There will be a meeting of the community council at 7pm on Monday 1st April in the Burgh Chambers of the Town Hall, Queen's Gardens. There will be a short break at about 8pm during which the 200 Club draw will be made.
At 6.40pm there will be a reception and presentation for Mr Jock Ballantyne, the recently retired hallkeeper at the Town Hall, as we were omitted from his official send-off.
(Read for accuracy in matters of substance - harangue the secretary for minor (spelling etc) errors outwith the meeting)
(For anyone wishing to address the meeting on a matter relevant to St Andrews. Please contact the Secretary or Chair before the meeting. Priority will be given to those who have been invited to speak or have given advance notice).
Appendix A: response to our letter from Neil Anderson, Chair, Byre Board.
Iain Smith MSP has written to the Chief Executives of Safeway plc and Fife Council in support of our call for action on the recycling centre.
New business should be notified to the secretary in advance for inclusion in the agenda, otherwise it can be taken under AOCB
Archie Strachan is retiring.
Who will take over?
Fife Council are organising this for 13 June. Do we have any Gala Royalty of any sex whom we could put in contact with the organisers?
A postal ballot is required to decide between a Jeremy Hawkings (N. Queensferry) and Stephen Reddy (Crail).
Do we have a preference?
Send us their seminar programme: How to influence the Scottish Parliament (Edinburgh, April, £60); The Future of Scotland's beaches (Dundee, May, £80); Climate Change (June tba).
Do we wish to affiliate (£30 for community organisations)?
A very interesting report full of facts and figure on what they are doing for us and why they have to charge us more... They offer to come and talk to us about it or issues in our area.
7.6.1. Environmental Bodies Council Newsletter Winter 2002/3: Future of the Landfill Tax Credits Scheme; adding value through the LTCS; reports from the regional forums.
7.6.2. Scottish Parliament Local Government Committee Briefing March 2002: Conference on Lo-cal Government Bill; Message from the Convener; Looking to the Future; proposals in the Bill; Finance inquiry report for publication; www.scottishparliamentlive.com; who's who on the committee (MSPs of local note: Iain Smith, Keith Harding, Tricia Marwick).
7.6.3. SEPA View Spring 2002: IPPC changes in environmental legislation, Outcomes - measuring the success of SEPA; National Waste Strategy Conference; Landfill Directive; Working with Industry; Green Offices; Community Woodlands; Waste management in Ghent.
7.6.4. Renewing Local Democracy: The Next Steps Scottish Exec consultation paper: Removing Barriers; Electoral Reform; Remuneration; powers, Resources and Structures; Timetable; Kerley on STV; Alternative Electoral Systems; Outline Role Descriptions for Councillors.
7.6.5. Cycleclips Millennium Cycleways newsletter: New St Andrews cycle routes; Velo-CIty 2001 conference; St Andrews-Guardbridge - bollard damage and calls for upgraded surface; Cycle route map stockists; Rosyth-Zeebrugge Ferry; Coastal path; Bike Week Scotland 2002 15-23 June; Fife Cycleways official launch summer 2002; Winter Cycle Safety (incl discount voucher for lights etc which expires 31 March); Falklands Burgh Lodge; CTC Benchmarking Project; Safer routes to school; www.fife-cycleways.co.uk.
8.3.1. AGM members are reminded that the May meeting will start with the AGM. Officers will be elected for the coming year.
8.3.2. Coastal Path Chris Broome, Service Manager Countryside Services, will speak to us next month about the state of the coastal path.
8.3.3. Letters sent Appendix D
Written reports are required by terms of the Scheme for Community Councils.
