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Annual Report of TCC June 2023–4

TIREE COMMUNITY COUNCIL (TCC)

SECRETARY’S REPORT June 2023–24

  1. Number of meetings: 10. These have been a rotation of in-person/hybrid and virtual meetings on the second Wednesday of each month. In-person meetings are now held at the new IT Hub at the Trust offices.
  2. Councillors until May 2024: Phyl Meyer (Convenor), Dr John Holliday (Secretary), Tim Arkless and Jacqui Bennett.
  3. Co-opted members until May 2024: Frances Khetrat, Aran Khetrat and John MacCaskill.
  4. Councillors after May 2024 by-election: Gerard McGoogan (Convenor), Dr John Holliday (Secretary), Tim Arkless, Frances Khetrat, Aran Khetrat and John MacCaskill .
  5. Skills and Knowledge member: Angus John MacKechnie (transport)
  6. Attendance of District Councillors: 3 attendances from 2 councillors.
  7. Liaison:
  • Attended most public meetings of Coll and Mull CCs and a few meetings of Coll Transport Forum
  • Met with Scottish Water about the limits to capacity in the water supply
  • Met with SSEN project team about a new subsea cable between Coll and Tiree
  1. Transport:
  • Re-instatement of regular meetings of the Transport Forum under John MacCaskill
  • Negotiation of additional bank flights for the autumn film festival
  • We assisted the Trust campaign to help islanders with the Introduction of the Residents Fare Card form. TCC secured the Residents Fares rates for Coll
  • Discussion with Transport Scotland about the reduced resilience of the Loganair fleet
  1. Campaigns:
  • Highly Protected Marine Areas: TCC, along with the Tiree Trust, wrote to the relevant Scottish Government minister, and gave some interviews against this proposal. The policy was dropped
  • Re-instatement of Gaelic Development Officer funding: TCC, along with the Tiree Trust, wrote to the relevant Scottish Government minister. This funding cut was reversed, but not in a way that was practically of benefit to Tiree
  • 48-hr rule for Patient Travel Scheme: Highland Health Board was lobbied about this, unsuccessfully
  • Retention of Screen Machine mobile film theatre: TCC wrote to the relevant Scottish Government minister to protest. Funding for an additional two years was subsequently promised
  • Retention of Ring n Ride Scheme: TCC met with Argyll and Bute Council (ABC) after the contractor gave in their notice. Despite pressure, the scheme has not been reinstated
  • TCC asked ABC to set up a Joint Forum of Community Councils in Argyll and Bute: this was refused
  • TCC asked ABC to recruit and train a new pest control officer resident on Tiree: this was also unsuccessful
  • TCC lobbied ABC over use of school playing fields by home schooled children in the afternoon: this was successful
  1. Projects:
  • Telephone boxes: those at Caolas, Scarinish, Mannal and Balephuil boxes have been renovated. Those at Balevullin and Middleton in progress. TCC decided that boxes at Silversands, Crossapol, Heylipol and Kenovay should be sold or moved
  • Community garden: TCC applied successfully for planning permission for a community garden west of Pier View, and bought a Keder house. This had not yet been erected
  • Replacing fence around Scarinish central business district: there have been negotiations with local businesses. TCC is awaiting a tender from the contractor
  • Beach signs about fires and dog waste: six were put up
  1. Correspondence:
  • Lobbied WHHA for improved insulation and new heating systems for the properties at Pier View
  • Argyll and Bute Council about whether re-cycled waste needed to be bagged
  • Argyll Estates about shooting parties near houses
  • Police Scotland about the absence of police from the island during a serious incident
  • Dental service about the frequency of surgeries
  • Tiree Medical Practice about the continuation of ordering prescriptions by telephone
  • The lack of a resident Open Reach engineer
  • West Highland Housing Association for a bus shelter beside Pier View
  • TCEL (part of Tiree Trust) about the differential pricing between summer and winter
  1. Consultations:
  • Visitor Levy
  • Democracy Matters
  • CHFS3 Ferry contract
  • Operation Neptune
  • Island Connectivity Plan

Dr John Holliday, 6 June 2024

Agenda TCC April public meeting

TIREE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

MARCH PUBLIC MEETING

7pm 10 April 2024

by Zoom

Phyl Meyer is inviting you to a scheduled Zoom meeting.

