Freuchie Flood Action Group

Freuchie Community Council

Meeting 7.30 pm Wednesday 12^th May 2010

Lumsden Memorial Hall

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Membership

3. Minutes of AGM and meeting of 14^th April

4. Fife Council Matters – Councillors/Locality Manager

5. Treasurer’s Report

6. Planning (to be advised at meeting)

1. New Applications None to date
2. Applications dealt with None to date

7. Correspondence (to be advised at meeting)

Matters for decision/action

Matters for noting

8. Other Business

— Multi-use Games Area update

— Flooding in Freuchie update.

— Footpath from Green Tree Brae to Dykeside update

9. Date and time of the next meeting will be at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 9^th June 2010 in the Lumsden Memorial Hall

Technorati Tags: flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Green Tree Brae

For those of you following the proposed affordable homes development in the field to the east of Millburn Place, an important document from Scottish Water has been added that raises a number of new concerns. We will be highlighting these at next week’s community council meeting, but for everyone’s benefit let’s take a look at each of those in turn here:

1. Lack of Knowledge on Flood Risk

Should we become aware of any issues such as flooding, low pressure, etc the Developer will require to fund works to mitigate the effect of the development on existing customers.

Scottish Water can now be added, along with SEPA, as an organisation that does not know about the previous flooding issues with this site and the flood risk ever present. FFAG will be sharing our evidence of flooding with Scottish Water.

2. Water Network

Water Network – Our initial investigations have highlighted there may be a requirement for the Developer to carry out works on the local network to ensure there is no loss of service to existing
customers. The Developer should discuss the implications directly with Scottish Water.

What works may be required to maintain service to the existing and proposed homes?

3. Sewage Works

Freuchie Wastewater Treatment Works – at present there is limited capacity to serve this new demand. The Developer should discuss their development directly with Scottish Water.

Wastewater Network – Our initial investigations have highlighted there may be a requirement for the Developer to carry out works on the local network to ensure there is no loss of service to existing customers. The Developer should discuss the implications directly with Scottish Water.

Does this mean we could be at risk of sewer flooding or discharge of untreated waste into the Pittilock Burn if additional investment isn’t forthcoming to the local treatment works?

4. Surface Water Drainage

A totally separate drainage system will be required with the surface water discharging to a suitable outlet. Scottish Water requires a sustainable urban drainage system (SUDS) as detailed in Sewers for Scotland 2 if the system is to be considered for adoption.

There is a definite requirement to better understand how surface runoff is currently handled at this location. The lack of capacity to handle existing levels of runoff and land drainage that is passed onto the infrastructure at Freuchie Mill is already well documented and makes the adjacent drainage ditch an unsuitable location to dump surface water drainage. There is no other suitable outlet in our opinion.

It is also worth pointing out that SUDS is not a flood prevention measure.

5. Existing Infrastructure

It is possible this proposed development may involve building over or obstruct access to existing Scottish Water infrastructure. On receipt of an application Scottish Water will provide advice that will require to be implemented by the developer to protect our existing apparatus.

What possible infrastructure and what are the implication of the development upon these current assets?

It is heartening to see such a professional evaluation on the possible impact of the development on Scottish Water assets and the effect it may have on existing residents.

Technorati Tags: flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Freuchie Mill, Kingdom Housing, Millburn Place, Scottish Water, surface drainage, SUDS, waste water

Following on from the community council public meeting last week, at which time a large turn out of people expressed their concerns and objections to the Broomfield Place development, we now have the direct link to the planning application on the Fife Council website. 

Now is the time for individual residents to comment upon this application and to express approval, disapproval or a neutral standpoint. Concerned residents should express their comments either online or alternatively in writing to the Planning Department. Freuchie residents have already started to place their comments onto the website and we would encourage more Freuchie residents to post their thoughts onto the planning application.

Both Freuchie Community Council and Freuchie Flood Action Group will be making representations to the authorities on this application in due course.

Technorati Tags: Broomfield Place, Fife Council, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group

A little reminder about the public meeting, organised by Freuchie Community Council, to discuss the Broomfield Place housing development by Lomond Homes on behalf of Kingdom Housing. It is tonight!

More details in our earlier post.

Technorati Tags: Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Kingdom Housing, Lomond Homes

During tonight’s Freuchie Community Council meeting the issue of the Lomond Homes development for affordable housing to be owned and operated by Kingdom Housing at Broomfield Place was mentioned. The developer has now submitted plans which has some concern for FFAG, the most glaring of which is the developers haven’t been able to get a response from SEPA about the flooding risk in this area. We will be discussing this further with both Lomond Homes and Kingdom Housing to ensure the best outcome for the village and to minimise the flood risk for existing members of the community as well as the new homes.

The community council would like to further consult with the community about this development and have pencilled in the evening of the 24th March 2010 for a public meeting. It will start at 7:30pm in the Lumsden Memorial Hall.

