Minutes 3rd Feb 2025 Clatt Village Hall.
Present - Andrew Beckley, Robin Baird, James Grant, Peter Johnston, Tryphaena Jordon, Janice Smith, Tony Smith, Sharon Stoneman, Cllr Goodhall, Cllr Petrie – online, 7 community members online, 3 in person.
Apologies -David Grant, Paul Manning
Welcome
Approval of minutes Jan 2025 - Proposed AB. Seconded RB
Matters Arising
Kennethmont Footpath - Cllr G, No update.
Correen Hills Windfarm - RB Letter written by Dr Mary Watson, Donside CC, to Forestry and Land Scotland has been sent under the signature of Donside, Bennachie and Tap O Noth CC’s. Letter has been circulated to all.
Log Bank – TS, 85 bags in stock. No idea if the program will continue after March. We should stock up if this is the case.
Following on from this discussion- Richmond Terrace, Rhynie complaining of cold homes due to inefficient radiators and lack of insulation. SS has had referrals from GRA regarding this. Cllr G to contact housing team and SSEN re: grants available to assist with these types of issues.
Defibs - PM informed that all checked and working.
Mains of Rhynie - Kate Beverley (Rhynie) contacted SS to say there was no update. TS -Question about what is the actual status of the application. It was suggested that a letter to Forestry Scotland would be appropriate at this time to ascertain the true status, as the application online shows completed 2023- Status under consideration. The application names David Hay and a generic email address. Check the website to verify. TJ and SS to follow up with the letter to Forestry Scotland. Cllr G explained that Forestry Scotland is undergoing change presently which may impact things in the future.
Ness Bogie – TS, contacted Forestry Scotland and agreement was had to share their reports this week. There is interest from Forestry Scotland to receive feedback from community regarding some issues such as footpaths, but it is unclear as to how this feedback will be obtained. TS indicated there had been little concern expressed by the community so far. TS and SS met with Lynn Rutter, Gartly Community Assoc to discuss. TS to contact Forestry Scotland if they do not come back to him.
Cllr G noted here that there is another development being planned for the Lumsden area that may encroach Into the TONCC area.
Moss Wood – SS contacted by local resident. PM phoned to update Sharon. PM indicated that he felt RCT were handling this. JS clarified that RCT is not handling this issue. PM was to contact near neighbours to discuss possibility of allotments. Depending on outcome of this, there would be further community engagement. If Community Asset Transfer were to be needed in the future, then TONCC could not be responsible for this. SS to speak to PM.
Planning applications - No objection to 2 dwelling and vehicle access at Craighall Kennethmont.
Updates from Cllr G. and Cllr Petrie - Depressing budgets some of which had been ring fenced are now being used to pay NI increases. Cllr G spoke about the Health and Social Care Partnership and the decisions that will need to be made surrounding this due to lack of funding. Ideas re: residential units in Huntly being turned into a social care partnership arrangement – nothing firm. Discussion about Insch and Huntly hospitals doing more for social care but not now likely to happen due to cuts.
Correspondence - All correspondence had been circulated.
SS - A flyer was presented to her from a community member regarding the rental of rural properties. This flyer had been received by a few community members who are unsure as to its validity. Concern was expressed that this may be a scam. No one had seen this before. Be aware.
Police – Not currently in agenda, but correspondence received re Cybercrime and AI crime. Attempts to chase police updates have been made without success. Cllr G noted that there is a new inspector in Huntly who may assist and visit the CC. JS – last update came to her email. Email address has not been changed though this has been requested numerous times. SS to follow up by contacting again. Police will be added again to the agenda as a separate item.
TJ and SS reported that there had been concern from village shop that they had a visit from someone about Community Service work. They had been rather insistent, but no information was known about this. Cllr G asked if this may have to do with rehabilitation of offender? Cllr Petrie stated that Community Justice is done through the Integrated Joint Board rather than the police and organised through Adult Social Work. Cllr Petrie will get contacts for them. Agreed Police will be added again to the agenda as a separate item.
