March 31st 2011 Minutes
Johnstone Community Council
Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Johnstone Community Council held on Thursday 31st March 2011 at 7.00pm in Johnstone Town Hall.
Present
Robert Campbell, Stewart Clark, Elizabeth Cosgrove, Wilma Dean, David Higginson, Pamela Higginson, George Kennedy, Valerie Reilly and Isabella Wishart.
Also in attendance:-
Councillors (Ward 7) – John Hood, Iain McMillan.
(Ward 8) – Neil Bibby, Bruce McFee.
Council officials Fraser Carlin and Stuart McMillan.
And five members of the public.
1. Apologies
Dennis Lavery and Councillors Caldwell and Bibby. Councillor McFee intimated that he would arrive late.
2. Minutes
The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.
Proposed by David Higginson
Seconded by Isabella Wishart
3. Matters Arising
There were no matters arising.
In the absence of Chris Gilmour and Dennis Lavery, George Kennedy took the chair.
4. Presentation from Planning Department.
Head of Planning, Fraser Carlin was introduced by George Kennedy, along with Stuart McMillan the Policy and Regeneration Manager who is in charge of the local development plan. GK noted that it was taken as a mark of respect for Johnstone Community Council that these two officials were consulting with us about the proposals for a new Civic Centre for Johnstone at such an early stage.
Fraser Carlin began by stating that he brought no plans for us to look at as nothing was as yet laid down. He felt that Johnstone needs a long term vision and he was keen that JCC should be a focus for consultation. He wanted to know what we wanted to see in a new Civic Centre, then the Planning Department could see what would physically fit and what could be managed within the money allocated from which a brief could be compiled for the architects.
Planning themselves were thinking along the lines of a new civic hub which would hopefully include a police office giving 24-hour surveillance over facilities and activities. The area under consideration for development was that currently occupied by the present Town Hall, the Baths and the Library. It would have been nice to have the whole area between the two Squares, but any negotiations with the commercial owners of the Houston Court area would probably have delayed the development by several years. The new Town Hall frontage would probably be towards Ludovic Square.
FC and SMcM wanted to understand what the people of Johnstone needed from a Town Hall and also how they wanted it to look – should it have a traditional feel, or should it be a more modern construction of glass and steel? The timescale for this development is that it is hoped that construction could begin in about 18 months time but this would depend on certain practical considerations such as honouring existing bookings for events.
The aim of the development is to maintain town centre activity and it is hoped that local Council offices such as Housing (currently sited in the aging Floorsburn House building) and Social Work will be incorporated. However, the planners were mindful that there needs to be a full assessment of parking provision in order to maintain spaces close to the services and shops.
The question was asked from the floor as to whether the whole of the police function in Johnstone would move into the new centre.
Cllr McFee replied that he understood from the police that they wished to downsize their presence in Johnstone but that they knew that they needed to maintain a visible presence in the town.
GK asked whether the Library would come in to the new development.
FC answered that discussions had taken place only the previous day and that they were keen to develop a modern hub with coffee facilities and wi fi etc. It is likely that the Library would be the last section to be worked on, thereby minimising any necessary period of closure.
GK said that the JCC members around the table should each be able to put their views and questions to FC.
Stewart Clark said that he hoped that the new constructions would be traditional in appearance and asked what height the new centre would have to be to accommodate all the proposed office space?
FC answered that it would be two, or three storeys at the most as the money would not be sufficient for constructing any higher.
Pamela Higginson said that an obvious entrance was important as when she first came to Johnstone she walked right round the current building looking for the way in which she felt was very low key.
Robert Campbell said that he lives right across the street and he wanted something nice to look out onto. He also wanted flexible facilities suitable for youth activities but which could also be used by others at different times of the week.
Elizabeth Cosgrove agreed with previous requests for a traditional facade, but was concerned about the idea of moving the Registry Office into the hub as she felt that one of the strengths of the current registry Office was the privacy it afforded – particularly those waiting to register a death.
FC replied that the office functions of the Registry would be kept separate from any Marriage Suite, but he stressed that no discussions had as yet taken place with the Registrar.
IW was concerned about car parking spaces.
FC admitted that the current spaces between the Town Hall and Church Street would be lost, but that the Houston Court car park could be more efficiently laid out and would compensate for the spaces lost.
