Minutes of the Bilbohall Estate Forum incorporating Rothes Area Meeting

held on Wednesday 3 February 2010

in Cedarwood, Edgar Road, Elgin starting at 7.15pm

Present: Mr S. Christie, (Chair), Mrs E. Miller, (Treasurer), Mr M. Pirie.  

In Attendance: Cllr J. Divers, Cllr J. Sharp, Cllr G. Leadbitter and Ms P. McKerron (Area Housing Officer)

Apologies: Mrs M. Sutherland, (Secretary), Miss F. Shaw, Mr F. Steele, Mrs J. Allan, Mrs I. Younnie. 

1.  Welcome.

Steven thanked everyone for attending and, in the absence of Moira, Michael would be taking the Minutes.  There was a change to the issued Agenda as there were so few people going to be present and also some of the items were to be taken forward to the next meeting.  Steven issued the updated Agenda.

2.  Minutes of Previous Meeting held on 4 November 2009

The Minutes of the last meeting were taken as a true record.  Proposed by Mr M. Pirie and seconded by Mrs E. Miller.

3.  Matters Arising.

A – Air Source Heating – No formal complaints from tenants have been received although our Forum have raised concerns regarding the height from the ground which they have been installed at.

There were problems with the severe cold freezing the pipes of the above mentioned heating but boiling water poured over them did thaw them out.

B – Litter Group – Elizabeth asked if there was to be another Litter Group meeting as the situation was becoming worse yet again.

4.  AGM – 2 December 2009.

It went well and Steven gave a brief resume of what happened during it.

5.  Area Housing Officer’s Report.

The majority of the kitchens in the Bilbohall Estate have been done although there are 1 or 2 which have been missed out.  If anyone knows of kitchens which have not been upgraded then please tell Pam and she will pass it on.

6.  Treasurer’s Report.

Elizabeth read out 2 reports.  The opening balance in November was £412.31.  To that was added £0.03 Interest and 2 cheques for a total of £78.20 were deducted.  The closing balance was £334.14.  The raffle has £47.73 so we have a total of £381.87 in hand.

The opening balance in December was £334.14 and to that was added £0.03 in Interest and with no deductions the closing balance was £334.17.  There was no raffle done so carrying forward the raffle money from last month of £47.73 so there is £381.90 in hand.

As always the books were available for inspection.

7.  At this point there was a comfort break and the raffle was drawn.

8.  Bilbohall & Rothes Issues.

Elizabeth brought the matter of dog fouling and said the “mess” was everywhere.  The 1^st fine for this in Moray was issued in our area and it was suggested that more people could be fined to further highlight the dog fouling problem.  As there is only 1 Community warden covering Elgin as opposed to 2 previously, she has a larger area to cover but again it is down to owners being more responsible.

There were no Rothes issues apart from the already mentioned heating problems although the meeting regarding the flood alleviation is still in the arranging stage and will possibly take place nearer the time when the work is due to start.  The next flood alleviation sub committee meeting takes place on Wednesday 24 February at 2 pm in the Moray Council chambers.

9.  Constitution.

This item was missed out as the Constitution has to be checked again as some more changes have to be made to it.

10.  Correspondence.

A – Thank you note from Cedarwood regarding the £100 donation we gave them.

B – MVSO newsletter.

C – Letter from Chief Executives office regarding the Needs Assessment and Support Needs of various groups in our Moray.  There was also a form attached which Steven will complete and return on our behalf.  At our next meeting we will discuss if we want someone to come along to one of our future meetings to discuss our needs re the above.

D – Housing Regeneration & Planning – Draft Housing (Scotland) Bill.  An analysis of the responses to this.

11.  Councillor’s Corner.

The Moray Council budget is all ready for publishing.

12.  A.O.C.B.

With the severe weather experienced over the festive period several pot holes have appeared on our roads.  Some have already been identified but if you see any which have not then please inform the Roads Department of Moray Council.

Several areas in the Bilbohall Estate have had the shrubs removed.

13.  Date & Time of the Next Meeting.

This will be on Wednesday 3 March 2010 at 7.15 pm in Cedarwood, Edgar Road, Elgin.

With there being no further business Steven closed the meeting and thanked everyone for attending.