October 2013 Meeting
News that Anstruther and Cellardyke had been awarded a silver gilt award from the Beautiful Fife judges was well received at the October meeting of the CRA in Cellardyke Town Hall on Tuesday 1st October. The CRA have contributed to this through its tubs and planters throughout Cellardyke and its “flagship” floral boat, The Dyker Lass, in Pickford Crescent. Plans are afoot to plant bulbs for next spring. On a less positive note, the meeting heard that garden and building waste was being added in places to seaborne rubbish on the foreshore at Cellardyke . A draft of the latest CRA newsletter was tabled, and this would be distributed soon to all houses in Cellardyke. It was agreed to support the Community Council’s efforts to provide a defibrillator for Cellardyke, and the meeting agreed again to purchase wreaths for Remembrance Day. It was noted that the CRA wreath had survived a year’s weather at the Kilrenny War Memorial. Plans for the 2014 Cellardyke Burns Supper on February 1st were almost complete.
CRA representatives on the Silverdykes Liaison Committee reported back from its recent meeting that ornamental art features had been approved for the new development, in the form of four stone capstan plinths, each of which would be engraved with a fishing or agricultural motif. Following consultation with young people in the area, a skateboard park had been identified as a leisure priority for some of the section 75 funding to be made available by Muir Homes, and a suitable site for this was being explored prior to further public consultation. It was suggested for the next liaison meeting that the developers might consider a map of street names at the entrance to the development.
Meetings of the CRA are held on the first Tuesday of every month, at 7.15pm in Cellardyke Lower Town Hall. The next meeting, to which everyone with an interest in Cellardyke is invited, is on Tuesday 5th November.
November 2013 Meeting.
At the November 5th meeting of the CRA, it was agreed that the CRA would support the Community Council’s initiative to provide two defibrillators for Cellardyke by sponsoring their maintenance to the tune of £100 per year, through First Responders. Once one or both are in place, the CRA will offer to host a training event in Cellardyke Town Hall. As in previous years, it was decided that a residents’ wreath would be laid on Remembrance Sunday at the Kilrenny memorial by Allan McLelland BEM, our old soldier of the Black Watch, and at the Anstruther War Memorial, where veteran Ronnie Wilson would lay a wreath as part of the ceremony there on 11th November. With public money available in 2014 for the upkeep of memorials, the CRA had sought advice on the condition of the Kilrenny memorial. Following inspection, it was agreed that it was in generally good condition, but that the names of the fallen had been badly eroded by decades of salty winds, and it was agreed to ask that Fife Council consider the possibility of redefining the inscriptions, and painting the railings as required.
The meeting was concerned to hear that there is a threat to the No 95 bus service. There is a suggestion that Fife Council are to (imminently) review subsidised bus services, with the likelihood that this service will be reduced, in particular in the evenings and at weekends. It was suggested that anyone with an interest in maintaining the frequency of this service, should write to Fife Council (Transportation) emphasising the importance of maintaining (or improving) this service.
From the Silverdykes Liaison Committee, it was reported that details and locations of proposed artworks - ornamental features in the form of engraved stone capstans - had been circulated. Muir homes would be asked to consider placing a location street map at the entrance to the site at the next SLC meeting. From the CRA Floral team, a plan for the planting of daffodil bulbs on Shore Wynd using money granted by Fife Council was considered. Although members would volunteer to help, it was thought that professional assistance should be called upon given the scale of the work, the prevailing weather and the demographic profile of the membership. There was a willingness from Waid Academy for pupils to be involved in this community work, and this initiative was warmly welcomed.
The latest CRA newsletter had been distributed to every address in Cellardyke, and CRA volunteers were thanked for distributing the newsletter. The date of the next meeting will be Tuesday, 3rd December in Cellardyke Town Hall (Lower) starting at 7.15pm, after which seasonal food and drink will be served. The next big event will be the annual Cellardyke Burns Supper on Saturday February 1st, in Cellardyke Town Hall, with tickets priced at £17.50 to go on sale in the New Year.
December 2013 Meeting.