DH wanted a building in traditional style but which was eco-friendly with solar panels and wind turbines.
FC said that the building would have to be eco-friendly or it wouldn’t get the financing.
Valerie Reilly said that a number of meeting rooms of different sizes were needed to accommodate various groups and that they needed adequate sound proofing from noisy activities in the bigger spaces.
Wilma Dean wanted a building in keeping with other new builds around the Square, such as the clinic building. She also noted that details such as storage cupboards were important when considering the needs of organisations such as play groups.
Cllr McF agreed that the building should be in keeping with the other architecture around the town centre. He also said that it would be good if the main space could be flexible with a modern moveable stage and raked seating. Public toilets could also be included.
Cllr McM wanted an old-fashioned frontage and said that he had fond memories of the old Johnstone Town Hall. It was important that facilities for productions by local amateur dramatic companies should be retained. He also felt it was important that the Housing and Social Work offices be retained for the town centre.
FC replied that this was part of what the enquiry was about and by moving offices into the hub, other Council assets could be realised to increase available finance.
Cllr Hood also wanted the new build to be traditional in style and asked what space the new hall would have.
FC replied that it would be a bit bigger than the current size.
From the public Linda Flint asked whether it would be possible to get rid of the old buildings at Millbrae that gave such a bad impression on entering the town and Cllr McF added those in MacDowall Street should also go.
GK emphasised that meeting rooms should be separated from noisy activities. He also suggested that a possible extra car parking area could be established in the area accessed beside Central Garage. Extra parking close to the hub would be important if more office staff were moving in.
FC summed up by saying that Planning department will continue to consult and that if JCC felt that they was being left out at any stage they should get in touch. Public meetings will be held once the ideas are more crystallised.
GK thanked FC and SMcM for coming to the JCC meeting.
5. Treasurer’s Report
A budget report was circulated among the members that showed a balance of £11,194. However, DH pointed out that payments were due to the playpark, the Bandstand and Weans World which would leave a balance of £3,178.55. £5,000 is promised from Glasgow Airport.
6. Planning Report
Although it is actually outside the JCC area, we have been notified of a public consultation to be held at Elderslie Village Hall on 1st April 12.00 to 19.00. This is in respect of a Miller Developments proposal for varied use in the Linclive corridor.
7. Secretary’s Report
GK informed the meeting of the notice of uncontested election results for JCC. A total of 13 nominations had been lodged and accepted, including three new individuals Robert Bowater, Malcolm Hill and Margaret Lavery. Robert Bowater was present and was introduced to the meeting. We have already received two applications for co-options from Ian McNaught and Linda Flint, with two other possible names that would fill our four possibilities for co-option.
8. AOCB
RC raised the problem of the bins in McDowall Street which are still lying out even though this was reported to Gary McEwan at the last JCC meeting. He complained that the Wardens do not seem to be doing their job.
Cllr McF said that he should contact Shona McDougal as the Wardens should be attending to this and tracking down those responsible.
LF raised the problem of littering on the footpath between St Benedict’s School and Morrisons.
GK replied that there had been a number of attempts to clear the problem including bans on the children using Morrisons. He suggested that when the new JCC was constituted in April there might be smaller groups set up to tackle individual problems like this.
Cllr H added that Morrisons is mayhem at the lunch period but the manager complains that shop takings go down when the children are banned.
RC noted that there will be a new Head Teacher at St Benedict’s after May and perhaps JCC could talk to him/her.
EC asked if it was true that the Children’s Home in Barrochan Road was to be demolished and a new facility built?
Cllr McM replied that the building was to be sold off and the children housed elsewhere.
EC also raised the problem of the unreliability of the Arriva bus service to Spateston, which is getting worse with many scheduled buses not turning up.
Cllr McM noted that there had been a debate in Council about this matter.
Key Coaches have announced that they will run a small bus on the route and so Arriva has decided it will restart its small bus.
Cllr McF said that the Council’s only lever would be if Arriva were receiving a subsidy in exchange for which they are supposed to run an agreed timetable. The situation may improve in the future if the subsidy currently paid to SPT can be saved.
There being no further business the last meeting of the current JCC closed at 8.50pm.
The next meeting will be held at Johnstone Town Hall on Thursday 28th April 2011 at 7.00pm.