Cllr Chris Pollock, Cllr Gurpreet Singh Johal, Dorothy Heron, Secretary, PC Hayley Galbraith, Sgt Alan Heron, Jacqueline Bruce, Anne Currie, James Cormack, Cllr David McBride, Elspeth Crocket, Cllr Karen Conaghan
Mary Hudson, Iain Ellis, Ian Sinkins, Jane Brown
Previous minute from 13 December 2022 was read and approved.
Following the discussion at the last meeting on the consultation re Sexual Entertainment Venues, Cllr Johal stated there were no applications submitted for this area.
A resident from Bruce Street attended this meeting and asked Councillors if the bridge at Castlegreen Street /Gruggies Burn could be looked at as there is a lot of debris gathering due to the recent weather coming from the hill. Also the bottle bank/clothes bank is overflowing and is spilling on to the road. Cllr Pollock agreed to look into this matter.
Elspeth Crocket had contacted WDC to make Council aware of the open gate at Riverside Lane which requires attention. The padlock which was fitted had disappeared. This is an urgent child safety issue and the lock has not been fitted to date. Cllr Johal said the childproof padlock was approved and hopefully this work should be carried out soon to avoid any serious situation arising.
Denny Centre: Elspeth understood the panto in the Denny Theatre could not go ahead this season but a dancing display did take place. Expensive new equipment has been put into the Denny Civic Theatre and Elspeth would like assurance that the community cinema will not be closed. Cllr McBride said there is no connection and the cinema will not be effected.
Jaxx asked Cllr Conaghan about the Wallace Street poster and it was agreed this would be arranged and put up by the Community Council.
The police report submitted by PC Hayley Galbraith was circulated to members and the police reported this tends to be a quieter time of year.
Name of Community Council: - Dumbarton East & Central
Date of Report: - 10th January 2023
Submitting Officer: - PC Hayley Galbraith, L564
Crimes/Offences that have occurred in community area since last meeting
Police Report covering the period 14/12/2022 – 10/01/2023
There were 17 recorded crimes.
The Crimes can be summarised as follows;
Murder/Attempt - 0
Serious Assault - 0
Robbery - 0
Assault with Intent to Rob - 0
Wilful fire-raising - 0
Common Assault - 1
Possess Knife/Offensive weapon - 0
Theft/Att Housebreaking – Domestic - 0
Theft/Att Housebreaking – Commercial - 0
Theft by Shoplifting - 2 (1 Detected)
Theft (Unclassified) - 5 (4 x theft of fuel)
Theft (OLP) - 1
Attempted Theft - 1 (detected)
Possess Drugs - 1 (detected)
Possess With Intent to Supply - 0
Breach of the Peace/Disorder - 2 (2 Detected)
Vandalism - 2
Vehicle/traffic Crime - 0
Fraud - 0 (Detected?)
Firearms Act - 0 (Detected?)
Breach of Bail - 1 (1 Detected)
Reset - 0 (Detected?)
Rape - 0
Other –
Dangerous Dogs Act 1991 (Section 3) - 2
Police Assault - 1 (detected)
The above excludes fixed penalty notices issued in respect of anti-social behaviour, non-endorsable and endorsable offences (Road Traffic).
This month – Issues raised at the meeting - 0
Contact Us
I would urge the community to continue to use Crimestoppers if wishing to leave anonymous information regarding incidents which are happening within the community. The telephone phone number is 0800 555 111 and is operated 24hrs a day.
If you wish to contact us direct with any specific issues/concerns, please contact the following based at Dumbarton Police Office;
Community Policing Sergeant – Alan Heron
Tel: 101
Re. the update of stationery for the Community Council, Ian and Dorothy will meet with Megyn Tyrell on 18 January to discuss further and move this item forward. Megyn will arrange for a map of the CC area to be sent to Ian and WDC will print the posters while Dorothy will arrange for other stationery items to be printed locally. More information will be reported at the next meeting.
There is £1501.68 in the bank and £39.34 petty cash. Mary will hand in the books for the Community Council at the next meeting.
A press release had been issued by Historic Environment Scotland stating that Dumbarton Castle is set to reopen by early spring following the completion of high level masonry inspections. Dumbarton Castle is one of Scotland's most important strongholds and it is welcome news that visitors will again be able to visit this tourist attraction very soon.
Tuesday 14 February 2023 at 7pm.
Cllr Chris Pollock, Dorothy Heron, Secretary, PC Gemma Doran, PC Scott Baillie, Jim Crosthwaite, Cllr David McBride, Elspeth Crocket, Ian Sinkins, Jane Brown, Mary Hudson
Jacqueline Bruce, Anne Currie, Cllr Gurpreet Singh Johal, Cllr Karen Conaghan
Previous minute from 10 January 2023 was read and approved.
The issue surrounding the Dumbuck Hotel was raised. A Building Warrant request has been submitted to West Dunbartonshire Council for the demolition of the hotel. Cllr McBride said this cannot be carried out without going through Historic Scotland. The Planning Department has been asked for feedback on this. It was thought the Planning Department could object. The Council have been extremely robust in their views on this.
