Agenda and minutes

Prior to considering the matters before the Committee, the Committee resolved, in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting for article 31 only, so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in paragraph 9 of Schedule 7(A) to the Act.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 9 November, 2010. 

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as an accurate record.

The Committee had before it a statement of pending and outstanding Committee Business, which had been prepared by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         in relation to item 8 (Flood risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009, to note that a report on this matter would be submitted to the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee at its meeting on 15 March, 2011, and that the Head of Asset Management and Operations would endeavour to receive as much information as possible from the Scottish Government prior to this date, to ensure that a comprehensive report could be considered;

(ii)        to delete item 14 (Pan Grampian Radio Network – Tender for the Replacement of the Two Way Radio System) and 19 (Roads and Transport Related Additional £2.5 million Capital Budget Programme);

(iii)       to delete items 5 (Strategic Transportation Projects), 7 (Access from the North), 13 (Complimentary uses of Existing and Future Park and Ride/Choose Sites),  17 (AGCC), 18 (VisitScotland Funding 2010/2011), 20 (Future Funding and Development of AECC), and 32 (Retail Rocks Aberdeen – The Competition Stages), subject to the matter being dealt with later on the agenda; and

(iv)       to otherwise note the updates contained within the list.

The Committee had before it a statement of outstanding motions under the Committee’s remit, which had been prepared by the Head of Legal and Democratic Services. 

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to remove Motions 2 (Councillor John West – Pavement Cafés) and 3 (Councillor Graham – Provost Fraser Drive);  and

(ii)        to otherwise note the updates contained therein.

With reference to article 24 of the minute of meeting of Council of 15 December, 2010, the Committee had before it the following motion which had been submitted by Councillor Leslie:-

“That it be remitted to the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee to investigate putting in place traffic calming measures on a blind bend on Jesmond Avenue, Bridge of Don.”

Councillor Leslie was in attendance and spoke to his motion explaining the rationale behind his request.    Councillor Leslie advised that since submitting the motion, he had been in correspondence with roads officers, who had advised that a number of junction improvement measures had been designed and were currently being implemented at this location and would be in place by March, 2011.   He advised that he was content with the ongoing works, and in light of this, intimated that there was no longer a requirement to progress the terms of his motion. 

The Committee resolved:-

to note the ongoing works currently being implemented at the location and that no further action in terms of traffic calming measures be taken.

With reference to article 25 of the minute of meeting of Council of 15 December, 2010, the Committee had before it the following motion which had been submitted by Councillor Young:-

"That this Council investigates the need for a pedestrian crossing to be situated at Scotstown Road directly across from Scotstown School to enable children of all ages and other member of the Bridge of Don community to safely cross what was now becoming an extremely busy road."

The Committee heard from the Convener who intimated that Councillor Young had advised that he could not be in attendance at today’s meeting to speak to his motion.   Therefore, in line with Standing Order 12(4), she proposed that the Committee defer consideration of the motion until the next meeting of the Committee, at which point Councillor Young would be in attendance. In addition, the Convener also highlighted the previous decision of the Committee, when it had been agreed, to instruct officers to include on the current reserve list, a controlled pedestrian crossing on Scotstown Road at the existing location of the current School Crossing Patroller, and that this be implemented when funds from future years’ budgets became available. In light of this, the Convener asked officers to advise Councillor Young of this decision and to confirm whether he wished to proceed within his motion.

The Committee resolved:-

to defer consideration of Councillor Young’s motion to the next meeting of the Committee on 15 March, 2011. 

With reference to article 8 of the minute of the meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 9 November, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided an update on the Service’s key performance measures and progress of improvement work against the priorities for the Service, which consisted of two sections, namely:- (1) a highlight report by the Director;  and (2) a summary report detailing the key performance indicators and improvement actions identified to measure the performance and progress of each priority up to 30 November, 2010. 

The report advised that the Service was currently undertaking a full review of the Service risks and was working with colleagues in Finance to incorporate full financial data and this would be included in future reports.  

Specifically, in relation to sickness absence, the Committee heard from the Head of Asset Management and Operation who advised that at the moment the service had a current score of 12.2 days lost per annum per employee and therefore, continued to fall short of the Council target of 10 days. He explained that within the service, his team (the largest number of employees in the service) had influenced the performance the most. In line with this, the service was undertaking more detailed analysis in relation to this team, this would enable further investigation and adoption of measures to improve performance. Finally, he advised of measures that were currently being utilised to improve performance in this area.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information provided and the performance of the Service to date.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 31 May, 2010, the Committee received an oral update from the Director and each Head of Service regarding progress with the implementation of the Senior Management restructure of the Service.

The Director advised that the implementation of the previously agreed senior management structure for the Service was progressing well, however he highlighted that further restructure would be necessary as a result of the Council’s Priority Based Budgeting proposals.

Thereafter, each Head of Service provided an update on the current status of the restructuring in their team.

