These are the draft minutes of the January 2021 meeting, subject to corrections and approval at our February 2021 meeting.
DRAFT-COMMUNITY-COUNCIL-MINUTES-JAN-2021
Author Archives: AdminTCC
Minutes of the December 2020 meeting
These are the minutes of the December 2020 meeting, as approved at the following meeting
Latest advice leaflet from Argyll + Bute Council on Shielding and Money Worries
We received the following information to pass on:
Good morning,
Following recent updates, please see the FAQs below which offer some useful information for those in the shielded group.
The shielding information is national guidance, for further information please visit the Scottish Government’s Coronavirus (COVID-19): stay at home guidance webpage.
Argyll and Bute Council’s website has a range of help and advice for those affected by Coronavirus, this includes information about financial support. The leaflet attached gives details about help for those who may be worrying about money.
Are people in the shielded group able to get their own shopping or prescriptions?
- Yes. The guidance for the level 4 restrictions are that those who are in the shielded group can go out to get shopping and / or prescriptions. These are classed as essential purposes to leave the home for.
What are the essential purposes and reasons that those in the shielded group can go out of the house for?
- Exercise
- Essential shopping
- Medicines
- Education
- Caring responsibilities
- Visiting someone you are in an extended household with. (you can only be in an extended household where one of the households is a single person household)
What other restrictions apply to those in the shielding group?
- You should not use public transport (including taxis) while these additional measures are in place.
- There are also additional restrictions around work, see below.
If I am part of the shielding group do I have to go to work?
- You should work from home. Everyone who is able to work from home should do so.
- If you cannot work from home then you must stay at home. Your letter is a FIT note. This applies to all in level 4 restrictions.
I am in a level 3 restriction area (Coll, Colonsay, Erraid, Gometra, Iona, Islay, Jura, Mull, Oronsay, Tiree and Ulva) do I go to work?
- The advice on not going to work does not apply to areas that are in level 3.
- If you live or work in a level 3 area, you can continue to go to work if your workplace can be made safe.
Who is eligible for support through the Test and Protect Helpline?
- If you have to self-isolate due to testing positive and you have no other sources of support for food, medication, or other needs, you can contact the Council’s Test and Protect helpline to request help.
- If you have been asked to self-isolate by a Test and Protect contact tracer, and you have no other sources of support for food, medication, or other needs, you can contact the council’s Test and Protect helpline to request help
What kind of help can I expect?
- The Council can put you in touch with local community groups offering support in your local area.
- The Council may request directly for a volunteer to assist with your needs.
- The Council can direct you to sources of support to help with money worries
- The Council can direct you to sources of support to help with other needs that you are worried about due to having to self-isolate.
What are the new rules about meeting outdoors?
- A maximum of two people are able to meet from up from two households, outside. There is more advice at www.gov.scot/coronavirus.
Will food boxes be introduced again?
We are not currently planning to re-introduce food boxes. This is because we are not asking you to stop going to shops, though we are advising you to limit the number of times you visit shops, consider shopping at quieter times, and where possible shop on-line.
Since the first lockdown last year, supermarkets have put in place a number of measures to make them safer. They have also increased their capacity to provide a wide range of ways to shop, including on-line delivery, click and collect, home deliveries, phone ordering, grocery boxes, and gift cards so someone else can shop for you.
We have also offered everyone on the shielding list priority access to on-line supermarket delivery slots and this offer will remain open. As before, it is important to ask family, friends, and neighbours for support.
Can I still attend my usual medical appointments?
Yes
I have been vaccinated against covid-19 – do I still need to follow the advice?
Yes. You should follow all advice for those on the shielding list, even if you have had a coronavirus vaccination. This includes the advice about work. While a full course of the vaccine (two doses) will help prevent you from becoming seriously ill from coronavirus, we do not yet know if it will keep you from catching and spreading the virus.
Many thanks,
Community Development
Download the full leaflet here: Worrying about Money A4 Argyll and Bute 28.07.20
January 13th 2021 meeting
Our first meeting of 2021 will take place on Wednesday 13th Jan at 7pm via Zoom.
Agenda:
1. Welcome: use of, and rules around, the chat function at Zoom meetings of Tiree Community Council
2. Apologies
3. Declarations of interest
4. Minutes of the last meeting and matters arising: Boundary Commission submission and proposed meeting with the Commission; current planning applications; reducing domestic water consumption; Islands Act and use of the new Island Community Impact Statements (ICIA) as a tool for island groups, replacing our email system
5. Correspondence: clothes project with a student from the Glasgow School of Art; vacancy on CalMac Community Board; the need for a new refuse collection vehicle; the effect of Marine Protected Area status on the island’s fishing fleet
6. Factor Hugh Nicol: the extraction of sand and gravel from beaches; vehicular access to beaches; land for social housing; pier area design; re-starting of Access Group?
