Issue - meetings

(i)       to note the Policy Panel’s third annual report;

(ii)       to approve the proposed officer responses to each recommendation as detailed in paragraph 3.6 (Table 1) of the report;

(iii)      to note the success of the City Centre Masterplan adopted in 2015 which has delivered significant public projects for citizens and continues to deliver projects already agreed within the Masterplan;

(iv)       to agree to review the Masterplan and instructs the Director of Resources and the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to develop a specification for a review of the Masterplan to incorporate appropriate surrounding areas, including the area known as the beach, in consultation with the Co-Leaders and the Convener of the Capital Programme Committee reporting back to the committee on 11^th May 2021; and

(v)        to note and welcome the U-turn by the Scottish Government in respect of Freeports. Notes the strategic role of local government in the governance of potential implementation of the UK Government’s Freeport model proposals. Instructs the Chief Officer - City Growth to work with the UK Government, the devolved Scottish Government, Aberdeen Harbour Board and all other stakeholders on a feasibility study of a city region Freeport and to report back to the 11^th May 2021 committee on the results of the study.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of meeting of 5 December 2019, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – City Growth which outlined the main findings of the third annual report by the Economic Policy Panel, an independent panel formed to advise on the city region’s economic performance in order to support the annual credit reassessment by Moody’s Investment Services of the Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the Policy Panel’s third annual report; and

(b)      approve the proposed officer responses to each recommendation as detailed in paragraph 3.6 (Table 1).

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations contained within the report;

(ii)       to note the success of the City Centre Masterplan adopted in 2015 which has delivered significant public projects for citizens and continues to deliver projects already agreed within the Masterplan;

(iii)       to agree to review the Masterplan and instructs the Director of Resources and the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to develop a specification for a review of the Masterplan to incorporate appropriate surrounding areas, including the area known as the beach, in consultation with the Co-Leaders and the Convener of the Capital Programme Committee reporting back to the committee on 11^th May 2021; and

(iv)       to note and welcome the U-turn by the Scottish Government in respect of Freeports. Note the strategic role of local government in the governance of potential implementation of the UK Government’s Freeport model proposals. Instructs the Chief Officer - City Growth to work with the UK Government, the devolved Scottish Government, Aberdeen Harbour Board and all other stakeholders on a feasibility study of a city region Freeport and to report back to the 11^th May 2021 committee on the results of the study.