Firstly, the Head of Asset Management and Operations advised that the two general manager posts within this team had been filled, and that underneath that level 60% of posts had been filled. He highlighted that it was likely that one post within the structure would require to be advertised as there was unlikely to be a direct existing employee match.

Secondly, the Economic/Business Development Project Director advised that the four manager posts within this team had been recruited through a matching process by the end of November, 2010. A paper detailing the anticipated structure underneath management level had been circulated to all employees within the team. In line with this, management were now in the process of producing job descriptions and all necessary documents for each of the posts with Human Resources. It was anticipated that posts would be filled, again via a matching process, by May, 2011.

Finally, the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development advised that the structure for this team was implemented in September, 2010, on the understanding that a full service review would be required in light of the Priority Based Budgeting proposals.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request officers to circulate a hard copy of the current Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure service structure to Councillors Allan, Clark, Jaffrey and Milne; and

(ii)        to otherwise note the current position.

The Committee had under consideration, upon a remit from the Education, Culture and Sport Committee of 18 November, 2010, (article 6 refers) a report by the Director of Education, Culture and Sport requesting that the Committee consider the option to develop Granite interpretation panels marking sites of prime importance to the industry, similar to the existing interpretation panels throughout the city which were developed by the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Service.  

The report proposed that way markers would identify sites of prime importance to the granite industry.   The cost for each interpretative panel was £2,000 based on the design and production costs of similar panels. At present there was no budget within the Museums and Galleries to fund these and therefore, a funding source would need to be identified for this option to be pursued.  

The Committee heard from the Director regarding the proposal, and he suggested that if the Committee wished to progress this option, that officers seek sponsorship from appropriate external bodies in order to fund the interpretation panels.  

The Committee resolved:-

to instruct officers to seek external sponsorship to fund interpretation panels at appropriate points across the city.

The Committee had under consideration, upon a remit from the Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA) meeting of 3 December, 2010, a request that the Committee endorse the letter sent from the SDPA to the Chief Planner highlighting the authority’s views on the plan-led planning system.   The Committee had before it the letter sent to the Chief planner from the SDPA as well as the letter from the Chief Planner regarding providing an effective supply of land for housing.

The minute advised that the Scottish Government’s Chief Planner had sent a letter to all Heads of Planning in Scotland, which addressed housing land supply issues in the current economic climate. The SDPA highlighted that the letter had caused them some concern and agreed that a letter on behalf of the SDPA be sent to the Chief Planner expressing the SDPA’s view that a plan-led response was appropriate in this area given the scale of land release being progressed through the two local development plans and the timetable for the adoption of them.

The Committee resolved:-

to endorse the letter sent from the Strategic Development Planning Authority (SDPA) to the Chief Planner, and to instruct officers to write to the Chief Planner, in a similar vein, to that submitted by the SDPA.

With reference to article 9 of the minute of the meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 9 November, 2010, the Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and the Head of Finance which provided an update on the progress made on various projects within the Non-Housing Capital Programme previously approved by the Council (now aligned to the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Services). 

Appendix A to the report outlined the Non-Housing Capital Programme projects aligned to the Services and provided, for each project, the budget for 2010/2011, then to date to the end of November, 2010 and the forecast outturn position.   Comments on particular projects, where appropriate, were included in the narrative.  

The report advised that the spend to the end of November, 2010 only reflected payments made and thus excluded commitments made which were due to be paid by the end of the year.   Such commitments would be reflected in the forecast position.  

In particular, the report highlighted that monies required to fund the Capital Programme were achieved through external borrowing, capital receipts and grant income.   In recent years the overall programme had been set at a level which assumed a certain of underspend would be achieved and thus the funding available was set on that basis.  In previous years, such underspend had been achievable, but with significant spend this year on corporate accommodation, this was at risk.   In light of this, the Corporate Asset Group had worked with services to determine their minimum spend requirements for the year.   However, there was currently a gap of £10.4m between this requirement and the funding available.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to instruct the relevant officers to work closely with the Corporate Asset Group, and in particular the Head of Asset Management and Operations and the Head of Finance, to review all projects with a view to bringing the programme down to the funded level for 2010/2011 and to a more sustainable level for future years;  and

(ii)        to note the content of the report in relation to the project outlined at Appendix A.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of the meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 9 November 2010, the Committee had before it a joint report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure and the Head of Finance, which highlighted the current year revenue budget performance to date for the services which related to the Committee and advised on any areas of risk and management action. 

Appended to the report was a summary monitoring statement for the revenue budget 2010/2011, which outlined the budget for the year, detailed the actual spend to end September, 2010, and explained variances.  It also outlined whether or not there were any cost pressures that were immediately identifiable from the expenditure incurred to date and the actions being undertaken to manage these. 

At this time, it was anticipated that the service would see a shortfall in income of £3.1 million and it was working to reduce costs to mitigate the impact of this shortfall.  To mitigate the effect of these risks, the management of vacant posts was being actively pursued and savings of £700,000 were anticipated for the full year.

