Extraordinary General Meeting 30 January 2010 in the Victoria Halls

Chairman’s Report

The Chairman, Lawrie Dewar, welcomed 58 members and confirmed that the meeting was quorate. He introduced the Board members who were present and noted those Board and ordinary members who had given their apologies.

Lawrie informed the meeting that Bryan Grieve and Sandy MacKay had stood down from the Board since the last AGM and thanked them for their sterling contribution to the DDT and to the town. He was pleased that Mr MacKay was continuing to work with the Dunblane in Bloom group and paid tribute to the volunteers’ superb floral displays and other gardening achievements. He thanked the Midweek group for their hard work on infrastructure refurbishment, not least at the Braeport, and he thanked Bill Stewart and his assistants for managing the Braeport Centre so successfully.

The Board’s activities since the September 2009 AGM were briefly described and a note of optimism was sounded with regards to the future. Thanks to the Scottish Government’s grant of £1.2m from the Town Centre Regeneration Fund, construction on the High Street gap site would begin shortly, managed by Malcolm Dougall and the Board of DDT (Projects) Ltd, a new subsidiary company wholly owned by the DDT. Discussions were under way with Stirling Council about the purchase of the Braeport Centre. A retail capacity study for Dunblane was to be undertaken by Stirling University . Three Working Groups would be set up to take forward initiatives in the areas of Environment, Development, and Community Facilities, and volunteers would be sought for these groups. The DDT’s website would be redesigned. It was intended that Board meetings would be open to members in future, and minutes would be posted on the new website. The Board had also spent a significant amount of time clarifying the DDT’s relationship with Kippendavie Group Trust, and discussing the way forward.

Revised Working Agreement with Kippendavie Group Trust (KGT)

The main purpose of this EGM was to consider a recommendation from the Board, following on from the September 2009 AGM where the matter of the working agreement with the KGT was remitted back to the Board for further consideration.

Morag Watson outlined the history of the relationship between KGT and the DDT and explained the relevance of the papers which had been circulated. She explained that the KGT had purchased the High Street gap site in May. 2009 for £104K with an option for the DDT to purchase the site from them for the same amount within a two year period, subject to conditions. A 5 year interest free loan of up to £33,500 had also been offered to the Development Trust by the KGT in late 2008. This offer was taken up by the Development Trust in order to match fund other grant offers from Forth Valley Lomond Leader and the Big Lottery Fund. The loan agreement stated that if an application to develop KGT land to the northeast of Dunblane was successful, then the DDT would not have to repay the loan. The wider DDT membership was never informed of the conditions of this agreement. In June 2009 a letter of agreement, signed on behalf of the DDT Board, was sent to the KGT. This letter agreed that the DDT would work with KGT “to promote an expansion of Dunblane with a view to achieving statutory consents through the Local Development Plan process for a sustainable residential development to the east and northeast of the existing urban area”. The DDT membership was not consulted before this commitment was made.

When the new Board (elected at the AGM in September 2009) debated the September 2008 agreement, they resolved to attempt to restore the DDT’s stance to one of neutrality and impartiality in the context of the Local Development Plan consultation. They considered it was imperative that the financial incentive for DDT’s support for KGT’s development plans should be removed from the agreements. The Board appreciated KGT’s philanthropic intentions in generously providing the opportunity for the DDT to purchase the High Street gap site and the means to carry out the professional preliminary work required. They recognised that there was a moral obligation for the DDT not to renege on the agreements, and therefore entered into a series of discussions with representatives of KGT in order to find an acceptable way forward for both parties. This resulted in an amended agreement between DDT and KGT being drafted, and this was the document which was recommended to the EGM for approval.

A lively discussion ensued with contributions from a wide cross section of those present; at the end of which the following motion was proposed and seconded :

This meeting supports the amended agreement between DDT and KGT as presented, subject to two further amendments:-  

• The time limit of the agreement covers the period related to the preparation and finalisation of the Local Development Plan.
• The agreement does not establish the principle that the community of Dunblane is in favour of it.

By a show of hands, including proxy votes, the motion was carried by 87 votes in favour to one against, with two abstentions. There was consensus that if KGT did not agree to the two amendments, the amended agreement as presented was approved by the EGM. Appreciation of the Board’s efforts was endorsed by a round of applause.

Working Groups

Steve Mason introduced the Working Groups, explaining that they were intended to cover all aspects of the Community Plan. Each group would have delegated decision-making responsibility and the authority to establish its membership and operating principles. Members were invited to take part in preliminary discussions after the EGM. They were also invited to view the plans for the gap site building.

Vote of Thanks to the Chairman

Lawrie Dewar announced that he was standing down as Chairman with immediate effect, having chaired the Board since the September 2009 AGM . A successor would be elected at the next Board meeting on 15 th February 2010 . A vote of thanks was called for from the floor and there was warm applause for Lawrie in recognition of his hard work on the DDT’s behalf during a difficult period. He advised the meeting that he would continue to serve as a member of the DDT Board, as well as the Board of DDT (Projects) Ltd.

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