This event will once again be happening in Strathdearn Village Hall on Friday 2 December 7 pm – 8.30pm
Come along to look at model nativity scenes from around the world and share some refreshments.
Entry £2 for adults & 50p for children with the proceeds going to Maggie’s Highland and Action for M.E.
Organised once more by Michelle Bryden.
Please come along and enjoy.
Month: November 2016 (Page 1 of 2)
Missing from Moy – small black neutered male cat ‘Esky’. Last seen on Thursday 24th November. All black except for a small white star on his chest. Only other distinguishing feature is a kink in his tail. Microchipped. Much loved and speedy return hoped for. Any sightings or information gratefully received.
Charlotte and Nick. Moy Mains Farm charlottegunner@gmail.com
07517453543
Please see the letter below to all Moy residents. Moy residents are strongly encouraged to register for a Better Broadband voucher. The aim is to get as many properties as possible to sign up to help minimise the cost of this project for the community. It is important that even non-internet users register so our community can save the maximum amount of money. The vouchers have to be applied for as part of a scheme rather than on an individual basis.
Dear Moy residents,
After overwhelming support for Option 2: BT Openreach solution, SCD are now collecting the information for the Better Broadband voucher scheme.
Each household may be entitled to a £350 government funded voucher, which will be used towards the BT Openreach solution in Moy.
If you would like to register your details, and reduce the costs of improving broadband in Moy, please could one member of each household email Victoria at scdassist@hotmail.com with the following details:
1st name and surname, address (with postcode) and email address.
The information will be passed to BT and they will register it, and then pass this on to the government (this information will not be given to any other party).
Registration for the voucher is an important part of the project, so please could I ask any Moy resident to pass this information on to others, and I will try to contact as many residents as possible.
Please do not hesitate to contact me for any further information.
Many thanks,
Victoria Scdc
If you have a prescription and have trouble getting your medication. Milton of Leys Pharmacy have a box in the shop where you can post your prescription.
Prescriptions will be collected from the shop on a Monday & Thursday and then delivered the following Monday or Thursday after you post.
At a vote after the Cadispa report on Monday 14th November, Moy residents voted almost unanimously for Option 2 which is the BT Openreach option. In addition, there were 3-4 who could not make the meeting who also voted for option 2.
Option 2 – BT Openreach:
Strathdearn Community Developments has also been in touch with BT Openreach directly. The Openreach proposal would be to install 3 new Fibre cabinets subject to survey and planning agreement, one at Dalmagarry (delivering to properties estimated speeds between 1.6-60.2mbps) and 2 cabinets in Moy (24.7 –80.0mbps and 27.8 –42.6mbps).
The Openreach gap funded option will cost around £100K to implement. Although each property can claim up to £350 Better broadband vouchers. If we get every property to register, we could claim up to £17K off the total. Realistically it is likely that the total cost will be around £85K (£15K of vouchers). Openreach will own the network fully, therefore being future proofed and will continue to repair and maintain thereafter as they do today. This will take up to 1 year to implement as this will also have to go through planning and design process. There is no obligation on anyone to take fibre when it is in the village, but we anticipate a significant majority would want to access the benefits available from this opportunity.
The vote was organised by James Macpherson on behalf of Strathdearn Community Developments. James immediately contacted Robert Thorburn of BT Openreach to request that he begin implementing the scheme.
Moy residents are strongly encouraged to register for a Better Broadband voucher. The aim is to get as many properties as possible to sign up to help minimise the cost of this project for the community. It is important that even non-internet users register so our community can save the maximum amount of money. The vouchers have to be applied for as part of a scheme rather than on an individual basis. Victoria Cameron-Mackintosh of SCD is awaiting a call from a representative of the Better Broadband scheme who will tell us how and when to apply. She will then contact all Moy residents to assist them in registering for the vouchers.
Thanks are due to James for the tremendous effort he has put in to bring this about.
At a vote after the Cadispa report on Monday 14th November, Moy residents voted almost unanimously for Option 2 which is the BT Openreach option. In addition, there were 3-4 who could not make the meeting who also voted for option 2.
Option 2 – BT Openreach:
Strathdearn Community Developments has also been in touch with BT Openreach directly. The Openreach proposal would be to install 3 new Fibre cabinets subject to survey and planning agreement, one at Dalmagarry (delivering to properties estimated speeds between 1.6-60.2mbps) and 2 cabinets in Moy (24.7 –80.0mbps and 27.8 –42.6mbps).
Many thanks to those who have completed the shop survey. For those who have not done so we would really appreciate a few moments of your time to fill in https://www.smartsurvey.co.uk/s/1BI7Q/ , it’s just a few questions and really won’t take long. There are paper copies in the shop if you would prefer.
Its great to see so many positive and constructive comments coming in about the shop particularly about the staff – which comes as no surprise, but we also want to hear from those who don’t use the shop and find out the reasons why, to see if we can make changes and get more people through the door.
Many thanks
Our shop is the hub of our community! It isn’t just somewhere to spend money – the benefits are much further reaching, it can help loneliness and isolation, particularly for those living alone or without a car. One of the things we hear time and time again is how lovely and friendly the shop staff are, a smile or a friendly word can completely change someone’s day. It is a vital commodity in our small community along with the environmental and health benefits – less car use and more walking.
This is your shop – please continue to support it.
Thanks to those who came along to the site visit this morning – unfortunately most of the Cllrs who came today were not for interacting with the community, unlike those on the September visit.
