St Monans & Abercrombie Residents Association – minute of August meeting
Date Wednesday 21st August 2019
Chair: Hugh Wallace. Secretary: Sandra Mayes. Treasurer: vacant.
Fife Council Kara Watson (Housing Officer) External Irene Laing (NEFTR); Roy Ross (NEFTR)
Residents: Eleanor Mathers, Rena Ovenstone, Gordon Bell, Steve Collier, Phil Riding, John Dickson
Apologies Vicki Salvage (Resident), Colin Whyte (Tenant Participating Officer)
Welcome and Apologies
HW welcomed everyone and hoped everyone would contribute to the evening.
Minute of last meeting
This was AGREED with the correction to the spelling of one of the residents’ names.
Constitution and Committee
The Constitution of the Residents Group was presented to the meeting and agreed, and the Chair and Secretary signed the document on the Association’s behalf. PR asked for clarification concerning the distinction between a Residents Association and a Community Council. Colin Whyte had clarified that “CC’s generally focus on the wider community Issues which suits TRA’s as they have a legal right to scrutinise all local services down to the individual cases. This is not a recent right – it came into being from the Housing Scotland Act 2001…CC simply do not have the time or resources to delve into Housing and other related Services ie- Roads, Parks, Transportation, Social Work etc. where as the TRA have the Housing Officer attending meetings and a dedicated Tenant Participating Officer in the area…TRAs decide how big/small and what areas/streets they wish to cover whereas CC’s do not, as they are bound by the existing parameters set down to them. TRA’s are elected democratically on an Annual basis, CC’s are every four years and can sometimes not be elected into post If they only get the exact number of people standing. It was pointed out by the Chair that if necessary amendments could be made to the Constitution if it was found to be duplicating the work of the CC. With this assurance the document was signed. It is also necessary to continue to look for additional members to serve on the Association.
Group Walkabout Action Plan update/subsequent issues
Kara Watson (Housing Officer) KW gave an update on the Walkabout which took place on 17th April 2019.
The following matters are now “complete”, meaning either action has been taken or cannot be taken any further. (This is in addition to other matters shown as “complete” in earlier minutes).
Recycling truck mounting Hope Place pavement
Black bins at football pitch
1 Forth Street bins
Grass cutting on Coastal Path
Car spaces at Rose Street
Removal of items at garage site
Broken fence Queen Margaret St garage site
Utility Gym at The Mair
Picnic benches at Windmill area
Street Light No5 Forth Street
Tree branches 2-6 East Street
Steps from caravan park
Forth Street Double Yellow Line
The following are matters raised subsequent to the Walkabout and are now “complete”.
Bins at Johnstons Court Right of Way at Virgin Square
Use of garages/lock-ups at Hope Place
Blue Bin gone “rogue” at Industrial Park, Queen Margaret Street
Plinth on Coastal Path by Windmill
Removed water butt around Windmill
The following is on-going from Walkabout:
Parking signs at Hope Place – waiting for signage.
Caravans parked at Miller Terrace – one caravan has been removed, but another one still there Miller Terrace signage for car parking
Transportation contacted; still on Stuart Goodfellow”s ‘to do list’
St Monans Coastal Path Sign – FCCT contacted; in the process of updating information
3 East Shore Street “private parking” sign – ownership checked;
Harbourmaster property; Transportation being chased up – question over enforcement Station Road/Hope Place railings – Transportation contacted; made safe, but post on pavement needs fixed
East Street Noticeboard area – ownership and maintenance clarified as Fife Council, but Beautiful St Monans has taken on replanting and maintenance; Beautiful St Monans has advised Fife Council. Significant discussion followed about long term solutions. Chair to facilitate a meeting between interested parties and report back to next meeting
Road-surfacing throughout St Monans – Transportation contacted (Sara Wilson) East Street Road-surfacing – Transportation contacted (Sara Wilson); KW to follow up
The following is on-going subsequent to the walk-about
Bins at Braid Court – Kara updated meeting; uplift ordered, and project to replace fencing
Fencing at Coastal Path – question about whether fencing needed to be retained
Railings at Johnstons Close – an inspection has been ordered
Damaged Railings beside 41 Inverie Street – KW has ordered a blacksmith to fix Right of Way at Station Road/Braehead corner – discussion took place about the current safety of route. Historically it has been used frequently by residents. KW to look into this
Broken posts needing to be capped – there are three separate situations where broken posts need capped to prevent injury
Top of the “Dawsie” (West End); at 1 Hope Place (beside Town Hall), and at the West Shore– KW to look into this
Defibrillator at Harbourmaster’s Office – with the Harbourmaster’s office having a separate electrical supply, GB advised that a new defibrillator is to be sited on his office wall, and wall painted.
Uncut hedges on lane beside school – the dangerous overgrowth of thorn bushes preventing easy access to the bus stop was again raised. KW to follow up
Chair’s remarks
The Chair took time to recognise the considerable activity in the village from Sea Queen Celebrations, to Open Studios, the hanging baskets and barrels looked after by “Beautiful St Monans”, the Church’s Nearly New all bringing a buzz of excitement and welcome for the many visitors to the village. Thanks should be extended to the many residents who do so much to make the village look attractive and welcoming. That said, there have been consequences with inconsiderate parking and additional litter. It was suggested that it would be helpful to draw together interested parties to reflect upon the impact on the village of extra visitors in the summer months and the need for more appropriate and clear signage towards parking areas as well as possible restrictions on areas that have been wrongly used – eg the Kirk Car Park across the Weak Bridge. If the meeting was to take place in the Autumn/Winter, solutions and action could be in place for next year.
“Participatory Budgeting” – The Chair advised the meeting of information given to him for the Association to apply for funding for a particular project that would be beneficial to the village. An earlier meeting had highlighted the need for additional picnic benches around the Windmill area for visitors and for the children from the school to use when doing outdoor classes. When brought up earlier we were advised that the Council didn’t have funding for this. However this new funding proposal might afford a new way to access resources. It was further pointed out that there used to be seats in the village where many residents used to sit and meet with friends. The Chair suggested that the application might include a request for these to be replaced too. The application needs to be in soon.
AOB
Going around the meeting, the following points were raised Tenants Federation Meetings
IL brought an invitation to a meeting on Rents on Saturday September 14th in Anstruther Town Hall from 10.30am – 3pm. As a new Association we would be particularly welcome. Unfortunately that is the same weekend as the St Monans Arts Festival and it was agreed that all support should be given to this local event. Anstruther Arts Festival – Further mention was made of the importance of the event in the village on 14th and 15th September and was commended to all.
Play Areas – Discussion about the Fife Council “Let’s Talk about our Fife” Play Parks. Although there is no funding available, there seem to be plans to develop the village’s facilities. We were left to explore details for a later meeting.
Maternity Leave – KW advised us that she would be starting Maternity Leave from October 2019, and that her colleague Brenda would be covering for her at these meetings.
Next Meeting
There being no further business the Chair thanked those who had come, and intimated that the next meeting of the Association would take place on Wednesday 25th September 2019 at 6.30pm at the Masonic Lodge, Braehead.
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