The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on Thursday 5th April 2019 at the Ffordes Photographic at 7.30pm.
Present: Stephen Byford(Chair) John Stewart(Vice Chair), Duncan Fraser(Treasurer), Mary Graham(Secretary), John Graham, Cllr. Margaret Davidson, Cllr. Helen Carmichael, Cllr. Emma Knox
Meeting commenced: 7.30pm
Apologies for Absence: Mark Hedderwick
Minutes of AGM 5th April, 2018 were taken as read and a true record. Proposed by John Graham, seconded John Stewart and passed
Chairperson’s Report: A written report is submitted with the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report. A written set of the accounts for 2018/19 was presented, proposed by Steve Byford, seconded by John Stewart. All approved.
.
Appointment of Officers:
Chair Stephen Byford
Vice Chair John Stewart
Treasurer Duncan Fraser
Secretary Mary Graham
Planning Liaison John Graham
As there were no changes it was proposed vote these as a group. Proposed by John Graham, seconded by Steve Byford. All approved.
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2018 be lodged with Highland Archives. Proposed by Steve Byford, seconded by John Stewart. Approved.
Meeting closed at 7.36pm
Signed: Stephen Byford
Chair’s Report
This year’s report covers last year as well as the beginning of this year, the last year has been extremely challenging for all of us with the Covid 19 pandemic. As far as the Community Council was concerned as soon as lockdown took place in March 2020 we made a decision to send out a Community Council Newsletter.
Before writing the Newsletter the Community Council did contact local companies that could potentially offer food deliveries to both elderly residents and residents that were shielding, all were very helpful and agreed to assist and started local deliveries, I would like to both personally and on behalf of the Kilmorack Community Council offer my appreciation to Corner on the Square, Robertson’s, Munro’s Butchers and Highland Hog Roast, for their splendid service and support over this difficult period.
The Newsletter also gave important contact information for prescription collections and deliveries, details on the furlough scheme and other useful information, I think that it was well received from the feedback received from residents.
I hope that now that Covid restrictions are due to be eased that residents will continue to support local businesses as it is vital that we support them to support the survival of their businesses and local jobs that rely on them.
Kilmorack Community Council has unfortunately not been able to hold normal face to face meeting since February 2020, we have via phone and email been able to carry out our duties and jobs as they have arisen and we have recently held our first virtual Zoom meeting, this has been a challenge mainly because of poor internet connections and speeds in this rural area.
Improvements to the Broadband infrastructure are now more vital than ever in our rural area as we now having to adjust to a ‘new normal’ way of life, some will carry on working from home. Teaching children at home over the internet is continuing and more of us using are using the internet for shopping on-line as some local shops and businesses are still currently closed.
I hope that improvements will be start to be seen but fear that the cost of connecting fibre broadband in such this environment will be a stumbling block, this will ultimately have an effect on the prosperity of this area and ability to run online businesses etc that rely on good broadband connections and speeds.
Despite problems with Broadband we have managed to carry out virtual meeting with both Breedons Aggregates at the Wester Balblair Quarry and with SSE at the Liaison Group.
We have been financially supported by SSE recently with work to clear overgrowth on some of the footpaths around the quarry and this is about to be started shortly so will make it easier for walkers to use the footpaths and to not need to use the substation access road through the quarry which is potentially very dangerous.
We have also been financially supported by Breedons Aggregates to supply materials to improve the Altyre footpath with Mark Hedderwick has kindly agreed to undertake in the near future.
I would also like to thank Aigas Community Forest for their continued support to the Kilmorack area. Last year their volunteers milled and provided wood to clad and support the outdoor covered area for Teanassie School which is much appreciated.
The Aigas Community Forest have also again over the last two years provided fire wood to elderly and low income families free of charge, if you know anyone that would qualify for this help then please pass on their details us and we will pass this onto them.
We must also thank Highland Council for their continued support when asked and we have had very good service from them in handling road repairs and ditch clearing despite budget constraints, they have also assisted in helped with the Beauly Toll in improving safety concerns that we have there. Highland Council did also help re-instate a local bus service in the braes going to Dingwall which was suddenly stopped and we thank them for this as well as their ongoing support with the noise nuisance from the substation which has improved but which does still cause problems from time to time.
It is clear from the Liaison Group Meetings with SSE that there are going to be significant changes to the Electrical Network/Grid over the next 15 years as we move away from fossil fuels to renewables forms of energy. Some of you will recently be away of an upgrade to the substation due to the expansion of the Loch Luichart windfarm. There is also a new 400kV overhead power line which will run from Wester Balblair substation to Black Hillock substation near Keith, with pylons a similar size to those on the Beauly-Denny overhead line.
I hope that developers for these and other future developments in this area will give some thought to the impact that they will have on local residents and that they will not just be based on the cheapest cost to implement, that developers will be flexible and more imaginative and make them as visually attractive as at all possible even despite a small increase in cost. I also hope that Highland Council will support us with these aspirations.
Lastly I would like to thank personally all of the Councillors on the Kilmorack Community Council for their continued hard work and help with which my position would be a lot more difficult. We all do this voluntarily for the benefit of the community and if there is anyone out there that would like to give back to the community then please contact us and get involved. It is rewarding and we need your help.
