Issue 26, May 2014

SALINE AND DISTRICT HERITAGE SOCIETY MUSEUM,

SUMMER 2014:

THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919

A quick thank you to everyone who is lending things to help develop the story of World War I relating to the village and surrounds. We are still looking for items such as uniforms, photographs of soldiers and the people of the area, stories about life during the war and interesting articles or letters. We have some archive footage from WWI and songs of the time which will also be available in the museum.

We have a list of all the servicemen whom we know went to war but there must be others who we have not found yet. A copy of the list can be found in the Post Office, Leisure Centre and Shieldbank café, so if you have time perhaps you could see if there is any name that we’ve missed. Trawling of the Dunfermline papers has given us about 100 men who went to war and came back, as well as the names on the memorial at the church.

John Crane has been able to provide some information regarding James Bennett whose family lived in the house now called Maroc and James’s medals have been kindly lent to us by his grandniece for display in our museum.

We have identified a number of names from the memorial to investigate a bit further and would be pleased if you can furnish us with any information. Or, if you have information you’d like to share about one of the others on the memorial, please let us know.

Alex Arnott, Stoker, Royal Navy

James Bennett, 2nd Lieutenant, Royal Engineers

George Kean, Lance Corporal, Highland Cyclist Battalion

Robert Kean, Private, London Rifles

William Mellon, Private, Black Watch

Patrick Mellon, Corporal, Black Watch

Thomas Meiklejohn, Private, Seaforth Highlanders

Maxwell Robertson, Sergeant, Scottish Rifles

The society aims to produce a booklet with all the information gathered about the soldiers, sailors and airmen who enlisted from Saline and district which will include photographs where possible. Any information regarding any of these men would be gratefully accepted. Please contact Tina (details below) or any of the Heritage Society members.

As part of the Remembrance Service to be held in Saline Parish Church, the museum will be open for visitors. Details will follow on days and times of opening in November.

This year the Museum will open on Saturday 7 June and then from Sunday 8 June as per normal - open on Sundays 11.30am-1pm and Wednesdays 10am-12noon. As usual, we are looking for volunteers to assist the manning of the museum on these days.

Tina Chapman

852235 or tinachapman1@msn.com

Editor's note

The Editor reserves the right to refuse, edit or factually correct all items submitted for publication. All views expressed in this Bulletin are purely those of the author of the item concerned and are not necessarily those of the Editor or of the Communications Group as a whole.

POLICE REPORT TO THE SALINE & STEELEND COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING

APRIL 2014

A total of 23 calls were received between 27 March and 27 April for the area and of these four crimes have been recorded. There has been a theft from a secure container where tools were stolen and a wing mirror knocked off a car in Steelend.

Campaign Against Violence is the national targeted approach to tackling violence and antisocial behaviour; CAV has been deployed in our area with the last deployment date being Friday 18 April. Area Safer Communities is a partnership initiative with HIT and Fife Council to combat antisocial behaviour and private space violence. Addresses are highlighted by the community analyst depending on the number of calls to the address in a three-month period. Partners then look to implement measures to identify and deal with the issues at each address. This continues throughout the year. This was previously referred to as Operation Escalate.

Joint surgeries are held monthly with Councillor Willie Ferguson and Councillor Kate Stewart in Kincardine and High Valleyfield.

‘Coffee With Cops’: On an ad hoc basis, West Fife Villages staff drop into the coffee morning held in the Church Hall in Limekilns and at the coffee shop within the walled gardens in Devilla Forest. Discussions to pursue similar visits are on-going with Mr Ball, the Session Clark in Saline, with a view to attending the Church Coffee morning and at Fairley’s Garden Centre in Cairneyhill.

At the March Community Engagement meeting no priorities were set; the next meeting will be on Thursday 22 May, 7.00 pm, Oakley Community Centre (PC Wilson).

Contact Details

Inspector Ian Flynn, john.flynn@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 01383 318911

Sergeant Jillian Neill, jillian.neill@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 01592 251184

PC Paul Sherriff, paul.sherriff@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 101

PC Ian Rushford, ian.rushford@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 101

PC Kirsty Orrock, kirsty.orrock@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 101

PC Mike Harvey, michael.harvey@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 101

PC Gill Wilson, gill.wilson@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 101

PC Kev Chandler, kevin.chandler@scotland.pnn.police.uk, 101

If you require an officer to attend a meeting to discuss a specific issue please do not hesitate to contact us.

