Due to Covid 19 restrictions, under the direction of The Highland Council, it has not proved possible to hold an open Community Council meeting since February.  This does not mean that everything has ground to a halt.  Your CC Councillors are in regular contact by Email and phone and are in receipt of updates on many matters.  This Newsletter is to inform the residents of Carrbridge and to keep them up to date with current matters.

Covid 19

In mid-March CCC were alerted by THC that they should prepare measures to ensure resiliency in the face of the Corona virus threat.  A small group was set up with assistance from VABS, in particular Mairi Brown. Andrew Kirk, Ruth Walker & Alison Murray worked to recruit and organise an army of volunteers, over 50 in number, to facilitate the following – leaflet distribution, call handling, prescription uplift, shopping collection, medical visits etc. The whole village is most grateful for the efforts of everyone involved in the Covid 19 Resiliency Team.

Sincere thanks also to Kireen and Spar staff for everything they have done for the village during this difficult time and to David for maintaining the Post Office service. Thanks also to the Carters for adapting their Friday Fish and Chips service and to Kate’s Carrbridge Kitchen for providing takeaways and for all Dougie has done at the Garage.

Golden Spurtle

The decision was taken in early May to cancel the planned event, due to take place on Saturday 10 October.   It is anticipated that a smaller “virtual” event will take place, further details of which will be given nearer the date.

Carve Carrbridge

Regrettably, but understandably, this event planned for September 5th was also cancelled in May, as the uncertainty prevailing and the required lead-in time made the organisation of this major village fundraiser impossible. The possibility of something virtual is being investigated.

Dalnahaitnach Reinstatement

Further to CCC liaising with Seafield Estate they carried out repairs to the river bank and parking area at this spot, popular with locals and tourists alike. The Highland Council repaired the damage to the road.

Cairngorms Capercaillie Project

The Research stage is now complete and the project has been granted funding to allow it to move to the Implementation stage.

Now that the Strategy and relevant information has been distributed to all households, we would urge all residents to reply to the survey and give their opinions via the web address or FREEPOST to the address given.

Woodland Decorations

Concern had been expressed by a few local residents after a number of plastic butterflies, ladybirds and painted stones appeared along walks in Ellan & Glencharnoch Woods. Similar activity has also occurred in other Strath communities. The Woodland Trust were advised and after consideration agreed that while they would prefer there not to be plastic items in the woods, as they were of a temporary nature, at a time of lockdown they could remain for the time being. It was welcome they felt that children and families were using the woods.

Carr Road/Bull’s Field Houses

On 18th May the Reporter gave provisional permission for the building of 47 houses on this contentious development, to which, Carrbridge Community Council had objected due to the scale of this development and the inadequacy of Carr Road to accommodate the additional traffic. This ruling was made subject to 15 planning conditions and the adherence to and application of these will be very closely monitored by councillors.

Struan Hotel

The sorry saga continues and the state of the building deteriorates weekly. We have been assured that moves are afoot to resolve the situation, but at this time no evidence has been seen by the Community Council to back up the information given that Compulsory Purchase has been initiated.

A9 Dualling – NMU Route

CCC, as did Boat and Aviemore CCs, THC and CNPA, opposed the A9 Dualling programme as it did not contain a dedicated Non Motorised Users (NMU) route between Carrbridge and Aviemore as was shown to be a high priority in various surveys and a long held aspiration. After negotiations in early March, agreement was reached between CNPA and Transport Scotland that TS, THC and CNPA would endeavour to complete planning and land acquisition to enable the construction of a dedicated NMU at the same time as the A9 Dalraddy to Slochd Dualling project. With the reassurances contained in this agreement, CCC formally withdrew their objection to the non-provision of the route on 27th April. The CC has a very close working relationship with TS and we have been generally supportive of the dualling project apart from the lack of a dedicated NMU. We were instrumental in influencing the design of Blackmount junction from a large high interchange to a less complicated lower one.

Flower Bed Planting

We were advised by Bill Lobban that there was a supply of bedding plants at the Bught Gardens. Due to Covid these were not able to be planted out by THC but were available for uplift by communities. Andrew Kirk arranged the uplift from Inverness and the subsequent planting done by Andrew McInnes and two others. Thanks to CBA for funding the expense incurred. Beds were dug over and planted in Ellanwood Road and at the Car Park.

Speeding – Restrictive Measures

We still await any sign of the promised 3,2,1 markings on Grantown road inbound, the refreshing of the 30MPH and other road markings as promised last year.

Ellan Bridge

This bridge was built in 1992 replacing an earlier structure. In 2014 the CC were informed that an annual inspection of the bridge was required with a major inspection carried out one every 6 years. The 2014 major inspection resulted in around £13k of expenditure with the CNPA paying £3.5k and CBA/CC the balance. Annual inspections are done on a voluntary basis by local resident and Civil Engineer John Walker for which we are very grateful, however, the 6 year one has to be more formal. We are currently progressing this. Although we are not anticipating major repairs this time the cost for the inspection will be around £1000. The CNPA were approached and have agreed to fund this.

 

Andrew Kirk841873George Dyer841314
Charlie Miller841456Alice Buttress841247
Robert McInnes841260Martyn O’Reilly841270