Treasurer’s report - £13052.94 Funding from Foundation Scotland received. A deposit of £5179 made. Paid ICO /GDPR yearly fee. All the micro grants that we approved have been dispersed.
Area Reports
Gartly - JG updated about pop up bob. Waiting for spring when the light is better. They are available if there is interest in putting them up now. Permission has been granted to site them.
Water on the roads. Cllr G stated that Roads can look at this as a section 85 order if needed. Ideally this could be resolved with farmer concerned before resorting to Section 85. It was felt that some of the issue is the ditches and drains have not been cleared by the council. Cllr G asked for a note/email be directed to him. He will follow up. PJ to follow up with Cllr G.
Rhynie and Kennethmont - nothing.
Clatt - Concern over speeding on bend between Little Towie and Clatt village. Little that can be done as up to 60mph limit. Speed calming measures on a 60 MPH road are difficult Cllr G will ask.
AOCB
RB - request permission to call another meeting of the three Councils working group regarding the Correen Hills Windfarm. The formal application is due to be submitted in March – we should be in lock step with the other Councils about how to respond to the application. In general, agreed better to be prepared than wait as there will be limited time to respond to the application once it is lodged.
Sharing of the survey results should also be progressed and issued be all three CC’s. Robin to keep CC updated.
Questions and clarification from the floor- A member of the public in attendance enquired-
1. Is the Aberdeenshire Local Development Plan being reviewed?
Historically every 5 years it is reviewed. In the next 3 years it will be renewed, and it will then last for 10 years.
2.Will TONCC be able to comment on this?
Cllr G – Yes, there are many ways the CC can input into the Local Development Plan i.e. emailing what you want for your area or a full-blown Community/Local Development Plan for yourselves. Aberdeenshire Council is looking for comments from local councils now. TONCC has had in person explanation about the process from Aberdeenshire Council about this in the past. New Councillors may be interested to re-visit this.
JS- Community Action Plan – TONCC looked at the LPP previously and decided it was not something that they wanted to pursue as a CC. Rhynie Community took up the project (SS and another ex-councillor were involved)- led by community member David Denoon.
It was agreed that it would be progressed separately from the CC. Circumstances changed, and progress stalled.
Agreed to have someone come to meeting to discuss further. SS to ask Janelle.
Cllr G – There are many ways the CC can input into the Local Development Plan i.e. emailing what you want for your area or a full-blown Community/Local Development Plan for the area or each village. Aberdeenshire Council is looking for comments from local councils now.
TONCC has had in person explanation from Aberdeenshire Council in the past about the process for developing an LPP. New Councillors may be interested to re-visit this.
JS- Community Action Plan – TONCC looked at the LPP previously and decided it was not something that they wanted to pursue as a CC. Rhynie Community took up the project (SS and another ex-councillor were involved)- led by community member David Denoon.
It was agreed that it would be progressed separately from the CC. Circumstances changed, and progress stalled.
Agreed to have someone come to meeting to discuss further. SS to ask Janelle.
Date of next meeting - March 3rd Rannes Hall, Kennethmont
Micro grants –
Kennethmont School – Awarded £500 for school potting shed
Books Abroad - Awarded £250 towards their costs.
Promotion of Clatt – Further clarification needed. Ask them to send in quotes for photography and professional fees.
Lottie Grant - Awarded £500 for gymnastics kit and travel.
Minutes of Meeting January 6th, 2025, Online
Present online TONCC, AB, RB, DG, TJ (sorry late) PM, JS, TS, SS,
Cllr Goodhall, Cllr Petrie
Apologies - James Grant, Peter Johnson.
Minutes of last meeting - Approved. Proposed PM seconded AB
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Matters Arising
Kennethmont footpath update: Nothing to add as offices closed for holidays Cllr G will chase up. Additional information should be available by next meeting.