Appendix B
Appendix C
Please notify Secretary/Chair of items before the start of the meeting. Hint: Given that the end of the meeting is usually taken in something of a rush, unless items are urgent it might be better to submit them for next meeting's New Business.
| Date | From | Subject |
| 8/3/02 | Byre Theatre Board Chair | Byre & Common Good Fund reply |
| 8/3/02 | Local Office | Kate Hughes is ill |
| 9/3/02 | TMP Environment & Infrastructure working group | Jan minutes, April Agenda |
| 14/3/02 | Community Services | Search for Gala Queen |
| 15/3/02 | Supplies & Printing Service | Supplies contract award |
| 18/3/02 | Environmental Bodies Council | Newsletter winter 2002 |
| 19/3/02 | Scottish Parliament | Local Government Committee Briefing (newsletter) |
| 21/3/02 | Local Office | European Funds available |
| 22/3/02 | ASCC | Fife Executive Member elections |
| 22/3/02 | Friends of the Earth | Seminar programme |
| 23/3/02 | SEPA | SEPA View spring newsletter |
| 23/2/02 | Fifefest Ltd | Marquee hire & event management |
| 28/3/02 | Scottish Executive | Renewing Local Democracy: Next Steps |
| 29/3/02 | Fife Millennium Cycleways | Cycleclips newsletter |
| 29/3/02 | Law & Admin | Common Good Fund: St Andrews in Bloom |
| 29/3/02 | East of Scotland Water | Charges 2002/03 - report to CCs |
| 29/3/02 | Assoc for the Protection of Rural Scotland | AGM notice & Agenda - Stirling 18 May |
Response from the Byre Board Chair:
I thank you for your letter of 25 February 2002. I understand and sympathise with the concern of the Community Council about the constraint on Common Good funds caused by the need to service the loan raised to assist the Byre. I think you are aware that this was not a decision to which we were party prior to the event.
Before addressing other matters I will clarify the status of the Byre in so far as it relates to your suggestion that we might in the future make donations to the Common Good fund if we were to generate a profit. The Byre Theatre of St Andrews is a company without share capital limited by guarantee, and a registered charity. Our operation is and will remain dependent on public funding, provided currently by Fife Council and the Scottish Arts Council. In addition to this precluding the possibility that we shall ever become a profit making operation, we operate under tight guide lines as to how we are allowed to use the funds that we receive.
Whilst recognising your concerns there are positive matters that I would like to put before the Community Council in connection with this situation. Completion of the new Byre with the help of the loan made possible by the Common Good fund enabled the continuation of a tradition started by A. B. Paterson in 1933 of producing theatre in St Andrews. We have moved from an out dated building that was in serious decline into a fine new theatre which, I hope, is a source of pride to all in St Andrews.
The new theatre represents:
- A fine addition to the architectural heritage of St Andrews
- A centre for the performing arts that will provide pleasure for years to come
- A popular informal meeting place for all sections of the local population
- A five star visitor attraction (unique among Scottish arts venues) that will play an important role in making St Andrews a successful visitor destination
- A major employer - we employ up to 100 part time and full time staff, the majority of them living locally
- A significant contributor to the local economy - our turn over will approach £1,500,00 in the com-ing year - much of this is spent in the immediate locality
The Board and staff of the Byre are putting a tremendous effort into continuing the success that the theatre has enjoyed since it became fully operational in June 2001. I would ask the Community Council to put all its influence and energy into supporting and capitalising on a major local success to ensure that local people and visitors alike can continue to profit from the outstanding resource that St Andrews now enjoys.
If you wish to meet with me to discuss any aspect of the Byre's operations or the contents of this letter please do get in touch.
Neil Anderson
Chair
18 March
1. A form was devised to facilitate a 'database' of interests, skills and relevant experience of Community Councillors (appended). It would be helpful if members could complete it and give it to D. Macgregor.
2. The Links Trust's PR Committee is to consider Mr McCartney's suggestion of a commemorative tree at the Eden Clubhouse.
3. P. Uprichard suggested that a Jubilee 'golden tree' (species to be investigated by her) might be planted in the lawn outside Madras College South St to replace the Coronation gean presented by the Preservation Trust in 1953, which died some years ago. Council is asked for approval so that we can write to the College.
