Minutes of meeting on 20th January 2010 at 7.30pm in Uphall Community Education Centre
Present : Mr J Richardson (Chair), Mr J Moore (Vice Chair), Dr G Paisey (Planning Secretary), Mrs A Milne, Mrs M Davies, Mrs I Bishop, PC A Kidd, Mrs J Cumberford, Mrs I Jones, Cllr E Glass, Cllr G Morrice, Mr D Flight, Mr F Graham and Mrs J Baxter.
Apologies: Cllr A Davidson, Cllr J Campbell and Mrs H Hinton.
Declaration of interests
None given during the meeting.
Minutes of the previous meeting
Minutes of the previous meeting held on Wednesday 18th November 2009 were read as a correct record. Proposed by Dr G Paisey and seconded by Mrs M Davies.
Matters arising from the previous minutes
East Mains Industrial Estate: Dr Paisey, Planning Secretary, informed the meeting that this proposal is still at the pre-planning stage.
Philipstoun Bing: Work is ongoing to find an agreement, under section 75 of the Act, between the planning authority and Neil Williams Haulage.
Resignation of Secretary
Mrs H Hinton was to address the meeting regarding her resignation as secretary of Uphall Community Council, but as she was not present it was agreed that the matter should now be closed.
Mr F Graham asked who was carrying out the Secretaries duties at present. The Chair said that he, with the support of the Vice Chair, was filling the post until a replacement could be appointed. The chair asked if anyone present wished to volunteer to the position. No one volunteered so after some discussion three proposals put forward:
1. That a Community Councilor could nominate someone from the community to act as paid Secretary.
2. That we advertise locally for a paid Minute Secretary.
3. That an approach be made to West Lothian Collage be made (the Chair is a friend of the principal whom has indicated her support in providing a mature student on work experience) and we would pay expenses. A vote took place with eight in favour of the Chair approaching West Lothian College.
Mr D Flight voiced his concerns as to our responsibility for National Insurance, Tax and Employment Liability Insurance. The Chair said that he thought that as the payment was to be so small that these issues would not apply and even a person on benefit would not be affected, however he would speak to West Lothian Council and clarify the matter.
A vote took place with a majority of eight in favour of the Chair approaching West Lothian College. The Chair is to enquire about payment method and insurance liability etc. He will report back at the next meeting. Should there be any difficulties then Option 2 will be implemented. Action: JR
Reports
Police:
Statistics wise during the month of October 2009, 17 crimes were reported in Uphall area of which 9 have been solved to date, which gives a solvency rate of 52.94% for the month.
However, this year to date, there have been 121 recorded crimes of which 30 have been solved. A solvency rate of 24.79%, which is a decrease on 2008 year to date figures which had a solvency rate of 37.40% and a total of 131 recorded crimes.
During October, Vandalisms remained particular problem mostly occurring in the noticeably darker evenings. We still have had a problem with vandalism and stone throwing in Burnside, Middleton and East Main Street, Uphall. Colleagues in the Safer Neighbourhood Teams are still busy identifying youths responsible, a painstaking process given there is little or no eye witness evidence and information is of third hand variety. Service buses using East Main Street have often been targets of the stone throwing; any information regarding this reckless practice would be of great assistance.
Only one Housebreaking of note over October occurred to domestic premises in South Middleton. The crime took place between 0800 and 1905 hours on the 28th. Entry was gained by forcing the rear patio doors with a jemmy or similar. A suspect with a torch, not further described, made off after being disturbed by a neighbour remains unsolved.
Other crimes reported included a male arrested and charged with having punched and serious assaulted another male in East Main Street on the 8th; another two males arrested for carrying an axe and knives in also in East Main Street on the 10th and a male arrested for a Breach of the Peace and found in Possession of an Offensive weapon, being a razor blade, in Carledubs Crescent on the 18th October, arrested and appeared at Court.
Statistics for November are currently being complied and will be available at next month’s meeting.
As always I would appreciate your news, views and input regarding these or any other Police matters and can be contacted at Broxburn Police Station.
Andrew Kidd - Community Officer
Treasurer
Mr Graham, Treasurer, Reported that the Uphall Community Councils financial position was as follows:
Bank Account: £1,098.12
Savings Account: £418.95
Total Balance: £1,517.07
Newsletter
Mr J Moore presented the council members with a sample of the “Uphall Village News” and distributed an example to each member and asked them to view it, report any errors and give further comment.