Energy Consenting Consultation: TS. nothing to report. TS will update as and when anything comes up.
Coreen Hills Windfarm meeting update: RB, AB and representatives Mark Worsley - Bennachie and Mary Watson - Donside CCs had an informal meeting to discuss a combined CC approach to the issues surrounding the Correen Hills Windfarm Development. Informal minutes were taken. RB to circulate minutes and combined survey results by e-mail.
It was felt at this meeting that since the planning application will be submitted in March and since the survey canvassing the three council areas had given a clear indication that the respondents were largely opposed to this development, a strategy for working together would be of benefit. It was also agreed at this meeting that the results of the combined survey should be disseminated to the wider public in a social media announcement issued by the three united councils. Mary Watson to put together this release.
Next steps - TONCC, along with the other two CC’s, need to make a statement as to its stance as the application for the development will be submitted in March. DG indicated the survey seems a resounding result and we should go with this as our stance on the issue. JS-agreed with the action regarding the survey but proposed we wait until the application is submitted to oppose further/make our objections known as the application could be different than what we currently know it to be. PM agreed. TS suggested that we publish with qualifications stating, 'this is in regard to what we know thus far about the proposed development'. Survey results and stance to be disseminated with qualifications.
Cllr G indicated that the application would go directly to the Scottish Govt in Edinburgh and that time was of the essence regarding advising local planners as to our objections. He advised not to wait- but to act now. We should let Planning Officer Paul Macari know our thoughts asap as the local officers will be submitting a report on the issue which we can input into. Agreed.
A second meeting of the combined CC reps will be held end of January. All invited. Date to be confirmed.
Log Bank: 123 bags available. TJ took 47 bags to Rhynie for distribution.12 to SS to distribute. 16 also to RB for Clatt and Kennethmont area.
Defibrillators: PM confirmed there were no issues, and all were working as he had checked. No reports of use by communities.
Mains of Rhynie: TJ nothing to report.
Collithie/Ness Bogie development: TS has been in touch with Ben from Scottish Forestry. Ben did not welcome the idea of a public meeting as he felt it was not justified. He would want prior notification of any issues. Action: TS will follow up on any local complaints and ask that PJ does the same. Suggests that the developer reveals what how they propose to address the complaints. TS noted that Forestry Scotland has not had a formal application from EJD submitted, but they expect the application.
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Bedding Plants: TJ, there is no money from the Aberdeenshire CC due to problems with suppliers, and issues with Council funding. PM asked if TONCC would reimburse for plants. JS suggested micro grant application. TJ will apply for £500 to be split equally among the four villages. It was noted that this amount would not cover the full amount needed for plants, but a request to the Seed Bank which gives out free seeds and had previously had a grant of £500 - may help. The next meeting of the Seed Bank is in March. JS agreed to speak with the facilitator of the Seed Bank, Rose Anniston. TJ and JG to contact the local primary schools to see how they could help growing plants for the project. Notices for people to consider donations will be posted as well.
Community Land Scotland visit report: RB - Well worth the time and effort to go. A member from Clatt Village Hall Committee also attended with RB. This organisation is affiliated with Community Asset Transfer. Nick Mardall - Community Asset Transfer Specialist at Aberdeenshire Council has offered to speak regarding Clatt School and the process of CAT. This will be facilitated at a free brunch event being planned for February in Clatt.
Police report: Nothing.
Planning Applications: Various sent out but only one for TONCC area. Glenfiddoch/Cabrach for solar panels. The closing date was today. No objection raised but Cllr G said comments by public could still be registered though the date was imminent or passed.
Updates from Aberdeenshire Councillors: Cllrs Goodhall and Petrie - budgetary restraints discussed but not much else due to holidays.
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Correspondence: weekly updates from Marr and Planning etc. SS discussed a private email received by herself regarding a video that had been requested shown at the council meeting. The email was circulated to all Cllrs before the meeting. It was decided that it was not appropriate to show the video at the meeting but that the link to the video should be noted in the minutes.