4. The next Bulletin will, it is hoped, appear before the Jubilee. Material for it would be needed a.a.a.p after the April meeting.
5. Responses to the Bulletin tear-off slips were approved.
6. Next meeting 3rd Mon in April 7.30 Meeting Room.
Tues. 19th March 2002 10.30am.
Apologies: Frank Riddell
Attendance: Joe Peterson, Chris Lesurf, Joe Lamb
Current matters
Joe Lamb said that the St David's Centre meeting rooms had reopened for use by voluntary groups.
He stated that he and some friends had set up an action group Blind Advice Services and Empowerment [BASE] to promote better services for the blind locally.
Chris Lesurf was concerned that some parts of the Right for Fife full consultation document might be misleading. The map on chart three indicated that both Ninewells and Kirkcaldy hospitals were half an hour from St Andrews. Is this the time taken by ambulance? Certainly not by public transport.
Chris raised the matter of volunteers who might spare an hour of their time at drop in centres, to help people with various problems even if it was only to listen.
Joe Peterson brought up the Clean Coast Scotland Community Council Questionnaire for discussion. This was the completed on behalf of our council.
Date of next meeting
Tues. 16th April 10am.
1. Right for Fife - Hospitals
[March 7.1]
I write on behalf of the Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council, who recently discussed some aspects of the Right For Fife proposals.
We would like to make the following points on hospital provision.
We support the idea of there being two general hospitals in Fife with a central specialist unit at one (Full Version Final.pdf, 4.4.2.5 Scenario 3). Of the two sub-options we back option 3a, locating specialist services and critical care as centrally as possible at Kirkcaldy's Victoria Hospital. This more central of the two locations seems to us to be the only equitable option for the whole of Fife.
Considering the question purely from our local perspective, Kirkcaldy is clearly closer to St Andrews in absolute terms of distance.
Kirkcaldy is also more directly served by rail and road from St Andrews, and NE Fife generally, than is the alternative so that practical travel times too unfailingly favour the Kirkcaldy option.
Notwithstanding our support for Kirkcaldy within Fife, community council would also emphasise the importance to much of North East Fife of the links to Ninewells Hospital in Dundee. Whatever the outcome for the central Fife specialist unit the cross-Tay link must be maintained for the same reasons of ease of access given above.
Neither Kirkcaldy nor Ninewells is a community hospital for St Andrews. We are also concerned that Right For Fife should not distract NHS Fife from progressing the replacement hospital and health centre for St Andrews. We have been disappointed by reorganisations, re-directions and strategy rethinks in the Health Service too many times since a new hospital was first seriously proposed to be entirely sanguine about the present hopeful signs, though we would be pleased to be proved overly pessimistic.
2. Response to Fire & Rescue
[March 7.5]
Thank you for your recent letter concerning Stakeholder Consultation. The issues raised were discussed at the March meeting of this community council, who have asked me to make the following responses:
•Types of information required by stakeholders.
1) The first measure must be response times, but these must be broken down by location where a large area or diverse conditions (eg the town / country split about St Andrews) make a significant difference. As well as raw response time - when did the first vehicle arrive? - quality of response should also be measured in terms of when the full complement of vehicles arrive or how long a particular essential vehicle takes. Best and worst cases should be noted as well as a statistically significant average. The trend over the last few years should be noted.
2) Number of times the service has been called out, broken down into genuine emergencies, well meaning but mistaken call-outs (perhaps sub-divided into human calls and automatic alarms), and hoaxes.
3) Some analysis of Fire Prevention work effectiveness. This may be difficult to determine objectively however.
In all three cases any national guidelines should be given as a benchmark for comparison, as should equivalent figures where available for neighbouring services in comparable areas.
• The best method of communicating this information to the public at large.
Without doubt the best way to get this information over is to put it through the local and regional printed press both as informational advertisements and journalistic reporting/analysis.
Publishing the reports mentioned above on a web site page is essential nowadays so they are always available for reference.
• Any specific concerns
None were raised.