Royal Burgh of St Andrews Community Council

Agenda – August 2004

There will be a meeting of the community council at 7pm Monday 2nd August 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.

(Copies of Agendas and Minutes of the Community Council are held at Fife Council’s Local Office, St Mary’s Place and the Town Library, Church Square. Those from 1998 on are on line at http://www.louisxiv.demon.co.uk/standrewscc/)

1. Apologies

2. Minutes of July 2004

Read for accuracy in matters of substance – harangue the secretary for minor errors (spelling etc) outwith the meeting.

3. Presentations

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.

3.1. Police report

3.2+ Any other presentations...

4. Fife Councillors

4.1. Frances Melville (West)

4.2. Sheila Black (South)

4.3. Bill Sangster (Central)

4.4. Jane Ann Liston (South East)

5. Planning Committee

5.1. Minutes

Appendix A: 12th & 26th July

6. Matters Arising from Previous Meetings

6.1. Jamie Anderson

[May 7.2.] The Links Trust Committee support Keith McCartney’s suggestion but:

“... asked whether the Community Council’s backing would take a tangible form such as a financial contribution to the costs.”

6.2. Patras/Rion

[July 0.] Ian Mackie notes that he forgot to mention

“the return gifts for St Andrews from Patras and Rion. While these are still in transit, I estimate these to be with sister Anne in St Andrews (and thus yourself) by the first week in August.”

6.3. Projector

[July 7.2.] No response from Fife Council as yet.

6.4. Former Children’s Library window

[July 7.1.] In view of the news in this month’s 7.1. (last para) I have not taken this further – PL.

6.5+ Any other matters arising

7. New Business

7.1. Community Council Notice Board

Mike Melville, Fife Council Law & Admin asks:

During the preparations for the lease of the former Children’s Library at the above, the Estates Services has noticed that the Community Council has a Notice Board on the outside of the property.

I have been asked to write to you to find out your Council’s position on the relocation of the Notice Board should the siting of the Notice Board be an issue for any prospective tenants.

I would be grateful if your Community Council could consider this issue and let me know in due course of your views.

For your information, there has been definite interest in the property from more than one prospective tenant and I am optimistic that a replacement rental for that received from the Library Service will be achievable.

7.2. New Scheme for Fife’s Community Councils

The new scheme, which should be circulated with the papers for this meeting, is now in effect.

We have to decide whether to accept this as our “constitution” or whether to update our constitution as necessary to bring it into line with the Scheme.

7.3. James Stirling, Architect

Appendix B: Correspondence from the Comune Di Latina

How do we respond?

7.4. Consultation: Maintaining Houses – Preserving Homes

We have received:

... the summary version of Maintaining Houses – Preserving Homes, a Scottish Executive consultation paper on proposals for housing legislation that mainly relate to improved quality in the private sector – both owner occupation and private renting. These proposals arise largely from the recommendations of the Housing Improvement Task Force, which was set up by the Scottish Executive to review policy on private sector housing condition.

We are now consulting on how we propose to take the relevant issues forward. We are keen to hear as wide a range of views on these proposals as possible. Full details of how to respond can be found on the covering sheet in the summary pack.

for comment by Fri 29 October 2004. Also from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations

7.5. Consultation: Investing in / Paying for Water Services

Appendix C – Brief description of the issues covered. Also from http://www.scotland.gov.uk/consultations

for comment by Tue 12 October 2004.

7.6. Facilitating meetings

From Scottish Civic Forum:

This is an opportunity to learn more about facilitating smaller and larger groups, how to convene debates in a neutral manner and create a truly “safe space” for people from different backgrounds. Whether this is something new to you or you’ve done some facilitating before and would like to update your skills, we believe this is something for you.

The course will be led by consultant Jean Bareham at the Quaker Meeting House, Victoria Terrace, Edinburgh, on the Tue 7 September 2004, 10am-4pm. Lunch and drinks will be provided. There will be a course fee of £50. Jane Herbstritt 0131-557-6767 or email: enquiries@civicforum.org.uk

7.7. Fife Health Council

7.7.1. HealthWatch Newsletter

Newsletter of Fife Health Council. Some copies will be circulated. Contents: The Scottish Health Council comes into being 1/4/2005; Review of Eye Care Services; Raising the Issue – Standards for Dental Services; Clinical Practice Awards 2004; Help for Stroke Patients; New Out-of-hours Service in Fife; Fife Prostate Cancer Service;

7.7.2. National Standards for Dental Services

Fife Health Council is seeking members of the public who would be interested in taking part in a discussion on the development of national standards for dental services 9.30am-12.30pm Wed 15 Sep, in the Balmoral Suite, Dean Park Hotel, Kirkcaldy. Lunch provided, travel reimbursed. Freephone 0800-587-4008.

7.8. Community Council Elections

Cllr Frances Melville passes on that the election notice for the rest of Fife’s community councils’ will be published later this month (20 Aug). As agreed we are not included. There is no news of our (early 2005) date.

8. Reports from Officer Bearers

8.1. Chair

8.2. Treasurer

8.3. Secretary

8.3.1. Forthcoming speakers

September: Elderly Advocacy – John Wyllie.
To be arranged: Lindsay Matheson, Rector of Madras College; PC Anderson, (new) Community Safety Officer

9. Reports

9.1. From Committees

9.2. From Representatives

10. Any Other Competent Business

Please notify Chair of AOCB items before the start of the meeting or at the break. Hint: Given that the end of the meeting is often taken in something of a rush, unless items are urgent it might be better to submit them for next meeting’s New Business.

