Kirkcowan Community Council Meeting held on 16th June in the Village Hall at 7.30pm
1. Council Members present – J Drysdale (chair), M Harkness (Secretary), A Gladstone (Treasurer), R Drysdale, M Mackenzie, J Rae, K Googe (Minute Secretary)
Public present – Cllr Richard Marsh, Kevin Dean, Alix Smith
Apologies for absence – Hazel Matthews, Cllr Jackie McCamon
2. Minutes of Last Meeting – Corrections – Council members present – Hazel Matthews omitted in error. Artfield Forest windfarm application – turbine height should read ‘from 180m to 200m’.
Once amended, minutes accepted – proposed MM, seconded RD.
Matters arising – Reminder that Statkraft Exhibition being held in Village Hall 25th June 10am – 1.30pm
3. Police Matters/Report – Incidents in May: one case each of assault, breach of the peace and vandalism – charges were laid in each case.
MH attended the first monthly Zoom meeting with Chief Inspector Dodds and Sgt William Boyce of Police Scotland and found it useful. Police Scotland have agreed to monitor speeding within the village and will set up a static speed control.
4. Notified Public Concerns – None received
5. Reports and Updates:
Treasurer’s Report (AG)
AG has queried the service charge from Bank of Scotland and this is correct for community groups.
No 1 Account: £321.14 No 2 Account: £13,139.67
Outgoings:
H. Matthews – (plants and compost for village planters) £325.00
Village Hall – hire fees for CC meetings (30), Knitting (10) £40.00
Murray Gibson – repair/service to generator £416.11
BoS – monthly bank charges £4.25
D&GC Community Payback – fuel for strimming paths £60.00
Income:
KCDT – grant funding for new Welcome to Kirkcowan sign £493.00
Planning – Planning application submitted by Grupotec and REG Power Management for Challoch Solar Farm at Barnkirk. Public consultation period ends 16th July.
Further details available on D&GC website – Planning Ref 25/1034/FUL
Elected Members Report – Earlier in the day, Cllr Richard Marsh attended the Special Council Meeting, called following the SNP vote of No Confidence in the Conservative administration. RM with other elected members, has resigned from the Conservative party and formed an independent group called Novantae, whilst other councillors have resigned and become Independents. This leads to a minority SNP administration, which RM feels will make it difficult to get vital decisions over the line, long term.
Regarding the bus services in the region – currently Stagecoach are not signing up to the agreement with D&GC for the future of bus services. This may mean all bus routes will cease and 120 employees will lose their jobs. Negotiations continue.
7. Correspondence –
- Letter of thanks from School PTA for the use of the BBQ for the Fayre.
- The Roads Department currently filling in some of the reported potholes.
- Village Hall. 23rd June, 2.30-7.30pm – Public Consultation to get residents’ views regarding the Hall Board completing an Asset Transfer of the building from D&GC.
- Invitation to Youth Beatz Fringe Festival events at Douglas Ewart High School 24th June 1.50 – 3.20pm and Pitch Perfect at Blairmount Park Tuesday 24th June 6-8pm
8. Village Planters – HM has gathered information about plastic planters to replace the existing wooden planters which are deteriorating. To be discussed at next KCC meeting when HM present.
9. Arecleoch Ext/Kilgallioch Ext Community Benefit Fund – MH attended a meeting between SPR and the beneficiary CCs. Previously the community hosting the turbines has received a larger share of the Community Fund (Barrhill for Arecleoch and Kirkcowan for Kilgallioch) – this is subject to a vote. For Arecleoch, a majority of the 7 CCS involved voted for equal shares. Kirkcowan’s anticipated share will be in Yr 1 (2026) is approx. £44k and £53k from Yr 2.
The vote for Kilgallioch Ext fund was split, another meeting planned to finalise the % share between the 4 beneficiaries. MH asked if KCC supported her to vote for Kirkcowan CC area to have the larger share as the host community. This was agreed.
10. Generator – Resilience – Insurance – Servicing – Generator now repaired and ready for use.
The Resilience Team has 15 members plus volunteers. Alix Smith (Coordinator) has contacted D&GC re using the School as the Resilience Hub as it has more resources than the Hall. A test of the generator at the school is needed to check its capacity to provide electricity during outages. D&GC state a generator must be serviced every year if it is to be used in council property and the CC generator was last serviced in 2021. The question of whether it could be capacity tested before committing to a service/service contract was discussed. JD will contact service engineers to get a quote for a contract service and AS will pursue D&GC regarding a date for testing. It was pointed out that a built-in generator that kicks in automatically when mains power fails could be included in modernisation of the village hall.
AS advised Resilience packs will be sent to the households in the village, containing a red card for display in a window if help is needed, and additional info about the Resilience Team and self-help. The paperwork is ready for printing, 250 packs needed. MH to seek funding.
Currently there are 4 keyholders (with one key unaccounted for) with access to the container and its equipment. Options of a key safe at the school and/or extras being cut for the Resilience team were discussed. MH to check with Insurer regarding key safe.
AG has obtained a quote for generator insurance cover from NFU of £224 for a value of £16,000 liability. Agreed to change the insurer.
11. Any Other Competent Business –
Involving younger people – Alix Smith suggested getting younger people involved in the KCC, by taking minutes and doing some administration. Possibly getting a grant from the Coop Local Community Fund for opportunities for young people. MH agreed to look into this.
Flag Flying
21st June Prince William’s Birthday 28th June Armed Forces Day
17th July Queen Camilla’s Birthday 22nd July Prince George’s Birthday
15th August VJ Day and Princess Ann’s Birthday.
Corner Garden – MM reported horsetail growth in the centre of the garden. She asked for a funding for heavy duty plastic sheeting to cover the area after it has been treated. Cllr Richard Marsh will approach D&GC to ask if they could spray a suitable weedkiller.
Meeting Closed at 21.05.
Next Meeting 18th August at 7.30pm