Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be found at:-

http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=140&MId=2901&Ver=4

Please note that if any changes are made to this minute at the point of approval, these will be outlined in the subsequent minute and this document will not be retrospectively altered.

The Committee were advised that there were no deputations submitted.

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 28 so as to avoid disclosure of exempt information of the class described in paragraphs 6 of Schedule 7(A) to the Act.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 3 June, 2014.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute.

The Committee had before it by way of referral, a report and the minute from the SDPA meeting of 26 June, 2014 relating to detailed proposals for a variation to the implementation of the Minute of Agreement to vary the current and subsequent term of the Chair and Vice-Chair so that the transitions would occur at the end of December, 2014 and then at the end of June, 2017.

The SDPA had resolved:-

to refer the report to Aberdeen City Council and Aberdeenshire Council for agreement of the variation to the implementation of the Minute of Agreement as set out in the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the variation to the implementation of the Minute of Agreement.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, which outlined the current year revenue budget performance to date along with the forecast outturns for the services which relate to the Committee and advised on any areas of risk and management action.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the report on the performance to date and the forecast outturn and the information on risks and management action that was contained therein;

(b)       instruct that officers continue to review budget performance and report on service strategies as required to ensure a balanced budget;

(c)        instruct officers to report, in due course, on the actual outturn compared to budget following completion of the 2014/15 financial statements.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, which provided an update on the capital spend in 2013/14 for the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure projects included within the Non-Housing Capital Programme.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the current position.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, which provided an update on the delivery of the project and to seek approval of the total estimated project costs as stated in the report.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the update regarding the Aberdeen City Hydrogen Energy Storage (ACHES) Project and approve the total estimated expenditure of £1,894,130.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure, which provided information on the decision to exempt the signing of a Letter of Intent with regard to a budget increase for the HyTrEc project from the Council’s Standing Orders.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the decision of the Chief Executive, the Head of Finance and the Head of Legal and Democratic Services to exempt, under Standing Order 1 (6) (b), the signing of a Letter of Intent and budget increase for HyTrEc from the requirement of the Council’s Standing Order 1 (3):  “No tender shall be invited or contract entered into unless the total estimated expenditure has been previously approved by the Council.  This requires specific Committee approval or the use of appropriate delegated powers.  The allocation of a budget as part of the Council's budget setting process is insufficient.”

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided details on the Local Climate Impacts Profile.

The recommendations from the LCLIP were:-

·        Better data recording of extreme weather events and impacts;

·        Form a climate change adaptation sub group or similar;

·        Development of an Adaptation Plan for Aberdeen City Council;

·        Raise awareness of climate change adaptation throughout the city and sectors;

·        Share information on climate risk and adaptation plans between Council services and other public sector organisations;

·        Review of strategies, policies, plans, projects and processes to ensure climate change is addressed and integrated;

·        Identify adaptation training needs in Aberdeen City Council.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve and support the recommendations of the LCLIP Report which was listed within Section 5 of the report (and outlined above).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought approval of applications for financial assistance from the International Twinning Budget 2014/15.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the following grants:-

(a)       £2,900 contribution to an educational visit by staff and pupils of Kincorth Academy to Gymnasium 71 in Gomel marking the tenth anniversary of the partnership, 4th-11th October, 2014;

(b)       £1,000 contribution towards the participation of a music group from Stavanger in the Aberdeen Christmas Tree Light Switch-On Ceremony, 27th November, 2014;

(c)        £2,000 contribution towards the visit of a Bavarian Marching Band in the Christmas Parade, 22nd-24th November, 2014;

(d)       £1,050 contribution towards the exploratory visit of three teachers from Regensburg to visit potential partner schools and organisations in Aberdeen, 3rd-6th November, 2014;

(e)       £1,500 contribution to a reciprocal exchange by development officers of Fusion Dance Company and Danceworxxx Regensburg to explore the potential for a project in 2015 which celebrates the 60th anniversary of the twinning agreement, 10th-13th November, 2014;

(f)        £1,800 contribution to an exploratory visit by two officers from TechFest-SetPoint and the International Partnerships Officer to Stavanger to meet with science communication professionals to share knowledge and discuss the potential of developing future educational projects between the two cities, 27th-29th October, 2014; and

