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ITEM

DETAIL

ACTION

1

Bob Davidson (Chairman); John Thomson (Vice Chairman); Sam Andrew; Dick Reville; Ian Massie; Colin Taylor; Donnie Chisholm; Karen Bonner; Jenny Wagstaff.

Councillor Paul Johnston; Sarah Pumfrett (minutes); Louise Dunderdale (Ellon Times); Alison Leith (Ellon Advertiser); 1 member of the public.

Linda Mackie (Secretary); Ros Deane (Treasurer).

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2c The acceptance of the (February) minutes should have read "subject to the amendments recorded above".

3f In relation to the sub-committee dealing with non-contentious applications, the word "planning" should be inserted prior to sub-committee.

3k 13b Both items should read Sgt. Fiona Barron.

The minutes were proposed by Jenny Wagstaff and seconded by Colin Taylor subject to the above amendments

3c Negotiations are ongoing but no progress has been made to date on the notice board for the Melvin Hall.

3d The path at the rear of the school will be resurfaced either in the current or next financial year.

3e The site visit to the bakery site was cancelled, and discussions are ongoing with Historic Scotland at present. No further progress has been made to date.

3h No response has been received in relation to the letter written by Linda Mackie about the Village Orderly position.

3j A sign has been ordered for School Lane and will be erected in due course.

3k Arthur Watson has been reimbursed for the cost of repairing the notice board. Councillor Johnston confirmed that there was no possibility of recovering the VAT.

3l The venue for the Credit Union visit to Pitmedden has changed from the Church to the school.

3m The minutes recorded that Linda Mackie was to write to the Depute First Minister regarding the under-funding of the Grampian Police Force. However, the Chairman now requested Donnie Chisholm to draft the letter and pass to Linda Mackie for typing.

3o Jenny Wagstaff had been asked to review and report back on the Openness in Local Government information. This was continued to the next meeting, as the document had not been in the box when she attempted to collect it.

3q The Council had acted upon concerns over the state of the road at the site of the pipeline crossing the Ellon to Raxton road and were repairing the ditches.

3r Councillor Johnston had investigated the planning conditions for the quarry and stated that there was nothing contained in them that would allow pressure to be applied in relation to vehicles using the Deerdykes Road. The Operators Licence would not be an appropriate tool to apply pressure either. Direct action would be required against the offending vehicles rather than the quarry operator. One Community Councillor had spoken to a driver who had responded that there was no restriction on heavy vehicles using the road and that as it was the shortest route between where he was and where he wanted to be no action could be taken against him. The possibility of putting a weight restriction on the road was discussed by the Community Council, but it was decided that this could cause undue problems for the farmers during harvesting. The possibility of upgrading the road was discussed but this was likely to result in increased traffic on the road, which would not be popular with the local residents. It was suggested that an article in the local newspapers drawing attention to the problem might have some effect on the offending contractors. After discussion it was decided that the Community Council would take no further action.

3s The Council are investigating the problem of the drain at the play-park.

3t Landscape Services have trimmed the problem hedge.

3u Criticism had been levied at the Community Council for discussing the issue of the crow in the garden of the property on the Old Aberdeen Road upsetting children who passed the property. It was felt by those present that the Community Council should not discuss such frivolous matters in future as it was a waste of time particularly where no action could be taken.

3v Jenny Wagstaff had responded to the Waste Management Strategy document but due to time constraints no copy of the response had been retained for filing.

4a The protocol for diversions had been accepted by the Police and Council and will be adopted across Aberdeenshire. The signage issue is still under investigation.

4b Bob Davidson had a copy of the list of work carried out on the A947 and would place the document in the box for anyone wishing to see it.

4c Ros Deane was to check the plans at Gordon House in relation to the variation in house type.

6The joiner is awaiting plans from the architect for the notice board at the Melvin hall before construction can begin. The architect has indicated that the Community Council and the Melvin Hall committee are to decide which of several plans should be used for the construction. Colin Taylor and Dick Reville are to liase with the architect and joiner to progress the matter.

