Minutes:
Anne Marie Ferguson, Castle Street Action Group
Ms Ferguson highlighted that Castle Street Action Group had submitted questions in relation to dangerous and derelict building to the relevant council department and that they had received responses to the questions but asked for clarity on several questions.
Question
1
We have
noticed that derelict buildings that would appear dangerous to a member of the
public are not being treated as dangerous by the council when deciding whether
to take action under its Building Act powers.
Ìý
What
guidance or other considerations does the council consider when deciding
whether a building "appears dangerous"?
The
response from council:
“Building
owners are responsible for preventing their buildings falling into a dangerous
condition. The powers given to local authorities by the Act do not diminish
this responsibility but are merely a ‘safety net’ that must be used to protect
the public when it appears to a local authority that, for whatever reason, a
building owner has failed in their duty to fulfil this responsibilityâ€
Castle Street Action Group believe that the building owners have already
failed in their duty to fulfil this responsibility and would ask what action
can the council take to rectify the situation?
Councillor Blair advised that the Committee would seek guidance from the
relevant department and provide Ms Ferguson with a response to this question
following the meeting.
Councillor Kennedy-Boyle highlighted that she had been in contact with
the Housing department to seek responses to the outstanding question from the
Stakeholders meeting.
Question
2
A Housing
Department officer advised that the council is willing to talk to owners who
had not attended the meeting about potential solutions. A staff member
contacted the developer, who explained why he had been unable to attend the
last meeting. She arranged a further Teams call with the officer and the
developer which has now taken place. This
was described as a positive meeting to Castle Street Action Group and that
council staff are encouraged that the developer is committed to finding a
solution for the property he owns on Castle Street.
On what
grounds were the council ‘Satisfied’ with the owners assurances that he had
good intentions for Buckingham Terrace and does the owner have specific plans
in place, and if so what are they and if not, why not?
Councillor
Blair highlighted that he is glad that there is good dialogue between the
council and the property owners.
The
Committee Manager advised that should the property require substantial
refurbishment it may require planning permission and that any associated
planning application would be available for public scrutiny on the Planning
Portal.
The Chair
noted that Ms Ferguson had submitted some further questions in relation to the questions
submitted to the council and advised that responses to all of those would be
sent to Ms Ferguson following the meeting and that the Area Committee would be
working towards resolving the issues highlighted.
Kirstie Reid, Strachur Community Council
It was noted that Ms Reid was having some technical difficulties during the meeting and the Committee Manager read out her question on her behalf:-
As you can imagine we had a lively Community Council meeting last night with concern for the school crossing being one of the major issues being raised as we were told one thing and the local paper a completely different story, questions were asked if there was ever even an inspection of the lights on the A815 due to us being told:
1. the part to fix the light is in my office it will be fixed next week;
2. the repair will be carried out on Friday let me know if the light isnt working;
3. there is a delay as the underground cables are not working; and
4. everything is here to fix the lights as we speak we are writing a Temporary Traffic Regulation Order (TTRO) as we need to install temporary traffic lights on the A815. As soon as the TTRO is granted we will get the work done.
In the reply received by the local paper that there was an underground cable fault and would cost in the region of £30.000 to fix. As a community we feel badly let down on this matter considering we have being asking for these lights to be fixed since the end of 2020. We are requesting a meeting with yourself, The Head of Service and the Chief Executive to share our feeling on this matter as soon as possible.
As you are aware we reported the damage to the roof of the bus shelter on the 24th January 2024 and numerous times since after a site meeting on the 9th May we were told that the shelter would be repaired in time for the schools returning yesterday (14th August). When enquiring on the 31st July for an update we were informed that as the residents on Innellan were to get a new bus shelter a site meeting was to be held there and once the residents were happy with the location of their bus shelter ours would be fixed, again the residents of Strachur come second to other areas.
