Ibrox/Cessnock Community Council Approved minutes of meeting on Wednesday December 16th at 7pm at Kinning Perk In attendance: Anne Henderson, Archie Henderson, Bill Copleton, John Foster, Chris Fyfe, Iain Henderson, Mark Hughes, John McKinstry, Margaret Prunty, Ray Prunty, Denis Ruddy, Grace Smith, Bailie Fariha Thomas Apologies: James Adams, Shona Craven, Stephen Dornan, John Kane Chairman John Foster opened the meeting and November's minutes were approved. John then addressed correspondence received in relation to Kinning Perk's shop window decoration and displays project for Christmas – Walter Whitelaw of the Harper Church and Kinning Perk cafe requested volunteers. There were updates on the council resource centre at Ibrox Library and the new guest house (formerly the mosque), the classification of which was discussed at length. Bailie Thomas gave a summary of the relevant rules and regulations as outlined by the tourist board and health and safety legislation. A temporary traffic regulation order is in place at 245 Govan Road, which will be in effect from January 5th to April 29th 2016. The Bank of Scotland closure on April 7th 2016 has provoked much condemnation from residents. Customers are now having to go much further to do their banking. The closure announcement has resulted in protests and petitions, and Iain Henderson has written to Nicola Sturgeon about the matter. Also discussed was the police consultation for delivery of service. Online propositions to the Scottish Civic Trust consultation for area awards must be received by January 31st 2016. The Scottish Government's new planning application process is online. The eplanning website launches on January 5th 2016. Mark Hughes gave a report on Govan Loves Christmas and the surveys carried out at the event. Piggy banks and clocks were given out to children. The date of the next Govan Area Partnership is January 18th. Iain advised that the next Community Council Discussion Forum would take place on February 6th. John Foster gave an update on the Artery Project forum group's fundraising objectives. He also relayed information from Eileen Doherty of Wheatley Group that the planning application for the Ibroxholm Oval development has not been submitted. Mark's new position of vice-chairman was approved. The meeting closed at 8.30pm. The next meeting will take place on January 20th at Kinning Perk cafe.
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Ibrox/Cessnock Community Council
Approved minutes of meeting on Wednesday November 18th at 7pm at Kinning Perk In attendance: Anne Henderson, Archie Henderson, Bill Copleton, Shona Craven, Jonathan Dalling (Cooper/ Cromar Architects), Stephen Dornan, John Foster, Chris Fyfe, Iain Henderson, Mark Hughes, David Jones, John Kane, Robyn MacPherson, John McKinstry, Margaret Prunty, Ray Prunty, Denis Ruddy, Jon Scordia (Cooper/Cromar Architects), Grace Smith, Justin Stephens, Bailie Fariha Thomas Apologies: James Adams, Eileen Doherty (Wheatley Group), Charles Mulholland Chairman John Foster opened the meeting and the previous month's minutes were approved. John provided an update on the plans to turn the former mosque into a guest house. It will not be licensed, and planning permission has been granted subject to various conditions. There were also updates on Clifford Street parking problems and the Great Scottish Run route. Bailie Thomas advised that a new CCTV camera at Ibroxholm Oval would be operational within weeks. The lack of a community council for Govan East was discussed, as was the need for Festival Park to be restored following the recent road works. The possibility of moving to an alternative venue was discussed due to the increase in attendance at our meetings this year, but all agreed to continue to meet at Kinning Perk for the time being while the refurbishment of Whitefield Hall continues. Iain Henderson gave his report on the Community Council Discussion Forum held on November 14th. New Govan Area Partnership rep Mark Hughes gave his report from his first meeting. Issues discussed included the South Sector Information Plan, problems in the Ibrox/Govan area with youth alcohol use and unemployment. Also discussed was the non-response of Rangers Football Club to correspondence about problems on match days including litter, urinating and antisocial behaviour. Bailie Thomas intimated that Govan Loves Christmas was due to take place on December 2nd and that the Govan Area Partnership would have a stall. John Foster spoke of the possibility of having members lead on particular areas (ie the arts, youth engagement, cleansing etc), and engagement with other local groups and organisations. Jon Scordia and Jonathan Dalling from Cooper/Cromar Architects spoke extensively about the proposed development at Ibroxholm Oval, which is for 65 flats of various sizes, and showed the latest plans. Concerned were expressed by residents in relation to privacy, parking and the removal of trees. The meeting closed at 8.50pm. The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday December 16th at Kinning Perk.
