Residents state their case in yellow lines dispute
A DELEGATION of residents from Alexander Street, Dunoon attended the Bute and Cowal Area Committee meeting at the Queen’s Hall on Tuesday to officially voice their concerns over the double yellow lines that have been painted, illegally they say, in their street.
At the very start of the meeting the Chairman, Councillor Brian Chennell, outlined the fact that the matter was not up for discussion; the councillors were merely affording the group the chance to air their views in the form of a verbal presentation.
Eliot Peterson was the chosen speaker for the disgruntled residents. He began his presentation by highlighting why they feel the whole matter has been handled illegally right from the onset when notices were put through the doors of those living in the street, asking them to shift their vehicles or risk them being removed by the police. This, along with the “Police - No Waiting” cones, was the first indication that the traffic management system was to be changed.
The notices were, said Mr Peterson, threatening and had legal ramifications, as the removal of vehicles is outwith the jurisdiction of the police. Given that the matter is a civil one, only the council would have the power to uplift vehicles.
Mr Peterson went on to say that after contacting council offices, they were told that the yellow lines had been painted as the road is on a bus route. This response was bemusing, he outlined, as the part of the street between John Street and Hill Street has never been a bus route.
On asking for further clarification they were shown a street map and told that notices had been put on lamp-posts and adverts had been placed in the local press. Mr Peterson’s argument against this was that the procedure had not been followed properly as insufficient notices had been placed on adjoining streets and there had been no Written Statement of Reasoning, which is required by law, provided to the residents or Councillor McKinven, who is backing the residents in their campaign.
The terminology used in the notices also failed to comply with regulations according to Mr Peterson. The words ‘Various Streets, Dunoon’ was what was quoted on the adverts and notices. However the actual name of the streets involved must be mentioned. Vague responses from the Roads Department further added fuel to the fire when they apparently said they could put ‘Timbuktu’ on the notices if they so wished.
The increasingly exasperated residents then asked the council to see copies of the detailed Engineer Survey which should have outlined evidence of congestion, complaints from the emergency services, and the proportion of parking areas against the number of vehicles, amongst other things. They however, had to request this information under the Freedom of Information Act, and when they ultimately received it, it mostly showed only internal council memos. At this point, after a residents’ meeting was held, with Councillor McKinven and Alan Reid MP in attendance, it was decided that the only course of action left was to seek legal guidance.
The issue which probably arouses the most passion over the whole affair is the residents claim that that the changes have diminished road safety. A number of houses in the street have young children and many of them have no option other than to cross the road, in between tightly parked cars, to get home.
Safety of children, however, is not the only problem. Residents now find themselves jostling for spaces when trying to park. Speeding has become more obvious now that the available road has widened and anyone attempting to manoeuvre out of their driveway has to tread very carefully, edging out bit by bit.
A senior Roads Department official accepted, at a Traffic Order Hearing in June, that parking on both sides of a street actually reduced speed. West Coast Motors also confirmed that they have had no major problems along Alexander Street. The only occasional problem has been when buses turning on to John Street are hampered by cars parked too close to the corner.
The statement mentions numerous other, more hazardous, streets where there are no double yellow lines, although Councillor Chennell pointed out that there would be lines painted in one of those mentioned, Kirn Brae, in the not-so-distant future.
Mr Peterson pointed out that the Head of Roads Department, Alan Lothian, also admitted that there were no specific recorded complaints or problems with council vehicles on Alexander Street, that are not common on almost every street in Argyll.
Before thanking the council for giving him the opportunity to put their views across, Mr Peterson concluded by saying that the residents of Alexander Street welcome any sensible, safe traffic management scheme which allows sighting at corners and junctions, reduction in traffic speed, pedestrians being able to cross safely from both sides of the street, and for vehicles to be able to exit driveways without danger.
He also added that the matter is in the hands of their lawyers who are awaiting developments, but pointed out that should the council fail to see their point of view the bad public relations exercise will no doubt be remembered in May, when the forthcoming elections are taking place.