7. Pier marshalling area: the need for better layout
8. New Covid regulations, including travel to and from the island
9. Tiree Community Council website and Facebook page policies
10. Expanding the role of Gaelic in Tiree Community Council business: possible bi-lingual minutes, website and simultaneous translation of public Council meetings
11. Fuel poverty on Tiree
12. Report from Tiree Community Council planning sub-committee
13. AOCB: a chance for the public to raise matters that they want the Council to consider
14. Thanks
Draft minutes of last meeting: DRAFT-COMMUNITY-COUNCIL-MINUTES-DECEMBER-2020
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If joining by computer, you can find a button to “Raise your hand” to ask to speak under the “Participants” menu, accessed by pressing the Participants button (looks like a human figure, in the middle of the bottom part of the window). You can also use the chat function to make a comment or to ask to speak on a point.
The mute and unmute button is in the lower left, and looks like a microphone, next to the button for switching your webcam on/off.
If you are using a telephone to dial in, the mute and unmute command can be given by typing:
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As ever if you have questions or if there is anything we can do to help you take part in the meeting accessibly, please let us know by e-mailing phyl@tireecommunitycouncil.co.uk
Scottish Water – Tiree’s supply and network, and water saving
At our December 9th 2020 meeting we had a presentation (click here to download the PowerPoint slides used) from Scottish Water, in which a great deal of helpful information was provided about the Tiree water works and pipe network and how it has been performing in terms of leakage rates (actually very well) and how the peak demand in summer compares to the supply capacity (currently coping but without very much to spare – but efficiency savings could address this for some time to come).
Of particular interest to residents may be the following we were sent afterwards:
There was a query regarding how to report a leak. This can be done by calling the contact centre on 0800 0778 778. The number is on the front page of our web-site https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/. A leak can also be reported through the website by accessing https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/your-home/your-water/leakage and clicking on the “report” button and answering some questions.
There was also a query around leaks on (customer, household) supply pipes. I’ve attached a booklet from our web-site that notes that in certain situations we may be able to offer a subsidised leak repair or pipe replacement if certain conditions are met.
Scottish Water have a new water use calculator and are keen for as many households on Tiree as possible to try it out. It only takes a few minutes but gives great insight into how much water is used within the home throughout the day and an idea of some of the carbon savings you can make through reduced energy related to hot water. The process follows on to provide water efficiency advice and because Tiree is seen as a priority area free water efficiency devices are also available. Scottish Water have committed to provide a report on the findings from the “Get Water Fit” platform in the new year, so the more people we have responding the better the results.
The link to the water use calculator https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/your-home/save-water/how-much-water-do-you-use
While the link https://www.scottishwater.co.uk/your-home/save-water takes you to more general water saving advice. The presenters said that based on Tiree’s water use data, an improvement in water efficiency could free up enough capacity for a further 30 homes on Tiree. Small changes can make a big difference.
A particular example that was discussed and may be of particular note for Tiree are leaky toilet cisterns. The push button type, although supposed to be more efficient in terms of water use, are very prone to build-up of sediment or scale causing the internal seal to leak. This results in a steady trickle of water into the bowl, and so can go unnoticed or be ignored by the user for a long time – however because it is a constant loss of water it can result in a huge increase in water usage by a household.
Given that Tiree’s water is extremely “hard”, we are particularly prone to build-up of limescale in our plumbing, which may make this issue more common – residents are encouraged to check to see if their cisterns have this issue and address it if so – https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=how+to+clean+a+push-button+cistern+seal
COVID-19 insights from other islands
We were sent the following series of articles by Francesco Sindico at Strathclyde University, who is part of an “Island Insights” project. One is from Shetland.
Survey on Tiree’s elected representation in Argyll + Bute
As has been flagged up at our last two meetings and in an article in An Tirisdeach there is a consultation going on about the electoral boundaries in Argyll + Bute for Local Authority councillors.
The areas of Argyll + Bute which elect councillors (called wards) are currently being reviewed by the organisation responsible for this, the Boundary Commission.
Part of the reason for the review taking place now is that the Islands Bill of 2018 instructed the Commission to look again at the way islands were represented in local government.