Ibrox/Cessnock Community Council Approved minutes of meeting on Wednesday October 21st at 7pm at Kinning Perk In attendance: Bill Copleton, Shona Craven, Stephen Dornan, John Foster, Anne Henderson, Archie Henderson, Iain Henderson, Mark Hughes, David Jones, John Kane, Paul McGrath, Margaret McLean, Margaret Prunty, Ray Prunty, Ann Ross, Denis Ruddy, John Soper, Fariha Thomas Apologies: James Adams, Chris Fyfe, Charles Mulholland, Grace Smith AGM Chairman John Foster opened the AGM and gave the apologies, and the minutes of last year’s AGM were approved and seconded. John gave his report on the past year’s community council activity and expressed his delight at the progress made in terms of recruitment of 10 members, improved meeting attendance, social media presence and the successful Back Court Blitz. Those present were advised that the refurbishment of Whitefield Hall, our previous meeting place, was ongoing. Patricia Mullen is our new Elect Audit Examiner. Our next AGM will take place on Wednesday, October 19 2016. The community council voted to retain John Foster as chair, Iain Henderson as minute secretary and Shona Craven as communications officer. John McKinstry was appointed treasurer. Newly elected treasurer John McKinstry gave his report on our accounts and financial position, which was approved and seconded. The position of vice-chairman was discussed and although no formal decision was made, Mark Hughes was proposed. The possibility of Associate members was also discussed – these could include organisations as well as individuals with a role in the community. This will be discussed in more detail at a future meeting. Mark Hughes was appointed the new representative for the Govan Area Partnership, with Bill Copleton as reserve. It was also suggested that a deputy should be appointed to stand in for Iain should he be unable to attend any of the monthly discussion forums. The issue of the community council’s inventory was raised, and it was agreed that this should be obtained from the previous chair to ensure we can trace/account for any property previously purchased. It was proposed that future meetings could have specific themes, such as planning, art, cleansing and regeneration, in order to allow for detailed discussion and the creation of action plans. Regular meeting September’s minutes were approved, and John Foster shared correspondence received from various agencies. Items discussed including the proposed guest house replacing the old mosque on Paisley Road West and the proposed Ibroxholm housing development. Access/communication problems associated with the Great Scottish Run were discussed and it was agreed more notice and better communication of road closures should be provided for future events in our area. It was explained that the run organisers have an obligation to consult with community councils, and that promises were made last year after similar complaints. Iain Henderson provided his update from the monthly Community Council Discussion Forum. Shona Craven put to Paul McGrath, Southside Deputy Cleansing Manager, a number of cleansing-related issues that had been raised at meetings over the past year. Paul responded to each point in detail, advising of various reviews currently under way in the city and also of plans for the introduction of food waste recycling bins. See Appendix 1 for the issues and responses. On behalf of the community council John Foster thanked Paul for attending and responding to the concerns in such detail. James Soper from Walmer Crescent Association attended the meeting and advised that this group was holding a meeting the following Wednesday, October 27, to which local residents were invited. The meeting closed at 8.45pm. Our next meeting is on Wednesday November 18 at 7pm. Appendix 1 Cleansing Issues and Responses from Paul McGrath 1. The current system for reporting and arranging bulk uplifts seems very inefficient - on occasions multiple workers have arrived at the same address at different times to carry out the same job. For example, one coming to "pull through" items, another coming to collect them, and a third redundantly arriving after the job has been completed. How can we resolve this? Is it a problem with the way requests are made by phone or online? Can LES collate multiple requests for the same items to be uplifted, based on postcodes? Paul emphasised that bulk uplift is offered by the council as a free service but is not part of its service agreement. A city-wide review is currently under way. The council used to employ “back court men” but these are now gone and resources are stretched. Furthermore, some items (ie fridges) need to be collected by special vehicles, hence they may be left while other items are cleared. In addition, the council can only lift the items on their lists – if they take any other items lying around they expose themselves to the risk of insurance claims. A significant difficulty is that the council's complaints system is not integrated – ie the telephone complaint system is entirely separate from the online system. This goes some way to explaining the current inefficiencies identified by residents. An LES meeting will be held soon to discuss this problem. 