The link for the video is http://youtu.be/rHkWMQMECZ0. The video shows the construction of wind turbines.
Tall Ships Correspondence-TS suggested that the information asking if people ages15 to 25, might be interested in Tall Ships volunteering could be circulated to web sites, secondary schools, social media sites. SS will do this and forward to youth groups.
JS reported her concern that emails were not being distributed to all at TONCC in a timely manner. She noted delays. JS made suggestions as to how to avoid this. SS explained that the email regarding the video was directed to her personally. She had responded to the local person who sent the email and then distributed it after consideration. SS and TS will look at how emails are shared.
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Treasurers report: £9213.94 in funds with 2 cheques of £500 to be cashed. RB to Liaise with JS regarding Foundation Scotland report and funds. An email with final figures for Foundation Scotland - micro grants will be emailed to council members.
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Area Reports: Gartly - nothing. Kennethmont - nothing.
Clatt - Mention of the community brunch to discuss CAT and Clatt school. Date to be confirmed but an invitation to all to attend.
Rhynie - SS Micro grant update for Kennethmont School- The applicant was contacted by SS, as agreed at last meeting, asking for additional information. The response received from the applicant was that she was away in Australia and would come back with the requested information upon her return. SS indicated that she had had no further contact since. PM reported complaints about overgrown state of Tap O’Noth footpath from car park to bottom of forestry fence. This requires pruning and is not accessible by tractor. The rest of the path had been cleared in past by an independent contractor. JS -There are limited funds to pay for this. We funded this in the past out of cc funds but will not be funded by the CC again. Cllr G- It is not the responsibility of Aberdeenshire Council either. Funds will need to be raised elsewhere. AB offered to top the main path but would need permission of landowner- John Mackie. PM will walk up and investigate the situation. Broken telegraph pole by Bogieside. Both TJ and PM have spoken to Openreach and were told “no chance” that Openreach have laid off thousands and subcontracted repairs to someother company who have no idea when it will be done!
Questions/comments from the Public:
Question about the Application for solar panels in Cabrach and the date for comments. Date and information confirmed. Cllr G mentioned that public comments would be considered though not made public even though the date for public comment had expired.
Mieke- The video she sent via email has been posted on local community FB pages. She felt the impact of the windfarm being proposed will have great impact on the local communities and the video would help with this perspective.
Date and time of next meeting: Feb 3rd 7.30pm Clatt.
Meeting of Tap O Noth Community Council
At Rannes Hall, Kennethmont
On Monday 2 nd December 2024 at 7.30pm.
Minutes
1 Welcome and introductions
Present
Tryphaena Jordan, Tony Smith, Janice Smith, Robin Baird, Paul Manning, Peter
Johnston, James Grant, Andrew Beckley, Sharon Stoneman, Cllr Goodhall
2 Apologies and declarations of interest
Apologies
David Grant
3 Minutes of last meeting
Proposed (PJ) Seconded (PM)
4 Matters arising
Kennethmont footpath update
No further update received, Cllr Goodhall to check.
Armistice day 2024
PJ reported that it was a shame that no Piper attended. JG stated that this was
usually arranged by the Legion, who no longer have a local group.
It was suggested that perhaps we could find a piper from the local youth or
schools. JG will look into this possibility. Complaints that the service in Rhynie
over ran the Eleven O’clock Silence and that no proper prayers at the War
Memorial. This is the responsibility of the Minister.
Equipment and arrangements for hybrid including minute taking
Teams verses Zoom. *AB explained the differences between the options of both.
Teams free and can be recorded and transcripts available but some finding it
difficult to connect.
Zoom better to connect with and offers arguably a better service, easier to hear
on Zoom but at a cost of approximately £17.99 a month. The Issue with Zoom is
that Council funding is decreasing so it was decided for the moment to stay with
the free option-Teams. It has a;ready been agreed that we will do the hybrid
option, we are now trying to ensure the arrangements are the best we can
manage.
