Community Council Forums

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 3 June 2026 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre

1)      Welcome

Present :

IP welcomed everyone to the meeting.

2)      Scottish Maritime Technology Park

Elaine & John from Malin Group spoke about the development of the former Carless Oil Refinery site in Old Kilpatrick.

https://malingroup.com/scottish-marine-technology-park/

The aim is to provide a cluster of small and medium enterprises (SME’s) on the Clyde to become an innovation site for maritime industries.

Malin Group have a partnership with Strathclyde University and intend to bring in other investment independent from shipyards to form a collaboration of complementary businesses.

A 10 year plan is envisaged with incremental development planned.

Some development of the site is needed before businesses that have showed interest, will move in.

Funding was received from Scottish Government to start the development with decontamination from its former use. The level of contamination is such that it can be processed on site.

Future funding will be sought to further develop the decontaminated site.

Community engagement is a key element so that any concerns can be addressed. Malin Group are particularly engaging with primary and secondary schools as well as tertiary colleges. They are keen to promote STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics) and local aspects of maritime heritage.

Malin Group also aim for self-sustainability –> investment –> rent –> use etc.

Public access is still key to proposals and provision of community facilities and maybe on site creche for workers’ families.

<Refreshment Break>

3)      AGM – minuted separately

4)      Scheme of Establishment Discussion

IP reported on a positive meeting between Old Kilpatrick, Bowling and Faifley CC’s to seek further collaboration or amalgamate with a boundary change.

There are opportunities for a joint development trust to seek finances to look into acquiring Bowling Community Centre or Old Kilpatrick Church for community use.

AK reported on WDC engagement with all CC’s and the potential realignment of CC boundaries to produce 10 functioning CC’s across WD.

WDC are setting up community drop in sessions over the month of June spread around catchment areas of the CC’s – Clydebank, Dumbarton and the Vale.

A report will be produced for elected members by mid-July for their meeting in August to decide on the measures proposed.

IP and AK had set up a meeting for Monday 15th June at 9.30 in the Municipal Buildings, Dumbarton should anyone wish to join them. An invitation will be sent out in advance.

AK also reminded CC’s to send in their meeting minutes as there are quite a lot missing and this has been raised for him to follow up.

Minutes can be sent direct to Alan but the proper address is

communitycouncils@west-dunbarton.gov.uk

Some CC’s have raised the issue of having more a formal website presence and more formal e-mail name & domain.

AK suggested waiting until the SoE is completed so that we know the names of any newly amalgamated CC’s.

AS reported that he still has the information and costs from the last time this was raised and will refresh them before the next meeting. It will require short term expenditure and a direct debit to be set up to cater for monthly and annual fees.

5)      Date of Next Meeting

The next quarterly meeting will be on Tuesday 1 September @ 7pm at St. Augustine’s Church Hall, Dumbarton 

https://staugustinesdumbarton.co.uk/church-life/our-hall/

Appendix 1 – Community Councils Info – Please report any changes or errors to the Forum secretary.

Appendix 2 – Insurance Details and Broker Contact Info

Policy

Name:                   West Dunbartonshire Council

Reference:          WESX91CS01

Policy Type:        Encompass Charity Scheme

Policy Number: RKK958425

Insurer:                RSA Encompass Scotland

Expiry Date:        31/03/2026

Contact Details

Tel:         0131 225 6005

Fax:        0131 226 3811

Email: hs@keegan-pennykid.com

https://www.keegan-pennykid.com

https://www.keegan-pennykid.com/insurance-types/charity-business/events/

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 4th March 2026 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre

1)      Welcome

Present :

IP welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1)      Scottish Youth Parliament

Faith Bhardwaj MSYP introduced herself and described the role of the SYP and how it interacts with the youth locally and represents them to local and national government.

Members of the SYP are independent of any political party and are representatives for their own areas. 

IP introduced the Forum to Faith and outlined the difficulties with community engagement in general and youth in particular.

Faith assured us that young people do want to engage but are often excluded. They don’t necessarily know who to contact about issues so we need to make a bigger effort to reach out to them.

Discussion on the use of Social Media to reach out to the younger community. All agreed that it is something we should explore further.

2)      Matters Arising from the Special Meeting on 12 November

The Action Plan was discussed and all parties encouraged to follow up where they can and keep the group informed of any progress.

AS is happy to keep track of the actions so please feedback any updates to him.

<Refreshment Break>

3)      Treasurer’s Report

Alistair presented a full statement of the Forum account and with one month to go to the end of the financial year he will prepare the application for the next admin grant.

Alan informed us that the annual insurance is due and quotes have been received. The cost of the insurance cover is taken from the annual CC budget before dividing up the remainder for distribution to the active CC’s via the funding formula.

He reminded everyone that the cover is for Community Council duties such as meetings but not ‘events’ such as gala days or litter picks. For such activities, the broker will need to be informed and any supplementary premiums paid for by the CC itself.

AS will send out the insurance documents once it has been renewed.

4)      AOB

Sam MacMillan from Coreolis Energy was in communication about the VoL Windfarm Community Benefit Fund and would like to meet with the Forum.

Considering the timeline for the public inquiry and subsequent decision, it was agreed to invite him to the September meeting.

We discussed a shared event for a community groups gala, the aim is to network with CC’s, TRA’s and other anchor groups.

