4. Appendix 3 250214_2_Community Council Conduct Panel Submission
Argyll and Bute Council · 4 March 2025
Back to Community Council Conduct Review Panel — 4 March 2025 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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Community Council Conduct Panel Submission from Colintraive & Glendaruel Community Council ● Information on the Community Council website including the detail of the agendas and how these were published specifically for the meeting which is referenced in the complaint (10th June 2024). ○ The AGM had been included in the meeting schedule at the end of our minutes since the beginning of 2024, all of which we posted in a timely manner and several of which were posted on noticeboards. In other words, the AGM itself was well-trailed for the six months before the June date. ○ The agenda for our AGMs is a pro forma document and was available on the website at the time, as is our usual practice, however neither agenda or notice of the meeting was posted in a timely manner on the noticeboards – this was due to an oversight on our part as well as a lack of capacity. ● Detail from the Community Council on how they advertise the dates of their meetings and how the agendas are published. ● Definitive dates and times are published in our minutes found at http://colglencommunitycouncil.org.uk/minutes/ and on noticeboards ● Since early 2024 meetings have been held the second Monday of each month, and this is referenced here: http://colglencommunitycouncil.org.uk/meeting-dates/ ● All meetings are notified via the website as a matter of course, and these items include the agenda, either as a document or within the text of the post. As per our last meeting on the 10th Feb. we often highlight an issue that will be discussed - in this case Resilience. A typical batch of posts showing the last two announcements are available here: http://colglencommunitycouncil.org.uk/category/news/ ● All posts advertising meetings are cross-posted on two facebook groups (referenced below) which are maintained by community councillors ● Meeting notices, agendas and minutes have been posted when possible on physical noticeboards (Glendaruel Village Hall, Colintraive Hotel and Colintraive Village Hall) ● Reference is made to a Facebook page where the information about the meetings has been posted, the Panel would like to know:- ● Approximately how many members are in the Facebook group 1. We have two facebook groups which we have administration rights (as referenced above) a. https://www.facebook.com/groups/ColGlenCommunityCouncil →110 participants across ColGlen b. https://www.facebook.com/groups/197783820355218 → 794 participants across Southwest Cowal and beyond. This is titled “ColGlen Calendar” c. Both groups are private, and for (A) we restrict to residents and for (B) we include anyone who is interested in the community (eg. holiday makers and residents of wider Cowal) ● When was the agenda for the meeting of 10th June 2024 put on the Facebook Group 1. 7th June 2024 ● Is it normal practice for the Community Council to post agendas on this Facebook group 1. Yes it is. For example the agenda for the reorganised AGM was posted on the 20th Aug for the meeting on 9th September, linking back to the website with agenda and draft minutes from the previous AGM. ● Why did the Community Council not respond to the initial complaint ○ The complaint letter was received at the meeting on June 10th, and the Secretary received a follow-up email from the complainant on the same day. On the 20th June, the complainant emailed
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again to say he had “had no acknowledgement of my complaint”. The CC secretary emailed back on the 21st June to say “I acknowledge receipt of your complaint, received prior to the standard C&GCC meeting. I retained the copy of the letter following the meeting but thank you for the electronic version… “ ○ Moreover at the meeting on 10th June the issues raised by the complainant were fully aired. The CC noted that i. the complainant attended the meeting on the 10th June, and ii. that he raised his complaint with regard to notice of the AGM at the beginning of that meeting, iii. and that after discussion it was agreed among the councillors in open discussion that we would postpone the AGM until the September date, iv. and that the complainant, when asked directly whether this satisfactorily answered his complaint and was a satisfactory response, affirmed that it was v. And finally that the subsequent AGM was well advertised on both website, facebook and noticeboards answering the complaint in action. We considered it was unnecessary to offer written confirmation of the fact of the change or of the complaint which was in our view adequately dealt with at the point of complaint, while also having later formally acknowledged receipt of the complaint, as noted above. ● Additionally, it should noted here that ○ the CGCC Secretary stood down on the 7th September citing the tone, frequency and content of correspondence received over the past twelve months as being intolerable. ○ This resignation happened after the complainant had behaved aggressively towards CC members at a meeting on 21st August which was convened to discuss local views on recently published plans for the 2025 Argyll Rally. ● Detail on the number and location of physical noticeboards in the Community Council area. ○ There are three noticeboards i. Glendaruel Village Hall ii. Colintraive Village Hall iii. Colintraive Hotel ○ Please note: no councillor lives within 4 miles of any of the noticeboards, and as a community we find the majority do depend on online notifications, with anyone without online access informed by those that have. However, we have taken steps to ensure that all relevant paperwork is published to the noticeboards as noted below. ● Was the information in terms of the meeting of 10th June put into any of these noticeboards. ○ Yes, but not within time. ● Do the Community Council normally put information in the noticeboards. ○ Yes, however throughout 2024 we have struggled with capacity, particularly because we were coping with an extremely busy agenda which our minutes will attest, in particular i. ensuring that the community (and those without CCs around us) had a forum in which to feedback on the proposals for the Argyll Rally, 2025 edition. All meetings for which we very well attended ii. Initiating a Local Place Plan with the help of ABCAN – over have been 200 people consulted and a report for which will be published in March iii. Corresponding with our A&BC Councillor who wasn’t able to attend CC meetings during the period due to other commitments iv. Offering liaison between community and Calmac as the latter struggled with providing services to our community ● What are the plans for notification of meetings in future. ○ In the next week the CC will be recruiting a secretary on a freelance, paid basis, whose duties will include posting notices, agendas and minutes on the three community noticeboards, our website and on facebook in a timely manner. This should answer all matters of notification going forward. ○ We are also pleased to report we have just co-opted a new community councillor, bringing our roster to five – again this should help us in terms of capacity to fulfill our agenda.