Venue: Braeholm, Helensburgh
Contact: Lynsey Innis, Area Governance Assistant - Telephone: 01546 604338
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Apologies Minutes: The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting. Apologies for absence were intimated from:- Stuart McCracken Morevain Martin Morag Bain Iain Wilkinson Simon Mills David Chandler |
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Minute of previous meeting of Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve - 08/11/2013 PDF 64 KB Minutes: The minute of the previous meeting which was held on 8
November 2013, was approved as a true record subject to the following
amendments:- Item 4 Wording to be amended to read “He advised that his initial
reservations about Pollock Park had been removed by his visit.” Item 5(b) Wording to be amended to read “Discussion ensued surrounding
the culvert and the all-abilities path with it being agreed that the
maintenance, to keep in line with Health and Safety standards, of both should
be paid for by the Council.” Item 9 Wording to be amended to read “, as the estimate had
recently been renewed.” |
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The Chair advised that Gary Collins of Tri-Events was in attendance, and as such agreed that a discussion would take place after agenda item 2 (Minute). |
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Tri-Events Minutes: Gary Collins provided
the Committee with a verbal update on the previous “Zombie Run” event which was
held in October within Duchess Wood. He
advised that there had been a lot of marketing done in regards to the event,
which saw 80% of participants from out of town.
He advised that they had received 171 sign ups, however with the wet
weather on the day there were only a small number who did not turn up. He advised that all feedback received from
stakeholders and landowners had been positive.
Discussion ensued with Alastair Macbeth, Secretary of
Friends of Duchess Wood praising Mr Collins and his team for the efficient
clear up following the event, and for ensuring that adequate stewarding had
been in place to ensure runners slowed down at the Thurgood
Bridge, as there had been concern over the potential for damage on said
Bridge. Further discussion in relation to future plans for such
events and the possibilities of hosting them within Duchess Wood was had. Mr Collins advised the group that the Tri-Events
group were making a donation of £100 to the Friends of Duchess Wood. Mr Collins spoke of other local
organisations, such as Helensburgh Round Table and
the Rotary Club of Helensburgh who both offered
funding to local groups. The Chair thanked Mr Collins for his informative update. |
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Additional documents: Minutes: The Chair advised
that the Terms of Reference required to be updated. Following discussion it was agreed that the
following amendments would be made to the document:- The word purpose would become purposes with the addition of
the letter “s” in the first sub-heading and subsequent bullet points there
under. Membership and administration would remain the same,
although it was noted that Committee Member, Simon Mills, Head Teacher of
Lomond School, who had submitted his apologies, was now resigning from the
Committee as he was moving on. He had
advised the Chair that it was unlikely that the new Head Teacher would have
capacity to attend the Committee at this point in time. It was agreed that the Council’s Governance
and Law Department would write to Helensburgh Cricket
and Rugby Club to formally invite them to become a member of the Committee as a
neighbouring property. It was also
agreed that the Chair would make contact with Simon Mills and in turn the new
Head Teacher at Lomond School to check the position in terms of remaining on
the distribution list for receiving minutes etc. David Chandler, QIO, is not
expected to return to work – a suitable replacement from the central Education
team is expected to be in place by the next meeting of the Committee. It was further agreed that a sentence be added at the end of
the last sentence under Committee Working Arrangements, which should read as
follows:- “Where necessary Working Groups/Sub Committees can be set up
to deal with specific items.” It was noted that in terms of “Communications with the
media” and “Actions” that the reporting system of the Friends of Duchess Woods
to each meeting of the Duchess Wood Local Nature Reserve Committee, already in
place, was agreeable to the Committee. In terms of Appendix 1 – Routine Maintenance it was agreed
that this should be reviewed in February 2015. |
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Stramash Update Verbal update by Chair Minutes: The Chair confirmed that the Stramash
Board had advised that it would not be possible to open an outdoor nursery in Helensburgh for August 2014 She further advised that Stramash are continuing to explore possibilities for making
this happen by August 2015. |
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Friends of Duchess Woods Report PDF 1 MB Additional documents: Minutes: The Committee
considered a report which outlined the work undertaken by Friends of Duchess
Wood (FODW), such as routine actions since the last meeting of the
Committee. It highlighted the damage
which had been caused by the storms and the actions taken to rectify matters by
the Council’s Amenity Services. It
outlined the financial aspects of the group and also the agreement with Babcock
regarding producing two information boards for FODW, and the plans which were
in place for the next 6 months. The Committee noted the report and expressed their
appreciation of the work done by the Council’s Amenity Services to minimise the
storm damage. The Chair agreed to write
to the Service to thank them for their assistance in this matter. |
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Wood Development |
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Noticeboards/way Markings Development Minutes: Stewart Campbell, Chair of the Friends of Duchess Wood
provided members with an update in regards to the notice boards. He distributed the design of the notice
boards which had been sent to Babcock and advised that the frame would be made
from timber with the feet being in a metal sleeve to protect against
deterioration of the wood in the ground.