We also discussed the Pride in Place funding available for projects from £10k to £100k

https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/business/regeneration/funding/pride-in-place-impact-fund/pride-in-place-community-grants

IP signposted some training resources available via the Scottish Community Councils’ website

https://www.communitycouncils.scot/help-and-support/skills-and-learning

IP shared a request from the licencing committee to comment on the proposals for the extension of licencing hours for Scottish matches during the World Cup.

It was agreed that IP would respond on behalf of the Forum.

5)      Date of Next Meeting

The next quarterly meeting will be the AGM on Wednesday 3rd June @ 7pm 

Appendix 1 – Community Councils Info – Please report any changes or errors to the Forum secretary.

Appendix 2 – Insurance Details and Broker Contact Info

Policy

Name:                   West Dunbartonshire Council

Reference:          WESX91CS01

Policy Type:        Encompass Charity Scheme

Policy Number: RKK958425

Insurer:                RSA Encompass Scotland

Expiry Date:        31/03/2026

Contact Details

Tel:         0131 225 6005

Fax:        0131 226 3811

Email: hs@keegan-pennykid.com

https://www.keegan-pennykid.com

https://www.keegan-pennykid.com/insurance-types/charity-business/events/

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 3rd December 2025 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre

Welcome

Present :

Present

IP welcomed everyone to the meeting.

1)      WDCVS Climate Action Hub

Ruth Traynor from WDCVS Climate Action Hub presented herself and her remit within CVS.

WD is the newest Climate Hub to be set up and is funded by the Scottish Government.

The remit is to support Climate Action initiatives within communities such as green energy projects, food redistribution and biodiversity improvements

Themed meetings will be held in the Arcadia Centre – look for information on the WDCVS website https://wdcvs.com/

More support for community based schemes rather than to wider grid feedback projects i.e. direct community benefit from community led initiatives e.g. cheaper energy for communities involved

There followed a discussion on :

• Wind farms and the financial benefits from hosting them, the building electrical capacity as transition increases and the reliability of generation.
• Active Travel highlighting the lack of progress on suitable infrastructure – zero visible progress despite high focus

<Refreshment Break>

2)      Treasurer’s Report

Alistair presented the latest bank statement however the transactions were from another organisation (having accidentally confused the payment cards a number of times) and although it was corrected, the corrections were not on the statement so the information was unusable.

IP asked Alan Karas to assist Alistair in providing the correct account information.

Note – no Cash Book is kept as a way of tracking transactions, just receipts and statements which unfortunately are not consistent.

The account balance is confirmed as correct, so only the record keeping that is of concern. 

3)      Discussion of previous meeting

It was valuable that the councillors attended although some were more forceful than others in trying to influence group output.

All the group output was collected and the points made were listed with any suggestions that came up.

This was then collated into a set of potential actions to be followed up.

As it took a while to get the list approved for forwarding, there was little time between sending the Action Plan to each CC and tonight’s discussion so not many people had a chance to go through it. Some had not received it at all.

AS reminded everyone that the Forum communicates to each CC secretary and it is for each CC to ensure that delegates that they send to Forum meetings have the relevant documents and information beforehand.  

Currently the Forum is using KCC’s website and email system to save having a separate Forum email domain, GDPR rules make using personal emails challenging.

The council’s approach is focused on boundary changes to increase CC catchment areas and have fewer CC’s but as discussed in the Action Plan there are other things that they could support CC’s with right now. We agreed to send a copy of the Action Plan to all councillors in advance of their meeting on 17th December.

The group discussed that with such a lot to do, should the Forum meet monthly instead of quarterly. There was no support for this and as we were over run on time, it was left to the next meeting to read up on the list, volunteer for some actions and see how we can move forward.

4)      Date of Next Meeting

The next quarterly meeting will be on Wednesday 11th March @ 19.00 

Future meeting dates :

Wednesday 11th March

Wednesday 3rd June – AGM

Appendix 2 – Insurance Details and Broker Contact Info

Policy

Contact Details

Special meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 12 November 2025 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre

1) Welcome

Present :

IP welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the workshop process.

Introduction

CC’s were created over 50 years ago to create a bridge between people and local authorities, Society has changed considerably over the past 50 years. CC’s do not have the same power as the English system with “Parish Councils” our responsibilities tend to be around licensing and planning. Our role is determined by the local authority

2015 Community Empowerment Act - This is where tension has arisen as the role of CC’s was removed by the creation of consultation. WDC have not acknowledged our role, nor our reaching 50 years.

Relevant?

Yes. Not just on statutory duties. Needs a lot of change.

How to progress this ?

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 3 September 2025 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre

1)      Welcome

Present :

IP welcomed everyone to the meeting and explained the workshop process.

Introduction

CC’s were created over 50 years ago to create a bridge between people and local authorities, Society has changed considerably over the past 50 years. CC’s do not have the same power as the English system with “Parish Councils” our responsibilities tend to be around licensing and planning. Our role is determined by the local authority

2015 Community Empowerment Act - This is where tension has arisen as the role of CC’s was removed by the creation of consultation.  WDC have not acknowledged our role, nor our reaching 50 years.

The 2022 review of the WDC Scheme of Establishment was carried out by an external agency but failed to improve CC recognition in WDC.

