Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry Community Council (SBRBACC) held its monthly meeting on Tuesday October 3 in Kilmonivaig Church Hall.
Among the issues discussed were:
Bear Scotland – Improvement works on A82 south of Spean Bridge due to end on October 20, and on A86 at Auchmore between Laggan and Newtonmore between October 23-27, when night time closure will be in operation, and October 30 to November 10, when there will be traffic lights in place.
Transport Scotland – Correspondence between the chairman and Transport Scotland circulated and agreed to place on the village noticeboards. Four MSPs picked up the dialogue: Kate Forbes, Ariane Burgess, Douglas Ross, and Edward Mountain. It is hoped their intervention might persuade the Roads Agency to bring forward outstanding works.
Altour Road Playpark – Spean Bridge, Roy Bridge and Achnacarry SCIO (SBRBASCIO) has raised the funds to replace the playpark equipment removed by Highland Council (HC) in April on a like-for-like basis. Caledonian Play are expected to complete the installation by the end of the year.
Coire Glas – A response to Kate Forbes MSP’s letter to HC Planning relating to Condition 19 issue has been received. HC appeared to claim that they are permitted under Condition 19 to permit exceptions; SBRBACC considers the response selective and an exception cannot be used to cover a generalisation. Ms Forbes’s staff will pursue the matter, but HC are unlikely to move until the Information Commissioner rules on SBRBACC’s complaint.
Network Rail – The chairman wrote to Ian Blackford MP and representatives of Network Rail. Mr Blackford’s staff were unhappy about the content of SBRBACC’s appeal and in the manner Network Rail had conducted itself with SBRBACC. They intended to write to Transport Secretary Mark Harper and suggested the chairman consult with the Information Commissioner’s (IC) staff. Consequently SBRBACC has made a formal complaint to the IC relating to Network Rail.
Roy Bridge School – SBRBASCIO, supported by the Communities Housing Trust, are pursuing a Community Asset Transfer request to HC as the first stage to securing the site for community development. Lochaber Housing Association are a likely partner.
New Belford Hospital – Ian Langley attended meetings. Progress slowly being made and there a number of sticking points: number of beds, high dependency unit, and whether an MRI Scanner would be in place.
Glen Gloy Broadband Rollout – The Lochaber Times received a response from HC denying that they had given Openreach or their contractors permission to lay a trench. SBRBACC considers connecting three second homes to be a waste of public resources when so many permanent residents want to secure fast fibre broadband. It was agreed to escalate the complaint to the Minister for Small Business, Innovation, Tourism and Trade.
Correspondence: The chairman contacted Chris Pasteur of Gilkes Energy’s after the postponement of the public consultation on their proposed 1500 MW Pumped Storage Scheme at Loch Na Earba on September 13. A further open day will be held in Spean Bridge Community Centre in late autumn.
The Community Council was contacted by a resident of Roy Bridge about human excrement at the entrance to Glenspean Park and at the Achaderry Junction. The chairman informed Environmental Health. He suggested that if the incident was connected to the lack of a public toilet, the hall committee consider applying for a comfort grant from HC to permit the use of their toilets.
In response to phase two of the Scottish Government’s Democracy Matters, SBRBACC has created a new section on its website and registered for two upcoming free webinars with the Scottish Government Community Empowerment team.
The chairman has been accepted as a delegate at the Scottish Rural Parliament in Fort William November 1-3. Tony Perriam will be speaking at an event in Spean Bridge Community Centre on November 2.
SBRBACC has queried the number of sites in pristine wild country after Cornerstone communicated another proposed site for their technical network coverage at An Diollaid, Corrour Station, Corrour Estate, Fort William PH33 6TE (E233355 N766333).
Treasurer’s Report: It was agreed that the chairman should purchase the poppy wreath from Lady Haig’s Poppy Factory to lay on behalf of the community at the Commando Memorial Remembrance Sunday Service.
cap: SBRBA Community Council say that preparatory works at the Coire Glas site are exceeding the agreed working hours.