The following areas of risk were highlighted together with the management action being taken.  A budgeted income of £187,000 from the Neighbour Notifications would not be realised due to the necessary increase in planning application fees not being implemented by the Scottish Government.  Two of the budgeted savings proposals, one being in relation to the closure of Summerhill and the other relating to the maintenance cost of the Real Time Passenger Information system for public transport, had not yet been achieved.  However, service managers had identified alternative means of achieving the savings.  It was also advised that the Architectural Design service had seen a significant decline in its workload as a result of the reduced value of capital works being undertaken by the Council, and therefore a shortfall in income of £1.2 million was anticipated. In addition, the risk and additional cost of persistent and extended periods of adverse weather was outlined. Finally, it was advised that agreement had been reached with Education, Culture and Sport on the accounting of the cost of providing school meals; this led to the full cost of £1.5 million reverting to the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure service, with £700,000 of this being offset against corporate reserves.

Arising from discussions on the forecast overspend, and the proposal to use reserves to mitigate this position, the Committee resolved to request the Finance and Resources Committee to consider the accountancy oversight regarding the cost of providing school meals, this having emerged during those discussions. Specifically, in relation to the £700,000 being offset against corporate reserves detailed in the report, the Director clarified that at this stage this was a proposal and had not been approved.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to instruct officers to submit a report to a future meeting of the Committee on the management of empty properties and the damage incurred to properties  ...  view the full minutes text for item 12.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of the meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 31 May, 2010, the Committee welcomed Mr. Bob Collier, Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce to today’s meeting.   Mr. Collier was present to provide a presentation on the aims and priorities of the Aberdeen and Grampian Chamber of Commerce (AGCC).

Mr. Collier advised that AGCC’s aim was to have:-

 “Its members at the heart of the Chamber; its Chamber at the heart of a strong and sustainable economy in the City and Shire; and its region at the heart of a prosperous country”.

Thereafter, he provided a detailed overview of each of the AGCC’s five objectives, as well as its priorities 2009- 2013 and steps undertaken in 2010 to achieve these.

Mr. Collier circulated three documents to the Committee, namely:- (1) the most recent edition of the business bulletin; (2) the annual review of the AGCC; and (3) a history of the AGCC.

The Committee resolved:-

to thank Mr. Collier for his informative presentation.

With reference to article 13 of the minute of the meeting of Council of 19 May, 2010, the Committee received an oral update from the Director regarding the current position with Peacock Visual Arts. He advised that he was in regular discussion with Peacocks, who were currently evaluating the viability of future proposals, and that he would report back to the Committee in due course.

The Committee asked for clarity on the current funding position and whether the monies previously awarded to Peacocks was still available. In response, the Director advised that the monies from both Scottish Enterprise and the Scottish Arts Council had been withdrawn, and that the monies allocated by the Council had been allocated to a specific project and that the capital programme had been reshaped, therefore Peacocks would need to submit another proposal and funding request for the Council to consider.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the current position and that a report would be submitted in due course.

With reference to article 14 of the minute of the meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 31 May, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the outcome of the recent review of the services provided by the Aberdeen Convention Bureau and recommended a way forward regarding future delivery of these services.  

The report provided an overview of the review of Aberdeen Convention Bureau which had been undertaken by Glamis Consultancy, and advised that the overall conclusion had been that the Convention Bureau had generally been successful in creating economic impacts through business tourism, and was a well regarded and respected organisation which received widespread support.   Despite this, it was highlighted that in the short term the Bureau must address issues of perceived value for money and communication with its partners.

The report advised of the current position of Aberdeen as a business tourism destination, as well as the future of business tourism in the area.   In terms of the future, it was advised that were a number of opportunities for Aberdeen to develop as a stronger business and leisure tourism destination.  The establishment of a Destination Marketing Organisation (DMO) would be essential to ensure that the city benefitted from a co-ordinated approach to development and marketing.   In line with this, opportunities existed to formally constitute the Aberdeen Convention Bureau in the short term to address concerns expressed over accountability and structure and to reinforce its role as the business tourism marketing organisation for the city.   Specifically, regarding DMO options, opinions were currently divided with no real focus amongst partners as to which form a DMO might take.   However, there was a general agreement that given current public funding cuts, the private sector would expect to take a lead role in establishing and supporting a DMO in the longer term.  

