ARDENTINNY COMMUNITY COUNCIL MEETING

www.ardentinnycc.co.uk

ARDENTINNY COMMUNITY COUNCIL ORDINARY MEETING

www.ardentinnycc.co.uk

Minutes of the ordinary meeting held on Tuesday 2nd Sept 2025 at the Ardentinny Village Hall at 7.30pm

Present:

Argyll & Bute Councillors: William Sinclair

Ardentinny Community Council members: John Brint (Convener), Brian Hillesdon (Secretary), Keith Wood (Treasurer), Bill Tierney.

Public: Neil Robinson, Dougie Menzies, David McDowall, Helen Rowthorn, Neil Bennett, Sophie Jaquet Bennett, Bill Williamson, Jan Ryan, George Ryan

1. Welcome and introductions

JB thanked everyone for coming.

2. Apologies

Received from Danielle Markey, Susie Robinson, Anne Wood, Elsbeth Brint, Jim & Jeannie Urquhart,

Shonny Paterson (LLTNPA)

3. Declaration of Interest

None.

4. Matters arising not covered on the agenda

Three items were added by the attendees: these are addressed in item 16. AOB

1. Police attendance / report for ACC meetings

2. Low flying jets

3. Suggestion to perform self-monitoring of Loch Long

5. Minutes of last meeting (3 June 2025)

Formally adopted

Proposed: Keith Wood

Seconded: Brian Hillesdon

6. Community Council Team Update

Since our last meeting, Mark and Helen Rowthorn have stepped down from the Community Council. Brian Hillesdon has kindly agreed to step as Secretary. We would like to thank Mark and Helen for their work whilst on the Community Council, it is greatly appreciated. Argyll and Bute Council have been informed of the changes, which were accepted. There remain two available places for residents who may wish to join the CC – if interested people should email the ACC or contact an ACC member.

7. Treasurers Report

The following breakdown of financial activity was presented by the treasurer, KW:

Financial Activity From 1st April 25 to 31st August 25

• Opening balance £2737.95

• Money credited to account:

2 Payments from toilet donations contribution box. £230.00

1 Payment from SSEN Storm payment £500.00

1 Payment from ART toilet contribution £1242.00

2 Payments from A&B Council contributions £731.00

Total money credited £2703.00

• Money debited from the account:

5 payments to Out of Your Hands toilet cleaning -£756.00

1 Payment to McCuaig Hygiene Servs, Sanitary Disposal -£150.00

3 Payments to Stuart Grey for Emergency Team costs -£96.07

5 Payments to Lloyds Bank services charges -£22.33

1 Payment Defib Pads -£172.80

2 Payments to Hostworld web costs -£106.08

1 Payment to Village Hall hire costs -£50.00

Total money debited -£1353.28

• Closing balance on 31st August 25 £4087.67

8. Police Report

No representative or report was received from the police.

9. Councillor's Report

Willaim Sinclair (WS) gave a detailed update, summarised here:

1. Anti-social behaviour at Ardentinny Beach and lack of infrastructure & amenities

WS was briefed by JB regarding a meeting at the beach with FLS and members of ACC and others (full report in item 10 below) to review the problems caused by people camping and campervanning at the beach. WS has since discussed the issue at the highest levels within the Loch Lomond & the Trossachs National Park Authority and also FLS. He asked the meeting if we would like him to continue to push this issue – the meeting agreed we would like WS to do so.

2. Roads

WS said he will continue to influence to ensure potholes are dealt with in a timely manner and asked for our advice on where potholes need attention.

WS said that he personally logs areas of road that need attention and lobbies the Road Dept to improve these once the annual council budgets are released.

Dougie Menzies commented that the Roads Dept could have saved a lot of money if they had purchased rather than renting the traffic lights for the long-term sea wall repairs in Blairmore.

WS stated that the new bridge on the B836 at the top of Loch Striven should be open in the next few months.

3. Wind Farm

Statkraft UK, the developer of the Giants Burn Wind Farm, have submitted their full application for the project in July 2025, after reducing the number and height of the proposed turbines based on community feedback. WS criticised the application in the Dunoon Observer. He encouraged people who object to the proposal to write to the Energy Consents Unit (ECU).

4. Tourist Levy

The consultation regarding the Tourist Levy received over 3,200 responses. These are now being assessed by an independent agency who are due to issue their report on 8 September.

10 Forestry Land Scotland Report

JB presented extracts from the FLS report, as follows:

From Visitor Services: The Birchwood Trail is currently closed due to a large fallen oak tree blocking the trail beside the water storage shed. Fallen trees were cleared from the Carrick Link Trail; however, storm Floris brought some more down – again blocking the trail. These are all on the schedule to be cleared as soon as possible.

The Dunoon Dirt Dash bikepacking event will once again be passing through the village en-route to Carrick Castle on 27 September.

From Civils: There are ongoing road upgrade works at Ardentinny affecting the forest track highlighted in red on the map attached. As part of this, tractors with trailers will be passing through the village to/from Gairletter quarry arriving/leaving Laird’s Grave entrance. The purpose of these works is to prepare the road for harvesting access to clear the windblow caused by storm Eowyn in January.

