Minute of Meeting of Kinross-shire Committee of 20 February 2025 for Approval
Perth and Kinross Council · 15 May 2025
Back to Kinross-shire Committee — 15 May 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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KINROSS-SHIRE COMMITTEE Minute of hybrid meeting of the Kinross-shire Committee held in Loch Leven Community Campus, Milnathort, on Thursday 20 February 2025 at 5.00pm. Present: Councillors D Cuthbert, N Freshwater, W Robertson and R Watters; B Freeman (Kinross Community Council); S Bruce-Jones (Fossoway Community Council); N Bingham (Milnathort and Orwell Community Council); and D Fraser (Glenfarg Community Council) and F Principe-Gillespie (Cleish and Blairadam Community Council). In Attendance: L Haxton (Strategic Planning, People and Resources); L A Cassidy, S Whyte (Housing and Communities) (up to Item 6), S Cumiskey (up to Item 9), M Lee (up to Item 11) (both Economy, Development and Planning), A Brown and M Pasternak (Legal and Governance). Councillor D Cuthbert, Convener, Presiding. The Convener led the discussion on Items 1-4, 6 and 9-14, with the Vice-Convener leading the discussion on Items 5, 8 and 10. 1. Welcome and Apologies The Convener welcomed all present to the meeting. 2. Declarations of Interest There were no Declarations of Interest made in terms of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct. 3. Minute of Previous Meeting The minute of meeting of the Kinross-shire Committee of 21 November 2024 was submitted and approved as a correct record. 4. Outstanding Business Statement Resolved: (i) The contents of the Outstanding Business Statement, be noted. (ii) It be agreed that completed actions would be removed from the Outstanding Business Statement.
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5. Grow Wild L A Cassidy, Senior Greenspace Officer and S Whyte, Greenspace Team Leader, provided a slide-based presentation in relation to Grow Wild – work of Community Greenspace, examples and areas subjected to the programme. Councillor W Robertson queried on the meaning of staff empowerment in relation to Grow Wild volunteer groups. LA Cassidy explained that staff are notified of principles and then permitted to decide on the ground what areas need to be maintained, taking into consideration their expertise and local knowledge of the surroundings. Councillor W Robertson referred to shrub beds guidance and queried, if a local bloom group is allowed to maintain the areas. In response S Whyte and LA Cassidy advised they support local community groups in any initiative to maintain the areas. They consult and work closely with communities and update council systems with their work, while still following the Grow Wild schedule. In response to Councillor D Cuthbert question regarding mapping site changes, LA Cassidy advised on their plan to map site changes on paper, however prior to digitising those changes, consultations with communities need to take place to ensure correct data is included. F Principe-Gillespie provided information on the Scottish Plant Recovery project based in Edinburgh, and their work on re-introducing most at risk plants. He suggested it could be beneficial to the PKC to include this initiative in the Grow Wild campaign. B Freeman queried on the plan for tree planting in Kinross-shire area. LA Cassidy responded they have finalised tree planting for this year, however they are open for suggestions and ideas for the future Councillor W Robertson asked about the maintenance of orchards, to which S Whyte responded that grass cutting and pruning is carried out by rangers based on consultations with community groups. Members thanked LA Cassidy and S Whyte for their presentation and noted the contents. 6. Tourism Strategy S Cumiskey, Project Officer (Communities – Places) provided a verbal update on Tourism Strategy and feedback received during briefing session held in Kinross in January 2025 with representatives from the tourism industry and Community Councils.
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Councillor N Freshwater referred to the Tourism Association and queried if it is a part of PKC. In response S Cumiskey advised that all Tourism Associations are independent of the Council. 7. Perth and Kinross Visitor Levy S Cumiskey, provided a brief introduction on the report submitted to Economy and Infrastructure Committee on 5 February 2025, where early stages of the engagement phase on development of a Visitor Levy scheme were approved. 8. Visitor App S Cumiskey, provided a verbal update on a currently used visitor app and explained the conditions required for development of a new app for Kinross-shire. Members discussed different options for app development, talked about existing apps and expressed their views on what should be included for Kinross-shire area. In response S Cumiskey confirmed that work is in progress and that an update will be provided to a future Committee meeting. Members thanked S Cumiskey and noted the updates. 9. Road Safety L Haxton provided a verbal update on behalf of D McKeown, Senior Technician, Traffic and Network Management. The update included projects completed in Kinross-shire in 2023/24 and 2024/25, and projects planned for the rest of calendar year 2025. L Haxton also provided D McKeown’s answer regarding timescale for the planned 2025 projects. Members expressed their interest in the attendance of Police Scotland representative at the next Committee meeting to discuss police logging of accidents within the area. Members noted the update. 10. Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund M Lee, Transport Planning Officer provided a verbal update on the Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Fund. As part of his update, he briefly introduced what the fund is, its aims and processes. He also advised Members on PKC stages of involvement. In response to Councillor D Cuthbert question on sharing feedback from Community Councillors relating to requirement for EV charge points in their areas, M Lee
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expressed his interest in any additional information on local areas available and suitable for installation of EV chargers. Councillor N Freshwater queried who had responsibility for maintenance of EV charge points. In response M Lee advised that, as part of council contracts a charge point operator is responsible for any maintenance works. Members noted the update. 11. Additional Support Needs Special Education Provision (Primary and Secondary Schools) – Options Appraisal The Convener provided a brief introduction of the report submitted to Learning and Families Committee on 29 January 2025. He advised Members of the development of new Intensive Support Provisions (ISPs) in Kinross High School, and that F McKay, Service Manager Inclusion and Additional Support, will attend the next meeting to provide more information and answer Members' questions. 12. Windfarm Developments Following a presentation given by S Panton, Team Leader (Major Applications & Enforcement) at the last Committee meeting, L Haxton advised members there were no further updates. ~~~~~~