In light of the above, the report recommended retaining the services of the Bureau would be vital to sustaining the local economy by attracting large-scale conferences with significant economic impact to the city.   In particular, it was vital to the success of the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC), as it played a key role in attracting conferences suitable only for this venue.   In line with this, it was recommended that the link to the AECC be strengthened by the formation of a small group, led by the Council, to steer the future direction of the bureau.  This group would include representatives from the AECC, the Hotels Association, the City Centre Association and the Council.  This would allow for a united approach to securing future business for the city.   In addition, it was advised that the Manager of the Bureau was due to retire in May therefore it would be essential to recruit a new Manager and this group could oversee that process.   Finally, the group would also be in a position to assist the Council to move to a DMO, if an appropriate funding model could  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which presented applications for financial assistance from the 2010/2011 International Twinning Budget.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve a grant of £800 from the 2010/2011 International Twinning Budget towards the cost of the Lord Provost accepting an invitation to attend the 2011 Regensburg Burgerfest from 24 to 26 June, 2011;  and

(b)       approve a grant of £7,820 from the 2010/2011 International Twinning Budget towards the cost of a group of young performers attending to rehearse with students from the Von Muller Gymnasium and participate in the 2011 Regensburg Burgerfest from 21 to 27 June, 2011.  

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which presented the findings from the Big Lottery funding feasibility study on the establishment of Local Digital Media Channel and sought support to submit external funding applications to take the proposal forward.  

The report provided a detailed overview of the background to the project as well as the findings of the feasibility study which had been undertaken by Imajica, Marketing and Media Consultants.   A complete copy of the feasibility study was appended to the report.  

The report advised that the feasibility study had indicated an initial start-up cost of £53,000 which would cover the purchase of equipment, website development, registration with Association for Television on Demand, as well as brand development and promotion.   Thereafter, it was estimated that the running costs for Year 1 would be £280,250 and £328,250, with Year 2 costs running between £303,250 and £357,250.   However, it was highlighted that it was felt that by closer partnership engagement and working, the projected costs could be significantly reduced.   The report detailed a range of potential funding sources, which were extensive and encouraging, but many of the sources identified had very specific eligibility criteria.  

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       accept the feasibility study as an accurate evaluation of the community needs, partner commitment and the most appropriate medium of delivery; 

(b)       support the continuation of the proposed project;

(c)        instruct officers to seek external funding to progress with this project;  and

(d)       receive regular updates on progress of this project.

The Convener, seconded by Councillor Kevin Stewart, moved:-

that the recommendations be approved.

As an amendment, Councillor Adam, seconded by Councillor Crockett, moved:-

            to note the report and that no further action be taken at this stage.

On a division, there voted:-  for the motion (10) – the Convener;  the Vice-Convener;  and Councillors Clark, Cormie, Greig, Jaffrey, McCaig, Milne, Penny,  and Kevin Stewart;  for the amendment (4) – Councillors Adam, Allan, Boulton and Crockett.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

With reference to article 13 of the minute of the meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 7 September, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which informed of the numbers and impact of economic migrants on the city of Aberdeen.

The report highlighted the number of economic migrants continuing to arrive and settle within the city, their country of origin, occupational areas, demand on services from within NHS Grampian and the Council.   The report clarified that there were three different sets of economic migrants working within Aberdeen, namely:-  A8 plus A2 Accession States, Rest of Europe, and Countries governed by Home Office legislation.   The definition of each of the different sets was provided.  

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to instruct officers to submit a further report detailing the impact on services of migrants to a future meeting of the Committee;

(ii)        to instruct officers to circulate the available statistics regarding outward migration to the Committee;

(iii)       to accept the report as an accurate reflection of numbers and impact of economic migrants on the city of Aberdeen;  and

(iv)       agree to accept annual update reports.

DECLARATIONS OF INTERESTS

Councillors Crockett and Milne declared interests in the following item of business as members of the Board of Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC). Both Councillors left the meeting prior to the Committee’s deliberations.

With reference to article 25 of the minute of meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 9 November, 2010 and articles 29 and 30 of the minute of meeting of the Council of 15 December, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided an update on activities relating to the Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC).

The report provided a detailed background regarding previous consideration by the Council concerning the future development and funding of the AECC.   The report advised that the last decision of Council on 2 December had agreed that officers were to negotiate the following with AECC:-

(a)       separating the operations of the AECC from the management of the land and property assets within and around the AECC site, in order to focus the AECC Limited’s attention on the need to manage, run and maintain an efficient and sustainable exhibition and conference venue;

(b)       transferring all property and land assets currently owned or leased by AECC Limited to the City Council, so the Council assumed full responsibility for the future development of these assets;  and

(c)        investigating the potential for developing the land and property assets, through the creation of a joint venture development company charged with developing the assets according to an agreed asset development plan, possibly using funding raised through the creation of a Local Asset Backed Vehicle (LABV).

With regard to progressing the above, it was advised that during the course of January, 2011, officers would launch a procurement process to locate suitable development/investment partners to initiate a hotel development as part of a larger development plan for Council owned land in and around the AECC.   In parallel with this activity, the Council’s Asset Management and Legal teams would commence negotiations with AECC Limited to acquire control of all land and buildings currently owned by, or leased to, AECC.   

The report advised that the Council at its meeting on 15 December had also considered the contents of an internal audit report that had reviewed the governance and operational procedures of the AECC.   The independent audit had challenged the adequacy of the governance arrangements and operating procedures in place within the AECC, and the effectiveness of the working agreement with the Council.   The report referred to the findings of the audit.   With regards the implementation of the findings, it was advised that senior Council officers were currently working with AECC’s executives and Board Members to ensure that whatever procedures were required, to address the points raised, were put in place as quickly as possible.

