ST. MONANS AND ABERCROMBIE COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minute of the ordinary general meeting held in the Church Hall, Station Road on

Monday 15 th April 2024 at 7.30 pm

Present: Marjory Ashworth (Chair), Eileen Montador (Secretary), David Robertson (Treasurer), Niamh Syme (Social Media), Mervyn Blank, Diane Martin (Minute Secretary)

Apologies: Morven Syme (Vice President), Cllr Fiona Corps, Cllr Sean Dillon, Cllr Alycia Hayes
Members of the public: 6

1. Welcome and apologies.
   Marjory Ashworth welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies were received and recorded.
2. Declarations of interest
   There were no declarations of interest.
3. Reports from Community Groups
   Community Larder – report by Alison Child
   The larder is providing a valuable, busy service with over 50 people attending on Friday. The fact that it is
   ‘open to all’ ensures that people who really need this support feel they can visit. Over £100 was received on
   Friday.
   Gardening Group – report by Alison Child
   An application to Fife Council Lottery Fund for funds for the floral group has been approved. There has been
   lots of planting taking place (286 cells!) and two new boats have been donated by Fergus and Betty Young
   which will be named after the couple. One will replace ‘Dillon’ and the location of the other is yet to be
   agreed. It is hoped that ‘Dillon’ could be emptied during the weekend of the Beach Clean with the old boat
   going in the skip. A Facebook request for volunteers resulted in one additional helper. Rae Wallace
   continues to liaise with the school, with the delay being due to Disclosure paperwork.
   SMAKE (St Monans Auld Kirk Enterprise) – report by Marjory Ashworth
   The group has been finalising articles which have to go to Companies House to form a company limited by
   guarantee, which will enable them to open a bank account. Stage one funding has been received which is
   financing quotes for architects, consultants and business planning. This information will assist with the
   application for stage two funding which will be required to buy the building. Things are progressing behind
   the scenes.
4. Previous minutes and matters arising
    No feedback regarding the memorial garden
    No feedback re the storm damage at the end of Rose Street
    No report re litter at Johnston’s Close
    E Montador to attend a meeting the following evening re the Out of Hours service
    Cllr Dillon has agreed with the proposed location of the new billboards and has passed this on to the
   Council.
    Abercrombie noticeboard has been repaired by a resident.
   The February minutes were proposed by Eileen Montador and seconded by David Robertson.

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Police matters and report
There were no representatives from the police present and M Ashworth provided a brief report on their
behalf: There were 21 calls made to the police in the previous month from St Monans, with 3 crimes
recorded.
There was 1 call to police from Abercrombie, with 0 crimes recorded.

6. Chairperson’s report – report by Marjory Ashworth
    M Ashworth extended a special thank you to the Sea Queen committee for the well organised and
   very successful International Food Festival. This group continues to seek additional committee
   members.
    Yesterday, Sunday 14 th April, 4 members of the CC attended the local Camera Club and were very
   impressed by the extensive display of interesting items in such a small space. This venue is open
   every Wednesday between 11-1pm or by appointment. Thanks were extended to Gordon and Mike
   for their time. This group is also in need of additional funds.
    The beach clean will take place on Sunday 12 th May, with the school pupils being involved in a village
   clean on Friday 10 th May. The skip will be available from Friday- Sunday and the event will shortly
   be posted on social media.
7. Treasurer’s report – report by David Robertson
   Need to possibly reapply for a change of signatories due the time elapsed. M Ashworth will talk to the bank
   this week.
   Floral Accounts
   Balance @ 15 th April 2024 – £1691.02 – Unconfirmed
   Donations totalling £217.88 received from both the wellie boot garden & members of the public.
   Application for 2024/2025 Floral funding from Fife Council has not been applied for as yet.
   We are missing the latest bank statement.
   Heritage Accounts
   Balance @ 15 th April 2024 December 2023 – £682.44 – Unconfirmed
   Business Stream latest invoice not received as yet.
   13/02/2024 – Thomson Tradeworks Ltd – Plaster & Concrete Repairs – INV1149 – £780.00 – UNPAID
   23/02/2024 – A Stephen Joiner – Wood & plasterboard repairs – £1520.00 – UNPAID
   29/02/2024 – Andrew Allan Electrician – Electrical work – £188.61 – UNPAID
   Application for release of £1900.00 pre-approved funding for above requested – CHASING UP
   Short fall of £588.61 for above works – Discussion required – Email sent to Colin Whyte
   We are missing the latest bank statement.
   Cash Flow Accounts
   Balance @ 08 th March 2024 – £968.83 – Confirmed
   Invoice received from Fife council for burns supper hall hire for the amount of £274.30 – Cheque issued.
   Community Council Annual Grant still awaiting approval – Should be approved this month – ONGOING.
8. Secretary’s report
    PC Dawn Doherty has emailed requesting the CC agreement to establish a speeding initiative in the
   area. This was agreed.
    Efforts have been made by the CC and others to speak to Kingdom Housing contacts regarding the
   property at 24 Newark Street. Cllr Corps is also now involved with this. This will be followed up at
   the end of the month if no response.
    Cllr Dillon will be emailed regarding the lack of a path between Manse Road and Queen Margaret
   Street. The lack of a path is causing access issues for villagers.
    Cllr Hayes has just emailed her apologies and will forward her report directly.
    The gas works resulting in the road closure at the Dossie have been extended until 24 th April.
    Pathhead Nurseries have been advised of the number of hanging baskets required for this summer.