Safety Gate on the River Leven: The contractor has a meeting on site this week to discuss this.
Levelling Up Fund: Three local projects had been successful with this fund, Glencairn House, Artizan Centre and walkway from Central Station into Dumbarton.
A general discussion took place on the strike issues in Scotland and locally.
Public Photography: Jim Crosthwaite had raised this issue following photographers being harassed by some members of the public. This was discussed with no positive outcome and Jim will write to Chief Inspector Ryan McMurdo for clarification.
A police report was submitted by PC Baillie and is attached.
Progress for this is in hand and should be available for the next meeting.
It was intimated that there is £1501.68 in the bank (£1363.68 once current cheques are paid), and £39.34 in petty cash.
Dorothy will email WDC to register our opposition to the request for the demolition of Dumbuck Hotel.
Elspeth will be appealing for volunteers for the opening of Dumbarton Castle this Saturday at an event in preparation for opening up the castle.
St Augustine's Church has intimated that the rental for our meetings will increase from £30 per meeting to £60, as the rental rate will now be £30 per hour.
Tuesday 14 March 2023 at 7pm
Meeting to be held on Tuesday
9 May 2023
at 7pm in St Augustine's Church Halls
Cllr Karen Murray Conaghan, Dorothy Heron, Elspeth Crocket, Cllr Chris Pollock, Anne Currie, Maureen Duffy
Cllr David McBride, In Sinkins, Peter Robinson, James Cormack, Apologies: Iain Ellis, Jim Crosthwaite, Police Scotland Reps
Previous minute of 13 June 2023 was read and approved.
The Stags Head in Glasgow Road has now closed and it is believed there is some interest in this
Establishment.
Dumbuck Hotel: A video which is circulating highlights the poor condition of the hotel and WDC will contact the owner to ensure it is made safe. The premises are not secure which allows easy access and there are safety issues.
Walkway: The gate which was to have a self-closing mechanism does not have this safety feature.
At the back of the James Lang eatery there is a gap at the steps leading down to the water which for safety requires attention.
Name of Community Council: - Dumbarton East and Central
Date of Report: - 10th September 2023
Submitting / Attending officer: - L564, PC Galbraith
Crimes/Offences that have occurred in community area since last meeting:
Police Report covering the period 13/06/23 – 10/09/23 inclusive.
There were 75 Crime reports raised.
The Crimes can be summarised as follows;
Murder/Attempt 0 (Detected)
Serious Assault 0 (Detected)
Robbery 1 (undetected – enquiries continue)
Assault with Intent to Rob 0 (Detected)
Wilful fire-raising 0 (Detected)
Common Assault
6 (2 Detected, 4 undetected)
Possess Knife/Offensive weapon 0 (Detected)
Theft/Motor Vehicle1 (undetected)
Theft/Attempt Housebreaking – Domestic 1 (undetected)
Theft by Housebreaking – Commercial 0 (Detected)
Theft by Shoplifting 9 (1 Detected, 8 undetected)
Theft (Unclassified) 12 x (undetected)
Possess Drugs 5 x (Detected)
Possess With Intent to Supply 0 ( Detected)
Breach of the Peace/Disorder 9 x (8 Detected, 1 undetected)
Vandalism 8 x (Detected)
Vehicle/traffic Crime 8
Fraud 2 (undetected)
Forgery/Counterfeit
1 (undetected)
Firearms Act 0 (Detected)
Breach of Bail 3 (Detected)
Reset 0 (Detected)
Rape
0 (Detected)
Sexual Offences
1 (undetected)
Protection of Workers 4 (3 Detected)
Communications Offences
1 (undetected)
Culpable & Reckless Conduct
1 (detected)
The above excludes fixed penalty notices issued in respect of anti-social behaviour, non-endorsable and endorsable offences (Road Traffic).
I would urge the community to continue to use Crimestoppers if wishing to leave anonymous information regarding incidents which are happening within the community. The telephone phone number is 0800 555 111 and is operated 24hrs a day.
If you wish to contact us direct with any specific issues/concerns, please contact the following based at Dumbarton Police Office;
Community Policing Sergeant – Alan Heron
Tel: 101
A contractor has been identified and the funding applied for from the Common Good Fund.
It will cost £40,000 to remove ten wrecks and should be carried out at the turn of the year.
The vessel Countess Fiona which is moored in the basin was discussed at the Town Centre Forum and is an ongoing issue. The vessel has been painted with graffiti and is at risk of being vandalised in some way.
Jane reported that on 24 August, there was £2069.51 in the bank (one cheque of £30 to deduct) and there is petty cash of £139.34p.
Bottle Bank in Castlegreen Street: WDC Councillors were asked if this could be re-sited away from the residential area. This is because it is used for the disposal of glass items both very early in the morning and late at night. Cllr McBride will make enquiries.
Emptying of bins: It is intended the green bins will be emptied every three weeks and the brown and blue bins will be collected on alternative weekly collections. West Dunbartonshire would appear to be one of the worst areas for using the recycling system in place and it is hoped that this can improve. The structure of managing the bin collections will not change until sometime next year.
