October 4th 2012 Minutes

Johnstone Community Council

Minutes of the ordinary meeting of Johnstone Community Council held on Thursday 4th October 2012 at 7.20pm in Johnstone Town Hall.

Present

Robert Campbell, Stewart Clark, Elizabeth Cosgrove, Wilma Dean, Elizabeth Forrest, David Higginson, Pamela Higginson, George Kennedy, Dennis Lavery, Margaret Lavery, and Valerie Reilly.

Also in attendance:-

Councillors (Ward 7) – John Caldwell, John Hood, Iain MacMillan.

(Ward 8) – Derek Bibby, Andy Doig, Christopher Gilmour.

Police Constables Lyle and Montgomery.

Five members of the public were also present.

1. Apologies

Margaret Lavery has tended her resignation from the CC due other pressures. This was accepted with regret and the Chair thanked her for all her efforts on behalf of the CC.

Linda Flint, Malcolm Hill and Margery Parker.

Malcolm Hill has in fact requested leave of absence for the Oct-Nov period and will be available again in December. There were no objections to this from other CC members.

2. Minutes

The minutes of the previous meeting were approved.

Proposed by David Higginson

Seconded by Elizabeth Cosgrove

3. Matters Arising

Clr MacMillan wished it to be recorded that he had made sure that the engineering works plaque from the walls of the Swimming Pool had been removed and put into safe storage within the council awaiting installation somewhere on the new building.

4. Police Presentation

The two constables handed out questionnaires regarding perceptions of priorities to CC members and asked if they could be filled in and returned by the end of the meeting.

PC Montgomery reported that in the month from 1st September 46 crimes had been recorded of which 13 had been detected. The crimes included car thefts and driving offences (6), drugs offences (2), thefts (7), assaults (5), vandalism (10), shoplifting (5), breach of the peace (5) and 6 others varied offences.

Those present were then asked if there were any issues that they wished to raise.

Margaret Lavery mentioned that scaffolding was to be erected to repair lead on the roof of High Kirk and hoped that the police would keep an enhanced eye on the property for the duration.

PC Lyle noted that two people had been reported for lead theft recently, but they would mention the scaffolding to their supervisors.

PC Montgomery added that offenders were generally known to the police and that they would be proactively targeted.

Clr Gilmour added that he had spoken to the Community Wardens about the scaffolding.

PC L said that the questionnaires, being distributed to various groups in Johnstone, would be extremely important for prioritising police deployment.

EC raised the matter of attempted break-ins in Cochrane Castle.

PC L answered that they would try and target this and that enquiries were on-going.

EC also mentioned suggestions of drug dealing behind the shop in Burns Drive.

PC L stressed that if the community are talking about such matters then they should be reported to the police.

There being no other questions the PCs left the meeting at 7.30pm.

4. Planning Report

Valerie Reilly reported that there had been no new events on the planning front since the last CC meeting.

5. Treasurer’s Report

The Treasurer reported that the balance in hand was £5,437.29.

6. Secretary’s Report

George Kennedy commented that although the sum reported by the Treasurer sounded healthy, there were considerable commitments that needed to be remembered including Music in the Bandstand and Weans World. The actual available amount was more like £2,000.

A volunteer was requested to lay a poppy wreath on behalf of JCC at the Remembrance Day ceremony on 11th November. Dennis Lavery agreed to do this. It was agreed that a wreath would be purchased for £50.

Clr MacMillan reported that the Remembrance Service would be held at St Paul’s at 10.45am followed by the ceremony at the War Memorial at 12.30pm.

GK reported that he had received a letter from Anne McNaughton regarding the Community Council Forum and the difficulty of retaining members. He added that JCC could do with recruiting some new members and that CC members should think about possible recruitment strategies to bring to the December meeting for further discussion. The local press have agreed that they would be happy to run an article with a relevant photograph.

DL suggested posters to be put up in Morrison’s, the Town Hall and the railway station.

A member of the public asked if Lidl’s could be added to the list and if copies of minutes could also be posted to allow people to see what the CC was doing.

DL pointed out that copies are deposited in Johnstone Library which is probably the best used library within the Renfrewshire Council area.

GK suggested that we should produce a poster showing all our achievements over the last four years.

Clr Bibby suggested that the CC should consider a coffee morning on a busy Saturday in the town.

Clr Hood further suggested that the CC could take a stall during a future community event.

GK noted that we need to think of a venue for the period after the Town Hall closes early in 2013. He had taken the liberty of speaking to EC and ascertaining that the Cochrane Castle Community Centre would be available to us. He suggested that we should pay for a 2.5 hour let to allow for set-up and take-down. There were no objections.

7. Sub-Group Reports

Roads

As Linda Flint had tendered apologies at short notice, no report had been received.

Environmental

GK reported that the work to revamp the landscaping in Ludovic Square has been delayed until the winter season when more labour will be available.

Bert Campbell noted that despite recent efforts, rats were still prevalent in the Square and he had personally spoken to members of the public about them feeding the birds which encourages the rats. In addition taxi drivers waiting at the Square discard food instead of binning it properly. He had challenged one driver who had denied responsibility.

DL suggested taking the numbers of the taxis when this behaviour is seen.

ML noted that the Council has a dedicated officer to deal with taxi complaints who will write to the taxi companies on the matter.

Clr H said that this was part of his remit and he would look into it.

GK said that the situation would probably not be resolved until the re-landscaping was done when the area would be grassed over leaving the rats no place to hide.

