Issue - meetings

(i)       to note and approve the Updated Strategic Business Case (USBC) for the External Transportation Links to the Aberdeen South Harbour project, as per Appendix 1;

(ii)       to instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth in his remit as Chair of the Programming Board to submit the USBC to the UK and Scottish Governments to draw down £1.2m from the £25m allocated to this project from the Aberdeen City Region Deal;

(iii)      to approve the £1.2m for project manager resource and the costs outlined to complete the design work;

(iv)      that subject to approval by the UK and Scottish Governments, instruct the Chief Officer - Capital to progress the next stages of project delivery, including but not limited to, surveys and investigations, design development, obtaining all necessary approvals, permissions, licences, agreements and consents required to develop the design and an Outline Business Case for the project and to report back to this Committee and the City Region Deal Joint Committee upon completion in 2024, and to provide an update if not completed by that time; and

(v)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Capital to investigate all possible measures to expedite the delivery of the harbour link road and update members of the Committee accordingly.

With reference to article 17 of the minute of meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which sought approval of an Updated Strategic Business Case for the External Transportation Links to the Aberdeen South Harbour project.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note and approve the Updated Strategic Business Case (USBC) for the External Transportation Links to the Aberdeen South Harbour project, as per Appendix 1;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth in his remit as Chair of the Programming Board to submit the USBC to the UK and Scottish Governments to draw down £1.2m from the £25m allocated to this project from the Aberdeen City Region Deal;

(c)      approve the £1.2m for project manager resource and the costs outlined to complete the design work; and

(d)      subject to approval by the UK and Scottish Governments, instruct the Chief Officer - Capital to progress the next stages of project delivery, including but not limited to, surveys and investigations, design development, obtaining all necessary approvals, permissions, licences, agreements and consents required to develop the design and an Outline Business Case for the project and to report back to this Committee and the City Region Deal Joint Committee upon completion in 2024, and to provide an update if not completed by that time.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Grant, moved:-

           that the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

Councillor Allard, seconded by Councillor Nicoll, moved as an amendment:-

           that the Committee:-

(1)        approve the recommendations contained within the report;

(2)        note the progress by Aberdeen Harbour Board in delivering the Aberdeen South Harbour;

(3)        note the potential difference between completion of the Aberdeen South Harbour and the completion of the proposed access route;

(4)        instruct the Chief Officer – Capital  to submit a report to the City Growth and Resources Committee on the movement of traffic through the localities of Torry and Cove, in an effort to ensure that these communities will not be adversely impacted by large vehicles such as coaches and HGVs, by means of introducing weight, width or other restrictions as officers deem necessary; and

(5)        instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth  to explore funding sources, such as the City Region Deal funding and Transport Scotland, to cover the traffic management costs which may be entailed by any recommendations in the report referred to in (d) above.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (5) – the Convener, the Vice Convener and Councillors Boulton, Grant and Lumsden MSP; for the amendment (4) – Councillors Allard, Cooke, Nicoll and Yuill.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to adopt the motion; and

(ii)       to instruct the Chief Officer – Capital to investigate all possible measures to expedite the delivery of the harbour link road and update members of the Committee accordingly.