Minutes of Executive Committee Meeting

held on 28th January, 2005, at 11.00 hours at Port-na-Con

 

Present:                      Eddie Meyer (Chairman), Andrew Marsham (Vice Chairman), Lesley Black (Secretary/Treasurer)

In attendance:           Francis Keith (Cllr.)

 

Agenda

 

1.                  Minutes of Committee Meeting, Tuesday, 30th November, 2004

 

Minutes of Committee Meeting, Tuesday, 30th November, 2004 having previously been distributed, there were no matters arising.

 

2.                  Letters / mails sent

 

11.12.   Charly Smith                            Trailer in quarry

11.01.   Peter Hays, HMS Hood Ass.    HMS Hood Memorial Trophy

 

3.                  Letters / mails received

 

08.12.   John Thurso, MP                      Christmas Party

09.12.   HMS Hood Association                        Newsletter

 

4.                  Christmas Party

 

Although not many residents attended, a good time was enjoyed by those who did.

Katy and Donny McDougall provided excellent music and Father Christmas gave out presents to all those there. Many thanks to them.

 

5.                  Annual General Meeting 2005

 

This will be held on Saturday, 19th March in the Durness School Hall, commencing at 7:00 PM. It will be a public meeting and everybody is invited.

 

6.                  Membership fees

 

Only two members had so far not re-joined the association. Reminders will be sent the notice of AGM. John Whitelaw has since declined to rejoin due to ill health of himself and his wife. The Committee sends good wishes to them both.

Sergio Blanco was asked to rejoin, especially as he continues to take an active interest in the Association. He did, however, decline.

 

7.                  Accounts

 

At present there is £383 in the bank and the 2005 membership fees have yet to be banked.

In answer to the recent comments on why is the Association’s Shoot held at the Gualin Gun Club in Durness, and not on Laid, this is because the only place to hold the shoot locally is across the bay at Port-na-Con and because this sites shooters on the road, it was considered dangerous if vehicles were trying to turn at the end of the road. The Gualin Gun Club has the premises away from residential properties and have the appropriate insurance in place. It was agreed it would be better to have the shoot locally but safety issues outweighed other considerations. The Hood Memorial Shoot helps bring in funds to the Association.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

8.                  The 2005 Shoot

 

This will be held on Saturday, 2nd April, at the Gualin Club site (see point 7 above). There are enough clays and ammunition, although Eddie will check this. He will asked Brigitte to take the money at the site.

 

9.                  Laid Postal Address

 

We are still waiting for the approval of the Highland Council. If nothing received in the near future, it was suggested we write to Cllr. Keith for him to follow it up.

 

10.              Laid Notice Board

 

The Laid Grazings Committee had asked for permission to use the Community Notice Board and the Secretary had advised them that this Committee had no objection, but perhaps they would like to make a nominal donation towards its construction costs. Jenny MacKenzie-Hillcoat said this would go to their next (Laid Grazings) Committee meeting.

Keys could be a problem as they were of a peculiar design.

Andrew Marsham was to see if more could be made.

 

11.              Laid Road Sign

 

It was noted that the sign at the south (Polla) end of the village was in poor condition and Eddie asked Francis Keith if the Council would repair/repaint it. Cllr. Keith reported that the Council seemed more inclined to erect new dual signs (English/Gaelic) than repairing old ones. He suggested we request one from Campbell Stewart TEC Services Department at the Council or paint it ourselves.

 

12.              Trailer and Lobster pots in quarry

 

Charles Smith had told Sergio Blanco that the trailer and the pots were his (having previously denied it) and he would not remove them.

Charles Smith also complained about the old RAF ambulance opposite Jean and Frankie Morrison’s house.

According to them the ambulance had been left there more than 20 years ago although the top had been taken away some years ago, leaving just the chassis. Jean and Frankie would be delighted to see it taken away. It does, however, require cutting up and Eddie will speak to Kenny MacRae and request a quote for the work to be undertaken prior to the Council taking it away.

 

13.              Footpath to Hood Stones

 

No progress to date as D. Barclay (the Council’s Footpath Officer) has yet to return and walk the path in reasonable weather conditions.

Although verbal agreement had been received from the Laid Grazings Committee that there was no objection to this project Eddie was asked to write and request a formal letter of confirmation.

 

14.              Cattle Grid

 

This is at Eddie’s house – given by the Council – and it was for the Community to decide where to place it.

Apparently there had been some strong opposition from some Laid Grazings Committee members and it had been suggested that the only reason for placing the grid at the south (Polla) end of the village was to keep the Durness sheep in rather than the Eriboll sheep out.

 

 

 

 

 

15.              Any Other Business

 

 

Derelict Caravans:             AS a result of the serious storm on the night of 12th January, there are two caravans in the village that are now dangerous and require removal. One in particular is by the roadside and is a potential hazard should there be further serious gales, the other has already been requested to be removed. Cllr. Keith suggested we contact Campbell Stewart TEC Services of the Council and request a skip for removal of the storm damaged property. He did say this may take some time as there are major clearing projects down the west coast around Lochinver.

 

Fire Hydrants:                   The Laid Grazings Committee had been in contact with the Water Board over the Tank improvements and they had been advised that the Fire Officer had informed the Water Board that Laid could not have fire hydrants due to a lack of water pressure. Apparently this is a feature of all small communities in the Highlands and so there was nothing that could be done. Jenny MacKenzie-Hillcoat will send Lesley a copy of the Water Board’s letter when received.

 

Gualin Gun Club:               A £40 cheque has been requested by the Gualin Gun Club for clays used at the HMS Hood Memorial Trophy Shoot on board HMS Sutherland last September. This will be done when the cheque book is returned from auditing.

 

Durness Land Buyout:       The Durness Development Group hosted a public meeting to discuss the possibilities of the Durness crofters buying out the Durness Estate, but as the Development Group was fully committed on other projects they requested volunteers to for a Steering Group. Apparently, there were no volunteers at the time of the meeting.

 

Wind Farm:                       AMEC, who were in discussion with the Keodale Sheep Stock Club and Durness Development Group, have withdrawn their interest in the proposed wind farm on Cape Wrath side land as the £65M costs for the sub-sea cable to connect to the national grid at Dounray had been considered too much.

 

 

There being no other business the meeting was closed at 12:30 hours.