Re the problem of collections in Castlegreen Street, Cllr McBride will get someone to contact Anne to discuss and solve this issue.
Date of next meeting:
1. Previous Minutes/Matters Arising
2. Questions to Councillors/Police
3. River Leven Wrecks – update (J Crosthwaite
4 ALDI Proposal – discuss (J Crosthwaite)
5 ‘No Parking Poster’ – Morrison’s Leven Street entrance
6. Treasurer’s Report
7. AOB
8 Date of next meeting:
AGM followed by a short meeting.
Cllr Karen Murray Conaghan, Cllr David McBride, Cllr Gurpreet Johal, Jim Crosthwaite (Chair), Elspeth Crocket, Jane Brown, Anne Currie, Ian Sinkins,+ 40+ local residents
Iain Ellis, Dorothy Heron, Cllr Chris Pollock
Previous minute of 12 September 2023 was read and approved with the following corrections.
Jane Brown had attended the September meeting - name had been omitted mistakenly.
Alter meeting date to 12 September 2023 - wrong date had been given in heading.
Jim explained to the meeting that although many residents had attended this evening to discuss/air their grievances following the weekend of the intense flooding in Dumbarton East, normal issues would be discussed but this would take as briefly as possible.
Cllr McBride reported that work was underway to award a contract for the removal of a number of wrecks in the River Leven.
The bottle bank container in Castlegreen Street was being removed following complaints about the noise made at unsocial hours by people disposing of glass bottles.
The brown bin collections in Castlegreen Street previously discussed had now been dealt with and this was confirmed by the resident who had raised the issue.
At this point the normal agenda was disregarded due to residents who attended anxious to discuss the flooding encountered over the weekend.
Jim gave a brief resume of legislation on the subject regarding Council's responsibility in terms of flood prevention. Jim then invited Cllr McBride to take the floor.
Cllr McBride spoke of the Gruggies Burn Flood Alleviation Scheme. He stated that the Scottish Government agreed £16.5m funding in 2019, with the Council to add 20% to that. However in 2021 the Government paused funding on this on we are at the stage where a design project has to be submitted by the end of March 2024 with work to start by March 2025. Obviously the costs involved would be considerably more than those projected in 2019.
The events of last weekend and the days leading up to it were outlined as follows:
There was a Yellow Warning for rain on WDC website on Friday, upgraded to Amber in the evening. There was a programme of regular gully cleaning and all the gullies in the area had been cleaned within the last couple of weeks.
At this point there was disquiet in the room and Cllr McBride said that since the flooding, the Council had hired another two gully cleaning machines to clear the debris washed down the drains in the flood. He explained that WDC resources are 'limited' on a weekend. There were two members of staff on call and five volunteers came in to help this weekend. Members of the audience expressed disbelief that in view of the adverse weather warnings, the Council had not been adequately prepared.
It was reported that 2,600 sandbags had been issued and some had been delivered. One resident reported that he had gone to Elm Road depot at 9.30am on Saturday morning to find it closed. It transpired later in the meeting that the member of staff who was opening the depot was stuck in flooding on the Renton Road and didn't arrive until 9.45am.
For the last 12 years, WDC has provided funding to assist residents to purchase flood defence measures/equipment (50% of cost). However, there was poor uptake of this but many people said they were unaware of this.
PC Galbraith arrived around this point. There was quite a bit of anger in the room about the lack of any response from the Police despite numerous calls from several residents. Specifically, people were wanting the Police to come and close flooded roads as motorists were continuing to drive through at excessive speed, causing waves of water to flood properties. One resident asked PC Galbraith to clarify a point "Do the Police have the power to close a flooded road in this sort of situation". Despite the Police being called on numerous occasions throughout the day (including 999 calls) the first appearance was when a motorist was assaulted (which was shown on social media). Several people in the room stood up and related their experiences, one of the most moving was Debbie Neil, who recounted being flooded out in 1991 when she was expecting her first baby, and being in B&B accommodation for seven months. Then again in 2011 when she had to move to the Premier Inn. She spoke of the effect on her and her family and their mental health, and the absence of meaningful support from 'the authorities'. Debbie and her neighbours were going to be billed by the Council on one of these occasions for the removal of sandbags. John McFall had heard of this 'billing' and asked that the bills were sent to him.
Neil McFadyen of Victoria Street stood up and spoke of the fact there was 'no support on the ground', 'We were alone - but for our neighbours'.
David McGaughey (Retired Firefighter), Victoria Street, expressed real concern about residents trying to clear debris from the already swollen burn at the bridges. He said if any of these folk had fallen in they would be dead. Quite a few other people raised points/questions and Jim has listed these in other communications including responses from Cllr McBride and Gail MacFarlane.
Tuesday 14 November 2023 at 7pm
The AGM due to be held at the November meeting has been deferred until
Tuesday 12 December 2023.
Tuesday 12 December 2023 at 7pm
AGM followed by a short meeting.