(g)       £2,200 contribution to a visit to Regensburg by teachers and pupils from Kincorth Academy to explore the potential of creating an exchange programme with Albertus-Magnus Gymnasium, 6th-9th October, 2014.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee were advised that the report had been withdrawn from the agenda.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that he had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that the following item could be considered as a matter of urgency so that the Council could identify as soon as possible potential partners and projects to access the significant new funding stream.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought approval for travel of Councillor Crockett as Convener of Enterprise, Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee and an officer to attend the Hydrogen Fuel Cells and Electro-Mobility in European Regions (HyER) meeting on 16 September, 2014.

The report also sought approval for travel for a nominated officer to attend the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities workshop in Belgium.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       to approve the travel for Councillor Crockett and one officer to attend the HyER meeting in Brussels, Belgium on 16 September 2014;

(b)       to approve the travel for Councillor Crockett and one officer for future HyER meetings; and

(c)          to approve travel for a nominated officer to attend the European Innovation Partnership on Smart Cities and Communities workshop and kick-off meeting in Brussels, Belgium on 8-9 October 2014.

The committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that he had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that the following item could be considered as a matter of urgency to allow the Council appropriate time to place an order for vans with H2 Range extenders as the money obtained from Transport Scotland has to be utilised this financial year and there is a four month lead time to obtain the vans.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which (1) advised that Aberdeen City Council had been awarded additional external funding from Transport Scotland to deploy a number of hydrogen vehicles within the city, which supports the City Regions Hydrogen Strategy Framework; and (2) sought approval of the expenditure whilst waiving normal procurement procedures due to both the specialist nature of the vehicles and the time restriction imposed by this unique funding arrangement.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       to approve the expenditure to purchase up to 10 hydrogen plug in fuel cell electric vehicles with an estimated expenditure of £366.000.  It is noted that the cost of 5 of the 10 hydrogen plug in fuel cell electric vehicles will be purchased by the Council as part of normal fleet replacement (an estimated £71,000) with the balance coming from the external funding source (an estimated £295,000);

(b         to approve the estimated expenditure of £250,000 for up to 2 Hyundai ix35 fuel cell electric vehicles from external grants with no cost to the Council; and

(c)        to approve to waive normal procurement procedures due to the highly specialised equipment and the time restriction imposed by this funding offer (there is currently only one company offering range extended hydrogen vans commercially and only Hyundai are currently offering hydrogen fuel cell passenger cars commercially).

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Convener intimated that he had directed in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that the following item could be considered as a matter of urgency to allow appropriate time for the Council to select and approve the sending of an elected member to the AGM in October.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of meeting of 21 January, 2014 the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought approval for the Council to be represented at the KIMO Annual General Meeting (AGM) taking place in Denmark on 5 October, 2014.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)     select and approve a Councillor to attend the AGM to represent Aberdeen City Council; and

(b)     determine if an officer is required to attend the AGM with the selected Councillor.

The Committee resolved:-

that Councillor Donnelly and an officer attend the AGM to represent Aberdeen City Council.

With reference to article 25 of the minute of meeting of 21 January, 2014 the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided information on the draft Planning Framework for 2013/14 which requires to be submitted to the Scottish Government prior to 30 September, 2014.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the draft Planning Performance Framework for the City Council’s Planning Service for submission to the Scottish Government which includes an action plan of service improvements planned for the coming year that included separately for information contained in Table 1 in Part 5 of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendation; and

(ii)        to request that the Director write to the Scottish Government requesting that a review of the current charging levels for major planning developments be undertaken and due consideration be given to the quality of decision making as well as speed.

