Issue 39 July-August 2015

ALLANWATER DEVELOPMENT REFUSED PLANNING PERMISSION

The Community Council and local residents’ campaign for development on the former LRD site on Oakley Road that respects its prominent location and the historic character of Saline has achieved a significant success. At the recent West Area Planning Committee councillors voted unanimously to reject the Planning Department’s recommendation for approval and refused Allanwater planning permission on the grounds that it did not meet the conditions for a ‘contextual’ development.

Councillors shared the opinion of local people that Allanwater had ignored the condition in the outline consent that required the development to reflect the form and character of the homes at Kinneddar Steadings and instead were seeking to impose their standard house types. A presentation provided to councillors by residents of the Steadings demonstrated that the predominant local form is one and a half storey high buildings but the majority of homes proposed by Allanwater are two storey.

Councillors are to be congratulated for listening to the concerns of local people and being prepared to reject the recommendation of their own officers. It should also serve as a demonstration to other communities of the value of working with their elected representatives to resist inappropriate, low grade developments.

COMMUNITY ACQUISITION OF SALINE GLEN

As reported previously, the Community Development Trust has been asked by the Community Council to explore the possibility of the community acquiring Saline Glen. This aspiration is included in the Community Action Plan published in 2011. The present owners have indicated that they are prepared to sell the land to the community.

A recent meeting with a project officer from the Scottish Land Fund has established that SLF could provide up to 95% of the cost of purchase. Discussions with Scottish Community Woodlands have also been very encouraging and the Trust has submitted an application to the Big Lottery Fund Investing in Ideas fund for £5000 to cover the cost of appointing a consultant to carry out a detailed feasibility study. A decision about the application will be made by the end of July and if successful tenders will be sought from consultants suggested by SCW. The Trust hopes to complete the study by the end of October. The study will have to demonstrate the long term financial viability of the purchase and one option for producing a small income is to install a micro-hydro plant in the burn. If the initial feasibility study confirms that this might be feasible we will ask the Big Lottery Fund for funding for a detailed technical appraisal. We will also have to show that there is broad community support for acquisition.

WEST FIFE VILLAGES CREDIT UNION

A meeting will be held on 6 August at 2pm at Valleyfield Community Centre for volunteers to set up a Credit Union for the West Fife Villages. This would be a satellite of Kingdom Credit Union. At an initial meeting, volunteers came along from High and Low Valleyfield, Oakley and Kincardine. If anyone would like to come along to find out more they are very welcome.

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.

PATHS FOR ALL:

WILDLIFE AND PATHS EVENT

Ever wanted to know where bats roost in trees? Ever wondered how to cut verges along a path with wildlife in mind? How to create a deadwood pile or hotel for bugs using some materials on site or the distance from a badger sett that machinery building or maintaining a path shouldn’t work? Well, come along to Paths for All’s second Wildlife and Paths event at Scotland’s Rural College’s Oakridge Campus, West Lothian on Tuesday 29 July between 9.30am and 4.30pm. During the day, you’ll hear why it’s important to look for wildlife you find and more.

This indoor and outdoor event is open and free to volunteers of community councils, development trusts and community groups who maintain paths or green spaces in their local area.

For more details and how to book, contact: http://www.pathsforall.org.uk/wildlifeapathssrucoakridgecampus.html

HORTICULTURAL SHOW UPDATE

After a very cold, windy spring and early summer we are at last seeing everything growing, particularly the weeds, and the feasting slugs are in full attack! However it is lovely to see blooms appearing and colour coming daily into the flower bed and the vegetables visibly developing.

This is just a reminder that the Saline Flower Show is the first weekend in September and the committee are hoping that you will think of entering lots of the categories. Also please remember that there are photographic, art, baking, floral art and handicraft sections too along with many sections for the children - something for everyone. The schedule is on the website and everyone in the village has received a hard copy of it with the monthly Bulletin.

If you would like more information please contact the Secretary, Sheila Travers, on 01383 852249.

