Minutes of Meeting of St Boswells Parish Community Council of 28th June 2007

St Boswells Parish Community Council

Present : Cllrs A.Reed (chairman), G.Mitchell, D.Dawson, C.Ellershaw, A.Gillan,
J.Grieve, M.Murray, D.Oliver, I.Skinner.
S.B.C. Cllrs. Jim Brown and Len Wyse.
P.C. Mark Smith ( Lothian & Borders Police )
3 members of the public.

Apologies : A.Drummond, R.Lawrie, G.Sinclair, R.Wild.
P.C. D.Begg.

Minutes of the Last Meeting :
The minutes of the last meeting, held on 31st May 2007, were accepted.

Police Report :
The following incidents had been dealt with :
- complaints about youths playing football at the bus station, kicking their ball into the road , causing a danger to traffic; police are still trying to move them to a location where they will not cause a nuisance;
- a complaint about a mo-ped rider causing a disturbance; the rider has been stopped and checked;
- one person charged with vandalism to a neighbour’s property;
- one person charged with assault and vandalism;
- one break-in to a tourist’s car parked at Bemersyde (23rd June ); 2 suspects may be involved.
The following items were reported at the meeting :
- complaints about a 14 year-old riding a trail bike on a public road
( Weirgate Way ) and creating a noise nuisance;
- complaint about a yellow scooter being ridden recklessly and creating a noise nuisance ( A.Reed to lodge report with police );
- a black Vauxhall car parked on the Green, with a “For Sale” notice attached ( G.Sinclair will be lodging a complaint with the police ).
P.C. Smith informed the meeting that there will be the usual police presence at the gipsy fair in July, but only until 3.00 a.m. The police incident van will be present.

Matters Arising
(a) Criminal Justice Department work – see item on Playpark in Weirgate Avenue.
(b) SBC meeting for community councillors regarding Alterations to the Structure Plan. This meeting, postponed from 19th April, was held on 19th June. It was attended by A.Reed, C.Ellershaw and D.Dawson. C.Ellershaw gave a summary of the presentation. The Structure Plan sets out the planning intentions for housing, transport, infrastructure, industry and other aspects of development in the Scottish Borders. The alterations presented at this meeting concerned only housing, and were in response to up-to-date information on population increases and to the requirements imposed by the Scottish Executive. Population in the Borders is projected to increase from 109,000 in 2004 to 126,000 in 2024. Projections of the number of households increase from 49,100 in 2004 to 60,200 in 2024. Regional Councils are required by law to plan so as not to underprovide building land for housing, so a provision for “flexibility” is included in the forecast, which results in a projection that 14588 new houses will be required by 2024. Other topics related to the housing projections were affordable housing, education, transport, water supply & drainage, natural heritage. A consultancy study had shown limited capacity for further development in the “central hub”, some potential for “enhancement of existing settlements” and “some opportunities for new settlements”. A draft of the revisions will be presented to SBC in August ’07, followed by public consultations in September ’07 (4-8 weeks allowed), a final report to SBC in December ’07 and submission to the Scottish Executive in January ’08.

Correspondence and publications:
(a) Notifications and minutes of SBC meetings, all of which had already taken place.
(b) Mr.Fairgrieve had received a reply from Buccleuch Estates stating that the track is on land owned by St.Boswells Parish Community Council. R.Wild had consulted SBC Legal Dept and had been told that the community council was not liable for maintaining the servitude, but since the track is over Community Council land , there might be a liability in case of accident or injury. Further legal clarification is required. Meantime, the Community Council could require all access, e.g. for car boot sales, to be from the Maxton road end of the Green.
(c) Links to the SBC website have now been created.
(d) Southfield parking problem – SBC Cllr. Sandy Scott had written to J.Henderson, who will try to deal with the problem.
(e) The newsletter of the Scottish Rights of Way & Access Society will be circulated ( we pay an annual membership sub.).
(f) Notes from SBC on Equality and Diversity Awareness Training will be circulated.

Playpark in Weirgate Avenue:
Andrea Gillan reported on progress:
Billy Birse will provide 2 picnic tables and 3 planters, which should be installed in week commencing 2nd July 2007 i.e. should be available for use in the school holidays.
J. Hogg has had problems with the supplier of the play equipment – a meeting had been postponed twice and finally occurred only on Friday 22nd June, when it was learned that the equipment will not be installed until September. The existing play equipment will remain in place until the new is to be installed, and the play park should be closed for no more than 2 days during the work. J. Hogg is also following up on the self-closing gates, grasscutting and provision of an additional litterbin.
The childrens’ nursery sponsored event had raised £ 162.50.
Andrea Gillan will contact Milestone Garden Centre to arrange a date for supply of topsoil for the planters, and will arrange and publicise a planting night.

Treasurer’s Report
Funds stand at £ 2537.15, but much of this has come from Andrea Gillan’s fund-raising efforts and is allocated to pay for items at the playpark.

SBC Councillor’s Report
Mr.Brown and Mr.Wyse informed the meeting of their areas of responsibility in the new SBC.
Mr.Wyse will hold the portfolio for Environmental Services. This will include aspects of the Waverly Line project. There will be a major campaign against dog fouling. He also urged responding to the Community Council Review document.
Mr.Wyse’s e-mail address is LWyse@scotborders.gov.uk
Mr.Brown will be a member of the Cheviot Area Committee, and will be involved with Development & Building Control, the Licencing Board (East), the Trading Operations Sub-committee, Hawick Development Sub-committee, Performance Monitoring Panel and the Roxburgh Federation of Village Halls
( minutes of the meeting on 31st May 2007 record that Mr.Brown had agreed to become a trustee of the St.Boswells Village Hall.) Mr.Brown will confirm his e-mail address at the next meeting.

AOB

(a) A.Reed mentioned that the “ 20’s plenty” signs had not yet been installed at Springfield. SBC say it will be done eventually.
(b) It is not clear who has responsibility for trimming the hedges on the stretch of Jenny Moores Road between the rugby ground and Greycrook road.
Cllr. Wyse suggested contacting SB Local.

Date of Next Meeting: Thursday 30th August 2007 at 7.30pm in the Lesser Village Hall. ( No meeting in July ).

MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WELCOME.