MINUTES OF THE MEETING HELD ON 5TH SEPTEMBER  2019 IN THOMAS HERD HOUSE, WARD ROAD, DUNDEE.

 

 

PRESENT:  Carole Craig, Erik Cramb, Anne Farrow, Lillian Malcolm, Sandy Cameron, Denise Cameron, Dorothy Wilson, John Mitchell, Lynda Sawers, Michael Leeland.

APOLOGIES:  Jan Goodall, Denis Bethell, Bill Varney, Alison Rae.

 

1.     MINUTES OF PREVIOUS MEETING:

 

The minutes of the meeting held on 6th June 2019 were approved.

 

 

2.       MATTERS ARISING:

 

2.1.          (Re minute 2.1). Walking and Cycling pathways in Broughty Ferry.   Caley McDowall reported that she had received word from DCC last week that they have had their funding approved by Sustrans to progress to the next stage of the project, which is the detailed design work and there is an inception meeting next week.

 

2.2.          (Re minute 2.3). AccessAble guide to Dundee Station.  This has now been updated.

 

2.3.          (Re minute 2.4).  Parking on Perth Road. John Berry has replied saying that they expect a car to be parked at least 10m from a junction.  Any less and they will inhibit sight lines and may get a PCN issued. In respect of disabled spaces along the Perth Road, this would have to be taken forward by John O’Neill but due to camber of the road any bays that were created would need to be on the north side of Perth Road. Dorothy said that she would speak to John O’Neill about the need for other disabled spaces.

 

2.4.          (Re minute 2.5).  Perth Road Places for People. Carol went to a day of talks about the plans for Perth Road and work is in progress.

 

2.5.          (Re minute 2.6).  Parking at the V&A. We have not heard more from Joanna Mawdsley. Anne will write to her.

 

2.6.          (Re minute 4.3). The door at the Post Office in Perth Road. Lynda will talk to the shop owners about the problem.

 

 

 

3         OTHER AGENDA ITEMS:

 

3.1            Treasurer’s Report.  Sandy provided us with the independent examiner’s approval of the accounts he had prepared. He also suggested that we give a donation of £250 to Dundee Blind and Partially Sighted Society (which we could claim back from Disability Equality Scotland) and to Shopmobility. It was agreed by the Group that we should do this.

 

 

4         CORRESPONDENCE:

 

By email

 

4.1             ALLIANCE weekly Bulletins.

 

4.2            Inclusion Scotland E-Bulletins.

 

4.3            Dundee Third Sector Interface Newsletters.

 

4.4            On 6/6/19 from Anne Farrow sending info re Disabled Motoring’s Baywatch survey.

 

4.5            On 11/6/19 from John Berry sending a response to the letter we sent him about Disabled Parking on Perth Road.

 

4.6            On24/6/19 from Dorothy Wilson sending link to AccessAble’s Guide to Dundee Station.

 

On 8/7/19 Andrew Marshall Roberts, Scotrail, commented that it was good to see the level of detail that was provided.

 

4.7            On 26/6/19 from Douglas Adams, Transport Accessibility and Road Safety Team, sending their Accessible Travel Annual Delivery Plan 2019/20.

 

4.8            On 26/6/19 from DES sending info re a new national public health body in Scotland, to be known as ‘Public Health Scotland’.

 

4.9            On 28/6/19 from DES sending their Disability Equality News - Issue 19.

 

4.10        On 2/7/19 from Douglas Adams, Transport Accessibility and Road Safety Team, sending their Mobility and Access Committee for Scotland (MACS) Annual Report.

 

4.11        On 2/7/19 from Carole Anderson with info re a fraud where drivers are targeted with fake fines.

 

4.12        On 3/7/19 from CILPK sending info re Edinburgh Fringe Disabled Access Day.

 

4.13        On 7/7/19 from secretary of Friends of Clatto Reservoir saying they had some concerns about the standard of the recently refurbished disabled toilet and requesting info about Dundee Council’s duty to provide these facilities.

