Welcome to Port William

PORT WILLIAM AND DISTRICT COMMUNITY COUNCIL
Minutes of the Meeting held Wednesday 31 May 2023, 7.45 p.m. Maxwell Hall, Port William
PRESENT:- Community Councillors – Mr R Sheppard, Mr D Ballantyne, Mr L Gray (Minutes
Secretary), Mr J McMaster, Ms R Davison, Dr J Crowther, Mr R McElrea, Mrs B Mellor, Mrs L
McNaught
Elected members – Cllr K Hagmann
Members of the Public – Mrs J Gray, Mr T Cottam, Mr S Mellor, Mr G McAlpine
Apologies – Ms J Edgar, Mr P Corrigan
1. Declarations of Interest: None
2. Police Report – Received, no incidents this month. The report has been updated with a new
look.
3. Minutes of the last meeting –
a. Proposer – Mrs B Mellor
b. Seconded – Dr J Crowther
4. Matters Arising from previous meeting:
a. Notice Boards – Have now been installed and in full use. Keys are stored at the Spar
store.
b. Second Sands pathway – Grass has only been partially cut and we are now in season
for adders living in the overgrown areas. The path is no longer a path due to overgrowth;
it was formerly maintained by DGC.
i. K Hagmann to have a Ward event to discuss and raise areas of concern – details
to follow.
ii. K Hagmann advised contacting R Louther, Community Assets Manager, to
discuss options. LG to contact R Louther.
5. Treasurer’s Report –
Total in Bank : £2,648.75. (Village improvements- £950.47 , Carscreugh Wind
Farm–£453.27, Kilgallioch–£200.00 , Admin.–£1,053.01, Place to Be–£8.00 debit.)
I have shown an item for Place to Be for the first time , in case further charges are
incurred and may be reclaimed.
In month we made payments from the Kilgallioch Fund to Maxwell Hall
Management-£700, Port William Community Shop-£700, Port William S.W.I.–£300 and
Port William Primary School–£300.Two payments to Maxwell Hall for supper room
rental of £16 and £20 and for data protection–£35.
It should be noted that Maxwell Hall increased their charges on 25/4–Supper room–£8
per hour to £10 per hour. Main Hall now £15 per hour.
6. Correspondence –
a. Mrs J Gray – Concerned about Japanese Knotweed on their property at Hillhead
i. Councill have been contacted, and in discussions with J Gray. It is outside the
control of PWCC to assist in this matter, as it is a civil and legal matter. LG to
provide J Gray with Citizens advice bureau contact details.
b. Place Planning
i. Dr J Crowther has had further contact with DGC. The audit of the village needs
to take place soon. The audit needs to cover an appropriate sized area; likely
from Maxwell Hall, through the main village square and along to the Community
Shop; encompassing the Harbour. 2 or 3 volunteers are required to assist. Dr J
Crowther to be in contact with volunteers following the meeting

ii. Community Consultation meeting – Funds have been requested from DGC to
assist with setting this up.
iii. Sanquhar has an approved place plan – K Hagmann advised it would be
worthwhile looking at theirs to assist with ours.
iv. Community Lead Regeneration Funding is a possible source for funding the PW
Place Plan.
7. Kilgallioch and Carscreugh updates – No update
a. Dr J Crowther asked to be considered for funding to purchase equipment for maintaining
the milestones across the area.
i. K Hagmann advised funding could be available through the Common Good Fund
from DGC.
ii. Also could apply directly to WF for funds, as the milestones go beyond our
Community Council boundaries.
8. Planning Applications – One application – No objections raised.
9. Website/Social Media Update – No updates or actions to report. FB is running well with
increased traffic and activity.
10. A.O.C.B. –
a. C Cameron from Citizens Advice DGC came along to the meeting to discuss the project
she is a part of in the Wigtownshire area, hosting surgeries in Newton Stewart, Wigtown
and Whithorn. CC provided a run through of the surgeries and the type of advice given,
almost anything e.g. financial, travel, housing; except legal advice, but they can provide
details on where to get legal advice. CC asked if hosting an advice session in Port
William would be beneficial. Previously it was deemed not viable, however following
some discussion with Community Councillors and K Hagmann, we agree it would be
beneficial. PWCC is happy to support this surgery, however it should be discussed and
organised with Maxwell Hall to arrange a suitable date and times. Any advertising for the
surgery would be placed on notice boards and the FB page.
b. J McMaster – Speed indicator at Monreith not working and has been reported to the
police and DGC.
i. K Hagmann advised there is no budget in this area for speed signs and
cameras, currently.
c. J McMaster – Asked if Council Tax write off information is published.
i. K Hagmann says it is published online, and shows amounts over £25,000. KH to
send information to L Gray.
d. B Mellor – Raised issue with potholes in the area and claims to Council not being
approved.
i. K Hagmann stated there is a budget for the potholes but DGC are struggling to
hire contractors to carry out all the work.
ii. BM said we can’t claim if the pothole hasn’t been reported; but then came back
saying it can take up to 4 weeks for repair with another claim.
iii. KH couldn’t shed light on DGC legal handling of these matters.
There being no further business the meeting closed at 9.20 p.m.
Date and Time of the Next Meeting –7.30 p.m., Wednesday 28 June 2023, Maxwell Hall.