BC said he was worried about where the rats would go next.

ML added that we need bins which the birds cannot pick food out of.

Clr G suggested that this should be raised with Fraser Carlin as part of the wider upgrading of the area.

BC reported that the issue of dog faeces in Church Street was not yet resolved as no-one has managed to identify the culprit. He has spoken to the wardens and police about the situation.

Clr MacM reported that the area beside the Town Hall is now very dark due to the lights on the Pool no longer being available. He hoped that temporary lights would be installed shortly.

Clr Doig noted that he was keeping a watching brief over the cleared area at Floorsburn.

Play Park & Youth Issues.

GK and Wilma Dean reported that the Shanks Playpark was progressing and had been painted up. Painting of the railings was due to be completed by the Community Payback scheme.

Russell McCutcheon has agreed to task his work force with clearing the ground around the playpark. There was an agreement that phase II of the work would go ahead and be completed by the end of the financial year. Thanks were due to all involved.

WD is looking at the area for phase II which will cater for older children.

A suggestion was received that children from Johnstone High and St Benedict’s should be asked to come up with schemes in their art classes, with a prize on offer for the best.

GK noted that Renfrew, and other areas, have excellent facilities for older children. Johnstone has nothing along these lines – perhaps that could be phase IV?

GK reported that the Youth Club is continuing to operate – all the children are in together at the moment because of repair work. Numbers are averaging 40/Friday.

Clr D wanted to reinforce the point about involving local children in the refurbishment of the playparks – a feeling of ‘ownership’ has worked well in other areas and helps to reduce vandalism.

8. AOCB

DL reported that he had written to Fraser Carlin re public toilet provision after the closure of the Town Hall. There had as yet been no response. In the same letter, the request for surplus furniture for community use had been made.

DL also noted that the ramp to platform 2 at Johnstone Railway Station is still being pursued, as there are many people who find it difficult to use the current footbridge. Network Rail is still saying that work should start soon.

Clr MacM reported that he had heard similar assurances as to the current situation.

ML presented her final report from the Local Area Committee meeting held on 30th September.

The Fire Service had outlined the changes coming with the single Scotland-wide Fire Service on 1st April 2013.

The Police report noted that the reception desk at Johnstone Police Station will be closed from 6pm to 8am. The Police Service will also change to a national force on 1st April, but there will be a continuing emphasis on local partnership working. Metal theft at the High Parish Church was cited as the main reason for a spike in theft figures for Johnstone North.

The Community Wardens reported that there had been an increase in the fy tipping of waste and that they had been watching the Church Street area due to the frequent dog fouling issues. Over the summer they had been carrying out a School Watch initiative.

GK commented that a good CCTV system in Johnstone could help with the treatment of minor offences around the town. The CC has an agreement that they will be consulted when the new system is considered. We really need to push for this.

Elizabeth Forrest reported that she had observed a dog fouler and had phoned the police only to be told they could do nothing as they needed a witness.

From the public, Danny McKay complained that the new swimming pool will never pay for itself as no-one is using it.

EC said that she had heard that people couldn’t get into the pool due to its use by classes and groups. ML note that she had heard complaints that the pool was too shallow and adults were scraping their knees on the bottom – also that there was no bus service to take advantage of the 7am opening time.

DL reported that he had been in the gym when it was invaded by school children – which is not supposed to happen as the School has its own gym. In such cases what happens to those who have paid money for subscriptions?

Clr MacM replied that pools do not make money and that there are times when facilities get very busy. It was early days for the new Johnstone pool we need to see how it goes. The bus service was still a problem.

Clr B commented that some of the concerns being raised are the very points that Councillors were assured would not happen. There was a need to collate people’s concerns and complaints for further investigation.

DL said that another issue was that it was difficult to get a car near the building in the evenings because of football – there is not enough parking space.

Clr MacM answered that Fraser Carlin is looking into utilising the unlandscaped ground.

Clr B expressed concern at hearing shop keepers’ comments about reduced footfall in the town centre

GK pointed out that all these issues – car parking, safety at night, pool size – were raised by JCC and we were not listened to.

WD Reported that on her visits she had seen children of 8 or 9 sent to the pool with younger siblings who they were supposed to be supervising. Also she had seen only one lifeguard on duty which is illegal under EU regulations.

Clr D said that we need to look forward not back. Pool attendances were reported to be 22% up and Gym usage 63% up. 200 memberships have been taken. He agreed to look into the issue of lifeguards.

Clr D commented that a new CCTV system will make people feel safer in the town centre. Every community has areas where drug and alcohol problems were rife – Johnstone is no worse.

DL replied that Johnstone has been reported to have drug deaths 168% higher than the rest of Renfrewshire. Information about this has been requested but not yet received.

EC complained that the traffic in the High Street has not improved and that something needs doing.

Clr G answered that the Warden Service was also reporting that the problems were bad. He questioned whether community attitudes have changed since the safety islands were installed and whether the town would now prefer they were removed.

GK replied that it would probably be unpopular to remove the islands, but if they were removed railings should be put between the two crossing points to prevent jay walking.

Clr G reported that there have been several instances of fly tipping at the inshot beside Greggs and asked anyone seeing it to report it. He has spoken to the police and wardens about it.

Clr D asked if there was any update on the issue of the bus shelter in Kilbarchan Road

Clr G replied that a report was awaited.

There being no further business the meeting closed at 8.40pm.

The next meeting will be held at Johnstone Town Hall on Thursday 13th December 2012 at 7.00pm.