We would also urge you to contact us if you need assistance and we can help or have any concerns relating to the Community. The last year has been a tough one for all of us because of Covid and I hope that we can all look forward to a brighter future and summer ahead please stay safe everyone and support each other.
With regards
Steve Byford
Annual General Meeting
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on Thursday 5th April 2018 at the Ffordes Photographic at 7.30pm.
Present: Stephen Byford(Chair) John Stewart(Vice Chair), Duncan Fraser(Treasurer), Mary Graham(Secretary), John Graham, Cllr. Emma Knox
Meeting commenced: 7.30pm
Apologies for Absence: Cllr. Helen Carmichael, Cllr. Margaret Davidson, Mark Hedderwick
Minutes of AGM 6th April, 2017 were taken as read and a true record. Proposed by John Graham, seconded Duncan Fraser and passed
Chairperson’s Report: A written report is submitted with the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report. A written set of the accounts for 2017/18 was presented, All approved.
Appointment of Officers:
Chair Stephen Byford Proposed: John Graham Seconded: John Stewart
Vice Chair John Stewart Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: Mary Graham
Treasurer Duncan Fraser Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: John Graham
Secretary Mary Graham Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: Duncan Fraser
Planning Liaison John Graham Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: Duncan Fraser
All approved.
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2017 be lodged with Highland Archives.
John Graham proposed a vote of the Treasurer, Duncan Fraser, for all hisst work in the year. Stephen Byford thanked all members of the KCC.
Meeting closed at 7.40pm
Signed: Stephen Byford
Chairs Report
It must be a sign of getting older as it does not seem a year has passed since I wrote the last Chair’s Report.
This year does not seem to have been as busy as the last few years in terms of time spent with power related issues and the Wester Balblair substation and other related works.
As many of you will be aware over the last five years there has been and ongoing issue with noise from the substation at one point known as the ‘Beauly Buzz’ I would like to say that this after many attempts by SSE has been resolved but unfortunately it has not.
For most Kilmorack residents they are no longer affected by the noise so some progress has been made in eliminating the noise but unfortunately at times residents in Wester Balblair are still occasionally affected by the noise, SSE has been made aware of this at the Community Liaison Group meetings we have with SSE and they are now considering what else they can do to reduce the noise further so that it does not affect the residents of Wester Balblair.
We in the Community Council are still convinced that the noise is coming from the transformer connected to the SVC unit at the back corner of the substation but SSE are undertaking noise monitoring throughout the substation to confirm that this is the case and that it is not coming from elsewhere in the substation.
Hopefully in the near future SSE will be fitting an acoustic jacket or barrier around the transformer connected to the SVC and this will, we think reduce the noise slightly that residents in Wester Balblair are currently hearing.
Kilmorack Community Council do still have concerns regarding the substation at Wester Balblair on many levels, over the last year plans for the Western Isles link have resurfaced again and it is looking more likely that this will go ahead in the years to come, this will affect the size of the substation as a DC/AC converter substation will be installed to convert the undergrounded DC line to AC current.
The DC/AC converter substation is an extremely large building and the Community Council are concerned about the visual impact this will have on the area so we will be working very hard on your behalf to minimise the impact of this building.
We also have concerns that an additional power line and more power into the substation may affect the noise levels in the substation and that the ‘Beauly Buzz’ may then become louder again, we have expressed this to SSE again at the meetings we have with them and they have assured us that this is in the fore front of their minds and that it will be designed so as not to increase noise levels around the substation, time will tell !!
Most of you will have seen that some new pylons have appeared behind Wester Balblair, this is a rationalisation of the existing pylons on the Douneray line, four pylons are being replaced with three pylons and this will straighten the existing line and more importantly from our perspective the pylons are not as high so will ultimately have less of an impact visually as the existing pylons.
The last thing to mention regarding the substation is that we are aware that visually the substation now is more exposed than ever before, this is due to removal of the substation houses and the addition of the bright blue MSCDN units that have been installed, in the last few months you may have noticed that some landscaping has been undertaken and a new dry stone wall constructed, there will shortly be some planting in the same area which we hope in time will grow and improve the cover in front of the substation and lesson its visual impact.
On a more positive note Aigas Community Forest has progressed well in the last year with a number of local volunteers trained in the use of chainsaws, a new cabin to serve as office and store and a forestry tractor and trailer. Contractors have harvested a great deal of timber, much by thinning which will leave a more open and interesting forest. Replanting the cleared areas with native species will start soon with the majority planned for 2019. Paths are being cleared and will soon be waymarked and open to use. Volunteers will be particularly welcome this year as the Forest moves into it’s delivery phase.
Council cut backs continue to have an impact on the area and most noticeably we have all seen a deterioration of roads, in the last week Highland Council have resurfaced some areas in Ruisaurie and we are in the process of identifying the worse pot holes in the area to Highland Council and hope that these will be dealt with in the near future when the weather finally improves !!
Another unfortunate sign of the Council cut backs are the continued reduction in the grant that the Community Council receives and this year has seen a further reduction of almost 50% in our grant, this money is to cover secretarial costs and other costs such as insurance and rental costs to hold Community Council meetings and provide the occasional newsletters, the reality is that at the new levels of funding I fear that the grant will not cover the outgoings.
I feel that this decision does send a negative message to all Community Councils and does nothing to make its volunteers who work very hard for the community feel valued.