Appendix A: Planning Committee Minutes

A.1. Planning Meeting 12/7/04

I. Goudie, B. Ryan, R. Douglas, P. Lindsay, P. Uprichard.

A.2. Planning Meeting 26/7/04

I. Goudie, R. Douglas, B. Ryan, B. Christie, P. Uprichard, Apologies – P. Lindsay

Appendix B – James Stirling

From the Vice Mayor On. Vincenzo Bianchi, Comune Di Latina

Comune Di Latina
SERVIZIO G.I.S.
Ufficio per i Rapporti con le Istituzioni

Latina, 16th of July of 2004.

Dear Sirs and Madams:

We are writing to you from an Italian City Council which name is Latina, which is located 70 km away from Rome, in the Italian Region of Lazio. We are the second most important City of this Region after Rome.

This is the first contact that we are taking with you. First of all we would to explain the reason why we are writing to you, and after we will also add the address of the City Council, its web site and the personal information about the person who is the technical contact for having any information.

Our City Council is working to prepare a Project For Culture 2000 a programme which was adopted by the European Parliament and the Council of the U.E.

This project has been thought for the promotion and the highlighting of the work of the English Architect James Stirling between the European peoples.

After a short investigation, we have identified your City as one of the seats where is possible to find a work of the architect Stirling.

As an attached record we are sending to you the list of the different Cities which have in common this architectonic topic, with information about the buildings and the works of James Stirling. But we are always keeping in touch for every information.

Besides we are sending to you, as an attached document, a biography of this important architect.

Our City Council would collaborate with your City for this project, and for this reason we are working to create in this moment an international partnership.

We are asking to you if you will be interested in participating with us as a partner co-organizer for the creation of the Cultural Stirling’s Net and for optimizing in the future our cultural and architectonic heritage with the U.E.’s funds, in the ambit of the Culture 2000 Programme, for which we have the deadline of 29th of October of 2004.

We hope for your answer as soon as possible; you may contact the technical manager and supervisor of the project in our City Council, Mrs Doc Maria Dolores Fernandez-Mayoralas Perez, Manager of the European Projects in the City Council of Latina.

The attached bio of James Stirling

James Stirling
Pritzker Architecture Prize Laureate
1981

James Stirling, 1926-1992, of Great Britain was one of that country’s best-known architects particularly since his 1963 project at Leicester University, the engineering building. Born in Glasgow, Scotland, he took his architecture degree at Liverpool University, but set up his practice in London.

In addition to the Leicester project already mentioned, his other major works at the time he was awarded the Pritzker Prize included a training centre for Olivetti in Hasselemere; a History Building for Cambridge University; an expansion of Rice University in Texas, and numerous low cost housing projects, and residences. Since 1981, he has completed a major social sciences centre in Berlin; a Performing Arts Centre for Cornell University; and such major museum projects as the Clore Gallery expansion for the Tate Gallery in London; the Arthur M. Sackler Museum, an addition to Harvard’s Fogg Museum; and the Staatsgalerie in Stuttgart, Germany.

In an article written in 1979 for Contemporary Architects, Stirling said, “I believe that the shapes of a building should indicate — perhaps display — the usage and way of life of its occupants, and it is therefore likely to be rich and varied in appearance, and its expression is unlikely to be simple ... in a building we did at Oxford some years ago, it was intended that you could recognize the historic elements of courtyard, entrance gate towers, cloisters; also a central object replacing the traditional fountain or statue of the college founder. In this way we hoped that students and public would not be disassociated from their cultural past. The particular way in which functional-symbolic elements are put together may be the “art” in the architecture.”

... “If the expression of functional-symbolic forms and familiar elements is foremost, the expression of structure will be secondary, and if structure shows, it is not in my opinion, the engineering which counts, but the way in which the building is put together that is important.”

Udo Kulterman, writing in the same publication, said “Stirling’s concept of contemporary architecture is concerned with the humanization of the environment. Humanistic considerations dominate all technological, economic and aesthetic preconceived ideas and ideologies. Architecture has to re-establish its own criteria for evaluation; for Stirling this obviously means creating in harmony with common sense, tradition, the existing environment, and a concern for people.”

And the list of works

Appendix C – Water Services Consultations

From the covering letter:

Two Scottish Executive Consultations: Investing In Water Services 2006-2014 (The Quality and Standards III Project) Paying For Water Services 2006-2010

Background information

The first paper, Investing in Water Services 2006-2014 (The Quality and Standards III Project), seeks views on the scale and content of investment in water and sewerage services in the period 2006-2014. This consultation, along with other research and extensive analysis of investment needs, will inform Ministers’ decisions on the establishment of an affordable and deliverable investment programme for the industry over that period. In light of the outcome of this consultation, Ministers will announce in January 2005 what they require Scottish Water to deliver in terms of water quality, environment protection and customer service standards 2006-2014.

The second paper, Paying for Water Services 2006-2010, invites views on the principles that might be applied in setting water and sewerage charges in the period 2006-2010. It sets out options for how the costs of delivering Scottish Water’s objectives should be shared out among different customer groups. In light of the outcome of this consultation, Ministers will announce in January 2005 their decisions on the principles of charging, that is, how different customer groups are to be charged. These principles will be applied to charges 2006-2010.

Based on Ministers’ decisions in January 2005 about both Scottish Water’s objectives (including the investment programme) and the principles of charging, the Water Industry Commissioner will undertake a Strategic Charges Review, in which he will determine the customer charge levels required for Scottish Water to deliver its objectives at the lowest reasonable overall cost. Draft charge limits will be published in June 2005.

Correspondence