
Brian Menzies asked if there was any movement on the new board for Lochore Meadows. Cllr Liewald answered that she doesn’t believe the committee will be discussed at the next meeting of Cowdenbeath Area Committee. Brian Menzies asked if there will be a special meeting of Cowdenbeath Area Committee on the new board and Cllr Liewald said there was no information on that at the moment.
Tom Kinnaird asked if there was a play park strategy, as the community was promised one. Cllr Liewald said she would bring the subject up at the Area Committee meeting.
Brian Menzies asked if Fife Council has smoke detector alarms at schools and how many were there? Cllr Liewald said that it has come up and was in the media recently, and not all the schools are up to the standard they should be. Brian Menzies asked how many schools did not have the alarms and Cllr Liewald said she did not have the exact figures but believed it was revealed to be one in four that did not have alarms. Frankie Hodge asked if there was a register about a visit from the Fire Station. Cllr Liewald said that the visits were on an informal, light hearted nature, and every school will get a visit, but they are designed as a learning experience to educate the children. Frankie Hodge asked how it would affect insurance and the answer was that Fife Council would address that immediately. Cllr Liewald also added that there should be a report for the next Area Committee meeting.
Willie Clarke asked about the health of the Elected Chair, Stephen Nardone, and Mary Nardone informed the Community Council that he was getting better day by day. Kevin suggested that the Community Council could write to Kevin Sayer re the Chair being taken ill at St Kenneth’s and ensure that resuscitation equipment is available for use at schools. Mary Nardone said that St Kenneth’s do not have a defibrillator, but there are some in Benarty, and that what Stephen has done is to ask St Kenneth’s if they want one and arrange for fund raising for a defibrillator, with the Welfare offering to put on a Race Night to raise money to buy and insure a defibrillator. But it was mentioned that this would have to go through Education, and that the costs were in the region of £1,300 and £1,500. Cllr Liewald said that Cardenden have a Community Resilience Team who can respond to emergencies locally in addition to response from the emergency services and perhaps this was something that Benarty could also look into, and that the Benarty Centre can be a point of connection.
Finance Report
The only change in the Finance report was the money in for the Cemetery Gate. There was some money to spend; for the Citizen of the year award and Young Citizen of the year. Treasurer also mentioned that on several occasions the Community Council had intended to give David Blane a small token of its appreciation but matters always got in the way. He had done a tremendous amount of work on the War Memorial with names and details and the idea was to invite him to the Citizen of The Year award and present a small gift as thanks.
Armistice
Mary Nardone had been in touch with schools in regard to the 100 year anniversary of the Great War and it is difficult as the 11th is a Sunday. However the children did a play in Ballingry and Mary Nardone suggest they can perhaps repeat it a few days before the 11th. A book by the Heritage Group is also planned and could be tied in with the work schools are doing. It seems that projects will be long term and not just planned for the day of the 11th November. Mary Nardone has mentioned that the groups would be working together for this special anniversary. Brian Menzies mentioned that the children could be taken to the Secret Bunker in St Andrews as part of this, as an educational element.
Westfield
Tom Kinnaird said that he was still waiting on confirmation that the two planning committees will come together on this item. Cllr Liewald gave assurance that they will. It was mentioned that people are now wary of the planning process and everything seems up in the air at the moment.
AOB
Cllr Liewald brought up the subject of Waste Management by Carolyn Bell who conducts workshops with her team, and said that Carolyn had informed her Carolyn would like to present information to Benarty. Cllr Liewald also mentioned that she was working on a trial use of compostable carrier bags, which can be sourced in Scotland, and she will be presenting a motion on carrying out a study involving local retailers, mainly in the Cardenden area, using compostable carrier bags and collecting feedback. Cllr Liewald has approached some retailers regarding this three month trial, and funding, and has received positive feedback. The proposal is to do the trial from March to May and the cost would be in the region of £5,000 for 20,000 bags. Frankie Hodge asked if there would be a cost and Cllr Liewald said there would be no charge but some ships do charge 6p per bag. Fife Council will put together a survey for retailers and shoppers to give feedback to Cllr Liewald.
Willie Clarke asked that it be noted in the minutes he attended two Burns suppers recently, one by the Events Group and the second at St Kenneth’s which deserves special mention. Willie Clarke said that St Kenneth’s put on a tremendous event, with youngsters singing and reciting poetry. The format was different with children, parents and grandparents all involved. It was a tremendous evening of Scottish Heritage. Willie Clarke did not know if Benarty put on a Burns night, Claire Graham said that Benarty did not have a Burns night.
Claire Graham introduced herself as a representative of the Mossmorran Action Group. One of the issues she was trying to address was that Benarty were not part of the Committee and they want every Community Council in the area to be involved and be part of the Committee. Mary Nardone asked how Claire Graham became a representative and Claire answered that everyone put themselves forward and were elected to the Committee. There are lots of issues to be addressed and a survey will be done going through a five point plan. Tom Kinnaird said that everyone wanted to see monitoring improved. Claire Graham said that it had been looked into but the equipment to monitor the air is very expensive.
At that point there was an interruption to inform the Community Council that the scheduled meeting time was up. The Chair thanked everyone for attending and closed the meeting.