He further advised of the information which would be contained within
the notice boards, and agreed that he would send a copy of the information to Lynsey Innis, Area Governance
Assistant to disseminate round the core members of the Committee. Mr Campbell spoke of the way markings which he hoped would
be in place primarily around the red route.
He advised that the Friends of Duchess Wood had applied to the John Muir
Fund for funding for a Flower Walk Leaflet. |
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Green Gym Update Verbal update by Charlie Cairns Minutes: Charlie Cairns provided the Committee with an update in
regards to the green gym. He advised
that there had been poor attendance in the two days which had ran so far. He spoke of the need to show attendance for
the extended green gym which is proposed for the next financial year. Discussion took place regarding a further
publicity drive, with Mr Cairns agreeing to speak with David Graham, as he
believed there to be sufficient funding to run a quarter page advert in the Helensburgh Advertiser and also Morevain
Martin with regard to the Health and Wellbeing initiative to explore further
routes of recruitment for the venture. |
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Liaison with Employability Team Minutes: Mr Cairns provided the Committee with a verbal update in
regards to the liaison with the Employability Team, he advised that the
preference was for one main point of contact.
Mr Cairns confirmed that he was happy to act as this point of
contact. Discussion ensued in relation
to the menu of options that the Employability Team could work through within
the wood. Stewart Campbell confirmed
that he would update the menu and send it on to Mr Cairns, who in turn would send
it on to the Employability Team. It was
further agreed that a meeting would be co-ordinated on site to discuss the
items on the menu. The FODW potentially have funding from a donor that would
allow culverting to be undertaken – a quote from the
Employability Team will be sought in relation to this. |
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John Muir Way Events Minutes: The Chair advised the Committee of the proposed events being
held within the Helensburgh area. Stewart Campbell advised that Friends of
Duchess Wood had secured the 3rd Sector Grant approval for half of
the grant, and were awaiting confirmation from both UZ Arts and Scottish
Natural Heritage for the remaining funding.
He outlined the plans in place to host “Bug Life” within the woods with
dates being agreed with the Walking Theatre Company. It was agreed that Mr Campbell would send
notice to the Head Teachers of all local Primary Schools to notify of the event
scheduled for 28th April 2014, with a view to a selection of
children being invited along from each school.
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Minutes: The Committee were
provided with an update in terms of the Events Pack, which had now been updated
by the Council. Mr Cairns advised the
Committee that he was working towards an Events Policy which would allow flexibility. Discussion in relation to the current policy was had, with
minor “tweaks” being agreed by the Committee: Subject heading 1 – the removal of “without need for
approval” Subject heading 4 – Small events (less than 40 people) Medium events (40 – 150 people) Large events (more than 150 people) Subject heading 6 – to be renamed “Finances” Mr Cairns agreed to devise a statement in terms of Subject
heading 2, which would see a more over-arching approach to the events which are
not encouraged, with a view to any events which could have a detrimental effect
on the woods such as motorised events being discouraged without being too
restrictive. Before leaving the meeting at 12.00pm, Mr Campbell advised that
he would forward other suggested changes to Mr Cairns by email. Mr Cairns confirmed that he would alter the
current Events Policy and send to all members of the Committee for approval. |
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Routine Maintenance Minutes: The Committee
considered a report by the Council’s Service Development Officer, which had
been tabled on the day. Discussion
regarding the suggestion of planting trees was had, with Mr Cairns advising
that there was funding within the Green Gym budget for this purpose. It was noted that this would need to take
place within the next four weeks in terms of the planting season. Mr Cairns agreed to take this matter forward
with Stuart McCracken. In terms of the Japanese Knotweed, Mr Macbeth advised that he
had been pleased with the way that Luss Estates were
dealing with the problem in other areas.
He showed a photograph of signage used by Luss
Estates with a view to dealing with the issues in Duchess Wood in a similar
way. Mr Macbeth confirmed that he would
forward the photograph to Stuart McCracken to begin discussions in this regard. |
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Education Update Verbal update by Chair Minutes: It was agreed by the Committee that this had been covered under agenda item 3 (Terms of Reference). |
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Any Other Business Minutes: There was no other business to discuss. |
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Date of Next Meeting The next meeting of the Duchess Woods Local Nature Reserve Committee will be on Tuesday 20th May 2014 at 10.00am within Braeholm, 31 East Montrose Street, Helensburgh. Minutes: The date of the next meeting was agreed as 20th May 2014 at 10.00am within Braeholm, 31 East Montrose Street, Helensburgh. |