LCC minutes 260123
Argyll and Bute Council · 15 November 2023
Back to Argyll and Bute Local Review Body — 15 November 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Lismore Community Council Minutes of the meeting held on January 26th 2023 at Lismore Public Hall 1. Present and apologies Archie McGillivray (AM) Convener, Mandie Currie (MC) Secretary, Mark Willis (MW) and Clare Howarth (CH). Cllr Kieron Green (KG) Argyll & Bute Council; Rosemary Barry (RB) minute taker and 5 members of the public. Apologies: Luna Martin A&B Councillor. 2. Declarations of interest MC and AM declared potential interests on an item towards the end of the agenda. 3. Minutes of meetings held on 08/09/2022 and 15/12/2022 These had been circulated and were proposed by MC and seconded by MW. The minutes of the inaugural meeting of the new Council were proposed by AM and seconded by CH. Both sets of minutes were adopted as a true and accurate record. 4. Matters arising There were no matters arising not already on the agenda. 5.Scottish Government reaching 100% Broadband Julian Wormleighton (JW) reported that he understood that every existing property would now be covered by the roll out of this with completion anticipated by the end of the year. He did propose to ask for updates but not on a monthly basis, MC queried the sorting out of wayleaves and how they were expecting to go about the work. Action – MC to query this. 6. Health and Social care MC stated that she had nothing to add with respect to health issues. She had been going to get back to the council about the new model for social care but had yet managed to chase this up. CH expressed her concern re training and police disclosures. MC explained the situation to date. There followed a discussion about the lack of care workers on the island for the numbers requiring care and the difficulty of recruiting people because of the low rate of pay. CH added that she had been to a meeting on the current situation and that there were now some other carers available but she stressed the need for training and supervision and a proper system to be put in place. The model utilising direct payments appeared to work in many circumstances. She felt that the emphasis was on us as a community. KG explained that there were various options including self- directed care where the money was paid directly to the person after assessment of need in which case a police check would not be required as it was down to the person or their representative. If the care was provided through the Council then training and a police check would have taken place. He added that the pay rate had been going up with payment of the living wage plus travel time. KG emphasised that the Council has a duty of care and if there was no viable alternative then residential care would be put in place. He added that money was tight everywhere with payment for care needs reduced to a minimum. Action – CH to follow up – to investigate various possibilities. MC mentioned the need to revisit the Emergency Plan and update this regarding resilience and proposed to convene a resilience sub group. Also to decide on what we meant by resilience. Action - MC to add this to the agenda for the next meeting.. 7. Ferries MC reported that she had gone back to Calmac again to request alternative ferry sailings rather than cancellations due to tidal restrictions. She also queried when the improvements would be made so that fuel could be carried after dark. JW added that he had been assured that the matter was being attended to and as there were substitute vessels used there should be a standard for the route. MW queried whether we needed to have another meeting with Calmac. He also queried the possible use of a linkspan but KG replied that there was a technical issue with this. Action – MC to write to Calmac Area Manager and CEO and also the relevant MSPs. JW said that he would forward to MC the assurances that he had received so she could pass these on.
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MC queried the replacement of the Lady of Lismore for the Point/Port Appin crossing and KG replied that there was no date given for the repairs to be completed. He understood that some of the cost of repairs was being met by the manufacturer but he wasn’t sure about the cost of hiring the replacement. 8. Boreholes It was reported that Robert Smith had agreed to do the site checks for the boreholes but he needed help. MC requested that information on any site checks already undertaken to be passed to Robert. Action – AM offered to help. There were 35 requests for boreholes but it was reiterated that not all sites were suitable. There was a query as to whether people would know if a borehole wasn’t suitable for them and it was affirmed that the situation was being discussed with them during site checks. MC stated that it was hoped to get the drilling done during this summer. 9. Church and graveyard MC advised that there was a consultation event on the future of the Church buildings and land on February 18th from 2-4pm. MW queried the graveyard extension and MC replied that although the Church of Scotland had agreed to release space from glebe land, discussions were still in process. MC said she had spoken to the Council and the Church of Scotland in the autumn and that they were in contact but that she would follow up on this. 11. LCT funding LCC had previously agreed to help towards costs of hiring the hall for Lismore Community Trust meetings for a year (a defined number of meetings). This period has ended and it was agreed that a decision on any further funding contributions would not be taken until decisions had been taken on other necessary expenditure but that it should be kept on the agenda. 12. New correspondence There was no new correspondence. 13. AOCB Future meetings were provisionally booked for 23rd February, 18th May, 6th July, 7th September, 2nd November, 7th December. 10. Planning This item was moved to the end of the agenda as MC and AM wanted to register an interest in the second of the items to be discussed. Fish farms – Loch Long Salmon wanted to build a much bigger off- shore development just north of Appin, close to the Lynn of Lorn National Scenic Area. The application was just at the scoping stage, so comments might be required if a full planning application is submitted. MW felt that it was not good environmentally but it might also produce jobs which was a good thing. It was emphasised at this point of the need to be objective and keep personal opinions out of the considerations. KG emphasised that salmon was a valuable export. MC felt that there may not be enough tidal movement in Loch Linnhe and that the farm might not synchronise with neighbouring fish farms. AM suggested that it was a scenic area and the associated shore side buildings would be large. MC said she would circulate the details. KG emphasised that a response could be made that covered all views. MC agreed that a balanced response would be made that highlighted the relevant issues. Action – MC to liaise with Appin and Duror CCs. She emphasised that although we weren’t a statutory consultee the island would be affected. Planning application. AM and MC declared an interest. AM explained that he was seeking planning consent for a building but Donald McColl needed to be involved in the discussion as without AM and MC it wouldn’t be quorate. It was agreed that CH, MW and DC would be emailed the details so that they could make a decision but it was mentioned that they were also on the Council website. There was a query as to the date for letters. KG replied that 23rd February was the official consultation date deadline with determination on 16th March.