Finally, it was advised that following completion of the internal audit process, and subsequent confirmation that AECC would have no direct role in the future development of land in and around the AECC, the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which presented the draft response on behalf of the Council on the Scottish Marine Regions : Defining their Boundaries consultation document.

The report advised that the recently approved Marine Scotland Act 2010 allowed for the management of the competing demands on marine resources more effectively.   In line with this, a National Marine Plan would set up the strategic objectives for the Scottish marine area including important marine activities.   As such, the Scottish Government had now launched its consultation on defining the most appropriate boundaries for Scottish Marine Regions (SMRs).

In relation to SMRs, the Council agreed that SMRs should be created for the purpose of marine regional planning.  The Council had also stated that regional boundaries should be aligned to each other as much as possible, but appreciated different regions might require different boundaries as a result of different coastal characteristics to ensure integrated management of the marine environment.   The consultation document asked a series of questions and set out three options for SMR boundaries.   These options, along with a proposed response was attached as Appendix 1 to the report.   Specifically regarding the three options, it was advised that the Council had selected option three as the most suitable boundary for the SMR.   This option suggested a boundary that was aligned with the existing Inshore Fisheries Group (IFG) which was similar to the local authority boundary.   In this option, there would be three regions in the east coast covering the: -  Moray Firth;  Eastern seaboard from Rattray Head to a point in Angus;  and the south east of Scotland to Berwickshire incorporating both the Firths of Tay and Forth.

The Committee resolved:-

to delegate completion and submission of the final consultation response to the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development, in consultation with the Convener and Vice-Convener, following the workshop to be held on 26 January, 2011, which would help define a Scottish Marine Region for the east of Scotland.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the Scottish Government’s consultation entitled the “Draft Land Use Strategy for Scotland” and presented the proposed response from the Council to the consultation.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the draft consultation response for submission to the Scottish Government.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the content of the Scottish Government’s consultation paper entitled “Securing the Benefits of Scotland’s Next Energy Revolution” and presented the proposed response from the Council to the consultation.

The report highlighted that much of the draft response, which was appended to the report, was limited to the Council’s current strategies and policies, along with the City’s Community Plan and Current Single Outcome Agreement.   In addition, the response highlighted the way that the Council had maximised community benefits through renewable and carbon reducing projects such as the 3Rs Project, the Decentralised Energy Programme and the Marischal College Redevelopment as examples.   The Council’s future strategies and policies should consider the impacts of renewable energy and potential dividends.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to request officers to hold a seminar/workshop for members on this matter, to ensure all members were fully informed of the future opportunities in this area;

(ii)        to instruct officers to develop a Council policy to address the relevant issues arising from this consultation;

(iii)       in light of (ii) above, to request officers to amend the responses stating ‘no current policy’ to ‘policy under development’; and

(iv)       to agree the proposed response to the Scottish Government and that the response be signed by the Convener and Vice Convener prior to submission.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure providing an account with traffic management measures considered necessary at the above locations.  

At Minto Drive, Aberdeen College, the intention was to revoke the existing “at any time” waiting restrictions.   At Cromwell Road the intention was to introduce Monday to Friday 8.00am to 6.00pm waiting restrictions. Whilst at Victoria Street and Berrywell Gardens, Dyce it was proposed that “at any time” and Monday to Saturday 7.00am to 9.30am waiting restrictions be implemented.   Otherwise, at all other locations, the intention was to establish prohibitions of waiting at any time.

The report also promoted 26 applications for the new blue badge parking bays under the Disabled Persons Parking Places (Scotland) Act 2009.   The following table lists the specific 26 spaces:-

On-Street Parking

Non-specific spaces

Off-Street Parking

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the proposals, in principle, and to request officers to commence the necessary legislative procedures for these schemes, and if no significant objections were received, then to progress with the public advertisement and report the results to a future meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee; 

(ii)        to instruct officers to commence the combined statutory consultation for the traffic regulation order for the list of blue badge parking spaces as detailed above, and to report back to a future meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee; and

(iii)       to instruct officers to investigate extending the HGV restriction on the full length of Victoria Street and report back to the Committee in this regard.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised that the contract to implement the on-street parking restrictions in the Old Aberdeen, Seaton, Sunnybank and Tillydrone areas was currently out to competitive tender, and to request delegated authority for the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure to award the contract to the lower tenderer returned.

The report reminded Members that the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee on 31 May, 2010, the Traffic Regulation Order for the proposed parking controls in the above locations had been approved, on the proviso that the implementation on the scheme be delayed by a period of six months.   As a result, it was intended to commence work on site during April, 2011 with the aim for the scheme to be complete and to “go live” during mid-summer 2011, prior to the opening of the replacement Queen Mother Library in Autumn, 2011.   The Traffic Regulation Order which had been completed for the scheme initially was time restricted, such that should the whole process not be completed by November, 2011, the re-advertisement of the order would be required.