116th FIFE SCOUT GROUP

The Group held its AGM on Thursday 25 June and was well attended by parents and representatives of the Dunfermline District Scout Council. After the business part of the meeting, the remainder of the evening was given over to a social function where light refreshments of cheese and wine, tea, coffee and biscuits were served. Meanwhile the youth members of all the Sections enjoyed hotdogs and fun games albeit indoors as the weather was not too kind.

This was the last meeting for this term, giving the Leaders a well earned rest before meetings restart on Thursday/Friday 20/21 August 2015.

The Group has vacancies in all Sections for both boys and girls looking for fun, friends and outdoor adventure.

All contributions for inclusion in the Bulletin are welcome and should be submitted to Jacquie Clapperton on salineandsteelend@btinternet.com

SHIELDBANK COFFEE SHOP: HARVEST FESTIVAL

Two-Day Indoor Craft Fair: Saturday 22 and Sunday 23 August, 10.30am till 5.00pm.

Buffet Meal & Folk Evening: Saturday 22 August, starts at 7.00pm with the meal.

The artists are Wendy Arrowsmith (solo, pictured), Stevie Lawrence and Fiona Cuthill (duo), and Bill Adair (solo). The cost for the evening is £25 for the meal and concert or £10 for the concert only. All tickets must be booked in advance.

For further details or to book, please call 01383 852621 or 01383 852874 (evenings).

SALINE & BLAIRINGONE PARISH CHURCH

Sunday services continue as usual at 10.30am each week during the summer months. There will be provision for the children in the Hall during the the service each Sunday.

The Church is open each Wednesday morning from 10.00am to 12noon. Visitors are welcome to view points of interest or just spend a time of quiet reflection.

Refreshments will be available in the Hall each week at the regular Coffee Morning which continues through the summer.

The Heritage Centre Museum in the Churchyard is also open to visitors on Wednesday mornings. The current display is of particular interest to local residents or anyone brought up in the area.

Church Guild: Fortnightly meetings resume on Monday 7 September.

BBQ and Family Fun Day: Sunday 23 August from 2pm at Craigluscar Farm (in aid of Church Restoration Fund). Full details of programme, tickets, and transport will be available in due course – but please note the date now!

GRAVEYARD OPEN DAY

Saline & District Heritage Society held their open day to celebrate the restoration of the old graveyard. We were fortunate to be blessed with a beautiful sunny day and our guests, Jean Coker and Susan Murray who had come all the way from America, both gave lovely speeches before cutting the ribbon. Our chairperson, Barry, and Jean took visitors on tours of the graveyard, children had fun decorating bird and bat boxes and several local groups, including the Scouts, Mother and Toddlers, the Gala Committee, Saline Environment Group and The Tile Making Project ran various stalls in the Church Hall. Many thanks to Fiona Aitken and her helpers for serving refreshments, to Stewart for organising the tables and to the Church for allowing us to hold the event in the Church Hall. Thanks also go to Tina for manning the museum, members of the Heritage Society, volunteers and visitors for making the day such a success.

From now until September, our museum is open every Sunday 11.30 – 1pm, every Tuesday evening 6 – 8pm and every Wednesday 10 – 12noon. Our exhibition Through the Keyhole is focussing on houses and shops in the village and you will be surprised at the number of shops and businesses that used to exist in the village. Entry is free.

COMMUNITY COUNCIL MATTERS

There was a welcome healthy attendance with some new participants at the June meeting. A varied agenda provoked discussion of a range of matters including:

Young Mums Initiative

Fiona Paterson, Nicola Smith and Lisa Murray have taken up the issue of inadequate recreation facilities for children in Saline. They are looking to establish a group to examine the current provision, identify what improvements are needed and what the priorities should be. It was suggested that the whole parish should be covered, which was agreed, and there was discussion on what needed to be done to form the group and possible funding supports. The community council and SSCDT are supportive and will give all possible support to a worthwhile initiative. It was suggested that the new group should contact Karen Marsh, the chair of the Kinneddar Park & Cowstrandburn Residents Association, who have undertaken a tremendous amount of work in the construction of a play and leisure area at Kinneddar Park. Further details will be provided in future Bulletin issues.