ACC Meeting at Ardentinny Beach:

A meeting was held at Ardentinny Beach on 19 August 2025 between ACC (attended by JB & KW), two members of the FLS Visitor Management Team, Police Scotland and the LLT National Park. This was in response to the ongoing issues that plague the beach area on busy weekends.

Many of the issues were discussed in detail, including the site capacity, damage to the environment, toilet block health issues, overfilled bins and anti-social behaviour. FLS plan to retain the site as a Stay the Night location for campervans, though clearly the infrastructure is not able to cope with the current volume of visitors.

The National Park rep provided FLS with recommendations to control the number of tents, campervans and visitors which included:

• an improved landscape plan for motorhomes in the current car park near the Commando memorial with individual bays. This would reduce the risk of double rows of motorhomes occurring and blocking up the car park.

• the installation of a barrier at the entry point, which lifts on payment plus a height restriction into the wooded area. These recommendations were noted by the FLS site visitor manager.

To protect the grassy areas, ACC recommended installation of low chain and pole fencing at the bridge over the river and in areas around the current car park.

FLS are concerned that this would make visitors move into the village or to other nearby locations. ACC stated some of these measures should be implemented so that the effect can be monitored.

The Police Officer is aware of the anti-social behaviour that occurs at the beach. He recommended that rather than calling 101 to report issues, it would be to our advantage to use the contact form on the Police Scotland website, as this builds up a record of incidents. The more incidents reported then additional Police Patrols are more likely to be made. It also means you don’t have to hang on the phone for a long time when dialling 101.

So please use this email address - https://www.scotland.police.uk/secureforms/contact/

For ACC the key issues are for FLS to improve the infrastructure, in particular the toilet facilities, and to manage the volume of people and vehicles to match the available infrastructure. In particular, the toilet block needs improvement, perhaps with a mains water connection. Currently on busy weekends when the toilets fail people are using the surrounding forest which is not acceptable.

With the increased footfall at Ardentinny Beach post COVID, there needs to be an increased investment in infrastructure to manage the motorhomes and campers and a consequent increase in FLS ranger and Police patrols.

ACC understand that another FLS department has approached nearby residents and the Bowling club about their interest in a possible mains water connection, as they are considering putting one in for the Toilet Block.

Stay The Night Status – it was noticed that Ardentinny has been removed from the FLS Stay The Night Locations webpage. We contacted FLS who confirmed that it was still a Stay The Night Location, but in an attempt to reduce the numbers they have removed our site from the webpage. We have pointed out that the Ardentinny Beach location appears on several Campervan Apps, so the effect of this move by FLS may be limited.

11. National Park Report

Shonny Paterson who is a board member of the LLT National Park is actively following up what FLS intend to do about the beach issues – see previous item.

The National Park have a futures group committee which will shortly be looking at how climate change is affecting communities: they will be seeking input from communities on how we have been affected by extreme weather events such as landslides, falling trees, flooding, and access to services such as care in the community, etc.

The National Park have publicly expressed their disappointment that the Beinn Reithe Fish Farm appeal has overturned the National Park’s refusal of their planning permission.

12. Ardentinny Community Emergency Team document and equipment feedback

The Emergency team were pleased to receive a £500 goodwill payment from SSEN which we can use to purchase resilience equipment for the village. This was as a result of Storm Eowyn and the length of time it took to get us all back on power (6 days). So, the team reviewed the feedback from residents on what they would like to see purchased, and this has resulted in a plan to buy a 200ltr chest freezer (residents can put one shopping bag in for safekeeping). The freezer will be powered by the generator already purchased by the Emergency Team. A gas heater for the Hall will be purchased, and we will get hold of two 13kg patio gas cylinders, with a first request to residents if they have one to donate. It leaves the Emergency Team with some spare funds to purchase either more items or replenishment of gas cylinders.

13. Update on Ardentinny Residents Survey

i) Local Place Plan, Roads, Church Car Park Toilets - JB

The Local Place Plan is progressing, with the draft text complete - this has been given to Argyll Printers Graphic Design department to develop a draft document. We have received some funding to help us cover the costs.

The maps we intend to use are being made by the Loch Lomond and Trossachs National Park GIS Team for no charge. Once we have a complete draft document our Local place Plan Steering Group will review it, and then we will post it up on the Community Council website for your perusal and comments.

ii) Beach Appearance/Benches/Waste Bins

We are planning another beach clean to be held in October – more details to follow later.

iii) Charge Point/Climate Change

Nothing to report.

iv) Community Council Web Site/Facebook/Instagram

HR confirmed that she is still regularly updating these and asked the meeting if anyone wanted further information adding to let her know.

v) Gourock Ferry Meeting

BH gave an update to the meeting:

1. The body of community councils pushing for the ferry upgrades is now a registered entity called the Cowal Gourock Transport Link group (CGTL).

