North Kelvin Community Council Minutes
Wednesday 20 October 2010 at 6:30pm
St. Charles School

Present: Dave Beavan (DB) (Chair); Janet Andrews (JA); Ken Andrew (KA) (Vice-Chair); Gordon Barnes (GB) (Website); Peter Blackshaw (PB) (Secretary); Councillor Jim MacKechnie (JMacK); Jane Morgan (JM) (Planning Officer); Douglas Peacock (DP); Kate Wooding (KW) (Treasurer); Kirsty Davidson (KD) (Minute Secretary)

In attendance: Jamie Beaumont (JBea); PC James Burns (JB); John Lawson (JL) (Chair, Wyndford and District Community Council); PC Nicola Thom (NT); Nick Wright (NW) (Representing New City Vision); Liam Young (LY)

Apologies: PC Alana Beattie (AB); Kevin Edgar (KE); Liz Edgar (LE); Susie Hallas (SH); PC Fraser Reid (FR); PC Ross Whyte (RW)

1.     Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

DB welcomed everyone and thanked Jamie Beaumont (JBea), John Lawson (JS) and Liam Young (LY) for attending.

The minutes of the September meeting were approved by KW and seconded by JM.

DB suggested swapping items 4 and 5 on the agenda for continuity, this was agreed.

2.     Police Report

PC Nicola Thom (NT) provided the crime figures for last month. There were – 37 thefts (3 detections), 9 cases of vandalism (1 detection), 9 road traffic offences (all detected), 2 serious assaults (both detected), 1 attempted murder (detected) and 1 drug offence (detected).

JA requested that cases of domestic assault be included in future. NT said she would pass this information on to PC Ross Whyte (RW).

Action: NT to inform RW of the request for domestic assault figures in future.

DP reported that the clothes-recycling bin on Kelbourne Street had recently been set on fire. NT reported that there was an extra anti-social bus on duty in the area to try and tackle this problem.

PB said cars on Oban Drive had been getting vandalised and he suspected students. NT said her colleague, PC Fraser Reid (FR) had given a number of talks to students at Murano Street. NT said she would pass this information on to FR.

Action: NT to inform FR that students are suspected of vandalising cars on Oban Drive.

NT was informed of a burnt out motorbike located at Belmont Street/River Kelvin. NT said she would contact the Council to arrange for this to be removed.

Action: NT to arrange for removal of burnt out motorbike.

3.     Presentation of Clouston Street Development

DB welcomed Nick Wright (NW) to the meeting, who is representing the developers, New City Vision.

NW explained that the pre-application process has not started yet, so he would like to come back to a meeting in a few months with the proposal.

NW said the plans are unlikely to stay the same, e.g. the mix of housing and green space could change. The number of housing units could drop to 90 and the amount of green space could increase by 20%. NW explained that the developers want to redraft the proposal with input from the local community, which is why they will be consulting with local groups e.g. consulting Scout groups and school children for views on how the green space could best be used.

NW reported that the developers have set-up a website (www.cloustonstreet.co.uk), where there is information about the proposed development including the design that won the competition and a comments page.

NW said the developers plan to hold a public event for ideas gathering before Christmas, if possible. NW explained there would be no proposals presented at this event, as it is an opportunity for the local community to shape the design of the development. JMacK and others raised concerns about this approach. JMacK said the developers had won the competition based on the design they submitted and there is limited scope for change. JMacK said New City Vision must display its design at the public event and clearly explain the limitations of the development, so the public are aware of what it is and is not possible to influence at this stage.

NW said they would hold a second public event to present the revised proposal. It was agreed that NW would attend the January Community Council meeting to present a draft form of this, shortly before the second public event. The Community Council agreed to form its views shortly after this and submit a report to the developers.

4.     North Kelvin Meadow Campaign

KW, on behalf of the North Kelvin Meadow Campaign, invited all Community Council members to visit the site at 1pm on 24 October for a guided tour. As not all members were present, DB asked KW to send the invite via email.

Action: KW to email Community Council members to invite them to visit the North Kelvin Meadow.

5.     Councillor’s Report

JMacK said he had been informed that the property on Kelvinside Gardens East has the correct planning consent for remodelling. JM reported that she was also looking into the situation, to see whether there is planning consent for a new building, as the existing property has been completely knocked down.

JMacK said the height of the building at the bottom of Oban Drive is not in breach of planning consent. The height of the new building has to be in line with the height of 97 Oban Drive not properties on Queen Margaret Drive.

JMacK reported that he was currently dealing with a multiple occupancy property on Wilton Street. The property has no planning consent, no licence and there is also a problem with anti-social behaviour.