Due to the required timescales for tendering, accepting and awarding the contract for the works, it was considered necessary to request delegated authority to the Director for Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, after consultation with the Convener of the Finance and Resources Committee and the Convener of Enterprise Planning and Infrastructure Committee, the Head of Finance and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, to award the contract to the lowest returned tenderer provided the return was within 10% of the estimated cost.   In terms of the estimated cost, it was advised that the most recent estimate for the implementation work currently out to tender including contingencies was £473,800.   The estimated works for the project as a whole, including the Council’s staff costs during the design and consultation process, was approximately £535,000.  

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to delegate authority to the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, after consultation with the Convener of Finance and Resources, the Convener of Enterprise Planning and Infrastructure, the Head of Finance and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services, to award the contract provided the tender return was within 10% of the estimate for the works;  and

(ii)        that if the tender return was greater than the estimate of the works cost by a value in excess of 10% of the estimate value, the award of the tender be referred to the Finance and Resources Committee for consideration.

With reference to article 19 of the minute of meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 26 November, 2009, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which details the programme for the implementation of the “sustainable transport solutions to improve access to and from the north of the City, supporting national, regional and local policy objectives for modal shift and reduced levels of car use”, proposals.

The report advised that the delivery plan, which took into account the impacts of all major infrastructure changes to the north of the city, had been compiled to ensure that all relevant actions in association with the schemes were developed and delivered within a realistic timescale and a focussed delivery programme. In order to implement the schemes effectively they had been grouped into corridor or mode types, called ‘project groupings’. This should achieve maximum benefit for users and value for money for Aberdeen City Council. A summary of the groupings was provided and a table for the delivery of these projects is show in Appendix A.  In addition, the schemes had been identified for short, medium and long term delivery. Where possible this timescale related to the major elements of infrastructure improvement which they were to support.

It was also advised that some of the proposed schemes could be delivered most effectively as part of the major projects. The schemes had been removed from the delivery plan for clarity and were listed separately in Appendix B.  Since the original list of projects was reported to this Committee in November 2009, some works had been undertaken and projects had been implemented or similar schemes installed, the full list of projects completed to date, or by the end of this financial year was included in Appendix C and this helps to highlight the integration of this project with the various priorities of the Council. Finally, the report advised that further investigation of the schemes from the full list highlighted some proposals which might conflict with other Council priorities, that were being actioned within other sections of the Council or had been shown to not provide a ‘value for money’ proposal for the Council.  These schemes had now been removed from the list and had been compiled in Appendix D.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       agree, in principle, the provisional programme for delivery of the ‘Access from the North’ integrated transport proposals;

(b)       instruct officers to continue discussions with BEAR and Transport Scotland regarding options on the trunk road network;

(c)        instruct officers to progress schemes from the full delivery list as priority and funding would permit, subject to consultation and referral to future Committees as required; and

(d)       to instruct officers to keep the Committee up to date with progress of the delivery plan as timescales might be amended subject to agreement of future years spend profiles of the Non-Housing Capital budget and other relevant sources of funding.

The Convener, seconded by the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 25.

With reference to article 17 of the minute of meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 26 November, 2009, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the progress to date on various strategic transportation projects within Aberdeen City and the wider area.

The report advised that strategic transportation projects flowed from the development of the Regional Transport Strategy (RTS) (produced by Nestrans) and the Council’s own Local Transport Strategy (LTS).

Firstly, the report advised that Network Rail had published a consultation draft on Generation Two Rail Utilisation Strategy (RUS). The RUS considered high level strategic interventions to 2040. A proposed response from the Council to the draft RUS was presented.

Thereafter, the report provided an update on the current status of the Bridge of Dee capacity study, the decision of the Traffic Commissioner on First Bus, the Community Cycle project, new Aberdeen link to Dublin and the United States, bus lane decriminalisation, and the Nestrans 2010/2011 Capital Programme.

Specifically, in relation to the decision of the Traffic Commissioner on First Bus, the report explained that the Traffic Commissioner had become aware that First Bus had not operated all of its registered services in Aberdeen, in particular immediately following resolution of a trade dispute. Further the published punctuality figures for Aberdeen were below the tolerances acceptable to Traffic Commissioners; and in addition complaints were received from Mr S Delaney, Chairman of Mastrick and Sheddocksley Community Council. First Bus were called to a public inquiry in April 2010 so that the above issues could be considered. The Commissioner’s decision was summarised and a copy of the full decision was attached as appendix 1 to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to instruct officers to write to Network Rail highlighting the Committee’s concern regarding the safety of overcrowded platforms and carriages as a result of the increased patronage at local stations;

(ii)        to acknowledge and agree the contents of the report in relation to all of the projects identified, including the programmes and key milestones;

(iii)       to note the contents of the draft Rail Utilisation Strategy (RUS);

(iv)       to approve the response, highlighted in this report and agreed by appropriate Members, as Aberdeen City Council’s formal response to Network Rail on the consultative draft of the RUS; and

(v)        to instruct officers to write to the Traffic Commissioner to advise of the Council’s continuing commitment and investment in Public Transport improvement measures.