Cllr Goodhall stated that recording is permissible at public meetings which
includes CC meetings, TS felt that this may not be the case.
It was agreed by all members present that it is fine to record if only to be used by
CC members and only for use of Secretary/ for internal use only. TJ to keep
transcripts safe. TJ has dyslexia and this is a reasonable and supportive
measure for her.
A speaker is required in order tb be heard in the hybrid meeting. The one we are
currently using costs approximately £60. It was agreed that we would look at
grant funding to fund this initially.
Energy consenting consultation
Thank you to TS for putting in the response. In agreement with Ab and RB . The
response was circulated to Community Cllrs before the meeting and was agreed
upon.
Coreen Hills Windfarm proposal and questionnaire
The paper copies of the questionnaire were returned to the CC.
It was agreed that the 32 paper survey forms should be input by Jacky Niven, the
person retained by Bennachie CC to facilitate and produce the online survey.
The cost for this is £30.40
As this could not wait until the meeting a vote was done by email as agreed by
Marr. All ten Community Councillors were asked to vote by reply, seven
responded and all voted yes.
Correen scoping and gatecheck report
Releasing survey data RB advised that the survey was back, and people have
been asking for the results. The results released to us are for the TONCC area
only. The other CCs results have been released only to them. The compilation of
results for TONCC, Bennachie and Donside has not been done. It was agreed
that we should get together with the other two community councils to discuss a
consolidation of the information and a way to effectively release this information
to the public. RB agreed to do this. She noted that much of the survey contained
information that should not be released as per GDPR.
It was agreed that a coordinated response with the other involved Community
Councils going forward would be helpful.
It is important that all Community Councillors read the information gathered.
Log bank update
TS there are 111 bags left . TS will collect more from him soon. The scheme was
to run for 3 years and we do not know how much longer it will continue.
Community Councillors to continue to act as trusted referrers.
Defibrillator update
PM reported that all working, no issues reported.
5 Mains of Rhynie
TJ had worked on a response for this and it was it in as an initial reply for the
deadline that she had of 18 th November. (Deadline was actually before the 18 th )
All Community Councillors had been emailed and asked for comment before
submission but were not emailed again when email was written. One reply from
JS. Response was the same as other response sent in previously.
JS was concerned about lack of consultation. There was another email saying
that the CC could also submit a response after the meeting and the Chair said
that she was happy to do that, since JS felt that they had not been suitably
consulted and that the response may not have been strong and detailed enough.
Cllr Goodhall also confirmed that another response could be submitted.
Community Councillors decided that this was not necessary at this stage. Going
forward Chair and/or secretary will ensure that all Community Councillors are
suitably consulted.
6 Collithie / Ness Bogie development
TS has been in contact with developers as TONCC has had little to no
communication from them. There was a distinct lack of information at the Gartly
meeting. TS brought up issues on behalf of the members of the public who had
contacted the CC. It was agreed that another public meeting with the developer
was required – TS to arrange.
7 Police report
Noe available.
8 Planning applications
One relating to Gartly – no issues reported.
9 Updates from Aberdeenshire Councillors
Budget crisis concerns, and cut backs to essential services. These will depend on
Scottish Gov’ settlement on 4 th Dec.
Lights in Huntly are up. Tree came from Glass.
Cost of salt for gritting has gone up.
10 Correspondence
Various, all shared to Community Councillors.
11 Treasurers report (inc Foundation Scotland information)
Total funds £9339.09
Fees will be charged by the bank at £4.25 per month. Outstanding bills can now
be paid.
12 Individual area reports
Nothing further to report for Kennethmont.
Letters missing from the Gartly memorial stone – Cllr Goodhall to progress.
TJ to look into broken telegraph pole at Bogieside.