This aside I would again like to appeal to anyone in the Kilmorack Community that has a little time to spare and that cares about their community to consider joining the Community Council as without the volunteers and work that we put in the community would not be such a nice place to live.
My thanks go to all of my colleagues on the Community Council, John Stewart, John Graham, Mary Graham, Mark Hedderwick and Duncan Fraser all of which are invaluable members and who’s hard work and experience is invaluable to the Kilmorack Community Council.
Steve Byford
Annual General Meeting
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on Thursday 6th April 2017 at the Ffordes Photographic at 7.45pm.
Present: Stephen Byford(Chair) John Stewart(Vice Chair), Duncan Fraser(Treasurer), Mary Graham(Secretary), John Graham, Cllr. Dr. Jean Davis
Meeting commenced: 7.30pm
Apologies for Absence: Cllr. Helen Carmichael, Cllr. Maragret Davidson, Mark Hedderwick
Minutes of AGM 7th April, 2016 were taken as read and a true record. Proposed by Stephen Byford, seconded John Graham and passed
Chairperson’s Report: A written report is submitted with the minutes.
Treasurer’s Report. Duncan Fraser presented the accounts for 2016/17, All approved.
Appointment of Officers:
Chair Stephen Byford Proposed: John Graham Seconded: Duncan Fraser
Vice Chair John Stewart Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: John Graham
Treasurer Duncan Fraser Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: John Stewart
Secretary Mary Graham Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: Duncan Fraser
Planning Liaison John Graham Proposed: Stephen Byford Seconded: John Stewart
All approved.
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2015 be lodged with Highland Archives.
John Graham proposed a vote of thanks to the Chair, Stephen Byford, and the Treasurer, Duncan Fraser for all their work in the year. Stephen Byford thanked all members of the KCC.
Meeting closed at 7.36pm
Signed:
Stephen Byford
Chairs Report
Another year has passed since I wrote my last Chair’s Report, the Community Council has again been working very hard on various issues affecting the community and many that have been with us for a number of years.
One of the main issues that has affected the community are related to the Wester Balblair Substation and with SSE and one of the main problems has been the ‘Beauly Buzz’ and noise from the substation caused by the SVC unit inside the substation and related reactors and a transformer connected to it.
Since I wrote my last report SSE have repaired the SVC unit since its catastrophic failure in July 2015 and after many tests have made changes to the control gear and they are confident that this will once and for all fix the problem with the noise from the substation, initial testing of the changes to the control gear were due to be carried out last month but because of other network problems this testing has been delayed and is now due to be carried out in May 2017.
Because of the network problems elsewhere it has meant that this SVC unit has on occasion recently had to be run at full power rather than a depleted 40% power and therefore some of you will have again heard noise from the substation, we do sincerely hope that by the end of May when the testing has been completed and other equipment changes have been made inside the substation that the noise will no longer occur and that we can move on from this sometime annoying episode in the substations recent history.
You will all have recently seen in last year’s press details of a new overhead pylon line planned between Balblair Substation and Black Hillock near Keith, this would have passed south of Inverness and the pylons potentially would be as high as the Beauly to Denny line pylons, approximately 230 feet tall.
In the last month or so the National Operations Assessment team have said that at the moment this line has been shelved and will not go ahead as there are other network priorities, this does not however mean that it won’t be looked at again at a later stage, if this should be the case then we will alert you as this will have a significant impact on the area.
A replacement pylon line was also proposed for Beauly – Loch Buidhe and again the National Operations Assessment team has again shelved this and instead the existing line they will fit new conductors to it and re-string the line, this is due to happen sometime in May, so you should see men working on this line briefly during this period.
Other improvements are also being carried out on the existing Beauly-Deanie line and again SSE will be fitting new conductors to the pylons, re-stringing the lines and repairing some of the foundations and pylons along the line, some of this work has already stated and I belief will take approximately two months to complete.
Kilmorack Community Council have also recently been in talks with SSE about the Western Isles link to the Balblair substation, this is a project that has been spoken about a lot in the pass and it is still not 100% certain that it will go ahead but if it does then again it will have a significant impact on the community in terms of its potential visual impact. SSE are proposing if the new power line gets the go ahead to send DC power from the Western Isles underground to Balblair Substation and this means when it reaches the substation the power then needs to be converted from DC to AC before it is sent around the network so they will need to build a large DC/AC converter substation next to the existing substation and the A831 Cannich Road, initial estimates are that the building will be approximately 150 metres long 70 metres wide and approximately 13 metres high, larger than a football pitch.
As both a resident and chair of the Kilmorack Community Council I am worried about the cumulative impact this DC/AC converter station and other upgrades/new lines will have on the Balblair Substation, I am also very concerned that these upgrades may have an impact on us not only visually with the increase in size of the substation but also the technology installed may have an adverse effect in terms of noise from the substation, something that they will resolve shortly and that we do not want to face again.
If this new Western Isles link should be given the go ahead we will endeavour to work with SSE in reducing the impact of any works and this potentially huge building to a minimum and to maximise its impact on the community, we will keep you informed as things progress and you will at times be informed of public consultations where you can see what is being proposed and voice your thoughts and concerns.