7The majority of the potholes around the village had been addressed and the Council had returned to clear up the loose chippings. Mackie Avenue, Mackie Crescent and the pothole outside the church were still to be addressed. Upgrading of the Duthie Road pavement was in progress.

8 A response is awaited from Sean Norman on acceptable development in the conservation area.

Concerns were raised that if the school was included in the conservation area it could complicate future applications in relation to construction of a gym hall and whether only the frontage of the school should be included. Councillor Johnston stated that the school is to be included in the conservation area as it was included in the last Consolidated Aberdeenshire Local Plan but that the associated planning conditions were unlikely to be overly restrictive.

9a Karen Bonner stated that the residents of Ythsie were not keen to discuss development of the area until such time as an application was submitted to the Council. This item to be continued until the next meeting.

9b The planning sub committee wrote to the Council in relation to Plot 2 Tolquhon Avenue and the letter had been acknowledged. The Committee decision was due next week.

9c Plot 1 on Tolquhon Avenue would incorporate the stone from the dyke in the porch.

9d The Council had suggested that plans included on the weekly list could be viewed within Tarves if a suitable location was found and had suggested the school or Post Office, but the Community Council did not consider these venues suitable. Councillor Johnston stated that he was pushing for a requirement that applicants submit plans in electronically transmittable format but that this was at an early stage. Bob Davidson is to write to request that all plans for the area be automatically submitted to the Community Council in future.

9e No response has been received to Linda Mackie’s letter on the labelling and identification of applications.

As stated above, this has been continued to the next meeting.

10a No further information had been received in relation to the Head of Waste Management visiting the Community Council to discuss the Waste Management Strategy.

10b The minutes of the Tourism Group meeting had only just been received therefore no written report was available. Councillor Johnston undertook to report back to the next Community Council.

10c The Safety Group has deferred the election of a Chairman and Secretary to their AGM.

11 Colin Taylor and Donnie Chisholm have not progressed anything with the TRDA to date. Donnie Chisholm stated that a meeting would be held sometime before the end of April.

12 Information in relation to insurance for events planned to commemorate the Queen’s Golden Jubilee was available in the box for anyone planning an event.

13b Clarification was sought on where the speeding motorists had been in order that the matter could be reported to the Police as stated in the minutes. This was the Braiklay Avenue area.

13c Details in relation to the money for sports halls are available from the Formartine Area Office.

CT/DR

DC/LM

JW

ALL

JW

ALL

RD

CT/DR

KB

BD

JW

PJ

CT/DC

BD

A Karen Bonner stated that there had been complaints of motorbikes in the school playground, during evenings and holidays, playing "cat and mouse" with small children. During the meeting motorbikes were heard on the premises and Karen Bonner and Donnie Chisholm spoke to those concerned and warned them that any incidents would be reported to the police in future. Karen to co-ordinate reports and pass details to the police

B Councillor Johnston stated that there had also been complaints of youths parking cars on the grass whilst playing football on the all weather courts.

C A member of the public commented that the "No dogs" sign had been missing from the play park behind the school for a considerable period of time and that people were walking their dogs in the area. Councillor Johnston to arrange for the Council to replace the sign.

KB

PJ

A It was hoped that planning conditions would be tightened in relation to the conservation area, and that all issues raised and made as observations had been considered by the Area Committee and submitted for consideration by the Infrastructure Services Committee. It was proposed that each area should develop a guide of what would and would not be acceptable in its own area and that input should be sought from Heritage groups and Community Councils on the types of stone and structures sought. It was expected that this proposal would be adopted in June/July.

B A suggestion was made that the Planning Service should record details of sites in future to avoid confusion over whether a site is within the conservation area or not.

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A The pavement is being upgraded at present; the potholes have been addressed with the exception of Mackie Avenue, Mackie Crescent and outside the Church.

It was noted that the tourist sign, at the A920 crossroads, exiting Pitmedden heading for Tarves (on the B999), for the Castle Trail was pointing the wrong way.

PJ

One sub committee meeting had been held to discuss applications at Aquhorthies Croft/Ladyleys and a small extension at Craigdam. The relevant documents are in the box for anyone interested.

