Welcome to Port William

1. Present and apologies for absence:–
2. Community councillors:- Mr. Douglas Ballantyne (Treasurer),  Mx. Jen Hendry, Mr. Richard  McElrea, Mr. Jock McMaster, Mrs. Barbara Mellor, Mr. Steve Mellor, Mr. Peter Smellie (Chairman), Mrs. Sheila Smellie (Secretary)

Elected members:- Mr. David Inglis

Apologies for absence:- Mr. Paul Carrigan (unable to access Zoom), Mrs. Katie Hagmann, Mrs, Jackie McCamon, Mr. Jim McColm

 

3. There were no declarations of interest.

 

4. The Police Report – none has been received. Richard reported a spam email purporting to come from the NHS inviting him to attend a vaccine session.

 

5. The Minutes of the last meeting were accepted and signed (proposed by Barbara and seconded by Steve).

 

6. Matters Arising:-

The street lights have been reported on two occasions, both at Monreith (four lights out) and Port William (where lights in the Square are on all day), but no response has been received from D&G.

The communal waste bin at Killantrae has been replaced with a smaller one.  Barbara thanks Jim McColm but sees a problem as the population increases in the future.

 

7. Treasurer’s Report:-

Douglas submitted this before the meeting.  The bank balance is £2453.97 of which village improvements is £1465.67 and the administration fund is £988.30.  The discretionary grant of £493.30 has been received from D & G and £543.60 towards Christmas trees which was passed to the Community Association.  Thanks to the Community Association for their contribution of £230.40.

 

8. Correspondence:-

Chilcarroch Woodland Creation project:-Notification of the planting of 110 hectares of forestry.  No objections were made, and while it was gratifying to note that the extraction route is planned to use the B7005, however the route for traffic supporting the planting process was not defined. The Secretary is to respond suggesting that this needs to follow the same route as the extraction.

Scottish Forestry- Elrig Estates timber extraction, refFPA-7563 :- Clearance and replanting of 18+ hectares adjacent to Elrig Loch.  No reference is made to the access and egress from the site in the documentation. The Secretary is to comment on the application appropriately.

A temporary Ward Officer, Kerren Walker, has been appointed on a six month basis for mid Galloway and Wigtown West.

 

9. Website and media – no developments.

 

10. A planning application has been submitted for an extension in Myrton Crescent, Port William (Application reference 21/0053FUL); those present did see any reason to object.

 

11. Any other business:-

Jen reported that the resident at No. 10 Elrig suffers flooding on the road.  David Inglis will speak to the relevant person at D & G.

A request for ‘Slow’ road signs to discourage speeding traffic in Elrig was received.  The Chairman suggested that further information was required on the frequency and nature of the speeding- what vehicles., what time of day etc?

The road surface has subsided badly towards Glenling.  The Chairman will explain the road repairs notification system to Jen.

David spoke of additional funding available during Covid19, and further grants can be applied for by businesses and communities.

Barbara reported that the road to Killantrae needs attention.  Repairs have been carried out by D & G, but heavy traffic and rain bring stones onto the road surface.  David requested that Barbara should provide further details to enable him to make a site visit to review the situation..

The Treasurer enquired after further assistance from the Resilience Fund, to which David said Kerren should be able to assist. It was agreed that the Secretary would contact Kerren.

Jacqueline Crowther reported that a finger post in Garnets Walk needs replacement.

 

 

The meeting ended at 20:05.

 

The next meeting is Wednesday 24^th February 2021 at 7:30 pm.  Arrangements have been made to hold this Online using  Zoom should it not be possible to hold a physical meeting in the Maxwell Hall.