With reference to article 19 of the minute of meeting of the previous meeting of 3 June, 2014 the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which outlined the results of the Newhills Development Framework consultation, presented a summary of the representations received and the officers’ responses to these representations and detailed the resulting action from this.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       to note the representations received on the draft Newhills Development Framework Supplementary Guidance document;

(b)       to approve Appendix 1 which includes officers’ responses to representations received and any necessary actions; and

(c)        to agree for officers to send the requested finalised Supplementary Guidance document to be ratified by the Scottish Government.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the changes to planning policy and guidance introduced in June, 2014 with the publication of the revised Scottish Planning Policy and National Planning Framework 3.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       note the changes to planning policy and guidance that have been introduced by the publication of the revised Scottish Planning Policy and National Planning Framework 3; and

(b)       note the national developments identified in National Planning Framework 3 that are relevant to Aberdeen City.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided details in relation to the progress of various strategic and local transportation projects within Aberdeen City and the wider area which flow from the development of the Regional Transport Strategy produced by Nestrans and the Council’s own Local Transport Strategy.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the contents of the report; and

(b)       to agree the draft Active Travel Action Plan, including the comments and additional actions suggested by officers and instruct officers to advise Nestrans of the Committee’s decision with any further comments Members may have; and

(c)        to instruct officers to advise members in due course of the final Active Travel Action Plan, following consideration of the Nestrans Board on all the stakeholder contributions.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure relating to various small scale traffic management measures identified by officers, residents, local members, emergency services, etc and verified as necessary through surveys by officers.  The report also outlined proposals associated with new developments as part of the development management process.  Finally, the report included proposals for individual parking spaces for Blue Badge holders which now require to be progressed through the normal legal process for the required Traffic Regulation Order.

The report related to proposals at the following locations in the city:-

• Proposals to be Funded from Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets budget –

Bellfield Road / Simpson Road;

Broomhill Road;

Craigievar Crescent;

Duthie Terrace;

Elmfield Avenue;

Ladywell Place / Kirkhill Place;

Stronsay Drive / Stronsay Place;

St Ronan’s Place;

Victoria Street, Dyce;

Wellington Road;

Willowbank Road;

• Proposals to be funded by the Developer –

Hazledene Road;

Merkland Road / 403 King Street;

Mugiemoss Road

North Deeside Road (East Pittengullies Brae);

58 Whitehall Place;

• Proposals to be Funded by Nestrans / Sustrans Budget –

Ellon Road Cycle Paths;

• Proposals to be Funded from the Revenue Budget –

Disabled Parking Bays to be provided through the Disabled Parking Places (Scotland) Act 2009 (71 applications)

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the proposals in principle;

(b)       instruct the appropriate officers to commence the necessary legal procedures of preliminary statutory consultation for the traffic regulation orders required as described in this report.  If no significant objections are received, then progress with the public advertisement and report the results to a future meeting of this Committee;

(c)        instruct the appropriate officers to commence the combined statutory consultation for the traffic regulation order for the list of Blue Badge parking spaces and report back to a future meeting of this Committee; and

(d)       to note that in terms of the Broomhill Road proposal to extend “At Any Time” waiting restrictions, that the request was received from the Community Council and not the local Councillor.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the outcome of the final statutory stage of the following 19 traffic orders and presented the objections which had been received where relevant in each case:-

(1)       The Aberdeen City Council (Ferryhill) (Zone V) (Controlled Parking and Waiting Restrictions) (Amendment) Order 201(X);

(2)       The Aberdeen City Council (Walker Road / Grampian Place, Aberdeen (Amendment) Order 201(X);

(3)       The Aberdeen City Council (Off-Street Car Parks, Aberdeen) (Amendment) Order 201(X);

(4)       The Aberdeen City Council (Springfield Avenue / Springfield Road, Aberdeen (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(5)       The Aberdeen City Council (Greenfern Avenue, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(6)       The Aberdeen City Council (Auchinleck Crescent Area, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(7)       The Aberdeen City Council (Forbesfield Road / Forest Avenue Lane, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(8)       The Aberdeen City Council (Thistle Lane, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(9)       The Aberdeen City Council (Stronsay Drive / Fernielea Crescent, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(10)     The Aberdeen City Council (Carnegie Crescent. Anderson Drive, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(11)     The Aberdeen City Council (A944/ B9119, Aberdeen) (40MPH Speed Limit) Order 201(X);

(12)     The Aberdeen City Council (Rosemount Place Area, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Loading) Order 201(X);

