Apologies: P Copland (Chairman), P Peddie (Treasurer), M Ashworth,

V Bland

None

3.1 (3)  Safer Communities Fife Council

V Salvage said that at the last meeting the Community Wardens based in Glenrothes mentioned parked cars, issues on safety and dog fouling. W Buchan said that he had got a phone message regarding the van in Miller Terrace.  He said that it has now been moved off the pavement.  When asked if there were any further comments regarding dog fouling, a member of the public said that you just cannot catch them.

A member of the public said again that she could not see how the beach has eroded.  There was general agreement that no erosion had been seen and early photos (available on St Monans web-page) were referred to which seem to show that there has been no change since the 1960s.

V Salvage said she wanted to know why we needed a very prettified beach; saying that it is just a beach to play on.  She said that she thought there were other things money could be spent on.

B Allan said that some residents say that they think that the plans should be on public view.  V Salvage said that many village residents don’t have access to plans on-line, so plans available in the village would be helpful.  She said that we could perhaps ask if there was any possibility that they could have the plans on view in the library.            B Allan suggested that a notice could be put on the library door saying that the plans were there.

[Note: In the last CC Meeting, G Bell had said that the plans were available on the Fife Council website.]

V Salvage

Cllr J Docherty said that he had made up a leaflet with useful contact details and telephone numbers for the noticeboard as he had promised.  V Salvage said that she would produce a small leaflet for people who preferred that to using the internet.

Website:  www.fifedirect.org.uk

Benefits and Council Tax

–          Council Tax and Housing Benefits   03451 551155

–          Report Benefit Fraud   01592 583637

–          Free School Meals & School Clothing Grants   03451 550066

Births, Death, Marriages & Civil Partnerships

–          Registration Services   03451 550077 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

Environment

–          Bulky items uplift

–          Recycling

–          Abandoned Vehicles & Illegal Dumping

–          Pest Control

–          Street Cleaning and Waste Collection

03451 550022 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

Faults and Repairs

–          Road Repairs, Road Defects and Street Faults

03451 550011 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

Housing

–          Housing Advice   03451 550033 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

–          Rent Enquiries   03451 550044 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

–          Homelessness   08000 286231

Money Advice   03451 400094

Payments

Payments of Charges and Invoices

03451 550044 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

03451 550055 Automated (24 hr)

(All major credit and debit cards accepted.  There is a 1.25% charge for credit card transactions.)

Planning & Building Standards

Planning/Building Warrant applications and reporting dangerous buildings     03451 551122

School & Facility Closures

Closures Information   03451 551199 (24 hr)

Health and Social Care

–          Health and Social Care Enquiries   03451 551503 (Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm)

–          BT Text Direct   18001 03451 551500 (Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm)

–          Child Protection   03451 551503 (Mon-Fri 9 am-5 pm)

–          Adult Protection   01383 602200

–          Domestic Abuse

Fife Womens Aid   0808 802 5555

Public Protection   01592 418460

(Domestic Abuse)

Trading Standards

–          Trusted Trader Scheme   01592 583141

–          Consumer Advice   03454 040506

Travel

–          Concessionary Travel, MyFife Card, European Blue Badge Scheme   03451 550066

–          Dial-a-Ride, Ring & Ride   03451 551188

Out of Hours Emergencies

–          After 5 pm weekdays, 24 hrs weekends & public holidays Flooding, housing repairs, social work and other emergencies   03451 550099

[Note also – Safer Communities Team   Dogs, Antisocial Behaviour, Home Safety and Security, Environment, Pest Control, Road Safety, Pay Your Fixed Penalty Notice   01592 583642]

General Enquiries   03451 550000 (Mon-Fri 8 am-6 pm)

A member of the public said that they are still there.  E Hughes said that M Ashworth had emailed Cllr W Porteous about the verges.

Cllr Porteous said he had sent an email to the relevant department advising that it should be done.

V Salvage asked Cllr L Holt about her comment at the last meeting saying that the Roads Department knew about it and had said it would be at least 6 months [before it was repaired].  She said that she did hear that if potholes get bad enough they do come out and mend them as an emergency.

E Porteous said that she had reported 2 potholes on the road by the harbour as 2 pedestrians had had nasty falls there due to the pothole.  Cllr J Docherty said that if they have injured themselves they should claim.  Cllr L Holt said that also if someone has damaged their car due to a pothole it is possible to put in a claim.  She said that there is a procedure to follow and you have to be quite persistent, but  they do eventually pay up if you keep pressing the claim and following the advice online.  Cllr J Docherty said that the last budget showed a substantial sum was paid out in claims.

V Salvage said that she did not think that it is any better; in fact it is worse.  She said that there is still a good possibility of a nasty accident with people coming out of Inverie Street or Gourlay Crescent.

A member of the public said that there is also going to be an accident at the West End.  She said that there is a big van that sits there and at the bottom of the Dawsie. Cllr J Docherty asked if the big van at the West End was parked on double yellow lines.    V Salvage said that there are double yellow lines. He said he would chase that up.

