Dunning Community Council Meeting 4 April 2024

Minutes of the meeting of Dunning Community Council held on Monday 8th April 2024

at 7.30pm in Dunning Village Hall

1. Welcome: The Chair welcomed everyone on our return to the Village Hall after our use of the Church Hall over the Winter months and informer the meeting that, after Item 3 on the Agenda, there would be an update on the Craighead Windfarm proposal. Those present were: Neil Johnston (NJ) – Chair, John Stockley (JS) – Vice-Chair, Ann Myles (AM) – Treasurer, Colin Young (CY) – Secretary, Ally Dewar (AD), Amanda Howie (AH), Tony Fitzpatrick (TF), Councillor Keith Allan (KA) and members of the public.
2. Apologies: Councillor Steven Carr (SC), Councillor Crawford Reid (CR)
3. Update from Police: There were no officers available to attend the meeting but information had been received from Community Policing regarding recent housebreaking in the area with the warning to ensure that properties were securely locked during periods of absence. The Police had also received a report of vandalism at Dunning Primary School with the suspected youths who damaged the picnic table not having been identified but an increased patrol presence will be maintained. It was reported that the owners of cars with keyless entry system were being targeted with the advice to owners that they should seriously consider purchasing a Faraday Box to prevent their keys being cloned by thieves.
4. Craighead Windfarm Update: Alex and Jason provided the meeting with the latest information about the progress of this proposal that should be present to PKC in the next few months as the development is now for 8 turbines producing 48MW, a figure below the threshold for determination by the Scottish Government. The displays showed the minimal visual impact on Dunning and the land to the North of the village but with the potential to power 34,000 homes/year at full production. Community Benefit from this proposal would provide £240,000/year for dispersal throughout the area and there is the potential for 10% shared community ownership of the whole scheme. A ‘shared percentage’ scheme is also being examined as this might be easier to manage for all concerned. A question was asked about the timeframe for this windfarm and it was suggested that it might be 2032 before it was possible to connect all the turbines to the National Grid. The Chair thanked Alex and Jason for the update and looked forward to future discussions.
5. Minutes of the last meeting held on 4th March 2024: With the amendment to the date of Little Dunning to Saturday 1st June, these were approved and signed by the Chair.
6. Treasurer’s Report: AM provided the current state of the finances for both the Administration and Project Funds and these were agreed.
7. Matters arising from the minutes:
   1. Community Survey – TF explained that this should now be shared with the village and suggested that the DCC Facebook page and the DCC website would be the most appropriate methods, once the website is up and running. There were issues raised in the survey and we should move to address these.
   2. Safer Communities – AH had made contact with this Team and reported that they were prepared to come and speak to Community Groups once they had completed their initial work.            Action: AH
   3. DCC Website – JS reported that it was hoped to complete this at a meeting on 17th April when the design, layout and content would be agreed. This would then permit items like the Community Survey to be shared.                                                                                                                                                Action: JS
   4. PA System – NJ indicated that this needed to be sorted out as the funding has to be used by a specific date and the system ready for the Duck Race.                                                                  Action: NJ/TF
   5. Lights on The Green – CY had tried to pursue this via MYPKC but there was no specific category for 2 lights being out – it was either one or an entire street. AH had been more successful and the lights are now functioning.
8. Planning Matters:
   1. 24/00293/FLL & 24/00380/LBC – replacement windows and door at 7 St. Serf’s Terrace
   2. 23/02021/FLL & 23/02022/LBC – Alterations, terrace, Ramp, etc. at Glengarry, Lower Granco Street – Approved.
9. Road Matters:
   1. Parking – KA had provided a drawing of the proposed parking on the East side of the bridge with this as a starting point to try and solve the problem of overnight parking. This was agreed.              Action: KA
   2. Potholes – There were numerous locations that required attention and KA asked that everyone reporting a pothole obtain a ‘Report Number’ from PKC in order that he could follow up on any action not completed. While some locations had already been highlighted for more complicated work there were always further holes appearing and TF asked how we could collate these reports. AH indicated that she would be happy to do this work.                                                                        Action: AH
10. Correspondence:
    1. Hungrytown Folk Group – CY reported that this group were travelling the country and asking if a concert might be arranged in the village and that it might be suitable as a fund raiser for the Village Hall Group. This was agreed and the details will be passed on.                                                     Action: CY
    2. SSEN Customer Vulnerability Team – CY reported that this team was set up to establish those in the community who should be made aware of any breaks in electricity supply ahead of any likely interruptions and that this work might best be carried out by the Dunning Welfare who already had knowledge of these people. This was agreed and the details will be passed on.                  Action: CY
11. SEPA request for local information on likely flooding to properties: This prompted a discussion on the recent problems experienced at Romangate and Ochil Gardens where water from a filed on the opposite side of Perth Road had resulted in problems for householders sue to the gulleys being choked with debris. KA reported there was a scheduled programme of gulley cleaning but that some locations were only dealt with every 2 years but that a faster response was possible where a specific gulley was causing a problem. Comments about many clocked gulleys were heard from various people and it was agreed that this would be investigated.                                                                                                            Action: KA
12. Meetings attended:
    1. TF had attended the Rural Transport Futures meeting and this group would hope to be able to visit CCs in the future after their concluding meeting in Birnham that TF will attend.
13. Councillors’ Reports:
    1. KA was able to confirm that the report on drop kerbs in Dunning had now been adopted by PKC and looked forward to the work being carried out.
    2. KA reported on the recent determination of the wind turbine application for Simon Howie Butchers Ltd and explained that, despite a move to refuse the application, it had been approved. Those seeking refusal had been advised that without a substantive planning reason for refusal it would be impossible to defend their position and, unfortunately, they were unable to meet this requirement and that left the 11 remaining Councillors on the Committee with no alternative than to approve the development, including KA himself. The Community Council thanked KA for clarity on this matter.
14. Any other business:
    1. AH reported that the Cycle Event around Forteviot had caused considerable disruption for bus users as there were reports that buses had been turned back and the Saturday service compromised. AH has asked PKC to provide answers and will report back.                              Action: AH
    2. AH highlighted the Village Hall Questionnaire that is seeking to obtain as much information from hall users and other people about the future of the hall. This can be found on https://dunninghall.org.uk and please encourage everyone to respond.
    3. AH asked if it would be possible to include an item on DCC Projects in future agendas to better inform the public of what we are doing. This was agreed.                                                                  Action: CY
    4. TF asked if the Minutes could highlight the Police information about housebreaking and keyless car entry. This was agreed.                                                                                                                                        Action: CY
    5. AM asked if it would be possible to clean up the area around the War Memorial as the recent strong winds had scattered items around The Green and the only item needing to be rescued was the wooden cross used for the Poppies.                                                                                                            Action: CY
    6. It was reported to the meeting that the power pole alongside the Dunning Burn at the first bridge in Kirk Wynd was exposed and being undermined. Ah had reported this to SSEN but nothing appeared to have been done so far. This will be monitored.

The next meeting will be held on Monday 6th May 2024 at 7.30pm in Dunning Village Hall