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• Nordic Scottish Conference - Rural development learning across the North - to be held in Inverness on 28 May.

• Formartine Partnership newsletter received (no one had attended the last meeting).

• Community Council project grant – suggestions to the next meeting (TRDA/Heritage Group?). The Heritage Group was having problems with the Lottery grant and they can’t start work until the grant is obtained. Mark Ellington (a former Board member) has offered to assist on the wording of the application. Contact via Councillor Johnston.

• Community Council Forum Minutes – no one had attended the last meeting.

• Aberdeenshire Council Winter Maintenance leaflet.

• Golden Jubilee Awards for all – information on parties and insurance.

• A947 statistics.

• News release BBC Scotland raising money for local causes – passed to Colin Taylor for the TRDA.

• Community Safety minutes.

• Aquhorthies Croft planning letter.

• Formartine Partnership Tourist Group minutes.

• Walks in Formartine and Cycle Routes/Horse Rides/Drives. Anyone can put together information for distribution to visitors to the area. Funding is available and submissions are required to be submitted to Keith Newton by the end of May. Ramblers to take forward. On this subject the right of way at the Mill of Tolquhon, between the house and Old Aberdeen road has been ploughed up. Councillor Johnston to take forward.

• Dog Walk was ploughed last year. What is the position this year? Awaiting information from the Church of Scotland. The Kirk Session had erected the fence. Should the walk be double fenced and if so is funding available for it? The original plans had been for a standard right of way, not a dog walk, to network paths along the Raxton Road and back past the sewerage works. The Ramblers and Community Council are to apply pressure to the Council for the development of a series of paths. The gate is in disrepair and the access is unsafe at this point. It was decided that an application should be submitted to the Community Council for a small grant to remove the gate and fence the gap.

• A Community Council handbook containing job descriptions etc was in the box – everyone to read.

• The Amenity Group had responded to a letter from the school children requesting retention of the planters outside the school. The request had been granted on the basis that the schoolchildren would maintain the planters.

PJ

ALL

8

It was decided that the meeting time would be put back to 7.30pm until the clocks change in the autumn. The agenda will be prioritised with latter items being deferred to future meetings where time constraints apply.

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9

• Information from Irene McGuigan on the Scottish Parliament is in the box if anyone wants it.

• Skateboarders were using the pavement and road at the bottom of the Old Aberdeen Road causing nuisance to the local residents and a potential traffic hazard. A suggestion that the bollards be replaced with a barrier was dismissed, as this would interfere with wheelchair and pram users accessing the road. Councillor Johnston is to pursue the possibility of the Council laying a rough surface in the area to deter those skating there.

• Suggestion that the old tennis court be converted to a skate park was dismissed on the grounds that there was no slope, the Council couldn’t afford to maintain existing facilities far less develop new ones and skate parks were planned for both Pitmedden and Ellon for the future. There was not a strong support for developing a skate park in the village, when a survey was carried out recently.

• Developer’s contributions are to address the impact of the development. The community should identify needs and obtain money for facilities. The contribution must be fair and reasonable in relation to the development and where money is proportionate to the impact it must be earmarked for a specific purpose. Sites should be benchmarked for fairness, so that the site decides the contribution not the developer, and it should be linked to the planning gain from the land value.

• A workshop on the Ythan Catchment Area relating to Conservation, Preservation and Restoration required volunteers for tributaries to the Ythan. In our area there is a requirement to lay gravel beds in the Youlie Burn to encourage fish.

• A recent crash at the crossroads had not been reportable, as no one had been hurt. A meeting would be held between Andy Duff, Ian Rendall, Councillor Johnston and a representative of the Community Council to discuss issues on the safety of the site. Lighting the junction may be feasible, as the village would extend to include it in due course. The press were asked to run an article highlighting the number of incidents at the junction and requesting notification of any near misses for the statistics.

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10

The next meeting will be held on 21 May 2002 at 7.30 p.m. in Tarves School. Community Council meetings are always open to the public.

ALL