Rhynie – the generator has been tested and Risk Assessment completed.
13 AOCB
14 Any questions from members of the public
None. Meeting closed.
15 Date and time of next meeting
Mon 6 th Jan 2025, Fourteen Rhynie.
Any microgrant applications to be discussed after close of meeting
Rannes Hall Committee applied to have a £500 contribution to cost of generator
JS stated conflict of interest, all others agreed to £500.00.
Rhynie School. Applied to kit out garden to encourage outdoor learning £500 all
agreed.
Kennethmont School Partnership applied for funds for better outdoor learning.
Agreed in principle but more detail required. Can be awarded before next
meeting if suitable detail submitted.
Minutes of Meeting 4th November 2024 at Tin Hut Gartly.
Present. A Beckley, R Baird, J Grant Peter Johnston, Tryphaena Jordan, Paul Manning, Janice Smith, Tony Smith, Sharon Stoneman Cllr J Goodhall . 2 members of public in hall, 7 on line. Cllr Petrie (online)
Apologies D Grant
Welcome from SS. Noted that recording is not allowed this time but will could be reviewed if needed. Recording would need agreement of all Community Councillors. This is first hybrid session. Checked that people online could hear.
Approval of minutes 7/10/2024 Proposed PM seconded AB
Matters arising.
Kennethmont path update. Cllr G to contact office to put pressure on for a response.
Armistice Day. Wreaths delivered by Cllr G to be taken by each area . Rhynie service will start at 10a.m. with wreath laying at 11a.m. by TJ. Email of details from Phyllis Beverly shared in full. Notices will be put on church yard gates. TJ to contact Lachy Rhodes to see if he is laying an Army wreath. All invited to follow on to the other villages after.
Pop up Bob. JG set it up in the hall. He has not been out yet as JG needs to agree situations with residents concerned i.e. attaching to garden fences. Only any use in day time. Up for couple of days and then hopefully a follow up by Police.
Correen Hills Windturbines. Tj reported she had made a start on reading the bumph so far over 400 Pages downloaded. Requested that the TONCC could split the task up and asked for volunteers. AB, RB and SS agreed, others declined. But PM stated anyone could submit a personal reply, this was confirmed by Cllr G. However, TONCC makes a submission for the community. He also suggested we look at Hill of Fare. RB will make contact with Cashwig. Representation to be made to Aberdeenshire Council. It was made clear that TONCC were looking for replies pro or anti. The survey results were not yet in. At least 250 surveys sent out and some returned others had gone on line.
Community Council details These now appear to be in order. JS asked that her telephone number be added.
Log Bank Still plenty of logs available. Several lots already given out. more can be made collected. The idea is not to be generally publicised , but discreetly handed out.
Police Report JS said that that these were not received regularly and went to her own private email rather than the TONCC one, despite requests.
Planning Applications.TJ stated she had had problems getting details to down load , but that the 2024/1628 for a rebuilding of derelict property looked ok from area photo. PM said he would look into this and report to TJ.
Updates from Aberdeenshire Councillors. Craig quarry, the response could be delayed for several months.
Fiscal Matters. Shortage of cash in Aberdeenshire Council.. Please complete the online survey to express opinion . Money donated from Westminster is not being passed on by Holyrood. There is still money available for Asset Transfer. Tough obtained funding £24k from Scottish land and heritage. Feasibility Study Moray has lots of Info. Look at it for Masonic Hall ( JS reported the solicitors ware having a meeting and she will be going as Sec’ to RCT). RB is going to the Findhorn workshop and will feedback.
Correspondence Marr area Partnership, Cyber for over 50s, Aberdeenshire restaurant, Free Learning Findhorn. All of were sent to TONCC.
Treasurers report. Bank still slow activating account on line. So no cheques could be signed to pay bills as old signatures not valid.
Individual Area Reports.
Rhynie. Generator at 14 (Community Resilience) was funded by a Grant from the Clashindarroch fund and Marr Large fund . The Marr large fund is no longer available.