A new review is due in 2026 – tonight is the beginning of how we can make the review of our role more effective.

In WDC, Tenants & Residents Associations are getting stronger to the possible detriment of CC’s with whom WDC refuse to engage.

2)      Finance

Balance to date : £6,032.84

A full statement was provided and reviewed.

Alistair noted that WDCVS are providing grants for up to £10,000 for hosting events, with a particular focus on Mental Health and Wellbeing.

Anne informed us that The National Lottery Awards for All also have funding available.

Matthew Spurway sent us a notification of grants up to £500 are available for CC’s to produce Local Place Plans.

3)      Workshop

Attendees were assigned to 4 groups and asked to reflect on our role as CC’s

• Are we still relevant?
• What should our role look like?

Group 1 - Isobel, Linda, George, Fiona & Rena

Do we think there is a role for Community Councils?

• We would like to say yes but it feels like a no
• Tonight’s lack of turnout shows that people aren’t interested.
• The “community” has changed so much in the past 50 years

What does that role look like:

• It should bring people together
• Change is needed
• Are we valued by WDC and/or councillors
• We need people interested in the community
• Can’t complain against our Local Authority
• We don’t always want to be negative

Other points raised:

Most people want to go onto Facebook & rant and rave but feel they are “to busy” or “don’t have time” to help / People want to moan but they don’t want to get involved

CC’s should bring people together and do “positive” work in the community, in Partnership with different organisations / work with the local authority not against it

We need to have people interested in their area – does it need to be a community council? Can it be litter picking groups, Community Trusts or just community minded people.

The Forum should invite the local councillors and ask them what they think of CC’s

The last election Waterfront had less than 20% of a turnout of voters which shows that people are just leaving it up to someone else “someone else will do it”

Group 2 - Alan, Anne, Ann, Mary and Andy

Do we think there is a role for Community Councils?

• Local decisions may get taken without consultation
• We know the issues in the community
• We can have positive relationships with decision makers

What does that role look like:

• Currently officers from the top tier of the council don’t give it the respect it deserves
• TRA’s often act in the same interest and can be seen to do the same job
• The effectiveness of a CC – what does it do? What are the main aims?
• Need an agreement from WDC “Service Level” – what is the purpose of CC’s in WDC
• Then CC’s can be involved in WDC council business
• Neighbouring CC’s to collaborate rather than operate in isolation 

Other points raised :

CC’s need to a positive profile in the council and the community

Frustration is a significant cause in the loss of active members and barrier to new members

A positive outcome to a community project is needed to improve this e.g. Christmas celebrations, grass cutting

Group 3 - John, Alistair & Barbara

Do we think there is a role for Community Councils?

• Yes but we must be involved

What does that role look like:

• A role in decision making particularly planning
• When were the last CC elections
• Not being heard
• CC’s are not to replace councillors but enhance their role
• Councillors should have a remit to attend CC meetings
• Councillors party politics keep interfering
• What about the 10 day rule
• No complaints process for CC’s

Other points raised:

Need more respect from WDC and Councillors

Councillors not attending meetings, and WDC not answering questions, CC meetings are once a month

The CC should hold more gravitas with the local authority and councillors than individuals

Tenants and residents associations should be more involved with CC

Group 4 - Andrew, Jack & Rona

Do we think there is a role for Community Councils?

• Split on yes / no – WDC think CC’s are irrelevant
• Indifference - WDC don’t show that they care
• Fundamental problems with funding and staff

What does that role look like:

• Lack of people for CC’s may need amalgamation of other community bodies such as TRA’s or wider catchment (e.g. one combined CC for Dumbarton)
• Role in planning and health
• Councillors mandated to attend CC meetings (give them choice of day?)
• Scottish Government support (provide clarity of community role and local authority funding)

Other points raised :

Councillors are too interested in Party Politics – they also struggle to get answers from the Local Authority

Should the Forum coalesce and form a stronger body, incorporating tenants and residents’ associations

Tenants and resident’s associations appear to the have the backing of WDC

They appear to have a lot of support and are more highly regarded in the community

It goes all the way up to the Scottish Government - No real interest from the Scottish Government for support of CC

We feel we do still have a role, but what this looks like is unknown

Having something is better than nothing.

Summary/ What are the things that we want to take forward

A clearer view of what Community Councils do and what their role is.  What the expectation is from WDC.

Meet with Lawrence O’Neil

Half the population of west Dunbartonshire are not represented by a CC

Have another workshop with our local authority colleagues, what do they think our role is – how do we capture the 50%?

Or should we focus on the 50% who are represented and frustrated that they are not heard

Have one CC for Dumbarton, Vale, Clydebank which includes housing associations, can we add this to the scheme of establishment?

Can we continue to work as individual CC’s or do we combine?

We need a voice

We need to be relevant – achieve this by getting a “win” Christmas Light

People do not know what Community Councils do

They come when there is an issue that is going to affect them – i.e. Battery Storage

Or people come along over an ongoing issue that they were not aware of the CC or the work they do

Celebration of 50 years for Community Councils, it was for the recognition of the work that has been done – it was a gift to us.  Both administrations disregarded it.

Define and be clear on what we do – what is Alan’s role – what is the role of the Local Authority

Go back and reestablish thing

The scheme of establishment gives us the opportunity to use our voice and set out what we want to be going forwards

We need to be united on how we tackle the way forward

Thank you to Alison for taking the time and for trying to keep us out of rabbit holes!