George Banks, who sat alongside Mr Peterson, added that poor communication and customer services were very obvious when trying to deal with the council over this situation. He had met with them on two occasions and nothing whatsoever had been resolved. In fact, the Timbuktu comment had incensed him.
Councillor Chennell thanked the two speakers before ending proceedings by reiterating that the matter was not up for debate. He did confirm, however, that the presentation would definitely be passed to the council’s legal department although, having previously spoken to them they had already commented that they were satisfied that everything had been done properly.
Speaking afterwards Mr Peterson, said: “The street is nowhere near as safe as it used to be. I have two youngsters who, with kids being kids, don’t always look before running out between parked cars. I now have to edge out of my driveway with three-quarters of bonnet out on the road before I can see if anything is coming. There is also a lot more speeding on the street now. These double yellow lines just don’t make sense. All we are doing is asking the council to look at the situation rationally and come up with an amicable solution.”


MS sufferers denied drug
MORE than 1,000 multiple sclerosis sufferers are to be denied a new treatment because the Scottish Medicines Consortium (SMC) has concluded the treatment is not cost-effective.
The drug, Tysbari, is the first new treatment to be developed for over a decade for the treatment of MS, which affects more than 10,000 people in Scotland.
The drug is being prescribed across the border, but the SMC has come out against it. Tysbari is effective against relapsing remitting forms of the disease, where the illness keeps coming and going.
However the SMC, which was set up six years ago to address the issue of ‘postcode’ prescriptions - where prescriptions could be obtained in one area, but not another - has decided that the drug is too expensive at £14,000 per course of treatment, as opposed to £8,000 for existing treatments which critics claim are less effective.
Mr Bill Cassidy, chairman of the local MS Society, said: “I can certainly express our ‘bitter disappointment’ in the position taken by the SMC on economic grounds only.
“I thought we were meant to operating a social model of care, not just an economic one. The likelihood of local health boards overriding the recommendation of the SMC is very slim indeed, but we can always hope they will have the courage.”
He said that it was unbelievable that, in the worst country for incidence of MS, that medication that might help people to effectively manage this potentially devastating condition would be denied.
“Statements like the ‘poor man of Europe’ ‘come to mind,” he said.
“The well-used phrase ‘prevention is better than cure’ is highly relevant, while at present no cure exists, prevention of relapses has to be better than managing the unpredictable situation that may result post relapse.”
He claimed that the decision made by the SMC appeared to take little account of the total care and support needs that could arise should a person’s condition worsen post relapse.
He concluded by saying that the matter was not closed. “MSPs are being lobbied by our Edinburgh Office to elicit their support - how effective this will be only time will tell.”

Dunoon Community Council - the year in retrospect
DUNOON Community Council over the past year has responded to numerous consultation documents from wind farms to transport, from Scottish Water to NHS consultations.
We have representation on Wheels of Change, Access Panel, Community Care Forum, Highland Health VOICES Network, Public Partnership Forum, Pier Pressure Group and the Dunoon-Gourock Ferry Group.
Members have also attended the Annual General Meetings of health boards, Inverclyde Community Care Forum and the Association of Argyll and Bute Community Councils.
We work very hard for the good of the community and although we are not seen or heard going about our business we work alongside our councillors and Strathclyde Police assisting in combatting the vandalism that takes place.
This year along with the Community Police Officer, Dunoon and Kirn Primary Schools we held a competition for the best anti-vandalism poster and the prizewinners were presented with book tokens.
In August the town was judged for Beautiful Scotland’s Better Neighbourhood awards and due to the participation of a few shopkeepers in Argyll Street and the work being carried out at Valrose Terrace and Cowal Place and the assistance of local gardeners, Dunoon Community Council was awarded a Certificate of Improvement. This was quite a surprise as nearly every one of the projects was vandalised, even the night before the judge arrived we were replacing or re-planting. We hope to do better next year as we have a few ideas in the pipeline.