Join Zoom Meeting

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Meeting ID: 885 7868 0133

Passcode: 992789

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  1. Welcome
  2. Apologies
  3. Declarations of interest
  4. Approval of minutes of last meeting
  5. Matters arising: phone boxes; community garden; Scottish Water; lack of a BT engineer; Hynish passing place; Scarinish fence update
  6. Correspondence: SEPA and Potentially Vulnerable Areas
  7. Meetings reports: Jenni Minto, MSP
  8. Reports from district councillors
  9. By-election results and future co-option
  10. Fuel prices
  11. Transport: resilience of Glasgow flights; Oban flights; current ferry situation; proposed Transport Forum meeting; reported significant increase in aircraft landing fees at HIAL airports
  12. TCC accounts and annual grant from Argyll and Bute Council
  13. All weather pitch access
  14. Planning applications
  15. AOCB
  16. Date and place of next meeting

Extra support during a power cut

SSEN PSR Digital Toolkit
Dear John

Disruption to essential services like electricity can sometimes happen and it affects our everyday lives. For some, a power cut can be worrying or difficult. Acknowledging the pivotal role that Community and Parish Councils play in achieving better outcomes for communities and widening the safety net of care around them, we are asking for your help in reaching people who may need extra support during power cuts.

We are Scottish and Southern Electricity Networks (SSEN), we operate the electricity network in your area. We keep the lights on, TVs running, and homes and businesses heated for 3.9 million customers, with 99% reliability throughout the year. Your residents may not be aware that extra advice and support is available for when there is an interruption to the power supply. By informing your residents of the Priority Services Register this will enable them free access to:

  • Our dedicated Priority Services line is available 24 hours a day.  We’ll contact you, or your nominated contact if we need to switch off your power to carry out essential maintenance.
  • We offer a password service where you can agree a password to use when dealing with SSEN staff. That way we can look after your personal safety and home security.
  • When we are aware of an unplanned power cut affecting your home, you will receive proactive updates 24 hours a day.
  •  We will contact you regularly to confirm the details we hold for you are correct and if we do not hear back from you on these occasions, we will only keep your data for 5 years.

What is the PSR and who is eligible?  
The Priority Services Register is a free UK-wide service which provides extra advice and support, including when there’s an interruption to your electricity, gas or water supply. You are eligible for free PSR services if you:

  • Use medical equipment reliant on electricity or water.
  • Are blind or partially sighted.
  • Are deaf or hard of hearing.
  • Are of pensionable age.
  • Have a disability.
  • Live with children under five.
  • Have a chronic illness.
  • Have anxiety, depression or any mental health condition.
  • Loss or impairment of smell.
  • Need documents translated into another format or language.
  • Temporarily need extra support.
  • Everyone has different needs. Contact your distributor to discuss your requirements.

What resources are available to promote the PSR? 
By promoting the Priority Services Register with your residents you will be helping our welfare teams provide extra support to where it is needed most during a power cut. The toolkit has been designed to help you have conversations about what the PSR offers, how it can make a difference to your residents and provide peace of mind during power cuts. You will find the following resources within the toolkit:

  • Information you can copy and paste into your newsletters, emails, information sections on your websites and discussion points for team meetings or coffee mornings.
  • Posters
  • Social media assets
  • Links to helpful advice

We appreciate some of your residents may not be in our license area, however by signposting them to our registration pages (for Scotland and England) customers can enter their postcode which will direct them to the right utility to register.

If you have any queries regarding the PSR, please contact us on networkscvteam@sse.com.

Whether through email, newsletter, coffee morning or via social media channels, we hope that this pack supports you to have conversations about the benefits of the Priority Services Register. Thank you for helping us to provide extra support to the communities you serve.