2. CGTL is now fully registered in its own right on the UK Governments tendering system, and on the Scottish Public Contracts tendering system under the umbrella of the Dunoon Community Development Trust

3. It is the Dunoon Community Development Trust who would handle the sub leasing of Dunoon Harbour once the Community Asset transfer is completed, assuming of course its approved

4. CGTL have drafted and submitted to the Gov web site a request for Expressions of Interest from interested ferry operators. We are hoping that this will attract interest from existing ferry companies who may want to pick up the route. The EoI will be followed in the next 12 months by a request for tender.

5. In parallel, CGTL have been in discussion with A&B Council Harbours department about our plans. The Head of Harbours Dept agreed to provide further information on the Dunoon linkspan. He also agreed to allow a commercial operator to use the linkspan at discounted rates if the linkspan remains in ABC ownership.

6. The start of the asset transfer process for the linkspan will commence once we have some confidence that operators are genuinely interested – we do not want to end up with ownership of the berth if we cannot get an operator.

7. As this is now moving to a procurement stage much will be confidential moving forward.

vi) MOD update.

BH gave an update:

1. The recent press coverage about the liquid leakage containing tritium into Loch Long in 2019 was of personal interest to the residents of Ardentinny. The MoD and SEPA confirm that the spillage was well within allowable limits of radioactive discharge.

2. Nevertheless, there was local concern and alarm that the spillage was not communicated until several years after then event.

3. ACC have not contacted MoD or SEPA for further information – leaving that to the big press companies and pressure groups.

4. The 2025 Clyde Local Liaison Committee (CLLC) meeting for 2025 is planned for Sept 23. BH undertook to ask about the delayed release of information regarding the leakage. We will issue our notes from the meeting thereafter.

14. Beinn Reithe Fish Farm proposal and update

On 26 August, the Scottish Government approved the Loch Long Salmon’s semi-closed containment fish farm (with conditions). This overturns the LLT National Park’s previous refusal for planning permission. The DPEA (Division of Planning and Environmental Appeals) Reporter had also recommended refusal of the project.

This goes against our wishes as a local community and leaves us in a potentially vulnerable situation if MOWI decide to rethink seeking planning permission for their fish farm at the old Dawnfresh site just south of Ardentinny. If one company can get it in the National Park, then it does risk opening the door for others to try. We will continue to monitor the situation, and work with AFF The Clyde and other likeminded organisations, to maintain our opposition to a fish farm at Ardentinny (as per our resident’s original steer).

We will write a letter to the National Park asking them how all concerned can monitor that the Loch Long Salmon Company is complying by the conditions of the permission.

15. Updates from groups

The various Ardentinny village groups have got together to organise a get together in the Village Hall from 5.30 to 7.00 on 16 September (before the ACT meeting) to showcase the various groups roles in the village and it is hoped this will bring new volunteers which all groups are struggling to find.

i) Ardentinny Renewables Trust (ART)

DM reported that the ART has received some good income recently and that they have paid out around £10K in funding. The trust still has £47,909 available for improvements to the village. Applications for funding are welcomed.

ii) Ardentinny Hall Management Team

HR provided an update:

• On 8 September work will begin to revise the kitchen which will be divided into a smaller kitchen and an office/meeting room. The hall may have to be shut for short periods during this work – relevant groups will be informed if this is necessary.

• Upgrades to the heating controls are to be installed for better control – as previously minuted.

• 2 de-stratification fans have been installed fixed to the ceiling – these are being trialled to see if they improve the warm air circulation in the hall.

• The Hall Management Team are still looking for new members including a new treasurer.

iii) Ardentinny Community Trust (ACT)

The ACT AGM will be held 7pm on 16 Sept in the Village Hall. New Trustees will be elected.

The Ardentinny Walled Garden is a sub-group of ACT. They are holding their Harvest Fair in the Walled Garden at 12 to 4pm on 21 Sept.

iv) Ardentinny Conservation and Heritage Group

No report.

15. AOB

1. Police attendance / report for ACC meetings

BW noted that the lack of attendance or submission of a report is disrespectful to the Community Council. ACC agreed and will continue to request suitable response from the police for future meetings.

2. Low flying jets

It was asked if we could have prior warning of low flying jets. BH noted that the MOD do issue notification of where and when flying may occur.

Post meeting note – the following links are relevant in this respect:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/military-low-flying-mod-sponsored-air-exercises

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/operational-low-flying-training-timetable

3. Suggestion to perform self-monitoring of Loch Long

BW asked if it may be appropriate for the ACC to perform its own independent monitoring of the water quality in Loch Long. It was generally agreed that SEPA are the best people for such monitoring and would cover both radiological and chemical analysis. NRPB also monitor the MoD for radiological aspects. It was agreed ACC will contact Argyll & Bute Council Environmental Health for their advice too.

Date of next meetings:

Tuesday 2nd December 2025, 7.30 pm

Tuesday 3rd March 2026, 7.30 pm

Attachment 1: map showing the location of the forest track currently being worked on by FLS to prepare for tree harvesting