 

This resulted in Carole meeting at the toilet with a representative from both Dundee Council and Friends of Clatto. Carole highlighted many problems which needed to be addressed. They were noted by both the representatives.

 

4.14        On 16/7/19 from CI LPK sending info re a transport meeting they were holding with Scotrail, Scottish Government and Stagecoach on 24th June. This had a follow-up survey.

 

4.15        On 19/7/19 from DES sending a Tactile Paving Survey issued by the government.

 

4.16        On 22/7/19 from DES sending details of the insurance cover they provide for our Access Group.

 

4.17        On 30/7/19 from Carole Anderson, Age Scotland, sending details of an app to help Alzheimer Scotland Purple Alert and Neighbourhood Watch Scotland Working Together.

 

4.18        On 31/7/19 from Jacobs who have been commissioned by Dundee Council to do a Dundee Taxi Study 2019.

 

Erik and Anne both completed an online survey.

 

4.19        On 31/7/19 from Euan’s Guide sending their August Update.

 

4.20        On 16/8/19 from Transport Scotland sending Scotland's Accessible Travel Framework Delivery Plan for 2019-20.

 

4.21        On 23/8/19 from Transport Scotland sending a consultation on the draft National Transport Strategy.

 

4.22        On 28/8/18 a notification of next meeting of Disability & Age Action Group and a request for more people to join.

 

4.23        On 29/8/19 from Alison Rae, DBPSS, asking if DAG has done an audit of sandwich board signage outside commercial premises and asking if we have information or views about them.

 

A few members of the group said that sandwich boards on pavements had been banned by Dundee Council, however it was difficult to police. If wheelchair users or people with sight problems find any particular area difficult to negotiate because of sandwich boards, they should report it to Dundee Council.

 

4.24        On 29/8/19 from DVA sending info re The Ferry Timebank.

 

 

 

5         A.O.B.

 

        5.1     Jan sent an apology for not being able to attend today’s meeting and sent the following information. Community Cars now have mainstream funding and have a waiting list of over 50 people. Even after pruning, the list seems to have built up again to about the same level. The Out and About trips (organised by Dundee Community Transport with vehicle, fuel and driver supplied by Dundee Council) are proving very popular. The Transport Forum, which was convened by City Council Officers, seems to have faded out, probably because staff who have left have not been replaced.

        

       5.2      Albacom are seeking planning consent to extend their premises by adding another floor to an existing building and have been asked by Dundee Council to discuss their plans with us.  Carole visited the factory and gave her advice.  She was asked whether she thought it was necessary to include a lift between the floors. We discussed the necessity of such a lift and thought that we would prefer them to include a basic one if possible.

 

       5.3     Carole said that she recently had been on a power trike outing organised by Rediscover Dundee and would strongly recommend others to try it. https://www.volunteerdundee.org.uk/our-work/re-discover-dundee/.

 

      5.4      Erik had gone to Dundee House to renew his blue badge recently and was told it now had to be done on-line. When doing it on-line he was asked to scan things in, which not everyone knows how to do. He has now brought the difficulty some older people may have doing essential tasks to the attention of the Pensioners Forum and encourages everyone who does find difficulty to be sure to ask for help which is available.

 

     5.5     Lynda had recently been staying in the Hampton Hilton in Dundee and had filled in forms when she arrived to detail the help she would need should there be a fire. She was most upset when later during her stay there was a fire alarm and nobody came to her room to offer her help.  She later received a letter of apology from the manager.

 

 

6     DATE OF NEXT MEETING.

 

The date of the next meeting is at 12.45 on Thursday 3rd October 2019 in Thomas Herd House, 10 - 12 Ward Road, Dundee, DD1 1LX.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

web: www.dundeeaccessgroup.co.uk           e-mail: dundeeaccessgroup.org@hotmail.co.uk