Mr Moore said that he’d requested a number of quotations from local printing firms. Quote received so far outlines costs in the region of £400.
The Chair suggested that the sub-group reassemble for a final meeting
1) to approve the final draft
2) accept the most cost effective printing quote
3) secure a cheque from our Treasurer
4) progress our newsletter to the chosen local printer.
This was agreed without objection. Action: JM
Website
The website has been updated and includes the current agenda, minutes of previous meeting and photographs from the recent Christmas Lights switch on celebrations. Chair asked Mr Moore to ensure that the Mobile Police Surgery is advertised on our site as soon as we have the details from PC A Kidd. Mrs Bishop suggested that we try and integrate the community calendar onto the Uphall Community Council website. Action: JM
Web site visitor statistics:
December: 135 visits
January (to date): 91 visits
Uphall Community Education Centre Management Committee
Mrs Bishop reported that no meeting had been held in December. However, the 10th Birthday Ceilidh, held on 12 December, was a great success. She hopes that more members from Centre user groups will be able to attend next year.
Uphall and Broxburn Town Centre Management Committee
Cllr Glass reported that regeneration funding has been secured. This will enable various projects to proceed within the village of Uphall and town of Broxburn. She also reported that the new outdoor War Memorial is on target for a construction completion date of September 2010 and that they would like a local World War II Veteran to officially cut the ribbon.
Uphall Fairtrade
Cllr Morrice reported that a meeting of various parties interested in furthering Fairtrade within the district recently met in the Community Centre. The aim is for the district of West Lothian to be a Fairtrade district. General discussion followed regarding events at the last Uphall Fairtrade Fortnight event.
Planning Report
Our Planning Secretary gave his report outlining various planning applications:
· Velux windows at No 50 Middleton Road – planning application granted
· No 8 Rosemount Drive – planning application granted
· Plot 20 – 30 Alexander Street – planning application deferred.
Mr Flight queried the recent Dobbies Garden Centre application. Cllr Morrice informed the meeting that West Lothian Council had agreed to refuse planning consent.
General discussion followed regarding a plan for approximately 750 houses to be built near Overton Farm, Broxburn (near to the Glenmorangie plant).
Correspondence
Several items of correspondence have been received:
· Letter received regarding the mobile library – routes and timetables will be changing. West Lothian Council are taking delivery of two new larger mobile libraries with disabled access. There will be longer stops in more central locations
· Proposed traffic calming measures information with questionnaire – discussion followed on various aspects of the proposals. Cllr Morrice recommended that the Community Council write to West Lothian Council about cars parked in Alexander Street which can cause access difficulties. Meeting agreed that Mr Richardson should write to Lothian and Borders Police and West Lothian Council’s Chief Executive
· Letter from West Lothian Council regarding the West Lothian Anti-Social Behaviour Strategy 2010/2012. Chair to request more copies for our next meeting
· Letter from Turley Associates, dated 19 November 2009, regarding mixed use development at East Mains Industrial Estate, Broxburn
· Letter from Planning Aid Scotland, dated 25 November 2009, regarding training and planning advice. Chair agreed to request further copies of the information
· Letter from Chief Executive of West Lothian Council inviting Mr Richardson to attend the West Lothian Senior Peoples Forum on 2 February 2010 from 1pm to 4pm. Mrs Bishop stated that a number of Uphall residents, who attended the first meeting, have not received subsequent invitations to the second meeting. Both the Chair and Mrs Bishop are concerned about this. Action: JR
Any Other Competent Business
Mrs Milne informed the meeting that the bus shelter on the South side of the Main Street opposite St Andrew’s Drive has no bus timetable displayed. She also noted her concerns regarding the uneven surface at the shelter, which was causing puddles to form. She asked the meeting to find out how many bus routes are subsidised by West Lothian Council. Action: JR
Dr Paisey raised the issue of litter along the Brox-Burn at the Iron Bridge. It is horrendous.
Mrs Davies said that, on receiving West Lothian Council’s ‘bins’ schedule, the brown bin collection is not listed. Apparently, West Lothian Council is aware of this, and will issue further information to householders regarding the ‘brown bin’ collections.
Mrs Bishop expressed her concerns at the lack of gritting/snow clearing, during the recent adverse weather, at the Strathbrock Health Centre.
Date of Next Meeting
The next meeting of Uphall Community Council will be on Wednesday 17th February 2010 at 7.30pm in the Uphall Community Education Centre.