Technorati Tags: FFAG, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Kingdom Housing, Lomond Homes, SEPA

Freuchie Community Council

Meeting 7.30 pm Wednesday 10th March 2010

Lumsden Memorial Hall

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Membership Resignations of J Kenyon and Marilyn Brown

3. Minutes of meeting of 10th February

4. Fife Council Matters – Councillors/Locality Manager

5. Presentations by the youth of Freuchie at 8pm

6. Treasurer’s Report

7. Planning (to be advised at meeting)
— New Applications None to date
— Applications dealt with None to date

8. Correspondence (to be advised at meeting)
— Matters for decision/action
— Matters for noting

9. Other Business
— Multi-use Games Area update
— Flooding in Freuchie update
— Footpath from Green Tree Brae to Dykeside update
    (Technical meeting on Thursday in Cupar)

10. Date of the AGM and next meeting will be at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 14th April 2010 in the Lumsden Memorial Hall.

Technorati Tags: Fife Council, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council

Meeting 7.30 pm Wednesday 10^th February 2010

Lumsden Memorial Hall

AGENDA

1. Welcome and Apologies

2. Minutes of meeting of 13^th January

3. Fife Council Matters – Councillors/Locality Manager

4. Treasurer’s Report

5. Planning (to be updated at meeting)

1. New Applications None to date
2. Applications dealt with None to date

6. Correspondence (to be advised at meeting)

Matters for decision/action

Matters for noting

7. Other Business

— Multi-use Games Area update

— Flooding in Freuchie update.

— Footpath from Green Tree Brae to Dykeside update

— Invitation of village youth to March meeting

8. Date of next meeting will be at 7.30 pm on Wednesday 10^th March 2010 in the Lumsden Memorial Hall

Technorati Tags: Fife Council, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council

During the Community Emergency Planning meeting this week,  the community was joined by representatives from Fife Fire & Rescue Service. We cannot stress enough how much value there was in having Tom Fox (Glenrothes Station Manager) and Neil McFarlane (Deputy Chief Fire Officer) come along to the meeting.

Tom delivered an enlightening and informative presentation, during which he covered everything from emergency planning and procedures, operation capacity, health and safety, equipment available to fight back flood waters and many other areas. It is amazing how much information he supplied in only 15 minutes. 

During the Q&A segment, Neil commented:

We (Fire Service personnel) will put our lives on the line to save your life! It is what we sign up to do.

This was certainly a wow moment! The general public know the emergency services routinely go into dangerous situations, but it doesn’t fully strike home the dedication and sense of duty these brave men and women have in the delivery of public service until you’ve heard it from their lips.

It was incredibly sad to see the death of PC Bill Barker in Cumbria while he was serving the local community. His wife’s words reported on the BBC website illustrate his dedication to serve the public. Freuchie Flood Action Group would like to express our immense admiration for PC Barker’s bravery and heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and work colleagues.

Now back to Neil McFarlane for more insightful words:

In times of flood, we must comply with the Health and Safety at Work Act. We have to work safely and minimise the risk to ourselves and the general public. Property owners do not have the same constraints and may well perform actions that we would not be able to do.

Residents must recognise the emergency services are working within the confines of the law of the land. They have the appropriate Personal Protective Equipment (PPE), the training and have over many years devised safe procedures and systems of work for all the emergency situations they experience. When emergency service personnel instruct residents to perform a certain action it is being done by professionals who assess and deal with life threatening risk every day. Do not ignore these instructions and recommendations or you may end up making the ultimate sacrifice!

FFAG would like to thank both Neil McFarlane and Tom Fox for accepting our invitation to last week’s meeting and Freuchie Community Council for providing the timeslot during the meeting. The information they shared with the community was very enlightening and useful. The whole community looks forward to working more with the outstanding professionals from Fife Fire & Rescue Service in the future, although we do hope it is proactive rather than reactive fire fighting… or maybe that should be flood fighting!

Technorati Tags: Cumbria, Fife, Fife Fire & Rescue Service, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group, Health and Safety at Work Act, Neil McFarlane, Tom Fox

At last week’s Community Council meeting, it was agreed to organise a community led emergency planning meeting with a view to looking at how flooding can be responded to by the citizens of Freuchie. This is an extension of an idea put forward recently by Freuchie Flood Action Group.

Freuchie Community Council will be hosting a public meeting this week to start to identify and plan for an improved community response to the current flood risk and future flooding events.

The details of the meeting are:

Venue: Lumsden Memorial Hall

Date & Time: 7pm on Thu 19th Nov

All flood affected and at risk residents are especially welcome, along with Freuchie citizens who would be willing to offer assistance in times of flood emergency. This is very much a meeting of what we can and will be doing in the future and how YOU can help to prevent future flood devastation.

Technorati Tags: emergency planning, flood, flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council, Freuchie Flood Action Group

A quick reminder for all those people affected or at risk from the recent flooding events throughout the village; the next Freuchie Community Council meeting is tomorrow (Wed) evening and is open for everyone to attend. Normal community council business begins at 7:30pm. We’re expecting to have quite a chat surrounding the events of the 1st November.

Technorati Tags: flooding, Freuchie, Freuchie Community Council