We have given donations to Fathoms to defray the cost of a decompression chamber, to Cowal Community Events for their Christmas Extravaganza and to the Fair Trade Committee for a road sign stating that Dunoon is a Fair Trade Town.
The ongoing saga of the Dunoon-Gourock ferry service was well discussed at our public meeting last month when the public told the platform party what they wanted, that being a non-restricted ferry service in competition to that being provided by Western Ferries.
This was well emphasised by our treasurer, Mr J. C. Smith, when he reminded those MSPs and the MP and MEP that no boats could result in no votes in the 2007 elections.
We again this year awarded prizes for the best Christmas Lights and Garden Decorations and they were won by Mr F. Rae, Mr G. Fletcher and Mrs I. MacIntyre.
We finished the year by welcoming in the New Year at the Jubilee Lamp at the bottom of the Ferry Brae and start 2007 by welcoming the first baby (Dunoon’s First Foot). Due to the number of babies being born in Paisley or Glasgow we have decided to award the gift to the baby born to parents resident in the remit of Dunoon Community Council and that is the area between James Street, Hunter’s Quay and the lane at Tornadee in the West Bay.
Finally we wish everybody in the community a Happy New Year.


A touch of déjà vu?
THE former chief executive of the Cowal Enterprise Trust was angered this week over a consultant’s report commissioned to look at the future of Dunoon.
The substance of the new report, funded by Argyll and Bute Council, Argyll and the Islands Enterprise, and the National Park Authority, was largely covered in last week’s Observer. Its contents are to provide the starting point for a ‘business dinner’ next week, where it is hoped a course of action to regenerate Dunoon as a tourist destination will emerge.
However, Ian McRae, who was a director the Cowal Enterprise Trust, which was formed by local businesses in the wake of the departure of the US Navy from the Holy Loch, to revitalise Dunoon as a tourism destintation, claims that the consultant’s report contains much that was said in a report that he produced five years ago.
“I was furious when I read it,” he said. “They have paid out cash for information which was already in the public domain. I know, because I wrote the original report.
“This is like an action replay. Back in June 2001 we went through exactly the same process. A seminar was held in the Queen’s Hall under the aegis of the Cowal Initiative, and attended by a number of organisations and individuals with an interest in developing Cowal as a tourism destination and exploiting the town’s proximity as a ‘gateway’ to the National Park.
“There was a huge range of representation at that meeting,” said Mr McRae. “ There were four Argyll and Bute Councillors. representation from AIE, HIE, Scottish Natural Heritage, Forest Enterprise,the Tourist Board, Cowal Enterprise Trust, the Business Association, the Marketing Group, Western Ferries, and Benmore Gardens.
“There was great enthusiasm for the creation of a Tourism and Environment Management Programme (TMP). A whole range of issues was discussed, and it was clear that the area would have greatly benefited from such a programme.
“I was tasked with setting up a TMP report for the area, and it was agreed by all around the table that this would be done.
“It was also agreed that this would have to be funded and AIE and the council promised to do this, but no funding ever materialised, and the whole thing fell by the wayside.”
“The report was completed after much consultation with all these agencies and was representative of the consensus which existed; the headings for an achievable - and I stress the word ‘achievable’ - way forward were agreed.
“A range of issues was clearly identified as important. covering key elements and including an enhanced range of visitor activities. These included the concept of sailing into Dunoon as the gateway to the National Park, developing the identity of the town, creating a ‘gateway centre’ with virtual reality interpretation in a relocated tourist information centre. Other aspects covered included outdoor activities such as walking, ‘soft’ climbing and cycling, heritage, archaeological and historic features.
He concluded: “It seems to me that we’re right back where we were five years ago; I’m certainly concerned that a new report has been commissioned - no doubt at no small cost to the public purse - much of which could easily have been lifted from the original report, and which says little that is new.”