The Community Council has always worked closely with the Aigas Community Forest. This year they have move from the acquisition and planning stage to delivery and the first contract felling has just been completed, removing two thousand tons of commercial forest. These will be replaced by native species to create a more useable eco friendly forest. Further thinning at the end of the summer will provide some 65ha of continuous cover opening up the forest. The Aigas Community Forest has now installed an office and storeroom/workshop and employed a new forest manager to oversee the Felling and to progress plans for paths, wood fuel production and forest skills training.
Since my last report some of you will have seen that some road repairs have been carried out in the area, these were requested by us and agreed with by Highland Council and SSE and have been paid for by SSE on completion of works in the area in respect of undergrounded power lines.
Some of you may also have noticed that two stone and wooden benches have appeared on the footpaths one going up to Altyre and the other on the footpath from Wester Balblair down to the toll, part of the funding for this was generously donated from the late Mrs Munro’s estate and the remainder by Kilmorack Community Council and we hope to have these completed very shortly.
I would like to appeal to any local residents that would like to get involved in the Kilmorack Community Council to please contact us, we are a small dedicated team but we always welcome new members that can assist us now and in the future.
I personally would like to thank John Stewart, John & Mary Graham, Duncan Fraser and Mark Hedderwick who all are very valuable members of the community council and all offer their own experience and expertise and without whom the community council would not be so strong and effective, I would also like to thank members of the Highland Council for their support towards the Kilmorack Community Council.
Annual General Meeting
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on Thursday 7th April 2016 at the Kilmorack Hall at 7.45pm.
Present: John Stewart(Vice Chair), Duncan Fraser(Treasurer), Mary Graham(Secretary), John Graham, Provost Cllr. Helen Carmichael, Cllr. Margaret Davidson, Cllr. Dr. Jean Davis
Meeting commenced: 7.52pm (in the Chair John Stewart)
Apologies for Absence: Steve Byford
Minutes of AGM 2nd April, 2015 were taken as read and a true record. Proposed by John Graham, seconded Duncan Fraser and passed
Chairperson’s Report: A written report is submitted with the minutes. The Vice Chair John Stewart referred to the report and registered the thanks of the Council to Steve Byford.
Treasurer’s Report. Duncan Fraser presented the accounts for 2015/16. Proposed by John Stewart, seconded by John Graham, Passed.
.Confirmation of Officers. John Graham proposed that the officers appointed at the December inauguration meeting be ratified for the next twelve months. Seconded by Duncan Fraser. Approved
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2014 be lodged with Highland Archives.
Provost Helen Carmichael proposed a vote of thanks to the Councillors of Kilmorack Community Council. Supported by Cllr Margaret Davidson and Cllr. Dr. Jean Davis.
Meeting closed at 8.00pm
Chairs Report 2016
It doesn’t seem that a year has passed since I wrote last year’s Chairs Report, but here we are again, April has arrived and another year has passed at Kilmorack Community Council.
It is unfortunate that this year that the community council has spent again a lot of time and effort in relation to the Wester Balblair substation and the associated works with it. I do not see an end to the time and work we will have to devote to this for the foreseeable future.
As many residents of Kilmorack will no doubt be aware we do still have an ongoing problem with noise nuisance from the Wester Balblair substation. This is very frustrating for us as this has now been a problem for residents on and off for nearly four years now. Back in July last year SSE carried out some controlled testing of the SVC unit in the substation to monitor the noise from the SVC unit which we have always identified as being the main source of noise from the substation. Unfortunately during testing there was a catastrophic accident and the SVC unit was damaged and had to be temporarily decommissioned. It has since only been working at 40% capacity until it is full repaired an operational, we are told during this month(April).
The good thing from a residents perspective is that since the SVC was damaged and working in its depleted mode the noise from the SVC unit and the substation has been minimal and residents have been able to live a fairly normal life generally unaffected by the noise.
Over the last two to three weeks SSE have been carrying out further testing of the SVC unit and other related equipment in the substation in connection with the noise nuisance, so some of you I know have heard the ‘Beauly Buzz’ again over the last two weeks on and off, the results of this testing will be used by SSE to come up with a solution to mitigate the noise. Hopefully once and for all from the substation. This mitigation work may take up to a year to complete but we are assured by SSE that if this is the case then the SVC unit will be kept at a depleted capacity so that residents are not affected by noise from the substation. Kilmorack Community Council hope that this is the case and that the noise nuisance from the substation will then be finally resolved.
Staying on the same subject as some of you will have seen over the last few months that a number of pylons and a section of overhead line (Beauly-Mossford) has been removed between the substation and Dunmore, I am sure that a number of residents are very happy to see this happen and have improved their views of the beautiful landscapes in this area.
SSE have also started to remove another section of line, the Beauly-Black Hillock overhead line that cuts across Wester Balblair towards the river, we look forward seeing this removed in the next few weeks and to see the section of overhead line and pylons removed for the Beauly-Shin line from the substation to Farley House, all of which will enhance the landscape for residents in the area.
Kilmorack Community Council welcome the removal of these overhead lines from the area and we are always keen to try and minimise the impact that the substation and the related lines and works have on our community and do not wish to see the landscape industrialised by future developments and infrastructure that SSE have planned for the area. We are concerned by developments of the Western Isles line to the substation which will result in an increase in the size of the substation and potentially a massive building to be erected next to the A831. We hope that if this is approved that Kilmorack Community Council will have constructive talks with SSE about the visual impact of this and take on board recommendations by us to minimise any impact this will have on us visually.