With reference to article 29 of the minute of meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 23 February, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the development of a process for consideration and approval of complementary uses of existing and future Park and Ride/Park and Choose services. The process developed continued to recognise, support and promote the primary function of these assets which was to support the provision of Park and Ride/Park and Choose services.

By way of background, the report reminded members that the Committee had previously been presented with two options, which would require to be addressed separately, of complementary uses of existing park and Ride sites, namely:-

Category 1.   Temporary, ad hoc events which require no permanent set up e.g. promotional, community, special events, training and awareness; and

Category 2.   Permanent facilities and/or routine events which would require fixed or invasive set up, or which require lease arrangements

On consideration of the above, the Committee had instructed officers to develop a draft process for the consideration of Category 1 uses in the first instance, similar if possible to the school lets system and also on the possibilities associated with Category 2 uses. It was emphasised that there should, at the very least, be no additional costs to the Council in supporting, facilitating or enabling any agreed complementary uses.

The report outlined a procedure for Category 1 Usage, namely that the same letting system for school and educational properties supported by the Facilities Management team to enable the let to open and operate be utilised for managing Category 1 usage of Park and Ride/Park and Choose sites. A modified application form for use by applicants who require use of a particular Park and Ride site was attached as appendix 1, whilst appendix 2 showed the proposed procedure that would then be followed in both determining if the application was suitable as a Category 1 use and the subsequent process to be followed, through to acceptance or rejection of the application. With regards charges, it was advised that these would be applied and these would be dependant on the type and length of usage and on whether the application was internal or external to the Council. An additional charge would also be applied if the applicant required the waiting area and toilet facilities to be made available. A charging policy has been developed for consideration and this can be found in appendix 3.

Secondly, the report detailed the possibilities associated with Category 2 Uses. It was advised that Category 2 uses could vary substantially in size and type. It was difficult, therefore, to develop a specific process that would deal with all possible types of Category 2 use. It might be that a procurement approach might deliver better value for the Council. In addition, it was also uncertain at this stage, what the legal advice would be in relation to these larger uses. In light  ...  view the full minutes text for item 27.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which highlighted the urgent requirement to address the consequences of a lack of investment in the Council’s vehicle fleet and plant and to seek approval to proceed with the modernisation of the fleet by means other than that of outright purchase of vehicles.

The report provided a detailed overview of the Council’s existing vehicle fleet wherein it was advised that for the past five years, the Council had been operating its fleet on the basis that light goods vehicles were replaced after seven years and heavy goods vehicles after nine years.   In line with this, in June, 2006, the former Resources Management Committee agreed to invest £3.2 million in vehicle replacements per year over the following three years.

However, the fleet replacement budget had been maintained at £1.5 million per annum for the past four years.   This, in itself, had contributed to the ageing of the fleet, with an average of 60 vehicles per annum being replaced whereas 75 replacements per annum would have been required just to maintain the fleet at its existing age profile.   As a result by April, 2011, the Council would have 30 vehicles over seven years old and 223 light vehicles over five years old.   It was estimated to replace these vehicles by outright purchase would cost in the region of £7.5m.   Given current and existing future borrowing constraints, the outright purchase of these vehicles was impractical.

In light of the above position, the report presented the following options available for financing of vehicles:-

(1)       Operating Lease  

Offers a low initial outlay of typically three months rental in advance.  This was desirable if there was a shortage of available funds for the outright purchase of vehicles.   In addition, it provided certainty of budgeting and cash flow as monthly rentals were fixed over a fixed period, and there was flexibility to extend the lease at the end of the initial agreement at a considerably reduced rental.   As the risks and reward of ownership were retained by the leaser there was no need to account for the vehicles in the Council’s financial statements.  This contrasted with a finance lease which required an asset and liability to be provided for the Balance Sheet which might impact on the Council’s overall debt position.

(2)       Contract Hire 

A low initial capital outlay with fixed monthly payments providing certainty of budgeting and cash flows.   Risks involved in running a vehicle fleet including residual values and interest rates could be transferred to a contract hire company.  

Both options could be tailored to include maintenance if required or this function could be carried out by the in-house service.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the updated strategic approach to modernise the fleet to bring its age profile down to manageable levels in line with industry standards;  and

(ii)        to refer the report to the Finances and Resources Committee, with the recommendation that it instructs the Service to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 28.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the options available for the future delivery of services in respect of Maintenance of Operational Properties (General Response Maintenance Contracts).  