Don’t forget – if you have things you want to promote on the community website, contact Ian Holmes-Lewis on 851855 or sambangraman@gmail.com

SPACES AVAILABLE IN PILATES CLASSES

InspireFit in Dunfermline run two Pilates classes on a Tuesday night at 7.15pm and 8.15pm in Saline Community Centre and currently have spaces for the next block starting on Tuesday 20 May. The block lasts for 6 weeks, taking you up to Tuesday 24 June and the cost is £39 for the block. Both classes are suitable for complete beginners. If you are interested, please call Suzy on 07576 368231, or email info@inspirefit.co.uk.

SALINE ENVIRONMENTAL GROUP

Saline Environmental Group will be holding their AGM on Wednesday 18 June at 7.30pm in Saline Community Centre. Anyone interested in attending and participating in the planned activities of the group will be very welcome.

SALINE AND DISTRICT HERITAGE SOCIETY

Saline and District Heritage Society will be holding their AGM on Wednesday 28 May 2014, 7.30pm in the Church Hall. Local lass Ena Stevenson will tell us of her experiences in taking part in the BBC programme "Bargain Hunt". This will be followed by a short AGM. Members are reminded that the annual membership fee of £5.00 is now due - valid from May 2014 to May 2015. This goes to support the general costs of the society, the main one of which is the speakers' expenses.

HOLIDAY HUTS IN CARNOCK WOOD

All over northern and eastern Europe, in Norway, Sweden, Finland, Poland and Romania, to name but a few, when people want to get away from the towns and cities they go to their huts in the countryside. There mum and dad read books or go for walks. The kids play in the woods in safe surroundings. In the evening they cook and eat together, watch the sun go down and listen to the birdsong, far from the television. Ask anyone who has experienced this as a child, and they will say that it was the happiest days of their lives.

So why doesn’t it happen in Scotland? Well, the Town and Country Planning Act in 1947, in its haste to control the spread of low-quality housing, didn’t think about huts and so today you can build a tool shed or a house with all that that entails, but nothing in between.

Reforesting Scotland, an environmental charity dedicated to a healthy land with healthy communities, wants to change that to allow many more people to have a modest hut in the countryside as a place to get away to at weekends and in the summer holidays. We are talking to the Scottish Government about changing the planning rules and it’s looking promising.

We are also working with Forestry Commission Scotland on a pilot study for a small hutting village in Carnock Moor Wood, which is a public forest between Saline, Carnock and Gowkhall. About 10 to 12 huts are proposed, each with a maximum internal floor area of 30 square metres, and close but not too close to each other. They will be off grid - no electricity, Calor gas for cooking, water from a stand pipe and compost toilets. We are going to reserve a couple of sites for local people who might want to build their own hut and ask the primary school if they would like a school hut as a base for activities in the woodland.

We would like to stress that access to Carnock Moor wood will not be affected. Almost all of the paths will be as before, apart from those in the immediate surroundings of the huts. We see the woods being used by local people as a way of keeping the huts safe when nobody is in them.

At present we are speaking to local people in different ways - the Community Council, this newsletter, walkers in the wood, neighbours, anyone with an interest. We are happy to answer questions by Email or speak face to face. There will be a drop-in meeting in Saline Community Centre on Wednesday 11 June, 3.00-7.00 pm, which is open to everyone.

We are hoping that this will be the start of many more huts in many more places across Scotland; Carnock Moor Wood could be the pioneering one. We expect that the hutters will be a decent bunch of people who will be using local shops and businesses. They will be an asset to the community and we hope that everyone will benefit from this initiative.

Donald McPhillimy

www.reforestingscotland.org

Job Offer:

Gardener required for six weeks,

four hours per week;

must have transport.

Phone 07971474638

COMMUNITY COUNCIL MATTERS

A well attended council meeting managed to provoke considerable debate on several issues with consensus on all key issues.

Reforesting Scotland

Donald McPhillimy gave an interesting presentation on a possible pilot project to develop huts on Forestry Commission land at Carnock Moor. There was general support for the idea and Donald will be producing an article for the Community Bulletin [Editor’s Note: please see above article].

Oakley Road

A meeting with Transportation has been sought in view of their negative response to requests for improvements. It appears that Fife Council has approved traffic calming measures on Oakley Road as far as Eastercraigs Gardens.

