A meeting took place of the Tiree Transport Forum on Jan 17th 2020, the minutes for which are linked below. Key items for discussion included the coming Link Span replacement and wider ferry issues, and scheduling of flights:
The TCC has recently undertaken to update the excellent “Tiree: Welcome to the Island’s Roads” advice leaflet aimed at informing road users, especially visitors to the island, how best to stay safe and keep others safe when using our predominantly single-track roads.
The main changes relate to updating the guidance in relation to cycling, as there was some feedback that this needed amending, as well as updating to reflect improved official guidance and law regarding cyclist safety.
With thanks to the various people who volunteered their time to give input to this, the final draft will be going to our February meeting for sign-off before being published. Comments are welcome to the usual addresses.
The next meeting of the TCC shall be held on Wednesday 5th February from 7:30pm, at An Talla. We hope to see lots of you there. Please let the TCC Secretary know if there is anything we can do that would help you attend or participate fully at phyl@tireecommunitycouncil.co.uk
The agenda is linked below:
TIREE COMMUNITY COUNCIL – ADMINISTRATOR CONTRACT
Applications are invited for a new contractor role as Administrator of Tiree Community Council (TCC). The work includes advertising TCC meetings, booking the hall and opening this up; taking minutes of the public meetings, writing them up and circulating them to councillors; liaising with TCC councillors and helping to maintain the TCC website and Facebook page; and other support that might be necessary to help the smooth running of the council It is expected that this work will involve 8-10 hours a month (subject to negotiation). The post will be self-employed and the rate offered is £15 an hour, paid monthly. TCC public meetings are usually held in the first week of every month, with no public meetings in January, July and August.
To apply, please send a brief account detailing your relevant experience, and how you see yourself in the role. Applications by 1700 24 January 2020 to the Tiree Community Council Secretary, Phyl Meyer: phyl@tireecommunitycouncil.co.
For various reasons we fell behind posting up the minutes of the TCC on this site – below bring us back up to date! Apologies for the delay. Each of the sets of minutes is attached linked below in Word.doc format.
Any questions, or if you need an alternative format, please do get in touch.
There was no October meeting due to the TCC by-election
Please note the last set of minutes, for our December meeting, are still in draft and will be subject to approval and any corrections at our next meeting.
As always we are grateful to the Tiree Community Development Trust for their support to the TCC in providing staff time to take minutes at our meetings.
Tonight the Community Council agreed there is a need to set up a working group that takes a longer term view about the future of the island, in particular issues relating to the changing climate and sea levels, and the impacts that scientists are warning we should now expect to face.
Tiree, as a particular low-lying island, is likely to be among the most deeply affected parts of Scotland. Recently published estimates for the range of possible change in sea level we could see within the century make for sobering reading, especially when the effects of coastline erosion in light of increasingly stormy weather is taken into account.
Transition away from fossil fuels is likely to need to be greatly accelerated, and it will be vital to our island’s future that our infrastructure is prepared for that, and that local businesses are supported.
If you are interested in taking part in this group and beginning a discussion about these issues and what we might be asking be done in preparation – please get in touch with TCC member Phyl Meyer by e-mail at phyl@tireecommunitycouncil.co.uk
We have received the following communication from Argyll and Bute Council and NHS Highland inviting members of the community to input to a consultation on social care provisions in the area:
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You are invited, as one of a range of key stakeholders across Argyll and Bute, to have your say on updating the document that outlines how health and social care functions and services are provided locally.
In 2016, Argyll and Bute Council and NHS Highland brought all health and social care services together to form the Health and Social Care Partnership (HSCP). The main purpose of integrating these services was to improve the wellbeing of people who use them, particularly those whose needs are complex and involve support from health and social care at the same time.
A Scheme of Integration was subsequently agreed in 2016 which provides information about which health and social care functions and services will be delivered by the HSCP. By law this must be reviewed every five years and submitted to the Scottish Government for approval.