Alan & Isobel will meet with Colin Smith to discuss tonight’s meeting

Reflect on how we can motivate and encourage each other and how we can get more people involved.

It was agreed that the Forum Exec would :

• Develop an action plan and get it out for comment
• Create a programme of what we want to achieve

4)      Communities Team Reshuffle Update

Alan explained his new role as part of Committee Services with a remit to support the CC Forum. Individual CC’s will have limited support but, as a personal goal, Alan will endeavour to attend at least 1 CC meeting per year. Although embedded in Committee Services, Alan’s is still a community development worker and work comes from Elaine Troup.

5)      Date of Next Meeting

The next business meeting will be on Wednesday 3rd December @ 7.00pm

However, prior to that, there will be a separate Forum meeting to follow up on tonight’s workshop. The date will be early November.

The Forum Exec will meet beforehand also to summarise tonight and develop an action plan to present at the November meeting.   

Future meeting dates :

?? November

Wednesday 3rd December

Wednesday 11th March

Wednesday 3rd June – AGM

Appendix 2 – Insurance Details and Broker Contact Info

Policy

Name:                   West Dunbartonshire Council

Reference:          WESX91CS01

Policy Type:        Encompass Charity Scheme

Policy Number: RKK958425

Insurer:                RSA Encompass Scotland

Expiry Date:        31/03/2026

Contact Details

Tel:         0131 225 6005

Fax:        0131 226 3811

Email: hs@keegan-pennykid.com

https://www.keegan-pennykid.com

https://www.keegan-pennykid.com/insurance-types/charity-business/events/

Annual General Meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 4th June 2025 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre

1) Welcome

Present:

Alexandria: Apologies from Tilda McCrimmon and Barbara, Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: No rep

Bonhill and Dalmonach: Jack Fordy, Apologies from Fiona Jenkins

Bowling and Milton: No working CC

Clydebank East: Alistair Conarty

Dumbarton East and Central: No working CC

Faifley: No working CC

Kilmaronock: Andrew Sinnott (AS) (Forum Secretary), Apologies from Gavin MacLellan

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Mary McAleer

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (IP) (Forum Chair)

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair, Apologies from Anne MacDougall

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (RW) (Forum Vice-chair), Linda McCowat, Andrew Muir

WDC Your Community Team No rep

2) Office Bearers’ Report

The Forum Office bearers for this term were :-

Chair : Isobel Plunkett
Vice chair : Rona Wilkinson
Treasurer : Alistair Conarty
Secretary : Andrew Sinnott

General Committee: Linda McCowat, Drummond McNair and Anne MacDougall

Most of the active CC’s have sent representatives to each meeting. As always, it is appreciated that Forum members give up their time for the benefit of their communities. All meetings have been well attended.

Thanks to Alan Karas for his support on behalf of WDC Communities Team and we very much hope that WDC retain some interest in the Forum and the individual CC’s.

This year we have focused on the following themes :Rationalisation of the CC Handbook. Thanks to Linda McCowat of SOCC for pulling it all together. It will remain a live document for the Forum to review and maintain.

Formation of a SCIO to enable the coordination and distribution of any Community Benefit Funds arising in the future e.g. should the Vale of Leven Windfarm be consented and become operational.

Pursuing communication issues between WDC chief officers and CC’s General support for individual CC issues including workshops on Local Place Planning.

Sadly, during this period, Dumbarton East & Central were dissolved, SOCC are on hiatus and Kilmaronock is on minimum membership with some of the existing members wishing to step down.

Previous members of the Forum, Gilbert Howatson and Murdoch Cameron MBE passed away since the last AGM.

Accounts

The financial year is from 1st April to 31st March

Balance at end of year : £5634.84

Annual grant in : £2000.00

WDC contribution to promotional video in : £1000

Expenditure out : £567.30

3) Appointment of Officer Bearers

No new nominations were made so the previous office bearers were re-elected as follows:

Chair – Isobel Plunkett (OKCC)
Vice-chair – Rona Wilkinson (SOCC)
Secretary – Andrew Sinnott (KCC)
Treasurer – Alistair Conaty (CECC)
Plus general committee members :
Linda McCowat (SOCC)
Anne McDougall (PNKCCC)
Drummond McNair (PNKCCC)

4) Date of Next AGM

3rd June 2026 @ 7.00pm

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 5th March 2025 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre, Dalmonach

1) Welcome

The Forum were saddened to hear of the recent passing of Murdoch Cameron MBE. For many years Murdoch represented Balloch & Haldane CC and was very involved with the CC Forum.

Present:

Alexandria: Tilda McCrimmon, Barbara Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: No rep

Bonhill and Dalmonach: Jack Fordy, Fiona Jenkins

Bowling and Milton: No rep

Clydebank East: Alistair Conarty

Dumbarton East and Central: No rep

Faifley: No rep, Kilmaronock Apologies from Gavin MacLellan, Andrew Sinnott (Forum Secretary)

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Mary McAleer

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (Forum Chair) Rena Mackenzie

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair, Apologies from Anne MacDougall

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (Forum Vice-chair) Linda McCowat Andrew Muir

WDC Your Community Team Alan Karas

Guests James Baird and Sam McMillan from Coriolis Energy

2) Vale of Leven Windfarm Update

James Baird and Sam McMillan from Coriolis Energy presented an update on the VoL Windfarm project and discussed the options for distribution of the Community Benefit Fund (CBF) that would be available once the project is consented.