Parking and Traffic Complaints

Following complaints about a vehicle transporter parked on Oakley Road, it has moved but is now taking up space on Main Street. Checks with Fife Council’s Development Management on parking by the garage established that there has been no breach of control and that any action was a matter for the police. An update by police on the complaints about a nuisance car has yet to be received.

Community Website

Progress is being made on updating the site. Groups not already represented are reminded

of the benefits of publicising their activities on the website and that our webmaster, Ian Holmes-Lewis can be contacted for help and advice.

Forth Bridges Unit

With the new bridge becoming operational in December 2016, Transport Scotland has appointed Amey to manage and operate the Forth Bridge Unit. The existing Forth Road Bridge will become a dedicated route for public transport. An electronic guide to the Forth Bridge Unit will soon, we hope, be available for inspection on the Community Website.

Development Management Listening Exercise

There were some wry smiles at an email from Development Management welcoming an opportunity to meet community councils to learn more of their service from a customer perspective and identify areas for improvement. There have been numerous complaints from many Fife community councils about Development Management ignoring local opinion and this is a welcome step forward. David Chisholm will be representing the Community Council at a meeting on 24 August that will be reported in the next Bulletin.

Fife Council Development Plan Update

Fife Council has provided a copy and summary of the latest Development Scheme, which can be examined on the community website or at www.fifedirect.org.uk/FifePlan. The update advises of progress on FifePlan and its anticipated adoption in August 2016 following an Examination in Public (EIP) of the approximately 3750 representations received.

Ineos

Further to Ian Holmes-Lewis’s informative report on Ineos’s consultations on their fracking proposals, their CEO has advised that the first phase has been completed and that smaller communities are about to be consulted. It is unclear whether this will include us but further details will be reported when information is available.

Heritage Angels

The Scottish Civic Trust has asked for groups that have made a big contribution to Scotland’s heritage to be nominated for a Heritage Angels award. Given the considerable work carried out by Saline Heritage Society, most recently the restoration of the old Saline Graveyard, it was unanimously agreed that they be nominated by the Community Council. This has been done and the results are expected in September. Fingers crossed!!

Funding Update

Readers are reminded that Fife Council has an excellent Funding Team that can give advice and help on sources of funding. Most groups receive their funding updates but, if your group doesn’t, the recent one can be examined on the community website along with contact details.

Kingdom Housing Association

KHA have advised that they still anticipate starting the first phase of their affordable housing on the Allanwater site towards the end of this financial year although this is possibly affected by the recent Planning //committee decision. In the meantime, consultations are going on with Fife Council on their detailed planning application.

The community council felt that Fife Council’s requirement for KHA to provide a link to the Upper Kinneddar play area would be better served by a path linking Upper Kinneddar to the Easter Craig bus stop. This would benefit the wider community without unduly inconveniencing KHA residents. However, KHA is reluctant to delay planning permission and this matter will be raised directly by the Community Council.

Turbines

It was previously reported that Steelend residents were generally supportive of the original

proposal to erect another turbine on Killernie Farm but were unhappy at the developers’ proposal to move it closer to their homes. It had been agreed that the developers would hold further discussions with residents but they have now asked Fife Council to determine the application opposed by residents. David Chisholm showed photographs highlighting the impact on Steelend and how the turbine would be highly visible from Carnock. He also advised that objections had been received from Edinburgh Airport and operators of the Knockhill masts, which would be difficult for the developers to counter. Fortunately, Development Management agreed to extend the period for objections.

Traffic Speeds

The progress made towards reducing speeds through Upper Steelend following Cllr Bobby Clelland’s meeting with residents and Phil Clarke (Transportation) was welcomed. However,

concerns have been raised about similar problems through all of our communities. David Chisholm suggested using Upper Steelend as a template for establishing a group to examine the wider issues, and proposed inviting Fife Council officers to a meeting to discuss these with a view to producing a long term plan.