We have also been in talks with SSE regarding the visual impact of the existing substation which we feel has deteriorated over the last two years, with the removal of the substation house and with additional works that have been carried out at the front of the substation next to the A831.
SSE have agreed with us that visually it could be improved and we hope to hear from them and their experts in the near future on what proposals they have to improve the view of the substation visually as you drive past it.
As some of you will also be aware SSE held a public consultation meeting at the Kilmorack Hall back in October. This covered many subjects including the substation noise, the Western Isles line, upgrading of the Beauly-Loch Buidhe line as well as a potentially new 400kV line from the substation to Keith. As some of you may have heard the upgrade of the Beauly-Loch Buidhe line has for the moment been shelved for the foreseeable future but the new 400kV line to Keith does concern us should this be approved and how this will impact the area. We will keep you informed of developments regarding this and the Western Isles link as they progress.
Since my last Chair Report of 2015 the new footpaths from Wester Balblair to Altyre House and from Wester Balblair to the Beauly Toll have both been completed, something we are glad to see and we know from feedback from you that you are enjoying using them and all feel a lot safer as a result of them.
Aigas Forest is now going through the process of constructing a Forestry Plan without which little can be done. However they have used the time well to process some eight tons of firewood from wind blown trees that the KCC delivered to pensioners in the area free of charge. There have been several groups of volunteers from Lifescan who have been working on path creation and brush clearance. The Forest is also working with Community Broadband Scotland to investigate the possibility of a local Hi Speed Broadband system utilising the radio mast.
Last but by no means least I would like to thank the other members of the Kilmorack Community Council, John Stewart, Duncan Fraser, John & Mary Graham and Mark Hedderwick who all give their valuable time and expertise in running and making the Kilmorack Community Council a successful organisation. It is a pleasure to work alongside them all and I wish to thank them all both personally and on behalf of our community.
Steve Byford
Annual General Meeting
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on Thursday 2nd April 2015 at the Kilmorack Hall at 7.30pm.
Present: Steve Byford(Chair), John Stewart(Vice Chair), Duncan Fraser(Treasurer), Mary Graham(Secretary), John Graham, Cllr. Helen Carmichael
Meeting commenced: 7.42pm
Apologies for Absence: Cllr. Margaret Davidson, Cllr. Hamish Wood
Minutes of AGM 3rd April, 2014 were taken as read and a true record. Proposed by Steve Byford, seconded Duncan Fraser and passed
Chairperson’s Report: A written report is submitted with the minutes. Steve Byford thanked all the Council for their support over the year
John Graham asked for a vote of thanks to be recorded for Steve Byford for all his work on behalf of the KCC in the last year. All agreed.
Treasurer’s Report. Duncan Fraser presented the accounts for 2014/15. Proposed by Steve Byford, seconded by John Stewart, Passed.
Steve Byford requested a vote of thanks for Duncan Fraser(Treasurer) All agreed.
Confirmation of Officers. All existing officers agreed to stand again.
Chair – Steve Byford – Proposed by John Graham, Seconded by John Stewart
Vice Chair – John Stewart – Proposed by Duncan Fraser, Seconded by Steve Byford
Treasurer – Duncan Fraser–Proposed by John Graham, Seconded by John Stewart
Secretary – Mary Graham – Proposed by Steve Byford, Seconded by Duncan Fraser
All Passed
Planning Liaison Contact – John Graham – prop. John Stewart, second Duncan Fraser
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2013 be lodged with Highland Archives and this become the practice in future years.
Cllr. Helen Carmichael extended a vote of thanks to the Council for all the work they have done in the year and the pleasure of working with them
The Meeting closed at 7.50pm
Signed:
Steve Byford, Chairman
Chairs Report 2014/15
I would like to firstly thank all of the members of Kilmorack Community Council for all of the hard work and time they spend in carrying out work for the Community Council, without their support in volunteering their time the Community Council would not exist and this would be a great loss for all Kilmorack residents.
Over the last year a lot of time has been devoted to on-going issues related to the Beauly-Denny substation upgrade and other projects that are related to it.
As reported last year, a lot of residents from Kilmorack had been badly affected by noise from the substation, commonly spoken of as the ‘Beauly Buzz’, Kilmorack Community Council on behalf of residents wrote a formal complaint to both SSE and Highland Council regarding this and as a result of this Highland Council served an abatement notice for noise nuisance on SSE who then legally have to mitigate the noise nuisance.
Since the abatement notice was served on SSE long term noise monitoring has been carried out by a specialist acoustic company Sgurr Energy and they recommended to SSE a number of mitigation measures to resolve the noise heard from the substation.
SSE have installed four acoustic barriers around three transformers and a fourth around SVC unit, as well as acoustic jackets around SVC reactors, installation of these was completed at the end of November.
We all hoped that this would be the end of the noise nuisance heard from the substation but unfortunately this is not the case, it seems to have resolved the noise nuisance for some residents further away from the substation but has not resolved it for the residents in Wester Balblair who are closest to the substation.