Additional documents were submitted to the Energy Consents Unit March 2025 with proposals to remove or water down the formal objections raised. The headline change is the reduction of the blade tip height from 250m to 220m to alleviate some visual impacts that had been part of the objections.

The current timeline for consent decision is Q2 2027 and if consented then construction would commence 2028 and operation in 2030. Ripple Energy have been brought onboard to provide an option to offset electricity bills for selected consumers, this would be paid for from the CBF.

The windfarm operators (ESB) would provide the CBF to a recognised community organisation to manage the onward distribution.

There would be an option for the community to purchase shares and receive income from the windfarm.

There could be a blend of all 3 options rather than having to pick just one. That would be for the community organisation to decide.

Local Energy Scotland are the main brokers for CBFs and have grants available to set up community bodies to handle CBFs’

Action : Issy to invite a Local Energy Scotland representative and a Ripple Energy representative to the next forum meeting or have special meeting if necessary.

3) Treasurer’s report

The WDC annual grant was received in full and the next one will be applied for after the end of year accounts are signed off.

Current balance : £4665.97

Anyone with outgoings are to send a copy of the receipt(s) and their bank details to Alastair for prompt payment.

The £500 for the video was paid for by OKCC and Issy will forward the details shortly.

4) Creation of a Community Benefit SCIO

Issy reported that the sub-group had met and were currently planning to use the 9CCG constitution as a basis for creation of a new WD version.

5) WDC Matters

Working Relationship

It has been discussed many times at the Forum that the responses from Chief Officers to community councillors is at best slow but mostly non-existent, despite there being a statutory response time.

Anne & Drummond wrote to WDC on behalf of their CC which Issy asked them to share around all CC’s.

Issy read out the list of support that would normally be given to CC’s by their local authority, in comparison, all we receive from WDC is an annual admin grant which is currently under threat.

We discussed the relevance of CC’s to WDC if they do not acknowledge our role as a voice in and for the communities we represent and see it as an option to remove all funding. None of us are paid to do what we do.

Action : Drummond to send PNKCCC letter to Andy for distribution to all CC’s

Action : Issy to invite a Scottish Minister to the next Forum meeting.6)

CC Handbook Review
The new handbook is near completion, the draft was circulated after the last meeting and no changes were proposed.

7) Mediation training

After discussion, the preference was to have an in-person training session rather than online. It is slightly more expensive but there are benefits to being in the same room.
Action : Andy to follow up with Alan to get a date and a venue then book it.

8) Youth Engagement

Linda has been following up with the Youth Parliament (via Lucy McGovern) to see how CC’s can engage with the youth voice. For now it is a challenge to have members of the YP attend evening meetings with CC’s but it was suggested by Lucy that we could go to them…

“I would really like for community council to have a meet and greet day with CC - for you all to come and see their work and how they represent their communities, their structure and for them to learn from you all too. We could even have some food and plan to have it during the summer hols! They can also let you know about their latest campaigns and consultations which may compliment your current work or something you could support, and vice versa.”

Action : Linda to accept the invitation and work towards a meeting as expressed above.

9) CC’s dissolving due to lack of volunteers to stand for election

Following a proposal / suggestion from Bonhill Community Council representatives and a short discussion, it was agreed that we should explore the option that the Forum become a district wide single Community Council.

The pros and cons of which we would discuss at a later stage.

Action : All representatives were requested to think about this suggestion and prepare ideas for discussion at the next meeting.

10) Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will include the AGM on Wednesday 4th June 2025 @ 7.00pm, in Dalmonach Community Centre.

Notices will be sent out with confirmation in good time but please send in any items for discussion as early as possible. The executive will meet as needed before then.

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 4 December 2024 @ 19:00 in Dalmonach Community Centre, Dalmonach

Present:

Alexandria: Tilda McCrimmon, Barbara Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: No rep

Bonhill and Dalmonach: Jack Fordy, Fiona Jenkins

Bowling and Milton: No rep

Clydebank East: Alistair Conarty

Dumbarton East and Central: No rep

Faifley: No rep
Kilmaronock: Gavin MacLellan, Andrew Sinnott (Forum Secretary)

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Mary McAleer

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (Forum Chair)

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair, Anne MacDougall

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (Forum Vice-chair), Linda McCowat, Claire Muir, Apologies from Andrew Muir

WDC Your Community Team Alan Karas

2) Creation of a Community Benefit SCIO

Issy recapped the recent proposal to set up a SCIO to represent the CC’s of West Dunbartonshire in the handling and distribution of any Community Benefit Funds arising from renewable energy projects within WD. It is important to now act on this and broadcast that action is taking place.

Members of the Forum attended the meeting set up by Friends of Loch Lomond and the Trossachs who tried to set up a similar SCIO but not for the benefit of WD communities. They were unsuccessful in getting support but intend to continue to pursue the matter regardless.

It is formally proposed that we follow up with the 9CC Group from East Ayrshire who came to our meeting in June and see if we can transpose their operational model and constitution to fit the needs of a West Dunbartonshire SCIO.