Drainage at Bus Turning Circle

This appears to have been satisfactorily resolved

Treasurer’s Report

Marie Crane presented the audited accounts for the end of the financial year. These were accepted by the council members. Joan Featherstone said that thanks were due to Marie for maintaining the books in such good order.

Turbines

Till Kroeber reported on the various proposals within the parish. The major proposal at Outh Muir has been refused but there is still an outstanding application for eleven turbines on an adjacent site in Blairadam Forest. Till advised that, if this is approved, there are opportunities for the community to buy into the venture. Most present felt that the reasons for refusing Outh Muir were applicable to Blairadam. Till advised of approvals at Killernie Farm and Lockshaw Moss. There was concern that the test masts west of Saline still haven’t been dismantled despite Fife Council’s attention being drawn to the matter. The proposed turbine at Mains of Kinneddar Farm has received twelve objections. Progress on proposals at Cults Hill (scoping exercise) and Thornyhill (screening exercise) were noted.

Blair House

31 March was meant to be the date on which the restoration bond was drawn down. There was already concern that the bond was inadequate to restore the site as originally envisaged but there are now real worries that the bond-holder is being less than co-operative. It was noted that security of the hole was inadequate and that children had been spotted swimming in the pond. Fife Council’s attention will be drawn to this. Assuming that the bond is paid, it was felt that a community involvement in developing the restoration plan could help increase the outputs by targeting other funds to develop the site as a community asset.

Saline Environmental Group

Joan Featherstone reported on progress with projects and advised that the AGM will be held in Saline Community Centre on 18 June. This will be advertised nearer to the time. The group has agreed to take over the school orchard near The Steadings from Forestry Commission Scotland

Saline Glen

Complaints have been received about teenagers gathering in the Glen with associated anti-social behaviour. It was felt that this is a matter for the police and anyone with concerns should attend the Police Liaison Meeting. The next one is in Oakley Centre at 7pm on 22 May. Readers should note that the police take particular note of points raised and people should take advantage of this opportunity to be heard.

Saline Cemetery

Complaints have been received about disabled access and maintenance, and David Chisholm was asked to set up a meeting with Fife Council’s Bereavement Officer. The outcome will be reported in more detail in a later issue.

Barrowman Plough

The Church of Scotland HQ has asked for clarification on a number of points regarding the proposal to site the Barrowman Plough in the Parish Church gardens. This will be discussed at the next meeting.

Health and Social Care

Tina Chapman gave a brief presentation on her work as Vice Chair of the Public Reference Group on Health & Social Care. The aim is to integrate services within the NHS and Fife Council.

Saline Heritage Museum

Wearing a different hat, Tina outlined the next exhibition in the museum. Its theme will be the First World War and the local community are asked to loan any articles or documents that connect Saline parish with this momentous event.

Community Council Meetings

Everyone is welcome to attend and participate in discussions. The next meeting is at 7.30pm in Saline Community Centre on Tuesday 27 May. Why not come along?

Nyjer seed is very fine thistle-like seed that requires a special bird feeder that is basically a plastic tube with a few very small holes where the birds can extract a few seeds at a time.

The other day I caught a fleeting glimpse of a tree creeper going up our ash tree. The tree creeper is a small, very active, bird. It has a long, slender, down curved bill and is speckled brown above and mainly white below. Bramblings have also been seen in the village. Similar in size and shape to the chaffinch, the brambling male has a black head in summer, and an orange breast with white belly.

[Editor’s note: Who has seen the heron down by the meeting of the Saline Burn and the Black Devon? What other birds or other wildlife have you seen around Saline and Steelend? Let us know!]

THE END OF THE TAX DISC

The paper tax disc was first issued on January 1 1921. Vehicle tax still needs to be paid, however, but, with the DVLA having a digital record of who has and has not paid, a paper tax disc will no longer be necessary as proof that vehicle tax has been paid.

Most on-road enforcement actions are now based on using automatic number plate readers (ANPR). The camera uses the number plate rather than requiring a visual inspection of the tax disc. The police also have access to DVLA records via the Police National Computer.

Local Democracy.

I frequently watch a kestrel that hovers expectantly over a green field on the eastern edge of my village. I have watched this kestrel for almost 40 years, though obviously not the same kestrel but maybe descendants of the first one that I saw. My kestrel hunts short-tailed voles, as I have seen these in the field occasionally. The field is also a favourite for dog walkers from all over the village and is about the only open space in the area where dog owners can freely exercise their canine pets.