Because of this we are asking SSE to do more and to add additional mitigation measures to what they have currently carried out to resolve this issue, SSE will be shortly carrying out a some further noise monitoring at two properties in Wester Balblair to gauge the extent of the noise nuisance and will report back to ourselves and Highland Council with their findings.
We are deeply disappointed that the initial mitigation measures that SSE have carried out and installed have not resolved the noise heard from the substation and as a responsible developer are confident that they will treat this current problem with the utmost attention that it requires and resolve the noise nuisance to residents satisfaction as quickly as they possibly can.
I am pleased to inform you that ACF (Aigas Community Forest) has now completed and purchased the whole of the Aigas Forest, I am really excited by this development and know that this will be a good thing for the long term future of the forest and the community and will prove to be great asset, well done to all of the volunteers of ACF, for more details of this please look at their website.
Three member of Kilmorack community council also attend a liaison meeting held at the quarry by the owners Breedon Aggregates, this is to discuss any problems relating to quarry workings as well as discuss plans for the re-landscaping of parts of the quarry that are no longer quarried.
As many of you will have seen Breedon’s have installed a small network of paths from Wester Balblair down into the quarry into an area that has been re-landscaped and planted with trees,
In the near future we are hoping to install some seating in this landscaped area for residents and visitors to use and to connect the end of the footpath in this fenced area to the existing footpath around the south eastern edge of the substation compound to increase the walks available.
Whilst we are on the topic of footpaths I think everyone will have seen that work has started on two footpaths, one from Wester Balblair up to Altyre which is almost complete and one from The Kirk at Wester Balblair to The Beauly Toll, these are a welcome addition for the community and will improve road safety for many residents and visitors alike.
Another important event for the future in the Kilmorack area are the dismantling of three overhead power lines in the area, you will have seen over the last eighteen months SSE have under grounded sections of three over head power lines, Beauly-Mossford, Beauly-Shin and Beauly-Black Hillock and we are looking forward to the completion of these under grounded sections and the removal of the associated pylons.
There are a number of other ongoing developments which we are looking at on your behalf, the main ones being the proposed ABO wind farm at Clunie/Teanassie area and the reset consultation that have been held be SSE regarding upgrading the Beauly-Loch Buidhe overhead power line and I would urge you all to if at all possible attend the consultation meetings for these projects and give us your feedback and thoughts on them.
Last by by no means least, as mentioned previously the Kilmorack Community Council is run by a group of voluntary residents, we have a position available for another member and would welcome anyone who would like to get involved and assist us.
Steve Byford
Annual General Meeting 2014
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held onThursday 3rd April 2014 at the Kilmorack Hall at 7.45pm.
Present: Steve Byford(Chair), John Stewart(Vice Chair), Duncan Fraser(Treasurer), Mary Graham(Secretary), John Graham, Mark Hedderwick, Cllr. Helen Carmichael
Meeting commenced: 7.50pm
Apologies for Absence: Cllr. Margaret Davidson, Cllr. Hamish Wood
Minutes of AGM 5th April, 2013 were taken as read and a true record.
Proposed by Steve Byford, seconded John Graham and passed
Chairperson’s Report: SB gave an account of the previous year’s activities within the Kilmorack area including noise issues at Wester Balblair and the establishment of a liaison group with SSE.
John Graham asked for a vote of thanks to be recorded for Steve Byford for all his work on behalf of the KCC in the last year. All agreed.
Community Accounts 2012/13: These had been approved by the KCC on 6th June 2013 but required ratification by the AGM. Proposed by John Graham, seconded by John Stewart, passed.
Treasurer’s Report. Duncan Fraser presented the accounts for 2013/14 and clarified that the balance was in good standing. Proposed by John Graham, seconded by John Stewart, Passed.
Steve Byford requested a vote of thanks for Duncan Fraser(Treasurer) All agreed.
Confirmation of Officers. All existing officers agreed to stand again.
Chair – Steve Byford – Proposed by Mark Hedderwick, Seconded by Duncan Fraser
Vice Chair – John Stewart – Proposed by Steve Byford, Seconded by John Graham
Treasurer – Duncan Fraser–Proposed by Steve Byford, Seconded by Mark Hedderwick
Secretary – Mary Graham – Proposed by Mark Hedderwick, Seconded byJohn Stewart
All Passed
Planning Liaison Contact – John Graham – prop. Steve Byford, second John Stewart
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2013 be lodged with Highland Archives and this become the practice in future years.
The Meeting closed at 8.01pm
Signed:
Steve Byford, Chairman
Chairman’s Letter 2014
It has been another busy year in the Kilmorack Community Council, a large amount of our time has been spent on dealing with various issues, the largest of which has involved the Wester Balblair sub-transmission station. New equipment has been installed into both the new and existing substation and this has resulted in a tonal humming noise(the Beauly Buzz) which has not only affected residents in nearby Wester Balblair but other areas in Kilmorack, in the braes above, but also other areas including Kiltarlity. A large amount of time has been spent by us in speaking with both SSE, The Highland Council and our local councillors, Margaret Davidson and Helen Carmichael, to resolve this annoying and debilitating problem. You are probably aware from the local press that The Highland Council have recently served a legal noise abatement notice and time frame on SSE to resolve and eliminate the noise from the substation. We have assurances from SSE that this to happen by the end of August this year.
