Abernyte Community Interest Company AGM 2023 Minutes
7th February 2024
Abernyte Church
Theme: Community Resilience in a Changing Climate
Election of Directors
Gerard Mcgoldrick will stand down.
Mark Petrie and Esther Mcgoldrick have been elected as new directors.
Minutes from previous AGM
Minutes from previous AGM approved.
Chair’s report
In 2023 we held quite a few community events. Early in the year there was the Millennium Walk tidy up which saw excellent turnout from around thirty members of the community. The picnic bench (and a lot of our clothes) got painted, we cleared a lot of growth to improve the views, and tea and cakes were enjoyed by all who took part.
Abernyte in Bloom competition had sixteen participants on the theme of “Reuse and Recycle” and was won by Trish Neville.
Abernyte Festival was held on 2nd September and had fine weather. The grass had been cut the previous day and everyone joined in to rake it into piles. We had a DJ, raffles, kids games, pet parade, and stalls and were able to donate £680 to Togs for Tots, a Dundee based charity.
The community walk took place on a glorious day in May and was attended by only a few souls who trekked to the top of Kings Seat for lunch.
Ron Neville organised defib training in the school which had an excellent turnout. The community wishes to thank John Shabashow for donating the electricity to run the defibrillator and also for his regular maintenance of the defibrillator.
This year also saw the introduction of the sharing shed where you can pick up and drop off cakes and books.
Jonny Early reported that the £240 of bulbs funded by CIC have been planted at various locations “around the globe” and village and will be seen from Spring onwards.
Treasurer’s report
see attached
Community Assets Update
Millenium walk gate has disappeared. Ian Duncan has kindly offered to make a replacement and it was agreed that the CIC will reimburse him.
Other community assets are stored at various locations around the village in sheds.
Community Initiative Updates
AHOC Review 2023/24
- Past average saving 6.7p/litre £162 per household
- Currently 90 members
- 10 new members over the past 12 months
- 200,000 litres 2024/23 up from 165,000 202+ litre pa
- Johnston Oils 2 year contract comes to an end Sept 2024. Contract goes out to tender this summer.
- Email circulation becoming more of issue due to Google and BT SPAM system - moving to the GDPI approved bulk mailer Brevo.
- Cost of annual software subscription £60 due Feb 24.
- £230 payment from the Oil supplier in 2022 for AHOC running costs held by ACIC.
- £50 carried forward by ACIC for software annual licence subscriptions £60 due in Feb 2024.
- Oil supplier to be asked to pay for software by factoring in the annual fee into the discount given to members.
- After the meeting, Henry McSorley from Ballairdie kindly offered to help with the service when I, Stephen Hole, am absent.
Abernyte News
- 157 messages posted over the past 12 months.
- Email service 201 registered 90 – 160 regular openers.
- Facebook 652 followers - 68% women 32% men, mostly under 65 years.
Roads
BCCG doesn’t represent ACIC but has been actively involved and seeks to work and share information with ACIC and other community groups in the area. It is essential to ensure broad cohesive community agreement.
CTLR (Cross Tay Link Road)
As part of planning, PKC is committed to traffic mitigation measures.
- Council will consult the residents before the road opens.
- A meeting with the school parent council is/has been agreed.
- Traffic planners have agreed to a site meeting.
- Freedom of information has been submitted by BCCG to obtain traffic forecasts and the findings from the last traffic flow monitoring.
- Blue unsuitable for HGV/LGV signage has been offered.
- Traffic slowing ramps are a possibility.
- Slow down road markings.
Safe spaces for people 20mph in settlement
- Vehicle-activated speed signage sign has been installed opposite the Steading.
- A permanent 20 mph zone has been confirmed.
- Count down areas will be created entering the 20mph zones.
- Sign rationalisation is planned.
- Speed cop cut out has been acquired by Mark Petrie and Angus Forbes.
- Councillors Angus Forbes and Alastair Bailey are actively involved and supportive, and there have been meetings with BCCG and the community council all of whom seem supportive.
Tree Planting (Ron)
Thank you to all who paint, maintain, and contribute to the sharing shed.
The plantings at Guardswell and Wren’s, and Essie’s woods are all thriving. Another planting may be held in Autumn 2024.
We are keen to develop habitat linking, so if anyone is out walking and gets an idea or speaks to a landowner, please let Ron know and we may be able to develop it.
Abernyte Archive (Gordon)
Update for www.abernyte.org and ada-abernyte.org (Gordon)
This update covers the whole of 2023
As in previous years the community website has continued as a popular, small
community site.
The usage of website has declined but continues to attract a solid number of visitors.
We see around 1800 new or unique per month. This reflects the general move to
social media across the internet and is likely to continue. The Digital Archive
continues to receive many visitors per year, most of whom are seeking information
for family trees. The depth and range of enquiries it receives from around the world
never ceases to surprise.
During 2023 much time was taken in behind the scenes software updates and
upgrades all of which have been completed successfully. The triennially purchased
hosting package is due for renewal on 1st June 2024 and at around £214 represents
excellent value for the service we receive. I anticipate a small increase in this figure
nearer the renewal time.
The top three countries accessing the Website are:
1. UK
2. USA
3. France (boosted by the Twinning Association visit from Fléac in 2023)
The top three countries accessing the Digital Archive are:
1. UK
2. Australia
3. Canada
Time was also taken in ensuring that the mailing package that we use for
News@Abernyte operates correctly. ISP’s in general are clamping down on spam
mail and those subscribers using BT or its affiliates for internet mail may miss some
emails from us. This is out with our control.
I am grateful to the Community Interest Company committee for their continuing
support and encouragement in keeping the website and Archive running.
As always, should anyone wish a feature or information included in the website
please contact Gordon on 01828 686677 or email me at
Plans and Aspirations
Flooding and storm damage
The changing climate and weather patterns have resulted in flooding, droughts, tree damage, and power outages from storms. The local burns, drains, and culverts unable to cope with the increased amount of water. This has an impact on the community. What preventative action can we take as a community and how can we make ourselves
more resilient with there are issues. The CIC believes that resolution will come from both landowners and council working together with the community.
Alasdair Bailey informed us that it will be possible to create a community resilience group in collaboration with Perth and Kinross Council to support us addressing issues when they arise.
Old and damaged trees can be assessed by PKC - we are encouraged to report these.
Agreed we would take the following actions:
Discuss flooding at Balbegie road junction with the landowner to understand what action is being taken to address this. Write to landowner if no progress made
Map drains and community members clear blocked drains where safe to do so.
Work with Alasdair Bailey to Create Community Resilience group
Mary Young Lecture
Marianne White volunteered to organise the lecture this year.
Millennium Walk Cleanup and Picnic
This will be held early May, Ian and Mary volunteered to organise
Community Walk
Neil Gray and Jonny Early volunteered to organise the community walk this year.
Festival
A meeting of the festival organising committee will be arranged for April, and the festival held early September. Maggie’s Centre Dundee will be the charity we donate to this year.
AOCB
School Furniture
This is very small and not suitable for community events. There are tables and chairs the community can use stored in various locations around the village. Ideally we could have suitable furniture and a storage location close to where the furniture is used. Agreed that Ian and Mary would discuss options with the Headteacher for access to the community storage shed.
Church Building
Abernyte Church building will close in the coming years and there may be options for the community to rent or buy the property. It is a grade B listed building in general good repair but with relatively high heat costs. Work would be required to make it suitable to be used as a community venue. Anyone with ideas for how the building could be used by the community should raise them with CIC directors.