A developer owns my kestrel's field and he applied to extend the village envelope in order to build luxury homes, presumably for folk who retire from Edinburgh. About 100 letters of opposition were submitted by Saline residents and the Local Authority rejected the application. Undeterred, the developer appealed to Edinburgh and the application was approved by a wee man from Holyrood.

My kestrel still hunts in the field and dogs still take their owners for walks, but the houses will be built as soon as the economic climate guarantees a nice fat profit for the developer. So much for local democracy.

And local democracy and the role of community councils is what I am all about.

When I read the 2007 SNP Manifesto, I must admit that as a community councilor out in the West Fife village of Saline I was delighted. It stated that a consultation would seek views on providing £30,000 for every 1,000 of the community council's population. On that basis Saline Community Council would receive about £60,000 per annum to help the various voluntary groups in our area and fund small infrastructure improvements.

Unfortunately, this manifesto consultation did not materialise (surprise, surprise). To be even-handed and fair to the SNP, I cannot see that any of the other main political parties even mentioned community councils in their manifestos. However, the White Paper manifesto does not mention community councils either.

My main argument is that there is a total absence of local democracy in Scotland. In England, community councils and their equivalent organisations have considerably more authority and status. In truth, Scotland's local communities had more democracy back in the 1930s when parish councils were in being. One could even argue that there was even more local democracy when parish heritors of the nineteenth century made decisions, but could be held to account by kirk elders and their neighbours. Whatever the shortcomings of these old systems, the local power remained in local hands.

In December 2011 the Scottish Government Minister for Local Government and Planning established the strangely-titled Community Council Short-Life Working Group, comprising a range of people with hands-on knowledge of the Community Council sector, who were asked to consider and recommend how best to build the resilience, capacity and capability of community councils in the future.

The Group singularly failed to reach any decisions on the most potentially important issues facing Scotland's community councils - these including national representation of community councils; full control of specified budgets; tax-raising powers similar to those of English parish councils; and the current legal definition of the general purpose of a community council.

The final recommendations of this working group were to my mind meaningless, wishy-washy suggestions that mainly recommended that Local Authorities should take more notice of community councils. Fat chance; and I won't be holding my breath.

This working group, which incidentally did not have any representation from the Kingdom, lost a marvellous opportunity to revitalise Scotland's community councils - and I wonder how much political influence was at play?

Another setback that community councils suffered was when the Scottish Government withdrew funding for the Association of Community Councils. Consequently, this organisation ceased to exist. Again, because this voluntary group was underfunded anyway, its effectiveness was to a degree questionable; although my knowledge of the work of this association is very limited. Nevertheless, depositing this community council support group in the dustbin certainly did not do very much to encourage and foster either community councils or local democracy.

Community council elections are held every four years. It is, however, difficult to get people to serve as community councilors. This can be seen by the fact that very few elections are necessary, as not enough candidates come forward. It follows that most folk who apply will automatically become community councillors.

The consequences of this apathy are that people can join a community council for the wrong reasons, and will not necessarily work in the interest of the whole community. Other people may be motivated to apply to join community councils for the right reasons, but without possession of the abilities to provide an adequate service. A further serious consequence of this disinterest is that about 300 Scottish community councils are currently suspended because of a lack of candidates.

The only way to resolve this situation would be a radical review aimed at redefining the status and the authority of community councils, and the introduction of a training programme and educational publicity. Such action would encourage more candidates to come forward, proportionate to the additional responsibly given to community councils. People instinctively know where real power resides; and at present there is little power residing at local community council level.

A glimmer of light, and maybe a move in the right direction, is a current study being undertaken by the Commission on Strengthening Local Democracy. This body has a wide remit and its website states "Strong local democracy is fundamental to the kind of country we want to live in. This Commission will be listening to the evidence and thinking about what it would take to put stronger local democracy at the heart of Scotland’s constitutional future."

Unfortunately, there does not appear to be any community council representation on the study; and the Kingdom again is not represented. Time will tell; but any recommendations from this Commission will need to overcome Holyrood’s instinctive policy of the centralisation of power which is a worrying aspect of political life in Scotland at the present time.

In the meantime, my kestrel will continue to hunt in the field on the edge of Saline until the contractors arrive with their heavy equipment. Then he will have to find another field where short-tailed voles reside, and the dog walkers will probably have to drive their pets out of the village to find suitable exercise areas.

John Crane