As many of you will have seen there has been considerable works carried out in undergrounding power lines in the Kilmorack area. As this work progresses we should shortly be seeing areas landscaped and improved and hopefully the removal of many of the local pylons. Something I am sure that we will all be pleased to see and will make the area more attractive to visitors and locals alike.
We are also hoping that this year we will see SSE install two footpaths, one from the Beauly Toll corner to ‘The Kirk’ and another from the edge of Wester Balblair up passed Altyre. We have been in considerable and detailed discussions with SSE over the last four years to get these done and have been assured that the legal arrangements to start work on them will be resolved between SSE, Lovat Estates and the tenant farmers shortly.
A Community Liaison Group involving SSE, Murphy, The Highland Council, Beauly CC, Kiltarlity CC and Kilmorack CC is now meeting monthly to address all the various issues that arise. Kilmorack CC is represented by three members.
I am very pleased to say that after a great deal of time and considerable effort by members of the Aigas Community Forest that a proportion of the Aigas Forest is about to be purchased by the group and the remaining forest area will be leased and managed from the Forestry Commission, I would personally like to congratulate Andrew and Amanda Leaver and Graham Scott for all of their hard work over the last few years to make this happen and I think this will be excellent for the Kilmorack Community.
Discussions with The Highland Council TECS department resulted in considerable work to the roads and verges and the provision of extra salt bins. Members of the Community were also recruited to service these at certain points. This work is ongoing and dependent on council funding.
Three members of the Kilmorack Community Council also attend liaison meeting with the quarry owners at Wester Balblair next to the substation. Despite a change of ownership last year from Aggregate Industries to Breedons, the new owners have fortunately seen fit to see that the liaison meetings still take place and have reassured us that the landscaping plans for the exhausted parts of the quarry will still be untaken. The first stage, landscaping of an area of land approximately five acres in size nearest Wester Balblair has recently been completed with tree planting, deer fencing and an impressive access path to Balblair. This is now open for the community and public to enjoy and work is continuing to create a small loch and additional footpaths in the coming years through the Balblair woods towards the Black Bridge all of which will be a valuable asset for the community to use and enjoy.
Steve Byford
Annual General Meeting 2013
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on
Thursday 4th April 2013 at the Kilmorack Hall at 7.30pm.
Present: Steve Byford, Cllr. Helen Carmichael, Mary Graham, John Graham, John Stewart, Duncan Fraser, Clare Caldwell
Apologies for Absence:
Minutes of AGM 5th April, 2012 were read.
Proposed by John Graham, seconded John Stewart and passed
Chairperson’s Report had been circulated, read and outlined the work of the Community Council over the last twelve months.
Treasurer’s Report. Duncan Fraser reported that he had been awaiting final bank statements to complete the accounts. These will be available shortly.
Confirmation of Officers. All existing officers agreed to stand again. Proposed by John Graham, Seconded by Clare Caldwell. Passed.
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2012 be lodged with Highland Archives and this become the practice in future years.
Proposed by Steven Byford, seconded by Mary Graham and passed.
The Meeting closed at 7.50pm
Signed:
Steve Byford, Chairman
Chairman’s Letter 2013
The Community Council has been very busy on a range of issues, from completing the fence at Beauly Toll to the seats at the War Memorial, the rights of way issues at West of Leanassie and the Bus Shelter at the Kilmorack Cemetery. The undergrounding in the Braes has called for many meeting and discussions with SHETL and Highland Council as have the ongoing issues with drains and ditches. This year a substantial sum was made available which enabled the resurfacing of Broallan and a start on necessary drainage work in the Braes. At this time this work is ongoing. Improvements in salting and snow clearance have been apparent and again discussions are ongoing. Meetings have also taken place with Balblair Quarry and we are pleased that work has started on the re-instatement work in the old quarry which will create a woodland walk for the Community. We are also advised by SHETL that the bypass path at the Beauly Toll is now imminent. May I take this opportunity of thanking all those on the Community Council for the hard work and time that they have given. Our Community Council is a real team effort!
Steve Byford.
Chairman
Annual General Meeting 2012
The minutes of the Annual General Meeting of Kilmorack Community Council held on
Thursday 5th April 2012 at the ‘Kirk’ Wester Balblair at 7.30pm.
Present: Steve Byford, Helen Carmichael, Mark Hedderwick, Alistair Stewart, Mary Graham, John Graham, John Stewart
Apologies for Absence: Clare Caldwell, Duncan Fraser, Margaret Davidson, Drew Henry.
Minutes of AGM 12th May 2011 were read.
Proposed by Alisdair Stewart, seconded John Stewart and passed
Chairperson’s Report had been circulated and read
Treasurer’s Report. The treasurer’s report was read and examined.
Proposed by Steve Byford, seconded by John Stewart and passed.
Confirmation of Officers. As officers were appointed at the meeting after the elections it was proposed that they be confirmed in office.
Proposed by John Graham, seconded by Mark Hedderwick
Motion to Lodge Historic Minutes & Records
It was proposed that all records prior to 2011 be lodged with Highland Archives and this become the practice in future years.
Proposed by Mark Hedderwick, seconded by Alisdair Stewart and passed.
The Meeting closed at 7.46pm
Chairperson’s Report for the Year Ended 31st March 2012
The last year has again been a busy one for the Community Council, we continue to build on the good relationships we have with local residents and businesses in the community and to inform them of developments and concerns occurring in and around the area that may directly or indirectly affect them.