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 The NHS are looking for more volunteer board members.
 An email has been received requesting that the CC establish some recognition for Charlie Cook, who
is a famous footballer who came from the village. This item was discussed at some length, and it
was suggested that perhaps an item could be added to the Heritage Collection. The secretary is
investigating this matter and Billy Morris from the Heritage is very interested here.
 A response was sent to Elie and Earlsferry CC re the CC support of the participation request
concerning the proposals for Elmwood College. N Syme is attending a meeting on the 23 rd .

10. Members’ Reports
    Niamh Syme (Social Media)
    No report
    Morven Syme (Vice President)
     Permission granted for new windows at 21 West End
     A dormer is to be erected to the rear of 42 Braehead.
     The wall at the middle bridge at the church is to be repaired by Fife Council
    Mervyn Blank
     C17 road to Abercrombie – Cllr Hayes has not had a response from Fife Council due to Easter
    holidays.
    The CC will need to keep pursuing this to reach a suitable conclusion.
     The step with the gap at the windmill was discussed. Mervyn will photograph this and send to the
    CC group to clarify the location.
     Planning permission will be required for the erection of the new noticeboards.
     The Sandy Kirn footpath and seat was discussed.
11. Councillors’ Reports
    Cllr Alycia Hayes
     
     C17 St Monans – Abercrombie Having reported the dreadful state of the road and footpath a couple
    of weeks ago, I chased today, only to receive an out of office until 22 nd  April. I have therefore sent
    on to 2nd in command asking for a progress report.
     Claiming Tax-Free Childcare means up to £2,000 a year, to help cover the cost of:
    breakfast clubs
    nurseries
    To find out more go to childcarechoices.gov.uk and more local help can be found at
    our.fife.scot/gethelp/childcare #GetHelpFife
     Families across Fife who claim Child Benefit will automatically receive increased payments from 6
    April 2024, HMRC has confirmed.
    Families with one child will now receive up to £1,331 a year – an annual increase of £83.20, and up
    to £881 a year per additional child – an annual increase of £54.60. There’s no limit to how many
    children families can claim for. 
    Parents will receive £102.40 every 4 weeks (£25.60 per week) for the first or only child and £67.80
    every 4 weeks (£16.95 per week) for each additional child.
    You don’t need to contact HMRC if you already have ongoing claims with them – the increased
    benefit payment will continue to be paid directly into your bank account.
    If you do need to update your personal details, such as a change of bank account or address, you
    can do this using the HMRC app or online atwww.gov.uk/hmrc
     Fife Council’s Cabinet Committee agreed to launch a new Property Flood Resilience (PFR) grant
    scheme, which will open for applications on Wednesday 24th April 2024. The scheme provides
    £500,000 of support for private homes and businesses affected by flooding, with grants of up to
    £5,000 available per property. The grants will support private property owners to improve the flood
    resilience of their properties.
    Property Flood Resilience is any measure that can be applied to a building to make people and
    properties less vulnerable to the physical impacts of flooding. It can:

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Help people and properties become more resilient to the impacts of flooding.
Reduce the length of time needed for recovery if flooding were to happen again.
This scheme offers private householders and businesses up to £5,000 per property to fund
measures that improve resilience.
Link:
New property flood resilience grant to protect communities against flooding | Fife Council

12. Public Questions
     Condition of gutters at Dossie discussed – M Ashworth to report to Councillors.
     Flooding at the garages at the bottom of Queen Margaret Street – M Ashworth to email Fife Council.
     Inconsiderate parking in the village – M Ashworth to email Fife Council to request Traffic Warden
    assistance.
     M Ashworth was approached by a family who would like to use the church for a wedding. The
    family were given the contact details of the Interim Moderator to discuss this further.
13. AOCB
     What happens to the Common Good Fund money which is not accessed. D Robertson responded
    here.
14. Close/date and time of next meeting
    The next meeting will be held on Monday 20 th May 2024 at 7.00/7.30 pm. Marjory Ashworth thanked
    everyone for their attendance and brought the meeting to a close.