W Buchan said that in East Street the refuse lorry comes out of that the wrong way.

V Salvage said at this time of year there are so many houses let and they have so many cars, which can cause obstructions for larger vehicles.

E Hughes said that cars are parked at the end of Rose Street in the open space and also at the top.  She said that when you are coming out of Rose Street you have cars parked on the left and right-hand side and it is an obstruction.

A member of the public said that they are parking on double yellow lines all down Station Road.

Cllr J Docherty asked what was the worst time of day for all that parking and said that he was thinking of asking the Traffic Wardens to do a sweep of St Monans.   It was suggested that the Traffic Wardens do their sweep early in the morning, or Sunday afternoon, or at the weekend.

Cllr J Docherty

V Salvage said that the other thing that she found troubling is there are a lot of Sunday evenings and Monday mornings when she has seen people carrying black bags looking for somewhere to dump them.

B Allan said that she was asked to report about the bin at the end of Johnston’s Close. When she did this she was asked if the people dumping the rubbish were holidaymakers.  She said that holidaymakers` rubbish is troubling a lot of people who live locally.  A member of the public said that she thought that if it is people from holiday houses and the owners are making money, the owners should provide waste disposal.  E Porteous said that she had a view on this.  She said that holidaymakers were important to areas like St Monans and should be encouraged.  It was unacceptable for them to have to wander the streets trying to find somewhere to dispose of their rubbish, and that proper rubbish disposal facilities should be provided for them.

A member of the public asked if Cllr E Riches had said that something was going to be tried to be done to make holiday home owners pay for uplift of rubbish.  Cllr W Porteous said that it is getting a bit more difficult to define what is a holiday home because of companies such as Airbnb.

V Salvage said that she thought if we want to have a tourist industry in the East Neuk,  we don’t want to holiday-makers with black bin-bags of holiday-home rubbish having to wandering around the village before they leave wondering where they can dump their bin bags.

Cllr W Porteous said that he had not been contacted about it recently, and was not sure if it was still going on.  Cllr J Docherty said that we get a police report and they had contacted the people involved.

V Salvage said that she had heard many compliments about the flowers in St Monans this year.  Cllr W Porteous said this was thanks to all those who had helped, including the person who had done so much work in Serenity Garden.  Brenda Allan was also thanked for her work on the Jimmy Braid Garden.

E Porteous said that she had received an email from P Peddie saying that funds were less than at this time last year.   She said that she would send out a letter asking those who had not donated yet if they would like to make a donation.  She also said that they hoped to raise more funds from the sale of a Calendar.   She said that all those whose photos had been chosen for the Calendar had been emailed, and a sample printed; adding that we hope to get the Calendar out for sale in the next week or so.  She also said that they hoped to arrange another fund-raising night later in the year, subject to permission from the Mayview.

A member of the public said that they had noticed that the grass at the Salt Pans had been cut.  Cllr W Porteous said he had asked for this to be part of a regular plan, but said that they had not replied yet.

E Hughes said that the weeds by the Heritage Collection are really bad.  Cllr W Porteous said that he would pick that up.

Some hedges were also requiring to be cut off Braehead.

E Porteous /

Cllr W Porteous

Cllr W Porteous

Cllr J Docherty

Cllr W Porteous said that today the water container is half full.

Cllr J Docherty said that he had been to the cemetery that night.  He said that a good thing was that the gates were closed.  He said that the water container was successfully turning itself off.  He said that, basically everything is ticked, except for one thing.  At the bottom of the cemetery regarding access for anyone who is disabled.  He said that they had had a talk about an artificial pathway to help disabled access.   Cllr W Porteous said that the wall has been cemented and the burial boards have been moved.  Cllr J Docherty said he did chase that up.

A member of the public said that one man lifted up the water container, and she thought this could be breaching health and safety guidelines.

A member of the public said that they were done.

A member of the public said that cars are coming across the grass and the grass is getting full of holes.  Cllr W Porteous asked if car drivers were doing this because of the holes in the other track.

The member of the public said that what she did not understand is they all keep their bins on the road, but she said that we were told that all bins should be kept within gardens.  She said that the road does not belong to them; it is part of the Common.  She said that it is the same at the front.  Cllr J Docherty asked for details so he could ask Waste Aware to give them a wee note.

Cllr J Dochertry

Brenda Allan said that today she had seen a joiner’s van going to the windmill and he left the barrier down.  She said that they are changing the locks on the windmill because people have been using it.

Cllr W Porteous asked if it was time that the padlock for the barrier was changed.  Brenda Allan replied that there were not many keys for the windmill at the moment.  In answer to V Salvage`s question regarding the state of the grass surface, B Allan said that it is not rutted with tyre marks.

Proposer: W Buchan                       Seconder: B Allan

P Copland was not present.

The CC still does not have a Secretary.

V Salvage said that she received the following from the Chairman.