JMacK said there would be a £900m cut to the Scottish grant, but it is still not known how this will impact local councils. JMacK said the Council was currently constructing a draft budget and was looking at a spending gap of £45m.

DB reported that he had attended a presentation on the financial future of the Council on 2 October. The main information from this event was the preservation of key services, despite cuts of £180m over three years.

JMacK said voluntary redundancies would be spread out over three years and that internal structures were currently being remodelled to streamline processes.

PB raised the issue of potholes and specifically the dangerous one at Queen Margaret Drive/Maryhill Road. JMacK confirmed this pothole was on the schedule for repair.

KA raised the issue of lamp standards on both Sanda Street and Clouston Street. KA reported they were rusted and unsafe, with one recently falling off completely, JMacK agreed to investigate.

Action: JMacK to arrange for inspection of lamp standards on Sanda Street and Clouston Street.

6.     Planning Officer’s Report

JM said there was nothing of note on the planning lists, just residential alterations.

JM reported that a multiple occupancy notice for a property on Clouston Street had been refused.

7.     Information – website

GB reported that he had made a lot of progress on the development of the new website and said he would email around the web address for the development site.

Action: GB to email Community Council members with the web address for the development site of the new website.

GB again made a request for images for the new website and asked those who have not completed the contact details form to do so.

Action: Community Council members to notify GB how they want their contact details displayed on the new website.

GB said he had contacted the Community Council Resource Centre about the missing minutes. JMacK said he would probably have the missing minutes and asked GB to give him the details.

Action: GB to give JMacK a definitive list of the missing dates.

GB said he would organise another meeting of the subgroup to discuss further developments.

Action: GB to organise a meeting of the website subgroup.

8.     Correspondence

PB said there had been two requests for licence changes, but no request for a liquor licence from Tesco as yet, we cannot submit a response until this is received.

PB said the Community Council had received an invite to attend an event on Tuesday 26 October from 5.30-7.30pm regarding the Glasgow and Clyde Valley Strategic Development Plan Main Issues Report. As this was predominantly regarding the Clyde Valley, it was agreed no one would attend.

9.     Treasurer’s Report

KW reported the account balance is now £1,327.08 and that the direct debit has now been set-up for the room hire.

KW apologised for not sending around the proposed budget, but said she would.

Action: KW to email proposed budget to the Community Council.

KW reported that she had obtained costings for t-shirts and said it would be possible to get hi-vis jackets as well. Vista was coming in at £7 for a t-shirt and Printing.com at £17 for polo shirts and £19 for sweatshirts.

10.  AOCB

JM asked if there had been any further developments regarding the ‘Clean-Up’. DB said he has to get in touch with George Mitchell (GM) to see if he wants to go ahead or wait until the spring.

Action: DB to contact GM to find out about the proposed ‘Clean-Up’.

JA reported that Grant and Wilson factor her close and that she had recently received a letter from them about a bargain price for installing Sky and that if you did not reply within 14 days they would proceed with installing Sky. JMacK suggested forwarding the letter on to Patricia Ferguson MSP, as she is currently trying to put a Bill through Parliament that this would be useful evidence for.

Next meeting: 17 November 2010 @ 6.30pm, St. Charles School

North Kelvin Community Council Minutes
Wednesday 15 September 2010 at 6:30pm
St. Charles School

Present: Dave Beavan (DB) (Chair); Kevin Edgar (KE); Councillor Jim MacKechnie (JMacK); Jane Morgan (JM) (Planning Officer); Kate Wooding (KW) (Treasurer); Kirsty Davidson (KD) (Minute Secretary)

In attendance: PC Alana Beattie (AB); Sue Hamelman (SHam); PC Ross Whyte (RW)

Apologies: Gordon Barnes (GB) (Website); Liz Edgar (LE); Susie Hallas (SH); Douglas Peacock (DP)

1.     Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

DB welcomed everyone and thanked Sue Hamelman (SHam) for attending.

JM and JMacK asked for the paragraph under item 6, regarding the conservation area and Firhill development to be reworded. The minutes of the August meeting were approved by JM and seconded by KW.

KW reported that she had priced postcards with two companies, Vistaprint.co.uk and Printing.com. KW felt Vistaprint.co.uk were the better option, as they offered small quantities and template designs. KW agreed to circulate prices and sample templates.

Action: KW to email the Community Council with information.

KW and JM both said they had not looked into costs for hi vis waistcoats/t-shirts and insurance, but would do so.

Action: KW to obtain quotes for hi vis waistcoats and t-shirts. JM to look into insurance options for loaning out electrical tools.

