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Community Council 1st May

Community Council – The meeting on 1st May was opened by an address from the new GP Dr Alan Woodall.

He relocated to the area from Shropshire. He was married in October of last year and his wife, who is a primary school teacher, will join him later when the summer term ends. He has specialised in heart research but wanted to relocate to Scotland as a community GP.
He is trained in attending accidents and emergencies on a voluntary basis and will be on call in the area. He was pleased to hear that there was a First Responder group in Helmsdale and that one was being formed in Kinbrace.

Dr Woodall said he hoped to set up a Patient Group made up of all age groups in the village to discuss how funding could be spent, improvements in service to the community and giving feedback to the community. In the last while 54 appointments had been missed at the surgery. This is a waste of time for the medical staff and patients alike and the Patient Group could be asked how to tackle this problem. Anyone wanting to participate in the Patient Group can contact the surgery administrator or Dr Woodall. Meetings would probably be every three months. It was explained to him that the biggest worry at the moment was out of hours cover.

Councillor Ian Ross confirmed the former police houses had been sold. He also confirmed that there had been discussions between the police and the Highland Council over the use of Service Points. He said he had spoken to the police over concerns about speeding in the village and they would be conducting checks. He confirmed that the work on Golf Road would be carried out and a temporary speed check response sign in Helmsdale would be in place shortly. He reported that the recycling point in Kinbrace was now in place and being regularly used. The fencing and other improvements to the children's play area had been completed. Councillor Ross had attended the interviews for the cluster head teacher for Helmsdale and Kinbrace and an appointment has been made. He had made approaches to Transerve about the A9 response sign in the village and also raised the community council's concerns about the traffic lights at Crakaig. He gave the meeting an update on his approach to Network Rail over the significant concerns at the Kinbrace railway crossing. There had been many complaints about the crossing.

There had been no response yet from Tesco about the petrol station. Members debated fuel costs in the area and the cost of public transport is of great concern. In the community council election the number of nominations received equalled the number of members standing down so there was no need for an election. The council extended their thanks to the members standing down. Helmsdale would benefit from younger members of the community attending the community council meetings and they are encouraged to attend. Problems with the regular Helmsdale to Wick bus service had seen some improvement but a close eye is to be kept on the matter.

There is now a First Responder team in Kinbrace and as it is not funded by the Ambulance Service they are asking for sponsorship and donations. It takes £2500 to obtain and maintain a van and equipment. The team will be based in the village hall and will work in an approximate eight-mile radius with a response time of 10 minutes. Anyone who wishes to offer sponsorship or make a donation can contact Evelyn Mackenzie.

Under other business it was reported that there had been complaints about the parking of boats on the roads causing obstruction. Concern had also been raised about the theft of heating oil in the village. People were urged to report any thefts and to inform the police of any suspicious behaviour. One member had been asked to raise the problem of the overhanging trees at the St Johns Well site and the access officer is to be contacted.

The next meeting will on Thursday 5th June at 8pm in the Community Centre It will be the AGM followed by the monthly meeting.

 

Published on Friday 23 May 2008 by David Mason
Last edited on Friday 23 May 2008 by David Mason