The Children’s Panel are looking for people to be on the Children’s Panel in Fife.  There are 2 information Evenings:

• Thursday 24 August at 7.00 pm at Fife House, North Street, Glenrothes, Fife  KY7 5LT
• Wednesday, 20 September: 7.00 pm in Fife House, North Street, Glenrothes, Fife  KY7 5LT

Closing date for applications to become a Member of the Children’s Panel is 26 September 2017.

V Salvage said that P Copland had received a report from

Gillian Tetlow regarding what has been happening in St Monans.  Since the start of July, Police in NEF received 12 calls to the St Monans area, of which 4 were emergency 999 calls.  None of these were classed as ‘Grade 1’ calls.

There have been 9 crimes recorded in the period from 1 July.  These vary from dishonesty offences, vandalism and disorder offences.  Five of these have been detected with enquiries ongoing with the others.

One male who was not from St Monans was charged, appeared in court and has been released with further ongoing enquiries.

V Salvage said all members of the CC have received the Treasurer’s Report which gives a breakdown of money for the year.  Balance on Floral Account £3,685 (Donations to Floral Account this year are £1306 plus £553 from Fife Council); Cash Flow Account – Free Funds £1354.   Last year there was a couple of fundraising events and these added significantly to the funds for the Floral Display.  If anyone has any ideas for fundraising that would be most welcome.

[Note – There are 2 Planning Applications for Newark Street on the Fife Council Planning Website in August.

• Change of use from public open space to domestic garden ground and erection of fence –  Status: Registered; and
• Certificate of lawfulness (proposed) for single extension to side of dwellinghouse – Status Decided.

Also there is a Planning Application for the Erection of a dwellinghouse with associated access and coastal protection measures including erection of wall on Vacant Site West End St Monans Fife – Status Registered.]

B Allan queried a planning application regarding a house by the burn.  She wondered if it would affect a right-of-way which is well-used.

V Salvage said that she would take it up with P Copland and check it out.

V Salvage /

P Copland

8.1 (10.2) Pothole in Steps down from Braehead

A member of the public said that the steps and the slope had been cemented.  She complained that it is now smooth and will be icy in the winter time.   E Porteous to check.  Cllr W Porteous commented that however, the rest of the job was pretty good.

E Porteous

A member of the public complained that the rails outside her house were crumbling with rust – between 16-24 Station Road; and said that the railings are rough if you touch them.

Councillor ???

W Buchan said that he contacted Ronnie McCafferty who put him through to Catriona Henderson.  He said he spoke about the Netherton Industrial Estate.  They said Community Payback are not prepared to go on private ground to pick litter.  He proposed getting them to litter pick in the following areas:  Pittenweem and Elie ends of St Monans, and up towards Abercrombie.  He asked if there was anywhere else.

V Salvage suggested opposite the bus shelter area.

A member of the public asked if the road sweeper was supposed to clean the bus shelter, saying that area was always full of cigarette ends.  She added that there is also lots of cigarette ends at the bin beside the Top Shop.

Cllr J Docherty confirmed that Fife Council had decided not to deliver new bin collection calendars in order to try to make budget savings.  Cllr Docherty said that bin calendars, were available on Fife Council website https://www.fifedirect.org.uk/bincalendar   He said that if you want a paper copy to contact the Recycling helpline:

Recycling Helpline (lines open 8 a.m. – 6 p.m.)  Tel: 03451 55 00 22

W Buchan said that he uses 2 sticks to walk and he had tried to walk the path from the Manse to Elie but could not manage because of the overgrown bushes and weeds catching his sticks.  Cllr W Porteous said he would check.

Cllr W Porteous

B Allan said that since the last meeting she had had to report on 2 occasions that there was sewage flowing down into the burn again.  She said that also all the chips from the path have been washed away so she had reported that too.  Regarding getting the burn cleared out, the person who deals with that is on holiday.  B Allan said that when she comes back she would let the CC know.

B Allan

A member of the public said that there was water running down the Dawsie in the guttering.

A member of the public said that the hedge on the public path going down to the church – on the Deck House side – needs cutting back.

Cllr W Porteous said he would check that.  It was mentioned that the person who lives at the top house has made a great job of tidying up that corner.

Cllr W Porteous

Cllr W Porteous said that he would recommend this site.

Cllr W Porteous said that because he did not think the current Brown Signs at the top of the village reflect what is actually in the village, he suggested that the CC might want to establish the cost of a new sign.  He said that he knew it would be expensive.  E Hughes said that she had costed this 20 years ago and it was not only expensive then – £700 – but also for the Mayview to be added they would have had to join the Scottish Tourist Board and meet its requirements, which were prohibitive for them at that time.

A suggestion was made to contact the person who did the St Monans Street Plan.

W Buchan said that some people had spoken to him who compete in a tennis competition between Anstruther and Pittenweem.  They had used the MUGA and had commented that it is a great tennis court.

V Salvage thanked everyone and said that the next meeting would be at 7.30 pm on Monday, 18^th September 2017 in the Mayview Hotel Function Suite.