Running costs are met by individual committees . Could look at SSE to fund emergency fuel for generators in severe weather such as storm Arwen.
Loose drainage cover and fencing on play park. Cllr Goodhall to report.
Richmond Gardens fallen tree on green. Cllr Goodhall to report.
Damage to Nursery play area at the school has been sorted by local volunteers.
Graveyard parking in state at Back Lodge on Cottown to Clatt road. Cllr Goodhall to report.
Park fencing and gate still not repaired. Councillor Goodhall to chase up
Clatt. Road sign to Rhynie near the school facing towards Rhynie has missing letters.
Vandalism to the bench and fencing on the Suie Hill road. Cllr Goodhall to report.
Gartly. Road gutters still blocked. Cllr to chase up.
Kennethmont Nothing to report.
A.O.B. PM showed a record of how long it takes the Aberdeenshire Council to respond reported problems. From 13/4/22 to 10/10/24 to Raise a job (not fix). So not fault of TONCC
Local Place Plan. TJ attended Cabrach meeting and has a copy of this. A template and background work has been given to Cllr G for us to use. They are happy to give us help, but suggest we also seek other advice if we decide to go ahead in the future.
Defibs PM is happy to continue to be in charge. He has found a much cheaper source of batteries. JG asked an update on these is included on every agenda.
Any Questions from the Public? None from those present or those online.
Thank you and Goodbye from the Chair. Meeting closed.
Next meeting 2nd December, Rannes Hall Kennethmont
Minutes of TONCC on 7th October 2024 at No 14 The square Rhynie.
Present. Robin Baird, Andrew Beckley, Peter Johnston, Tryphaena Jordan, Paul Manning, Tony Smith. Sharon Stoneman.
Attending. Cllr J Goodhall.
Apologies and declaration of Interests. D Grant, J Grant, J Smith.
Welcome and introductions from Sharon Stoneman the Chair.
Approval of previous Minutes for :- 19th August Prop’ TS, Seconded PJ
30th September Prop’ PM, seconded RB
Updated contact details.
The e-mail addresses and website details have been updated. Please check and let SS know if they are correct.
Craig Farm Quarry representative.
Ginny Irvine -Fortescue a representative fighting against the proposed quarry spoke to the meeting and distributed a leaflet with salient points so that everyone could read it at their leisure. She wished it to be clear that this was against the Quarry.
The cut off date to make objections is 16th October 2024. The most effective way to present objection was to list them in a bullet point format. Clear and easy to do and read.
Traffic. The quantity and size of the vehicles 20t plus. 6 days a week Mon to Fri 7am to 7pm and Sat 7am to 2pm on a narrow and unsuitable road system. Poor access on to the main Huntly to Alford rd. As Leith Quarries also have quarries in Moray they will be linking up and going from the Cabrach Dufftown area on B9002 to reach there Aberdeenshire depot via Lumsden. For 20 years.
Noise. The noise of industrial beeping at the quarry and the rumbling of vehicles will impinge on the local residents.
Dust. There would be considerable dust and pollution from the quarry.
Water. The water supply to the many local private supply properties could be harmed and local drainage systems affected. The Deveron Trust and Isla Burn groups have voiced concerns.
Cultural Heritage. The area has many cultural and scientific sites of interest which would be harmed by the constant creep of industrialisation of the area . e.g the turbines and pylons of recent and proposed developments. Leading to a fall in local house values.
Toby Davies added that there was now a Facebook group.
P.M, questioned the water saying that Rhynie were on mains water, it was pointed out the d
Matters arising.
Kennethmont Foot path. Cllr Goodhall reported that this would be coming to the planning stage in near future.
Moss Wood and old playing field at Rhynie. Nothing.