Cellardyke residents can look forward to new displays of daffodils on Windmill Road and in the Shore Wynd area, thanks to a bulb planting effort by a CRA team with local support, including a small group of students from the Waid Academy under the supervision of teacher Ken Brown. Next year’s floral effort in Cellardyke will be led again by Kate Shearer, Furthermore, given that no-one had volunteered to take over her work in the community as a whole, it was likely that she would also continue to work across Cellardyke and Anstruther in this regard. To help pay for this, Secretary Catherine Wilson had applied successfully for a Fife council Floral Grant, an amount of £402 having been awarded.
Following concern that the names on the Kilrenny War Memorial in Cellardyke were fading, it had been found that re-engraving the names might not be feasible. One eventual solution to avoid the names being lost to posterity would be to transfer them to plates fixed to the memorial. Anyone seeking information about the fallen named on the Anstruther and Cellardyke memorials is best directed to by Kevin Dunion’s; “The Democracy of War”, which follows up all their individual stories. This can now be accessed via the CRA website, or through the Burgh Collection website, www.anstrutherburghcollection.org The meeting was still of the opinion that the opportunity should be taken to access money which was available in connection with the upcoming 100 year anniversary of the start of WW1, to carry out some renovation/improvements to the memorial and its environs. It was suggested that refurbishment of the steps leading up to the memorial might be a possibility.
From the Silverdykes Liaison Committee, it was reported that NHS Fife had responded to the request regarding the possibility of siting a skateboard park in the Health Centre area, but the valuation they had put on their land rendered the possibility of leasing impossible. The area near Cellardyke bathing pool was now to be reconsidered. Three of the four stone capstans artworks designed by Helen Allan would be in place by Spring 2014. Following representation, Muir Homes were considering adding ‘leading to’ certain streets on appropriate street name signs to help newcomers find their way around the new development. With payment of the first part of the commuted sum of £400,000 to offset limited leisure areas in Silverdykes, approaching, there had been no further developments regarding Muir Homes wish to have the commuted sum reduced or abandoned altogether. Muir Homes anticipated that they would shortly be in a position to have some of the road network adopted, and the path from East Forth Street reopened. Fife Council was looking to install ‘traffic calming’ within the development and on Windmill Road. Councillor Riches had asked Muir Homes to instruct their selling agents to inform purchasers that planning permission was required for any extensions.
Some other items in brief:
The erection of a wind turbine at Cornceres Farm was still ‘pending consideration’.
The change of use from open space to garden ground and erection of wall at the corner of Crail Road and Windmill Road, had been approved with conditions.
95 Bus Service: Chairman Dorothea Cargill Thompson had written on a personal basis following concern the service was to be reduced, and had received a reply stating that a survey exercise for the public was to be undertaken after the route tendering process had been completed and analysed. Questionnaires were (allegedly) to be available at Leven and St Andrews bus stations, but there was little sign of these. Stop Press!: Further to the bus survey, Go Flexi and Taxibuses can be found at www.fifedirect.org.uk/bussurvey until 12th January. Anyone without internet access can phone 01592 583223 and ask for a form.
Bus Shelters at top of Windmill Road: Catherine had written to Cllr Riches, and had received acknowledgement that the request had been forwarded to Transportation for consideration.
Treasurer Allan Mclelland had reported a working capital of £2293.35 at the end of October (£8.51 cash and £2284.84 in the bank).
It had been confirmed that the two defibrillators were to be be sited in Cellardyke, one at the Town Hall and the other at the Health Centre. A letter of thanks had been received from East Neuk First Responders for the CRA’s offer of sponsorship. A training session would be arranged when the installation was complete. (Follow-up note: the first defibrillator was placed outside the Health Centre in later December.)
The team planning historical information boards for Cellardyke would meet in the New Year with the aim of taking this forward.
Burns Supper Chairman Glenn Jones reported that all speakers and entertainment for the Burns Supper on 1st February were now arranged, apart from a speaker for the Address to the Haggis. Donations for raffle were required.
The meeting closed with the enjoyment of festive fare provided by those present.