Again the issue of a lack of Bus service on a Saturday to allow residents to either come into town for shopping or work or attending hospital appointments (this is important as more and more hospital appointments are now on a weekend to catch up on the backlog created by the pandemic) we ask for your support in having the 8am or 9am bus to Dunoon and the 5.50pm to Strachur reinstated. This is also important to allow our younger residents to meet with and socialise with friends and take part in sport and social activities out with the area especially as we do not have a Sunday service. This lack of service would not be accepted in any other area of Cowal.
We are also seeking your help in who to go to in the council as Strachur has become an outdoor human toilet with the following places being used on a regular basis:
1. The bus shelter.
2. Entrance to Heron Park (walk way across from the hall).
3. Behind the bottle bank.
4. Scottish water hut at the bay.
5. The old road passed the house behind the tennis court.
We have raised this on numerous occasions with Environmental Health but this is being left to locals to clean up and we have also brought this to the attention of the Police.
The Chair advised that both himself and Councillor Sinclair had raised the issues highlighted by Strachur Community Council and advised that the bus shelter was being repaired today. The Chair added that it is disappointing that it had taken this length of time but advised that the Area Committee is trying to have better engagement with OfficersÌý through the Committee and associated Business Days to address issues which are important to the Communities in Bute and Cowal.
Councillor Sinclair highlighted his frustration in relation to the time taken for responses to be received to cases that he had added to Members Zone, advising that the school crossing patrol matter had been on Members Zone for several months.
It was noted that Ms Reid’s questions would be passed onto the relevant departments who would provide a fuller response.
Jean Moffat
With ·¬ÇÑÊÓƵapp Council having plans to enforce the Scottish Law of no pavement parking, the island in particular Rothesay will have a serious problem due to the lack of parking spaces and the demographics of the island making it difficult to commute by cycling or walking.
On East Princes Street, from the Albert Pier for about 300 or 400 yards there are vehicles parking on the wide pavement at the sea side of the road and if and when this is banned there will be a serious problem. Years ago I had suggested to the council that they should make the pavement at this street regular size which would allow parking at both sides of the road and still have two way traffic. If the pavement parking is removed this will have an enormous impact for local businesses that operate on East Princes Street. I do not agree with parking on any pavements however, this is a different situation and we do not have any large car parks on the Island to accommodate all vehicles.
The Project Manager advised that they are currently working towards enforcing the ban on pavement parking by the end of the year and as part of this process they would be looking at any areas where exemptions should apply or where the ban would not work. Mr Calder advised that this matter would be discussed further at the Business Day and that they are recruiting for two additional wardens to support the new regulations.
Ms Moffat highlighted that she had noticed that there was a discrepancy between what should have been collected in fees for parking and added that as far as she was aware in Bute the parking ticket machine was down for quite some time which may account for this.
Councillor Blair advised that he would raise Ms Moffat’s concerns at the Business Day that afternoon and respond directly to her thereafter.
Councillor Kennedy-Boyle highlighted that it would be the intention that any outcomes from the Business Day would be referred to Community Councils for further consultation or discussions, as appropriate.
Catriona Renfrew
I am following up on discussions had at the last meeting regarding the Argyll Rally. The Rally organisers have organised an extensive consultation for the proposed routes for 2025. There was a commitment made at the last Area Committee that, going forward, discussions would be had with the organisers of the Argyll Rally at a Business Day during the autumn with interested parties welcome to attend. Is this still happening and could this be held after the consultation is complete?
Councillor Blair advised that this was still going to happen and that the point of a Business Day would be to get more engagement with partners and most importantly communities.
Ms Renfrew advised that both Colintraive and Glendaruel and Strachur Community Councils have had detailed discussions on the proposals and that Colintraive and Glendaruel Community Council hosted a meeting with the Rally Organisers. During this meeting objections to the proposals had been raised, in particular several stages being run on the same route which would result in longer road closures.
Councillor Blair advised that it would be his intention to have a Business Day to discuss the matter, once the consultation period had concluded.