KW said she had produced a spreadsheet detailing the budget, which she would circulate. KW said the Community Councils annual income is approximately £500, with £25 for the website, £75 for room booking and £15 for membership of Friends of Glasgow North. KW proposed putting 20% of the remainder towards promotional material, leaving £285 for community activity per year.

Action: KW to email budget to the Community Council.

2.     Police Report

PC Ross Whyte (RW) provided the crime figures for last month. There were – 10 drinkers, 8 break-ins or attempted break-ins to motor vehicles (no detection), 8 bike thefts (no detection), 5 house break-ins or attempted break-ins (2 detections), 6 assaults (1 detection), 1 robbery and 2 breach of the peace (detected). RW noted there was nothing of serious note in the crime reports for the area.

JMacK said local Community Councils have been complaining about not having designated Police officers. JMacK reported that the Community Planning Partnership had provided money for the deployment of additional officers. RW said that as of 25 October there would be big changes within Community Policing Teams, with a lot more officers covering each area.

3.     Councillor’s Report

JMacK reported that a local resident had complained about the vegetation around Clouston Street and Sanda Street. This had been cutback within the last two days.

With regards the Clouston Street site, JMacK said he would be meeting the Managing Director of New City Vision on Monday, where he hoped to find out about their planned timeline. JMacK said he understands that New City Vision will be setting up a website in relation to the development, which will enable people to add comments before the formal public meeting.

JMacK said he had arranged for the vegetation to be cleared up at the 60 Steps, as they are featuring in Doors Open Day. JMacK reported that there would be a talk at 7.30pm on Friday in Belmont Street Church about the 60 Steps.

JMacK raised the issue of electoral registration and the ongoing work to increase returns. JMacK said the reason it was so important, is that there is currently new legislation going through Westminster regarding boundary changes and that MPs might be lost if not all voters are registered on the electoral roll.

4.     Planning Officer’s Report

JM said there was nothing of note on the planning lists, just residential alterations.

DB asked whether there had been any planning application regarding the house that is being knocked down on Kelvinside Gardens East. JM said she did not recall seeing anything and was not sure if a planning application was required before something was knocked down. JMacK agreed to investigate the situation.

Action: JMacK to look into the planning situation for the house on Kelvinside Gardens East.

KE raised the issue of the height of the new building at the bottom of Oban Drive. JMacK said he had noticed that it appeared too high and agreed to ask Planning to check out the situation.

Action: JMacK to get the height of the building at the bottom of Oban Drive investigated.

KE said the bin men are still not closing close doors. KW said this was an ongoing problem and suggested coming up with creative ideas to solve the problem, as there has not been much success with the past course of action.

5.     Treasurer’s Report

KW reported the account balance is now £1,413.98.

KW said the direct debit for the room booking had been resubmitted and she would check to see if this has been processed.

Action: KW to check on the situation regarding the direct debit.

6.     AOCB

KW said there would be a presentation on the financial future of the Council on 2 October at 1.30pm in the Burgh Hall. DB asked KW to circulate the information to see if anyone wanted to attend.

Action: KW to email the Community Council with information about the 2 October event.

Next meeting: 20 October 2010 @ 6.30pm, St. Charles School

North Kelvin Community Council Minutes
Wednesday 18 August 2010 at 6:30pm
Kelvinside Gardens

Present: Dave Beavan (DB) (Chair); Ken Andrew (KA) (Vice-Chair); Gordon Barnes (GB) (Website); Peter Blackshaw (PB) (Secretary); Councillor Jim MacKechnie (JMacK); Jane Morgan (JM) (Planning Officer); Douglas Peacock (DP); Kate Wooding (KW) (Treasurer); Kirsty Davidson (KD) (Minute Secretary)

Apologies: Janet Andrews (JA); Karen Chung (KC); Kevin Edgar (KE); Liz Edgar (LE)

1.     Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

DB thanked Susie Hallas (SH) and KD for their joint effort on the previous minutes. DB asked for the spelling of Stephen Egan’s name to be corrected. The minutes of the June meeting were approved by KA and seconded by PB.

DB said he was liaising with Development and Regeneration Services regarding the Oban Lane clean up and this is still planned for 29 August.

JMacK reported that when Victoria Wine went into liquidation, the administrator found a new tenant (Nisa) and transferred the licence with the property. As it was not a new licence there was no requirement to notify the Community Council.

KW said she had attended the 2014 legacy event. This was a brainstorming session for community organisations on how they can get involved and offer ideas on how the Commonwealth Games can help the local community. KW said the organisers were going to collect the ideas and circulate them, she said she would chase this up.