Clatt. Meeting of the Learning Estates. A survey is out. Where will the children of Clatt school go to Rhynie or Kennethmont? Link on the Rhynie website. Children who have been currently relocated will not be up-rooted from where they are and their siblings will attend the same school. The School will close after 170 years which is a sad blow for Clatt. Hope that use of the building to provide for rural needs of the area could be looked into and if found suitable it might be possible for an “Asset Transfer” in which case the sale on the open market would be frozen whilst this was explored.
Pop Up Bob . No one has seen him. JD not available for update.
Armistice Day J G had requested that members of TONCC could attend their local services. Wreaths for this are at Woodhall House and Cllr Goodhall will produce them at the next meeting.
Coreen and Suie Hills Windfarm proposal. Open meetings at Clatt 3 to 8pm on Wednesday 9th October at the village hall. Alford 10th October 3 to 8pm
The matter of the questionnaire was discussed at a previous meeting and agreed that just being on line was not good enough as too many people unable to access it. One proposal to have That paper copies should be produced and put through letter boxes. TJ stated that this is not difficult or particularly time consuming and had been successfully done recently in another context. The idea of a surgery to help people go on line was suggested by RB but concern that as this would be on a single e-mail address it would not be an accurate measure of opinions. Option to make a printed version and delivered by hand. There were offers of help to do this. The questionnaire to be reduced in size to fit on double sided sheet in order to reduce costs. Returned copies could be placed in local Village hall letter boxes or in box at Rhynie village shop. Chris Hamlet sked if there could be a liaison person to co-ordinate with Bennachie and Donside CCs from TONCC AB agreed to do so.
Frequency of meetings. It was agreed by a vote of 6/8 that they become monthly on the first Monday of each month. The next meeting to be 4th November at Gartly Tin Hut.
Correspondence. This is being forwarded.
Bedding plants. Can Kennethmont let Phyllis Beverly know what is required.
Letter from Cllr Petrie of Huntly regarding how people are able to access meetings, particularly if they can not attend face to face meetings. Requesting that this should be considered as it is a legal requirement on grounds of inclusion and disability. TS said that this was not acceptable to be discussed. However, Cllr Goodhall advised that it was as it was under correspondence. The majority of those in attendance agreed that hybrid should be used. The opinion was that this would fulfil a legal obligation for more people to be included. It would also allow people to tune in as and when they wanted to the meeting from home. It might encourage greater community participation in future. It is already included as an acceptable option in the Constitution so will not require an amendment. D Denoon stated how much better it was when there had been an online meeting before and several others argued for hybrid meetings as this gave people choice. PM said that Cllr Petrie and others should be able to organise childcare etc. He did kindly offer to collect and transport disabled people to meetings. It was explained that the meetings would still be face to face but with the added advantage of being online. AB to organise and arrange for the laptop. First trial to be at Gartly 4th November.
Planning applications None.
Area reports.
Gartly. Traffic speed limit road signs not removed after use. A tailer has been left on verge at Tillyminate turn Cllr Goodhall to investigate – It has no number plate.
Clatt, nothing. Rhynie nothing. Kennethmont no funding available.
Marr area Log Bank. TS reported that there were approximately 100 10kg bags of logs ready for distribution to deserving, trusted in need causes. No questions asked. He asked that if anyone knew of a person or household that might benefit from a donation of some bags to please let him know.
A.O.B
Kennethmont. School speed lights. Cllr Goodhall to chase. Distillery foot path.
Gartly. Grass cutting still not undertaken by the council. Unlikely to happen now.
Clatt Premnay road unlikely to be upgraded due to lack of funds. Bridge parapet has been damaged but nothing done. Cllr G to look into these. Flooding at village hall still the same a drainage system needed, but unlikely to happen.
Rhynie. Football Pitch allotments . Meldrum CC happy to give us some advice as they have undertaken this type of scheme. Follow this up again in the spring.
Next meeting Gartly Tin Hut 4th November 7.30pm
Microgrant
£300 awarded to Clatt Village Hall for a new hall sign.