2. Residents are not clear about the rules regarding bin and bulk collections for their streets. In many cases the bin men will state one set of rules (ie bulk items to be put out on the street) while notices in closes say another (ie bulk items to be put out the back). In many cases the notices in closes have been torn down or not stuck properly to walls to begin with. In areas with a high turnover of tenants, many people simply will not know the rules. We need to ensure the council and its staff are in agreement about how rubbish is collected, and communicate this to residents. It may be necessary for information to be provided in multiple languages. Paul advised that information about the rules for individual properties can be found online. It was suggested that posters in closes could use symbols, and that Govanhill may provide a model here. Dougie Gellan is working on this. 3. Residents are also not clear of their options regarding domestic bins - ie that wheelie bins are not provided by the council but much be purchased by residents. Residents need guidance on their options. For example, they would need to be assured before buying a wheelie bin that the bin men were willing to pull/carry it through their close/up and down stairs. How can this (and the rules in point 2) best be communicated? Can LES provide us with comprehensive rules for all streets in the area that we can post on our website? Different rules apply to different streets depending on the housing associations involved. Therefore we will need to work with both council and housing associations to communicate to residents. 4. Blue recycling bins are not emptied regularly or consistently enough. Residents appear to not know or not care what should go in a blue bin. The original labels indicating what should go in the bins have worn off, and many of the red locks have been broken. Can these be replaced/fixed? The locks were removed by the council deliberately as cardboard is now allowed in the bins and the aperture was too small to allow residents to put it in the bins. The rules on recycling will be changing soon as food waste bins are being introduced in line with EU law. These will be phased in between January and November, and will be accompanied by an information campaign. It was suggested this could be a good opportunity to inform residents about the recycling rules more broadly (including, for example, the above change regarding cardboard). 5. Grey GCC litter bin bags are regularly left out on the pavement overnight, sometimes for days at a time. In the city centre the bags never appear to be left dumped - instead, the bin men empty them into large red wheelie bins and pull these along as they go. Can a similar system be adopted in Ibrox/Cessnock to improve efficiency and reduce instances of bags being ripped open by foxes? The current system is inefficient. The first worker empties the bins and leaves the bags behind, the second comes with a vehicle to collect the bags, and if this is delayed (ie due to vehicle breakdown) a third worker presumably has to come to clear up the resulting mess. The large red bins cannot be used in our area because a specific vehicle is needed to collect these. Extra patrols have been added for Paisley Road West to try to tackle this problem area. Residents are encouraged to report any bags left lying on the pavement. 6. The area has a significant rat problem which has been impeding efforts to clean up problem areas. This will not be resolved until residents on Paisley Road West stop dumping rubbish including food waste on the pavement. We have been advised that there are many reasons for them doing this - ie in some instances back bin areas are blocked off or dangerous - and it is clear there has been no effective enforcement action. In the interests of public health, can large bins on wheels be made available to stop rubbish being dumped directly on to the pavement, with signs on them clearly indicated which buildings they are for? Work is ongoing with Public Health to tackle this problem, which is multifaceted. A significant problem is that many of the properties are privately owned and therefore the council cannot force work for example to ensure safe access to bin areas. 1280l black bins are being used although the council does not favour these as they tend to attract fly-tipping around them. |
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