During the last year various committee members have been actively involved in representing the Community Council on the Aigas Community Forest and the Balblair Quarry Liaison Group and have also attended various meetings held by Highland Council.
After attending a recent AGM for the Aigas Community Forest it is understood that the ACF group are still proceeding with negotiations regarding a long-term lease of the forest and we hope that this is successful and that the group are able to take control of the forest in the near future.
All throughout the year we have seen a lot more work being done to the upgrading of the Beauly-Denny overhead power-line and the expansion of the substation at Balblair, in the next few months will see work start on the mitigation and under-grounding of some of the existing overhead power-lines between Balblair and Dunmore which will see short term disruption and landscaping issues.
We also continue to press SSE to undertake their agreed mitigation with Kilmorack Community Council and hope that they will soon put in for planning approval and start work on the new pavement from The Kirk at Wester Balblair to the Beauly Toll junction.
The Community Council through certain members have continued meeting with Aggregate Industries the Balblair Quarry operators and are looking forward to the start of landscaping proposals agreed by Aggregate Industries, Lovat Estates and the Kilmorack Community Council to landscape the area adjoining Wester Balblair and to make good and install a new network of paths through this area and believe that this will create a benefit for local residents.
With respect to the Druim Ba wind farm development it has recently been decided that there will now be a Public Local Inquiry held regarding this development and Kilmorack Community Council will continue to represent its residents and their views towards this development at the PLI jointly with Kiltarlity and Inverness West Councils(Abriachan).
Following this years Community Council elections certain members notified of their intentions to stand down and the Community Council acknowledge the invaluable assistance that Adrian Todd, James Martin and Kay Simon have all contributed to the Community Council and wished them all well in their future ventures, they will all be greatly missed by the Community Council.
We also wish to acknowledge the welcome addition of Mary and John Graham to the Community Council and hope they find the experience enjoyable and to thank Mary for taking the position of Secretary, a very important and sometimes time consuming role.
It is vital that we have a healthy Community Council and hope that residents will continued to support it and to see it value in upholding its views and values and in promoting its well being.
I am pleased to see that we have recently received some funding to improve and replace the fencing at the Beauly Toll near the memorial and look forward to seeing this completed in the near future.
I would also like to acknowledge and to thank Highland Council for their continued support towards the Community Council in various ways and also the support given by our local councillors who regularly attend our meetings and assist when and how they can.
The year ahead of us will again be a busy and sometimes a challenging one and I look forward working with my other colleagues and friends on the Community Council who cannot be praised enough for the work that they all undertake voluntarily for the Kilmorack Community
Stephen Byford
Chairperson, Kilmorack Community Council 31/3/2012
Kilmorack Community Council
Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on Thursday 12th May 2011 at Kilmorack
Community Hall at 7.45pm.
Present
Steve Byford (Chair), John Stewart (Deputy Chair), Duncan Fraser (Treasurer), Alisdair Stewart,
Clare Caldwell, Mark Hedderwick.
Apologies
Adrian Todd, James Martin, Kay Simon
Chairperson’s Report
The Chairperson’s Report was circulated during the meeting.
The Chair paid tribute to Teresa Shaw who had worked tirelessly for the Community Council for the last five years as Secretary and would be greatly missed.
Again another complete and busy year for the Community Council with ongoing work with the expansion to the Wester Balblair substation and Beauly to Denny line upgrades.
The Community Council also attended a number of meeting both with Aggregate Industries through the liaison group and with the land owners Lovat Estates regarding improvements and landscaping of the Balblair Quarry.
The Community Council feel that this is beneficial to the community as well as Aggregate Industries and Lovat Estates and looks forward to agreed path improvements and landscaping of parts of the quarry.
The report also recognised new proposals and developments for wind farms in the area, particularly at Abriachan (Druim Ba) and a lot of work has been involved in understanding the development and its scale and the effects this will have on the surrounding area.
The Chairperson would also like to record the assistance again that Highland Council had given to the Community council, in particular the local Councillors.
Treasurers Report
The Audited Treasurers Report was circulated during the meeting. Again there showed a healthy balance and this will be used to support and finance local ventures and future projects.
Election of Office Bearers
The Chairperson stood down and the acting Secretary Alisdair Stewart took the Chair.
Chairperson, Steve Byford was proposed by Alisdair Stewart, This was seconded by Duncan Fraser. There being no further nominations, Steve Byford was elected and assumed Chair.
Vice Chairperson, John Stewart was proposed by Steve Byford. This was seconded by Alisdair Stewart, There being no further nominations, John Stewart was duly elected.
Treasurer, Duncan Fraser was proposed by Alisdair Stewart. This was seconded by John Stewart.
There being no further nominations, Duncan Fraser was duly elected.
Minute Secretary, This position is currently left open.
Clare Caldwell was proposed as a new committee member by Steve Byford. This was seconded by Duncan Fraser. Mark Hedderwick was proposed by Alisdair Stewart as a new committee member.
This was seconded by John Stewart.
The following committee members were elected en-bloc – Adrian Todd, James Martin and Kay Simon.
Signed: SB – Chair 05.04.2012
Kilmorack Community Council 