Why is this important? Argyll and Bute Council spends £2,200 per head on services that include the school, the old people’s home, rubbish collection, looking after the public toilets and various other important services. Decisions on spending are made by Local Authority councillors that are elected every five years.
At present, we are part of a ward called Oban South and the Isles, which elects four members, and covers Tiree, Coll, Mull, Iona, South Oban and a surrounding area to the south of Oban. Since this arrangement began, no councillor has been elected from Tiree or Coll. There is one councillor elected on Mull, the others from the mainland.
The Boundary Commission have produced initial proposals for Argyll and Bute and want the island’s views on their proposals.
They propose a new islands-only ward that combines Mull, Iona Coll and Tiree, represented by two Argyll and Bute councillors.
An alternative proposal has been made by current and ex-councillors that Tiree and Coll should be in a separate ward of our own represented by our own councillor.
There are pros and cons which have been suggested for these two proposals. These include:
Possible arguments for the four-island option:
Tiree and Coll are so small that they may struggle to recruit someone of sufficient calibre to serve as a councillor. However, Tiree and Coll had their own councillor between 1890 and 2007 with no recorded recruitment problems.
Being part of a four-island block might help forge links between the islands that have many issues in common, and would give us twice us much leverage in the Council chamber.
Possible arguments for a separate ward for Tiree and Coll:
Stronger links to the community: a local councillor would better know their constituents, their constituents would know him or her, and the councillor would know the local issues.
Availability: because Tiree is remote from mainland Argyll, because many councillors are part-time and because they have to attend council business in Lochgilphead every week, Argyll and Bute councillors are only able to visit Tiree a few days in the year. Tiree and Coll are relatively disenfranchised within Argyll and Bute. If councillors were both based on Mull, as they would be likely to be under the first proposal (because Mull has a far greater number of voters), they would have to leave home on Sunday afternoon to get to Tiree the next morning, returning home on Tuesday evening. Proportionate to the population, Tiree could expect one councillor to spend one day a week on the island, which would mean this round trip every week on top of attendance at council HQ in Lochgilphead. This is unlikely to happen.
The added benefit to Mull and the other islands of having two councillors on Mull rather than one, as effectively at present, would be small. The added benefit to Tiree and Coll of having a councillor dedicated to Tiree and Coll would be huge.
A single councillor representing Tiree and Coll would be quite busy enough covering the two islands, which have numerous issues in common that are not experienced (or less so) by the other islands.
The absence of an Argyll and Bute councillor based here has meant that Tiree Community Council is carrying a far greater political burden than other community councils – with just £400 a year to support this work.
We have been gathering views and propose to take a position at our meeting on Dec 9th – and are making one further effort to gather opinions from the community. Please complete this short survey to tell us your thoughts:
Notice of meeting: Wed 9th December 2020
Our next public meeting will be at 7pm on Wednesday 9th December, via Zoom.
Agenda:
1. Apologies
2. Councillors’ conflicts of interest
3. Minutes of last meeting and matters arising: apologies for late posting of last month’s minutes, Gaelic, Covid tier allocation
4. Correspondence: announcement of Marine Protected Area status, state of area at head of the pier, heating in Pier View housing, Police report
5. Meetings attended by councillors and sub-committee meetings in last month: planning, agenda, Mull and Iona Community Council public meetings, Harbour Users Consultative Forum, joint meeting with the Trust
6. Financial report for Tiree Community Council
7. Presentation by representatives of Scottish Water with an opportunity to ask questions
8. Boundaries Commission proposal and consultation: this motion will be debated: ‘Tiree Community Council welcomes the proposal from the Local Government Boundary Commission for Scotland to break up the existing Oban South and the Isles ward to create an islands’ ward within Argyll and Bute Council. We urge the Commission to go further and create a new single-councillor ward for Tiree and Coll on their own.’
9. Invitation of the factor to the next meeting
10. Agenda meetings: how the agenda is produced
11. Date of next meeting
12. AOCB
Meeting papers:
DRAFT COMMUNITY COUNCIL MINUTES NOVEMBER
Minutes TCC agenda meeting 4.12.2020
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Guidance on joining the meeting:
Please note that by default you will join the meeting muted (i.e. you will not be sending sound out to the rest of the participants) – please leave yourself muted unless you need to speak, and when invited to do so by the chair, and remember to re-mute afterwards. This is needed to ensure that the call is not made very difficult to follow by background noise from multiple people, which can be extremely disruptive to the call.
If joining by computer, you can find a button to “Raise your hand” to ask to speak under the “Participants” menu, accessed by pressing the Participants button (looks like a human figure, in the middle of the bottom part of the window). You can also use the chat function to make a comment or to ask to speak on a point.