All were in favour. A sub-group was formed composed of Issy, Rona, Jack, Drummond, Anne and Tilda to get this in motion.

3) Minutes from last meeting on 5th June 2024 and Matters Arising

• CC Handbook Review

Linda circulated the final draft. The section regarding the WDC Communities Team is incomplete as the team has been disbanded, with no word yet on how the new structure will provide the statutory community support.

Alan Karas described how the former Communities Team members will be reposted in 4
areas :

1. Education services
2. Economic & Development
3. Democratic services and
4. Asset management

Linda will mail a copy to all CC’s and anyone interested to review it. Responses will be
needed by mid-February so the final version can be presented to the Forum in March.

• 50 yr anniversary

Alan & Issy met with the Provost’s secretary. Due to budget restrictions, the event to
recognise the 50 yr history of community councils will be low key. Each CC are

• invited to nominate 2 participants for attendance
• requested to send in any good news stories showing the positive effects CC’s have in their communities
• nominate any CC members for recognition of their contribution e.g. long service,
  outstanding effort

The date has yet to be confirmed but it will be a Wednesday evening early next year.
Send names for attendance and recognition plus any good news stories to secretary@kilmaronockcc.org 

• Promotional Video
  The video has also been completed. The full cost was £1,500 of which Issy agreed that the Forum would pay £500.
• Logo 
  There may be a design ready for the next meeting.

4) Treasurer’s Report

Alistair presented the latest account statement

Balance : £2682.14

Outgoings this financial period were for two meetings at OKFP (July & September)

The grant application was submitted in April but has not been paid – Alan Karas to follow up and resubmit if necessary.

5) Date of Next Meeting

It was agreed to rotate meeting venues throughout the WD area. This gives a chance to visit each CC area and make use of their local venue.

The next meeting will be hosted by Linnvale & Drumry CC on Wednesday 5th March 2025 @ 7.00pm, in The Double ‘L’ Centre, Linnvale Primary School, Linnvale.

Notices will be sent out with confirmation in good time but please send in any items for discussion as early as possible. The executive will meet as needed before then.

Future meeting dates:
Wednesday 4th June – AGM

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 4th September 2024 @ 19:00 in Napier Hall, Old Kilpatrick

Present:

Alexandria: Tilda McCrimmon, Barbara Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: No rep

Bonhill and Dalmonach: Jack Fordy, Fiona Jenkins

Bowling and Milton: No rep

Clydebank East: No rep

Dumbarton East and Central: Dorothy Heron

Faifley: No rep

Kilmaronock: Andrew Sinnott (AS) (Forum Secretary)

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Mary McAleer

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (IP) (Forum Chair), Rena Mackenzie

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (RW) (Forum Vice-chair), Linda McCowat, Andrew Muir

WDC Your Community Team Alan Karas

Guests Matthew Spurway WDC Planning Dept

2) Local Development Plan with Matthew Spurway, WDC Development Planning

Matthew gave a presentation on the production of the next Local Development Plan (LDP). A copy will be sent with the minutes.

The presentation detailed the schedule, the process and the inputs needed to create the next LDP.

There was a follow up discussion.

Community consultation is ongoing via two surveys which close at the end of the month.

Community Councils have all been sent the surveys and they are open to all residents but so far, there has been a very low response, approximately 70 from the whole of West Dunbartonshire. There are alternate versions of the survey for children of different ages.

Some communities are already in the process of creating a Local Place Plan (LPP) which will then be used as an input to the Local Development Plan.

Grants of up to £500 are available to local communities to assist with cost in producing a LPP

https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/council/key-council-documents/local-development-planning/local-place-plans/

The Place Standard Tool is a good starter for community discussions. Download the posters or see if WDC have any already available as they are useful for round table type events.

Maps of WDC owned land and assets within each CC area should be made available to CC’s for their place planning.

All of the key information about the consultation can be found on our website at:

https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/council/key-council-documents/local-development-planning/development-plan/

And if anyone is interested in Local Place Plans please see the following page:

https://www.west-dunbarton.gov.uk/council/key-council-documents/local-development-planning/local-place-plans/

If anyone has questions or queries I’m happy for people to contact me directly or at ldp@west-dunbarton.gov.uk (the LDP inbox would be best for consultation responses)

3) Minutes from last meeting on 5th June 2024 and Matters Arising

• CC Handbook Review
  Linda circulated a list of documents needed to complete a few more sections. If anyone has the information then send to Linda.
• 50 yr anniversary - Due to change of Provost and team, the planned civic reception has been cancelled pending a re-arrangement via a new invitation from the new Provost.
• Promotional Video - The video has also been delayed in production but is still in the planning.
• Logo - A modified design is in hand

4) Community Council Round Table Discussion

Common themes are CC’s on minimum numbers and struggling to gain more to join.
CC meeting attendance is usually low until a contentious issue comes up – people only coming out for negative reasons.

Further cuts at WDC are only going to make services worse.

There is a lack of common knowledge of the contents of the constitution or the meanings of some of the definitions within it. This leads to different interpretations of the constitution often due to the level of detail being aimed at standard circumstances leaving unusual ones to figure out on your own. Hopefully, the work on the new handbook will lead to making it easier to understand and operate within the constitution for all.

5) Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on 4th December @ 7.00pm, in Napier Hall. Notices will be sent out with confirmation in good time but please send in any items for discussion as early as possible. The executive will meet as needed before then.

Future meeting dates :

Wednesday 5th March
Wednesday 4th June – AGM

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 5th June 2024 @ 19:00 in Napier Hall, Old Kilpatrick

Present:

Alexandria: Tilda McCrimmon, Barbara Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: No rep

Bonhill and Dalmonach: Jack Fordy, Fiona Jenkins

Bowling and Milton: No rep

Clydebank East: Alistair Conarty

Dumbarton East and Central: Dorothy Heron, Apologies from Jim Crosthwaite

Faifley: No rep

Kilmaronock: Andrew Sinnott (AS) (Forum Secretary)

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Mary McAleer

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (IP) (Forum Chair), Apologies from Rhona Young

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair, Apologies from Anne MacDougall

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (RW) (Forum Vice-chair), Linda McCowat, Apologies from Andrew Muir

WDC Your Community Team Alan Karas, Stephen Burns

Guests Amanda Kean – WDC LHEES Officer

Stephen McCarron – 9CC Group COO

Calum Watkins – Glasgow Community Energy

2) Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

Minutes proposed as accurate by IP & AS

• CC Handbook Review – Ongoing. Estimated 75% complete. Further input is needed and AS will liaise with AK to get the info for Linda. Drummond agreed to review the new document as it nears completion. Aiming for September completion to tie in with the 50th anniversary reception.
• 50 year anniversary – plans proceeding for the reception event on 7 September
• Promotional video – IP has secured funding to make the video. The idea is to interview the oldest and youngest community councillors and add in some other experienced parties. Some research is needed to check which CC was the first in WD – Silverton & Overtoun maybe? The newest is Alexandria, so members of those will be invited to participate. CC’s such as Alexandria & Old Kilpatrick celebrate diversity in their community councillors which should also be highlighted.
• Logo – IP brought some examples of a new logo for the Forum and invited feedback to take back to the designer.
• Conflict Resolution training – AK confirmed that WDC have funding for such training and there are 3 providers being assessed. The training will consist of online and face-to-face sessions.

3) Amanda Kean:

WDC Local Heat and Energy Efficiency Strategy (LHEES) Officer Amanda talked about her role and the LHEE Strategy. The slides from her presentation were not shown but will be forwarded with these minutes.

4) Stephen McCarron:

9CC Group
Stephen gave a presentation on the formation of the 9CC Group in response to the Community

Benefit Fund that comes with production of green energy specifically wind farms.
The presentation will be forwarded with these minutes.

5) AOCB

Insurance has been renewed under the same policy requirements as usual. Details of the insurance broker are appended to these minutes and individual CC’s are encouraged to liaise with the brokers in case of any additional cover needed for their bespoke events.

6) Date of Next Meeting

The next meeting will be on 4th September @ 7.00pm, in Napier Hall. Notices will be sent out with confirmation in good time but please send in any items for discussion as early as possible. The executive will meet as needed before then.

Future meeting dates:

• Wednesday 4 December
• Wednesday 12 March
• Wednesday 4 June – AGM

Annual General Meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 5th June 2024 @ 19:00 in Napier Hall, Old Kilpatrick

Present:

Alexandria: Tilda McCrimmon, Barbara Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: No rep

Bonhill and Dalmonach: Jack Fordy, Fiona Jenkins

Bowling and Milton: No rep

Clydebank East: Alistair Conarty

Dumbarton East and Central: Dorothy Heron, Apologies from Jim Crosthwaite

Faifley: No rep

Kilmaronock: Andrew Sinnott (AS) (Forum Secretary)

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Mary McAleer

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (IP) (Forum Chair), Apologies from Rhona Young

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair, Apologies from Anne MacDougall

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (RW) (Forum Vice-chair), Linda McCowat, Apologies from Andrew Muir

WDC Your Community Team Alan Karas, Stephen Burns

Guests Amanda Kean – WDC LHEES Officer

Stephen McCarron – 9CC Group COO

Calum Watkins – Glasgow Community Energy

2) Office Bearers’ Reports

The CC Forum was reformed post-COVID with an updated constitution. The inaugural meeting was held on 3rd December 2022. Subsequently ordinary business meetings have been held quarterly and this is the 1st AGM since reformation.

All active CC’s have sent representatives to each meeting. Thanks to them as they give up their time for the benefit of their communities. Coming to these extra meetings is much appreciated collectively. If nothing else, the Forum is just that, a Forum to exchange experiences.

Thanks to Maureen and her team at OKFP for their hosting of the meetings despite all the work involved in relocating from Station Rd to Napier Hall.

Thanks to Alan for his support on behalf of WDC Communities Team despite having workload increased due to trimming of the team as a result of the LA budget cuts.

Thanks to Issy for driving things forward not forgetting her sub-teams.

At the heart of the reboot of the Forum are the following 3 themes :First, code of conduct has been a recurring theme, poor conduct whatever the cause is inexcusable.

It is a shame that some people (a minority, it must be said) don’t respect others who are trying to help, especially considering that we are all volunteers. This has a clear impact on our psychological wellbeing/mental health. As community councillors, we ought to set examples of behaviour, so it is important to get our house in order before we can address the attitude and behaviour of those who attend our meetings. The public are often unaware of what lies within the competencies of CC’s but it should not lead to conflict. Hence a review of the CC Handbook to clarify expectations.

