Ayton
Community
Council
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Minutes for meeting held Wednesday 3rd January 2024

Held in Ayton Community Hall at 7pm.  

Present

Apologies for Absence

Minutes

  SW opened the meeting by welcoming everyone to the first full meeting of the Community Council. Apologies for absence were received from Alison Currie and Rachel Hendry.

The minutes of the previous meeting held on Tuesday 5th December were approved by AM and Seconded by MC as a true and accurate reflection of events.

Treasurer’s Report

PI Presented details of the 2 accounts currently held by Ayton Community Council. The CC’s Account currently has a balance of £454.19 and during the previous financial year 4 payments were made from this account totalling £200.24 and the only income was £2.25 in the way of bank interest. In the Project Account we currently have a balance of £480.68 with no payments made in the last financial year and the only income being £3.11, which was interest generated.

A discussion was had over the reason for 2 separate accounts and it was suggested that this my not be necessary and that we would hold discussions at a future meeting to determine if we should operate with only 1 account ior continue with 2. It was also agreed that PI would look into changing the signatories on the bank accounts to reflect the new council and he will report back on the process at the next meeting.

It was also noted that we are currently members of RAGES and Berwickshire Civic Society at a cost of £20 last year and a discussion was held as to whether we wished to remain a member. PI agreed to have discussions with Graham Dolan regarding this.

The Treasurer’s report was approved by DH and Seconded by TS.

Adoption of a New Constitution

It was agreed that the role of Vice Chair should be added to the list of officers of the council. A discussion was held over the matter of having a minimum of 6 nominations for Council before a Community Council can be formed, given the problems face forming previous councils. It was suggested that the numbers are set by Scottish Borders Council based on population and it was unanimously agreed that we would leave the number at 6 nominations. The Constitution was approved and adopted.

Adoption of New Standing Orders

All Standing orders were approved and adopted.

Code of Conduct

All members present agreed to the code of conduct and signed the document to indicate this. AC and RH will be invited to do so at a future meeting owing to their absence this evening.

Training Session with Logan Inglis and James Anderson

It was agreed by all members present that this training was a good idea and we would approach both for suitable dates.

Formation of Sub Committees

It was agreed that there was no need for this at the current time however we would look at this on an Issue-by-Issue basis and make decisions on these as and when required.

Salt Bin for Summerhill Park

SW reported that she had contacted Scottish Borders Council regarding this and they have advised that they have not supplied a Salt Bin for Summerhill Park as the road has not been adopted by the council. Advice was given to contact BHA who may be able to help and SW agreed to do this.

Resilience Group Update

PH advised that he had spoken with Catherine Chisholm for an update and she has informed him that no work was carried out by the group during the recent cold spell as the temperatures were not deemed critical as defined by Scottish Borders Council. She advised that the group continue to carry out work and offer support where necessary around the cost-of-living crisis. Catherine advised that the resilience group has a weather team and they are keen to meet with the Community Council to discuss future support and SW agreed to facilitate this. It was also noted that it is good practice to have an online resilience plan, which we do not currently have an SW agreed to take further advice on this from Scottish Borders Council.

Sustainable Selkirk

It was noted that this group would like to speak to the council about support they can offer to the local community. MC advised that they regularly attend the village Coffee Mornings on a Wednesday and she would speak to them about promotion of a March awareness event.

AOB

Police Monthly Report

It was noted that there was noting to report for the area during November 2023 and December 2023’s report was now overdue and expected on 15th January 2024.

Sea The Change

The group will be holding a community Clean Up Day on 24th March and volunteers were being sort to support this. CN, PH and TS agreed to support this event and Sea the Change will also seek other local volunteers.

A1 Litter

Questions were raised about who is responsible for the collection of litter and TS advised that he had spoke to Bear Scotland whop are not allowed to litter pick this area and have advised that it is the role of Scottish Borders Council. SW agreed to speak to SBC regarding this matter and note our concerns regarding the volume of litter currently on verges.

SBC Budget Consultation

It was advised that there had been a very low response so far to this public consultation and residents were encouraged to complete this online consultation before 31st January 2024. SW agreed that she would look to encourage members of the community to engage in this consultation.

Pingo Bus Service

SW advised us council that there had been a number of changes to the Pingo bus service, meaning that there would now be designated pick up and drop off points around major bus routes. While we had not yet seen the impact of this we agfreed to monitor the situation.

Cllr Anderson Surgery

SW advised that Cllr Anderson would be holding a surgery in the Community Hall on 15th Jan between 10am and 12 noon.

Road Markings

MC advised that the road markings on the main road out of Ayton, passed the church were virtually no existent. She also noted that there are no street lights in some areas and no cats eyes making driving at night hazardous. Other members agreed that this was an issue and SW agreed to bring this up with Cllr Anderson and seek advice on who to contact regarding this maintenance.

Ayton Cemetery

TS advised that a number of residents had spoken to him about the condition of the village cemetery and the difficulty they have in visiting graves which many believe poses a serious health and Safety risk. SW agreed to speak to Cllr Anderson and SBC as that landowners and establish who is responsible for the maintenance. We will continue to monitor the situation and report accordingly.

Village Presentation

It was noted that there seems to be an increase in dog fouling that is not being cleaned up by dog owners. All members were encouraged to be vigilant regarding this matter and report any offenders. It was agreed that TS would contact the dog warden at SBC and see if they could offer support. Additionally, MC raised concerns about an over grown hedge on the High Street by the bus stop. It was agreed the property was a private residence and that TS would speak to the owner and request he addresses the problem.

Village Play Park

TS advised that he had spoken to John Slater regarding wind farm funding to improve the park. John advised that we likely need to show that people from Reston use the facilities and AW agreed to get numbers from the school of Reston Based Children attending Ayton Primary. It was agreed that we should start looking at options for the park and that public consultation should be sought on the matter. SW agreed to speak to Kerry from Reston CC regarding their recent park up grade and seek advice on costs, suppliers and availability of funding. She would also speak to SBC regarding funding and any processes we would need to follow regarding this matter.

Village Website and Social Media

TF advised that the cost of webhosting and associated costs were £130 last year. We were asked if we needed a website which we widely agreed we did. TF agreed to take over the running of the website including building a new site at a substantially reduced cost of only £8 per year. The CC unanimously agreed this and TF was thanked for offering this service. Additionally it was suggested that we should have access to the village Facebook page and TS was tasked with contacting Kennth Combe, the current administrator for this to seek permissions for us to use the site.

High Street Garden

PH advised that the possible creation of a High Street Garden was being discussed and that a funding application was ready to go. He advised that planning permission would be required which we agreed we would support. Donations had already been agreed ahead of the application from Ayton Castle and further donations would be sought. PH agreed to keep CC updated on this matter.  

Date of Next Meeting

It was agreed that the next meeting would take place Tuesday 6th February at the slightly later time of 7:30pm to allow for member to attend Parent Council at Ayton Primary School.

The Meeting closed at 8:10pm.