The mute and unmute button is in the lower left, and looks like a microphone, next to the button for switching your webcam on/off.
If you are using a telephone to dial in, the mute and unmute command can be given by typing:
*6
You can also “raise your hand” to ask to speak using:
*9
As ever if you have questions or if there is anything we can do to help you take part in the meeting accessibly, please let us know by e-mailing phyl@tireecommunitycouncil.co.uk
Recent correspondence re Tiree air service vehicle replacement
On behalf of both the Community Council and the independent Tiree Transport Forum our Convenor recently sent the following letter:
Dear Michael,
Tiree Community Council and Tiree Transport Forum have asked me to write to you.
Both bodies are concerned about the consequences of Loganair’s pivot away from
their SAAB 340 fleet to the ATR 42 as the airline sought to develop scale and a wider
footprint before Covid-19 struck. The ATR is unable to land at Tiree airport.
As you know, pre-pandemic, the Scottish Government’s two Twin Otter DHC6-400s
occasionally struggled to maintain the busy Glasgow, Barra, Tiree and Campeltown
rotations. The availability of the SAABs allowed Loganair to task these planes on an
emergency basis if one of the Twin Otters were taken out of the schedule. This has
not been infrequent on the Tiree run.
Obviously, passenger numbers have been heavily impacted by Covid and you must
have more pressing matters in your in-tray at the moment.
However, adding or replacing plane capacity is an expensive and complex task with a
long lead time. We wondered if the programme to phase out the SAABs has slipped
because of the pandemic, and how Transport Scotland intends to replace the
capacity that the SAAB fleet has given Loganair in the past.
Yours sincerely,
Dr John Holliday, Convenor, Tiree Community Council on behalf of the community
council and the Tiree Transport Forum
We have now received the following reply:
Dear John
Thank you for your e-mail of 18 November 2020 about Loganair’s fleet replacement plans. I hope you are keeping well in these difficult times.
My understanding is that, while Loganair’s plan to phase out their Saab 340s and replace them with ATRs has been delayed due to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic, it is still their intention to complete their fleet replacement programme. As you note, the Saab 340 is sometimes used on the Tiree-Glasgow service and the ATR cannot be used due to its weight. Two of the assessment criteria as part of the tender process for the PSO contract are relevant here – ‘maintenance and back-up arrangements’ and ‘proposals for non-availability of aircraft’. The ‘maintenance and back-up arrangements’ criteria recognises that the aircraft normally used on the routes will be out of service at various times in order for routine maintenance to be undertaken. This includes each aircraft’s annual heavy maintenance check which takes several weeks. Loganair confirmed as part of their bid that they own a Twin Otter aircraft, in addition to the two they lease from HIAL, that will be used in the delivery of services from Glasgow to Campbeltown, Tiree and Barra.
In relation to ‘proposals for non-availability of aircraft’, Loganair’s bid set out a clear, multi-layered approach offering a high degree of resilience which provided us with assurance that they could continue to provide the services even if the normal aircraft used on them were unavailable. This included use of their own Twin Otter aircraft as well calling on other aircraft in their fleet should that be necessary. At the extreme, the leasing in of further aircraft would be considered.
There is no requirement within our contract for Loganair to use specific aircraft types for the provision of services. This is deliberate so that it gives an airline the maximum flexibility to ensure that services are provided. Loganair is, however, contractually required to provide the services as per the specification. Should they fail to do so then we would take action under the contract to address the situation.
You will be aware that Covid-19 has led to a significant drop in passenger numbers across the air network and including the Glasgow-Tiree service. As a result of this, the number of weekly rotations has been reduced to take account of this lower demand. It is neither economically nor environmentally desirable for an airline to be flying empty planes. We expect, however, that this reduction in frequency will be a short term measure. We expect demand to pick up again next year as the Covid-19 situation is resolved and travel restrictions are lifted. In the longer term, we are committed to the provision of the current specification during this contract period and I look forward to continuing to engage with you and your colleagues on the Community Council and Transport Forum, both in terms of ensuring that services are currently operating as they should in meeting the needs of the community as well as considering further refinements to the specification for the next contract period.
Should you have any further queries please don’t hesitate to get in touch.
Yours sincerely
Michael Bratcher
Aviation Policy
Transport Scotland
Minutes of meeting on November 2020
These were posted originally on the Meeting notice for December, and were reposted here in Jan 2021 to complete the minutes archive function on the site.