Yours sincerely,

Customer Vulnerability Team

By-election results

Congratulations to our new councillors

NOTICE OF UNCONTESTED ELECTION

ELECTION OF COMMUNITY COUNCILLORS FOR

TIREE COMMUNITY COUNCIL

BY-ELECTION DAY – 2 MAY 2024

The following candidates remain validly nominated for the above Community Council Area as hereinafter mentioned and, as not more than the required number of candidates remains validly nominated there will be no poll therein and not later than 11.00am on the day of the election, the said candidates shall be declared to be elected Community Councillors.

Names of Candidates remaining validly nominated

 

 Address as in the Register
1 KHETRAT, Frances Mary Address in the Community Council Area
2 KHETRAT, Swaranjai Benjamin Address in the Community Council Area
3 MACCASKILL, John P Fairways, Vaul, Isle of Tiree
4 MCGOOGAN, Gerard John Address in the Community Council Area

                                                                        Signed

                                                                                                Pippa Milne

                                                                                                Returning Officer

Agenda for February Tiree Community Council public meeting

TIREE COMMUNITY COUNCIL (TCC)

FEBRUARY PUBLIC MEETING

7 pm on 21 February 2024

Due to double booking of the Conference Room at the Tiree Trust, this meeting has now moved to online only. Apologies. JH

On Zoom and streamed on the TCC Facebook page

Join Zoom Meeting

https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82281921522?pwd=N1h6S0ZkQ002RzhIZUVpUmwzYWlmUT09

Meeting ID: 822 8192 1522

Passcode: 923203

  1. Welcome
  2. Apologies
  3. Declarations of interest
  4. Minutes of last meeting
  5. Matters arising: Winter timetable 2024; request for a new bus shelter at Pier View; rats; community garden; gritter; phone boxes; Scarinish fence; community bus service
  6. Correspondence: Ferry consultation, National Climate Adaptation Plan consultation; Jenni Minto on island 15 March
  7. Meeting reports: Ferry contract; Mull Community Council; Coll Community Council; Tiree Trust climate change initiatives
  8. Argyll and Bute Councillors’ reports
  9. A&BC budget proposals
  10. Democracy Matters consultation
  11. Ferries: possible changes to RET; timetables for winter 2024/5 and summer 2025; update on reserved deck space pilot
  12. Scottish Water: will the island have enough water in future?
  13. Balevullin Beach sand loss
  14. Planning applications for the last month
  15. AOCB
  16. Date and location of March public meeting

 

Democracy Matter consultation from the Scottish Government

‘Democracy Matters’: phase 2 consultation from the Minister for Community Wealth and Public Finance

Contributions have to be submitted by 28 February 2024.

The fundamental question being asked is: do those of us wo live on Tiree want more control over our own lives?

In general, Tiree Community Council thinks that the answer is yes.

Tiree has made great progress in building community capacity over the last twenty years:

  • There is a community-owned livestock mart and cafe
  • There is a community-owned hall
  • There is a community development trust owning a wind turbine, community broadband, a harbour and two piers, a community shop, fuel station, business units, and employing a ranger (operating a croft camping scheme), Gaelic development workers and a youth worker
  • There is a community business running the Crossapol business centre and the Scarinish public toilets
  • There is a community trust running the Hynish lighthouse shore station

However, there are challenges:

  • Recruiting enough directors and councillors is not easy. The island’s population is only 650, and there is a small-community reticence to stick one’s head above the parapet
  • There is always a fear that a few people with sharp elbows will take over
  • We know it costs more to deliver services on an island than on the mainland. If we were given our own budgets, we would need to make sure there was enough money in the kitty

So, any changes in the way we are governed:

  • Should allow communities to opt-in. Not every community will be ready at the same time
  • Should be slow and evolutionary, so the community has time to adjust and build capacity
  • Will be more expensive, so funding will need to go up
  • Will need support, possibly involving mentors from places where this sort of thing works
  • While we try to keep up-to-date with our neighbouring islands, Tiree is a stand-alone community. We want to keep it that way, rather than be amalgamated with other areas.

 The full consultation is at:

https://www.gov.scot/publications/democracy-matters-phase-2-consultation-local-governance-review/

You are encouraged to engage with this individually.

John Holliday