(13)     The Aberdeen City Council (North Deeside Road, Cults, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(14)     The Aberdeen City Council (Cults School, Cults, Aberdeen) (Traffic Management) Order 201(X);

(15)     The Aberdeen City Council (Tarbothill Road, Aberdeen) (No Stopping) (Revocation) Order 201(X);

(16)     The Aberdeen City Council (Wellington Circle / Un-named Access Road off Wellington Circle, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(17)     The Aberdeen City Council (Earns Heugh Road / Loirston Avenue/ Loirston Close, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X);

(18)     The Aberdeen City Council (Ashley / Queens Cross) (Zone N) (Controlled Parking and Traffic Management) Order 201(X); and

(19)     The Aberdeen City Council (Disabled Persons’ Parking Places in Aberdeen City) (Regulatory Parking Places) (No 3) Order 201(X).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       approve the orders that did not attract objections;

(b)       in relation to The Aberdeen City Council (Greenfern Avenue, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X), to overrule the objection received and approve the orders made as originally envisaged;

(c)        in relation to The Aberdeen City Council (Forbesfield Road / Forest Avenue Lane, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X), to overrule the objection received and approve the orders made as originally envisaged;

(d)       in relation to The Aberdeen City Council (Stronsay Drive / Fernielea Crescent, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X), to overrule the objection received and approve the orders made as originally envisaged; and

(e)       in relation to The Aberdeen City Council (Rosemount Place Area, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Loading) Order 201(X), to overrule the objection received and approve the orders made as originally envisaged.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which outlined the proposed traffic management measures that require to be progressed through the legal process for the required Traffic Regulation Order in association with the imminent construction of the Third Don Crossing.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the proposed traffic management proposals; and

(b)       instruct officers to commence the necessary legal procedures of preliminary statutory consultation for the various Traffic Regulation Orders required as described in this report.  If no significant objections are received, then progress with the public advertisement and report the results to a future meeting of the Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought the resolution of the anomalous position with regards to the maintenance of some roads within the city.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the adoption of Beach Esplanade, Links Road between Urquhart Road and Beach Esplanade and Pitfodels Station Road in terms of Section 1(4) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and that officers carry out the relevant statutory procedure to enable these roads to be added to the Council’s ‘List of Roads’ managed and maintained by the Council.

The Committee resolved:-

(I)         that the Committee approve the adoption of Beach Esplanade and Links Road between Urquhart Road and Beach Esplanade in terms of Section 1(4) of the Roads (Scotland) Act 1984 and that officers carry out the relevant statutory procedure to enable these roads to be added to the Council’s ‘List of Roads’ managed and maintained by the Council; and

(ii)        to defer consideration of the adoption of Pitfodels Station Road until the next meeting.

With reference to article 6 of the minute of meeting of 21 January, 2014, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided information in relation to the progress with the Flood Risk Management Plan, with particular reference to the short list of measures identified for the potentially vulnerable areas within Aberdeen City.

The report recommended:-

(a)       to note the content of the report; and

(b)       to approve the shortlisted options for further investigation.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 13 of the minute of meeting of the Finance, Policy and Resources Committee of 6 May, 2014 the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which sought approval of a procedure for dealing with the allocation and consideration of bids for the funding of the frontagers of unadopted roads.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the procedure of the allocation of these funds as set out within the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which outlined the proposed Winter Service Plan and explained significant changes.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report; and

(b)       approve the ‘Roads Winter Service Plan for 2014-2015’ as set out in Appendix A to the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

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)         to delete item 10 (Extension of 30mph Speed Limit on A93 to Old Ferry Road and 153 North Deeside Road), item 15 (Park and Ride Sites), item 18 (Community Facility Developer Contributions), and item 24 (Winter Maintenance Operations) from the statement; and

(ii)        to otherwise note the updates provided within the business statement.

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:-

to note the update provided within  the motions list.

In accordance with the decision recorded under article 2 of this minute, the following item of business was considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which provided an update on the progress of the A96 Park and Choose Car Park and Dyce Drive Link Road scheme and modifications made to the original design to take account of the adjacent development.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the exempt report; and

(b)       instruct officers to proceed to tender with the modified design.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

COUNCILLOR BARNEY CROCKETT, Convener.