Second, training is a part of the above, improving the knowledge and skills within CC’s goes a long way to harmonisation of what CC’s do and improving their effectiveness, leading to improving community confidence and support.

Thirdly and most importantly, recruitment is often hampered by all of the above – who wants to join an ineffective or quarrelsome CC?

The Forum (albeit slowly) will work on actions to help improve conduct & provide access to training thus making CC’s more effective and therefore more attractive to join or support, hopefully solving the recruitment issue as a result.

Accounts

The financial year is from 1st April to 31st March

Balance at end of year : £3202.14

Annual grant in : £2000.00

Expenditure out : £797.86

3) Appointment of Officer Bearers

Incumbent office bearers stood down and the chair was passed to by Alan Karas (WDC) to invite nominations for the posts of Chair, Vice-chair, Secretary & Treasurer.

No new nominations were made so the previous office bearers were re-elected as follows:

Chair – Isobel Plunkett (OKCC)
Vice-chair – Rona Wilkinson (SOCC)
Secretary – Andrew Sinnott (KCC)
Treasurer – Alistair Conaty (CECC)

Isobel then called for other committee members to be nominated and the following were elected :

Linda McCowat (SOCC)
Anne McDougall (PNKCCC)
Drummond McNair (PNKCCC)

4) Date of Next AGM

4 June 2025 @ 7.00pm

Quarterly meeting of the West Dunbartonshire Community Council Forum

Wednesday 13th March 2024 @ 19:00 in Napier Hall, Old Kilpatrick

Present : 

Alexandria: Tilda McCrimmon, Barbara Barnes

Balloch and Haldane: Pamela Scott, Kenny Gibson, Apologies from Lynne Somerville

Bonhill and Dalmonach: No rep, Apologies from Jack Fordy

Bowling and Milton: No rep

Clydebank East: Alistair Conaty

Dumbarton East and Central: Dorothy Heron, Apologies from Jim Crosthwaite

Faifley: No rep

Kilmaronock: Andrew Sinnott (AS) (Forum Secretary)

Linnvale and Drumry: John Hainey, Stuart Gray

Old Kilpatrick: Isobel Plunkett (IP) (Forum Chair), Rena Mackenzie

Parkhall, North Kilbowie & Central: Drummond McNair, Anne MacDougall

Silverton and Overtoun: Rona Wilkinson (RW) (Forum Vice-chair), Linda McCowat, Andrew Muir, Apologies from Rose Harvie

WDC Your Community Team Alan Karas (via Teams)

Rose is retiring from CC duties this year and we as a Forum ought to recognise her contributions to not only SOCC but also the Forum itself and the many other community activities that Rose has championed. IP, RW & AS will action this.

2) Minutes of previous meeting and matters arising

Minutes proposed as accurate by Drummond & seconded by Anne. No matters were raised at, or prior to, the meeting.

3) CC Handbook Review

A sub-team headed by Linda have re-organised the handbook to a more readable format making it easier to reference and have added a page for signatures of community councillors to say they have read and will adopt the contents.

The draft will now be sent to all CC’s for their feedback with the intention to formally ratify it at the CC Forum AGM in June.

The forum thanked Linda for doing the bulk of the work.

4) 50 year anniversary planning update

Anne took the lead on this and has been in contact with the Lord Provost who has in principle agreed to hosting a civic reception with the exact format still to be agreed. Due to the cuts, the budget is necessarily restricted but we all agreed that catering and entertainment is not so important as honouring the long serving community councillors and marking the 50th anniversary of CC’s in Scotland. The event is set for 5pm on 7th September in Clydebank Town Hall.

The newly formed Youth Parliament have been set the task of working out for themselves how youth could participate in the event.

IP has had discussions with Darren at WDCVS towards making a promotional video or presentation including helping with a new logo for the CC Forum. This could be incorporated in other promotional material such as pop-up banners.

IP has also talked to Charlie at Clydesiders magazine about an article. We discussed the idea of having an interview with the youngest member of a CC in WD with the oldest to compare views of being a community councillor.

5) Community Councillors Discussions

Recruitment

We discussed the need for more community councillors and ideally more youth involvement. AK met with Lucy McGovern from Youth Development who reported that through her engagements with young people there was no appetite for them to become members of community councils. We need to work with them to understand what level of engagement young people want to have in local politics, if any. We also need to explain better what the function of CC’s are and do.

Regarding SOCC in particular who do not have enough members to operate, a door to door leaflet campaign is being coordinated by the communities team. It will be up to the current SOCC members to follow up on that however Rona pointed out that they do not have the capacity to do that. We discussed whether schools should be approached directly by CC members but it was thought best to involve youth development workers.

We suggested creating local networks of community bodies for example, School Parent Councils or leaders of other youth groups to meet and see how they can help the CC rather than the CC do all the work themselves.

Young people respond to different types of social media so we should aim to use that to send positive messages about CC work.

Rather than just asking for people to join a CC – show them why it would be a good idea. If the CC has a list of ambitions or projects that are going unfulfilled due to lack of participation then advertise that fact and maybe people would see that as a reason to join up for the benefit of everyone.