Action: KW to obtain information from the event organisers and circulate to the Community Council.

2.     Police Report

DB said he had reminded the Police of the meeting and it was a shame they were not present, as there were things to tell them.

3.     Councillor’s Report

JMacK reported that a local resident of Doune Quadrant had carried out an informal consultation about parking and turning. There was no clear preference, so a formal consultation took place, which closed on Monday. JMacK said there were 114 flats in the area and 50 responses had been received, the results were currently being collated.

JMacK said the lollipop person covering Wilton Street and Yarrow Gardens had contacted him to report that when cars are parked in this area the sight line is obstructed, which is dangerous. JMacK said he would arrange for the white boxes to be reinstated, as they are currently very faded.

JMacK reported that a pilot scheme will start on Monday across three locations in Glasgow and if it is successful, will be rolled out across the rest of the city. A camera will be installed on the top of lollipops, so that if drivers do not obey the lollipop, their licence plate will be recorded and action taken.

JMacK confirmed that kerbside glass recycling is finally being rolled out across Glasgow. JMacK said a leaflet would be sent out prior to the arrival of the bins and that collection will be once a month on the same day as the blue bin collection.

PB reported that there were a number of hedges in the local area that are encroaching onto the pavements. There was a discussion about how to tackle this problem. It was agreed to produce a friendly encouraging letter from the Community Council to highlight that the Oban Lane clean up had taken place and how the Community Council now wanted to help them. PB said there were a couple of particularly bad areas and said he would pass the details to JMacK.

Action: PB to provide address details to JMacK, who will look into whether anything can be done.

4.     Discussion on Community Council Stationery

There was a discussion about different types of stationery. It was agreed that GB would produce a Word template for use as headed paper and KW would explore the possibility of producing Community Council postcards.

Action: GB to produce a headed paper template. KW to look into costs of postcards.

5.     Discussion on How Best to Use Community Council Money

It was agreed not to provide grants to organisations as time and resources are more effective e.g. Oban Lane clean up.

JM suggested purchasing some basic gardening equipment that local people can borrow from the Community Council. DP said the Community Council might not be able to loan out electrical tools because of health and safety issues, but getting insurance might solve this problem. JM agreed to investigate insurance options.

GB suggested the clean up could become a regular event, with the Community Council going to different areas and encouraging community involvement. KA suggested visibility was key while doing work in the community e.g. hi vis waistcoats or t-shirts. KW agreed to obtain quotes. KW said she would work out a budget for the regular costs, so the Community Council knew what was left over.

Action: JM to look into insurance options for loaning out electrical tools. KW to obtain quotes for hi vis waistcoats and t-shirts and prepare a budget.

6.     Planning Officer’s Report

JM reported that she had responded on behalf of the Community Council in support of extending the conservation area. JM said she had also returned comments on the Firhill development, regarding whether car-parking provision was sufficient.

JM said there had only been domestic alterations on the planning lists recently.

7.     Information – website

GB reported the new website was progressing well and should be able to go live soon, hopefully by the next meeting. GB said he appeared to be missing a lot of previous minutes, DB said the Community Council Resource Centre should be able to help.

DB asked GB to keep the date of the next meeting up to date on the current website and suggested putting a note saying ‘new website coming soon’. DB said he did not want the Community Council to appear dormant.

Action: GB to maintain the meeting dates on the current website and add a note about the new website.

8.     Treasurer’s Report

KW reported the account balance is now £1,425.88.

KW said the Council had not received the direct debit mandate for the room booking, so she is still paying the invoices when they arrive. KW agreed to contact the Council to find out what had happened to the booking for today’s meeting.

Action: KW to check if the reservation has been received for the upcoming meetings.

9.     Correspondence

The next community council discussion forum is on 4 September and will discuss the next phase of consultation on the City Plan, specifically strategic/environmental assessments. KW agreed to attend on behalf of the Community Council.

Correspondence was received from a reporter, Gillian Lunney. KW agreed to reply and add her details to the list of press contacts she has compiled, which can be shared in Google Docs when this has been set-up.

Action: KW to reply to Gillian Lunney.

10.  AOCB

DP said North Kelvin Meadow was still negotiating the lease, as the Council had wanted to include names. DP explained the site is 1.3 hectares and if anything happens then those named will be liable, so they have formed a limited company.

DP reported that North Kelvin Meadow has received a letter from New City Vision, as part of the pre-consultation process and will be meeting up with them.

Next meeting: 15 September 2010 @ 6.30pm, St. Charles School