Next Meeting

Recent meetings have been well attended, which leads to improved discussion and feedback. Everyone can participate so it’s a chance to have your views heard. The next meeting will be held at 7.30pm on Tuesday 25 August in Saline Community Centre.

TRAFFIC AND ROAD SAFETY

The persistence of residents at Upper Steelend in trying to get Fife Council to review traffic speeds and address road safety concerns on the B914 has been rewarded. At a constructive meeting with the lead officer from the Transportation directorate, Fife Council agreed to carry out a survey of traffic speeds and driver behaviour with a view to introducing additional road safety measures. These might include flashing speed reminder signs and double white lines to restrict overtaking. They will also be asking for the speed camera to be deployed to establish how fast vehicles are travelling. In the meantime residents have asked for signs identifying ‘Upper Steelend’ to be erected so that drivers are aware that they are passing people’s homes.

People at Steelend are also concerned that some drivers are ignoring the 40mph limit and are overtaking in the village. Residents at Kinneddar Park, where there is an ‘advisory’ 40mph limit that is largely ignored, are campaigning for more effective speed-reducing measures to be introduced. There are also concerns about the dangers created by inconsiderate parking on Main Street and Oakley Road in Saline. Consequently, at the recent Community Council meeting it was agreed that a small working group should be established, with representatives of the individual communities and other interested parties, to liaise with Council officers to review road safety issues across the parish, and to produce a strategic plan that can guide investment in road safety and traffic management measures. If you are interested in participating in this group please telephone David Chisholm on 853168.

IMPROVING THE FIFE COUNCIL PLANNING PROCESS

It appears that the Council is facing up to the concerns that many communities have over a perceived failure to engage meaningfully with local people either at a strategic planning level or in the determination of planning applications. Significantly the Council has invited representatives of community councils from across Fife to attend a meeting on the 24 August at which they will listen to concerns. Saline and Steelend Community Council will be taking advantage of this opportunity and calling for a much more open and transparent process. It is essential that local people have the opportunity to participate in the preparation of strategic development plans, not just comment on them once others have determined what they should contain. The planning website is very good at handling information about applications and processing ‘objections’, but often people don’t want to make an ‘objection’. They simply want to mention an issue they expect to be addressed when the application is being considered. Most frustratingly, it is very difficult to get to speak to a planning officer. In the case of significant planning applications, the Community Council will be pressing for the right for groups to make a statement at Planning Committee before decisions are taken. If you have comments or suggestions for other issues to raise please email sscdtmembers@btinternet.com.

RVS COMMUNITY TAXI SCHEME

The difficulty that some people without cars have getting out of the village for medical appointments, or simply getting into town, because of the poor bus service has been raised numerous times at Community Council meetings. Earlier this year local residents Beth Shaw and Jean Alexander learned of a community taxi service operated elsewhere in Fife by the Royal Voluntary Service. RVS have now obtained funding to operate the service in West Fife.

To be eligible you have to be over 55 and not have access to a car. The service uses local volunteer drivers. The cost of a journey is £4 for the first three miles and 40p for every mile thereafter up to 20 miles. After 20 miles the cost is 60p/mile. The mileage to and from the volunteer driver’s home to the pick-up point is not chargeable. Eligible users should ring the RVS on 01592 269654 to register. The process takes just a few minutes.

RVS are also keen to recruit some volunteer drivers from Saline and Steelend. Volunteers receive 45p/mile towards fuel. No special licence or insurance is required. If you are interested, or to learn more, please contact Bill Baird at RVS on the above number.

contact Ian Holmes-Lewis on

Early Wills from Saline Parish

C1560 - C1650

Compiled, Transcribed & Notated by SE Murray

STEELEND GALA DANCE

Check with Steelend Club for details.

Our sponsors:

This edition of the Bulletin is being sponsored by the

Comrie Colliery Environmental Trust

Summer Football League

Oakley Community Centre

Organised football games for ages 12-16