The current scheme has recently been updated by the Council and NHS Highland and it is important that we also jointly consult with the public and our stakeholders to seek their views on any proposed changes and to consider all views expressed.
The consultation will run for a period of six weeks from 9 December 2019 to 17 January 2020. A copy of the revised scheme, together with a summary of the proposed changes can be viewed at https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/consultations/integration-scheme-review. Hard copies are also available in your local Customer Contact Centre, or by calling 01546 604325.
If you have any questions or comments please contact us at: integrationschemereview@argyll-bute.gov.uk by Friday 17 January 2020.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Cleland Sneddon Iain Stewart
Chief Executive Chief Executive
Argyll and Bute Council NHS Highland
The next meeting of the Community Council shall be held at An Talla on Wednesday 11th December starting at 7:30pm.
All members of the community are welcome. If there are any accessibility requests which it would be helpful for us to be aware of please let us know at phyl@tireecommunitycouncil.co.uk
The agenda is as follows:
1. Proposal of Ian Gillies as co-opted councillor
2. Conflicts of Interest
3. Minutes of last meeting and matters arising: including Scarinish public toilets update
4. Correspondence
5. Recent changes to the administration of Highlands and Islands Patient Travel Scheme
6. Streaming of TCC public meetings online
7. Secretarial position
8. Linkspan update and ferry timetables
9. Visit from Joe Reade from Mull and Iona Ferries Group
10. ‘Land Below the Waves’: reception in Scottish Parliament in March: a progress report
11. Report of Scottish land Commission meeting, and possible invitation to Hugh Nicol, factor of Argyll Estates to February’s public meeting
12. Working party on a possible Tiree Food Bank
13. Date of next meeting: possibly February
14. AOCB
<a href=”http://tireecommunitycouncil.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Agenda-december2019.docx”>Agenda december2019</a>
A consultation is currently open on the subject of giving Councils the power to implement a “Transient Visitor Levy” – i.e. a nominal charge/tax to be paid by visitors to an area for the purposes of tourism, etc, which could then be used to supplement finances to pay for local services and/or development of amenities. The measure is, among other things, intended as a possible way to address the fact that short term holiday lets result in additional load to civic services such as rubbish collection, water, sewerage etc while often not directly (or proportionately) contributing towards the funding of those services, but can also be used as a way to fund other development and improvements.
The TCC briefly discussed it at our meeting last night but there was insufficient time for a detailed analysis, although points that were made included the suggestion that provided such a scheme were implemented in a way which was not overly burdensome administratively to those operating holiday lets it could be of particular benefit to island communities such as Tiree by raising very useful additional funds.
The consultation closes on December 2nd – which means we will not be able to discuss it further at a future meeting before the deadline – therefore we are inviting members of the community to either submit their own responses in an individual capacity, or to e-mail our new Secretary with your views, and we will aim to submit a consolidated response on behalf of the Community Council that covers the input we receive.
The consultation can be found here:
https://consult.gov.scot/local-government-and-communities/visitor-levy/
At our meeting last night there was discussion about the planning guidance available to local residents seeking to develop their homes or construct new buildings. The meeting agreed it would be helpful to draw to the community’s attention the existing guidance, to which planning decisions must have reference, which was published in 2007.
The document was held to be an excellent and most helpful piece of planning guidance that should be the envy of many other communities, but there was general agreement that there would be benefit in exploring the possibility of it being given an update (the previous consultation on it now being 12 years old) and that in particular it would be useful to develop more detail around the ways in which design of buildings could evolve in future.
Councillors and members of the public suggested that residents keen to explore use of new materials and construction methods might find it useful for the guidance to explore further how a balance could be struck between innovation and having regard for the distinctive look and feel of Tiree.
The TCC agreed to reach out to the Council Planning department to see what options might be available to explore this. The existing guidance can be found on the Argyll and Bute Council website here:
https://www.argyll-bute.gov.uk/sites/default/files/planning-and-environment/isle%20of%20tiree%20sustainable%20design%20guidance.pdf