The report provided an overview of the current arrangements for building maintenance and repairs to operational properties which had been established in 2002.   The current position for the three general response maintenance contracts were as follows:-

The report advised that from a review of the price evaluation the historic trend data showed that the in-house contractor was significantly cheaper than the private sector equivalent. However, the quality submission from the in-house contractor was the weaker element of their bid.   Since the original tenders were submitted there had been significant steps taken by the in-house contractor to deploy updated back office systems, which if adopted corporately would provide more than adequate supporting evidence of costs etc. on an open book basis.   Therefore, it was proposed that the Council terminate the contract held by Banchory Contractors at its conclusion on 30 September, 2011 and award the work to the in-house contractor on a city-wide basis.   It was further proposed that the relevant officers develop suitable processes and monitoring regimes in order to ensure auditable records were available and performance could be subsequently reported to Service Committees through the adoption of Key Performance Indicators.   All costs would be monitored on an open book basis.  

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve, in principal, to the carrying out of general response maintenance works in connection with the Non-Housing Maintenance city-wide by the in-house Building Service team;  and

(ii)        to instruct relevant officers to establish a framework for the charging of actual costs to the Non-Housing Repair and Maintenance Fund in line with that already established in the Central and South area and to report back to a future meeting of the Committee in this regard.

With reference to article 19 of the minute of the meeting of Council of 15 December, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought approval to implement the revised car parking charges for 2011 – 2013, as well as for the introduction of a mobile telephone payment system for off-street car parks and agreement to begin a “pay and display” machine replacement programme.   Finally, in respect of charges for the removal, storage and disposal of vehicles, and the charges for the release of vehicles from immobilisation devices, approval was also sought.

The report advised that the Council had agreed the action to increase car parking trading account income by £1.9m over the five year period.   In line with this, three main charging options had been assessed in making proposals for increasing car parking income for 2011 – 2013.   The current charges along with the proposed revised charges were detailed at Appendix A to the report.

The report presented three options, namely:-

Option A - Maintain current charges

This option along with current levels of customer demand would result in a projected decrease income to the Council of £45,000 in 2011/2012 alone.   It was recommended that this option be dismissed because it would not result in increased income as required to meet the income generation detailed within the five year business plan.   Furthermore, it would not provide funds for replacement “pay and display” machines.  

Option B  - Mainly applying a 10% increase to current charges (in rounding charges up to the nearest 10p)

Calculations have taken account of anticipated decline in customer demand due to increased charges, increased VAT and the closing of St. Nicholas House car park.   Using this charging model the projected income would be £150,000.   This increase was insufficient to enable achievement of the five year business plan income generation of £658,000.   This option included increasing the cost of residents’ permits by 10% from 2011, however, it was highlighted that applying this increase would take considerable time and was undesirable given the substantial increases to residents’ permits in 2009.

Option C - Economy pricing approach (with premium prices applying for on-street parking in the zones in and around the city centre)

The charges had been set to be competitive with privately owned car parks situated around the city centre.   Premium prices, along with shorter maximum stay periods, applied to on-street parking around the city centre to help maximise parking turn-over and therefore increasing the opportunity for subsequent drivers to park.   The revised charges would also introduce a more standardised and simplified tariff structure with incremental increases of £1 applying to most charging bands.   The more standardised approach would remove the price differential between one and two hour parking bays.   Within this option it was proposed that there should be no increase to the cost of residents permits from 2011/2012.   It was advised that anticipated user resistance had been considered and income projections had taken account of potential reduction  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 1 of this minute, the following item of business was considered with the press and public excluded.

With reference to article 23 of the minute of meeting of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 9 November, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided an update on progress with the implementation of the Retail Rocks Initiative since November, 2010.

The report advised that the project was successfully launched on 12November, 2010 and was based at the old Police Box in Torry. Details of the number of applications received was provided and it was advised that due to the bad weather experienced in November 2010, a new deadline of Friday 28 January, 2011 was introduced and the competition criteria amended to receive applications from Social Enterprises.

In terms of timescale, it was advised that the original programme dates identified in the original TCRF bid had slipped. A revised timescale was presented, and officers were now in the position to write to the Regeneration Division of the Scottish Government requesting their formal approval for delayed spend linked to completion of property acquisitions, the preparation of technical specifications, the undertaking of refurbishment works, the competition process itself, and the effects of bad weather in 2010 on the timelines that had been prepared.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to agree to the withdrawal of  the earlier request by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure for additional project funding of £170,000, to cover the absence of private sector funding as envisaged in the original Town Centre Regeneration Fund bid;

(ii)        to endorse the revised project timescales and new arrangements as narrated in section 6.2 and 6.3 of the main report, and to authorise officers to negotiate revisions to the programme dates as identified in the original Town Centre Regeneration Fund award with the Scottish Government;

(iii)       to advise officers that since no more funding was available from the Council, any expenditure must be made from the existing budget until external funding was realised; and

(iv)       to note that legal costs could not be deferred pending receipt of private sector cash contributions.

- COUNCILLOR DEAN, Convener.