I’m afraid the substation was approved by 19 votes to 4 with one abstention. Not a good result. No cognisance was given to the community’s objection and all the issues raised by objectors were brushed aside.
It’s disappointing to find so few are concerned about protection of the heritage and culture of the strath – but then the majority had never been here before and probably won’t be here again.
Much was made by the planning officer and SSE of the wonderful screening the trees will provide. Unfortunately SSE has no control over the commercial woodland and it is likely to be felled at any time.
Visuals showing the powerlines carrying the 275kV line over the hill to the substation confirm the impact the monster pylons will have (up to 55.5m high).
Looking for some positives – at least this ugly complex will not be right beside the Garbole Bridge and construction traffic will come in via the Farr wind farm haul road. (Operational traffic will use the Glen road.)
SSE’s response to the criticism of its poor environmental survey and failure to identify over 40 protected species found at site 5 by our ecologist, had the cheek to say they would use Dr Jones’s report to inform their future survey work. Maybe they would like to contribute to his fee!
One Cllr. said SSE and locals should form a Community Liaison Group so that the community could have some influence on what happens. For what it’s worth this has been added as a condition of planning approval.
It’s all very disappointing – another beautiful, peaceful place in the Highlands despoiled by an industrial development. It was a done deal today – SSE desperate to get approval in order to start work and be up and running by 2018 and Highland Council not wanting to fight another appeal if the application was refused. Sadly, it appears democracy is dead in the water at present.
Thanks to everyone who has helped fight this development over the last three years. Time now for me to take a break.
Regards
Pat
Development Officers report February 2017
Paths Project:
The SCD board is reviewing the cost of the additional requirements demanded by the roads department to meet the conditions of planning. The cost revision has been carried out by McGowan’s. The decision to proceed with the project will be put to the company members at the forthcoming EGM scheduled for Spring 17
Big Lottery Visit:
A full strategic plan is now being worked upon by the board to meet the deadline for the lottery fund. Big lottery managers have given permission for the Board to publish progress on the application on the website and social media sites to keep the community informed. The application is time consuming and detailed. The Admin team along with the board members are working on this now.
Broadband:
Lead director James Macpherson has carried out a comprehensive dialogue with various broadband bodies in an effort to improve the broadband service in the remoter parts of the Strathdearn area. Various options and schemes have been discussed and are currently under consideration. The two areas currently under discussion and previously reported, are the village of Moy and surrounding area as well as the upper reaches of the Glen. The board are still in analysis of the data and options and this is very much a work in progress. Several meetings and board minutes reflect the on -going nature of this project. The contract to supply Superfast broadband to the Moy residents has been signed and the work is due for completion by December 2017. Moy residents are encouraged to sign up for the Scottish Government subsidy voucher to reduce the overall cost of the project.
Tomatin Village shop:
The Village shop has had an encouraging Christmas sales period and Lee Anne and her staff are now looking towards Valentine’s day and Easter offerings. Chocolate is on display at very competitive prices. It is important to note that a break-in to the village shop was reported just before Christmas which has resulted in an insurance claim of £1600 to White river trading insurers. The board are now actively considering close circuit recording cameras for the premises. Review of the shop offering is being looked at with the product offering looking to expand.
Development Company Website:
Lead director Steve Cormack in association with Yellow Cherry marketing has now posted a new website. It is well worth a look as several new features have been added. The website now features an on line booking system for the hall and the sports centre. It is now possible to book and pay for Hall and sports centre bookings through the website. Anyone still wishing to pay by cheque or cash, can do so by paying at the village shop. The changes are to reflect the anticipated New Hall build so we are prepared well in advance.
Old Village hall/ Millenium hall:
A trail pit has been dug to ascertain certain measurements at the bridge. The small excavation was carried out early in the New Year. The results of the trail pit have been submitted to roads department at the Highland council planning department. The board are delighted to report that the conditions for planning have now been met and a VERBAL response has been received that the new Hall/ Hub planning application has been successful. The board hope to have the written planning permission from Planning department very shortly. This is excellent news for the community and triggers the completion of the Big Lottery application, referred to earlier in this report.
New Hall Manager:
Patricia Norton is taking over the position of Hall manager as of January 17. Patricia is part of the SCD admin team and her hours are fully funded by the Scottish government grant received last year. SCD board would like to thank Lee Anne Cornwall for her work on the Hall management and for her help and advice to Patricia during the hand over. The grant received has been extended to June 2017 with the hope that SCD will receive the grant for another financial year to March 31st 2018. Discussions on the continued grant support are on -going with DTAS. When concluded, the results will be published. Patricia is in the process of putting the hall records into a digital format for ease of access on line.
Articles of Association SCD Ltd
An amendment to the company’s articles of association has been approved by the board to incorporate the addition of the Moy sub- committee. The articles include the addition of the Moy wind farm community benefits through ENECO’s wind farm. The amended articles have met with ENECO’s legal acceptance and SCD’s solicitors are checking the legal validity with OSCAR. SCD’s solicitors are happy that the article changes are acceptable. Please note that the legal bill for this work and amendments to the articles and terms and conditions, is being paid for by ENECO. It is hoped that when the legal paperwork is complete, the board will hold an EGM to pass the amendments after which the monies from the wind farm at Moy will be received.
The next SCD Board meeting is February 23rd 2017 7.30pm at the Millenium hall.
