Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be located at the following link:-

http://committees.aberdeencity.gov.uk/ieListDocuments.aspx?CId=503&MId=3815&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 Convener proposed that the Committee consider items 14.1 and 14.2 with the press and public excluded.

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 item 14.1 so as to avoid disclosure of information of the class described in paragraph 8 of schedule 7(A) of the Act; and item 14.2 so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described in paragraphs 6 and 9 of schedule 7(A) of the Act.

The Convener advised the Committee that two deputation requests had been received within the timescales for submission.

The Committee resolved:-

to agree to hear Mr Wilson in respect of item 9.2 – HMO Overprovision Policy and to hear Mr Hawthorne in respect of item 12.4 – Bridge Street Arches Water Ingress.

Mr Wilson spoke in respect of item 9.2 HMO Overprovision Policy and advised the Committee of his concern regarding the discrimination of students living in HMOs specifically in the Old Aberdeen area. Mr Wilson highlighted that he was concerned that at council meetings biased information has been presented by community councils due to a lack of landlord participation and tenant representation and students were unfairly represented as anti-social behaviour causes and causing Old Aberdeen area in particular a shortage in family homes because of the conversion of houses in the area to HMOs.

Members then asked questions of Mr Wilson and thanked him for his contribution.

Mr Hawthorne spoke next in respect of item 12.4 Bridge Street Arches, Water Ingress. Mr Hawthorne showed the Committee various images of the Bridge Street Arches exterior and interior of the vaults to show the damage. Mr Hawthorne advised of the costs of the repairs he had incurred and the difficulty he had experienced in trying to find the owner of the Arches.

Members then asked questions of Mr Hawthorne and thanked him for his contribution.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 20 January 2016 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the minute of the meeting of Hazlehead Grove Nursery Working Group of 15 February 2016 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

At this juncture, the Committee agreed to bring the next item of business forward in order that the representatives from Police Scotland could depart the meeting after it had been considered.

The Committee had before it a report by Police Scotland which provided information on the Aberdeen Community Safety Partnership Hub (The Hub). The Chief Superintendent of Aberdeen City Division advised that it had been 3 years since the Hub was established and that a review of its workings and success would be undertaken and would be reported back at a future meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the content of the report.

The Committee had before it a statement of committee business and a list of annual reports prepared by the Senior Democratic Services Manager.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         in relation to item 2 – Review of Emission Related Parking Charges – to provide an update to Councillor Dickson; and

(ii)        to otherwise note the updates provided.

The Committee had before it a list of motions prepared by the Senior Democratic Services Manager.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the updates provided.

At its meeting of 21 January 2016 the Committee resolved to refer the petition to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee for further consideration to request that the CH&I committee look at carrying out a more extensive survey on the area over a longer period of time.

In relation to the referral from the Petitions Committee meeting of 21 January 2016, the Convener proposed that a report be prepared on the area to come back to the August Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to request a report back on the area to the August Committee meeting.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure and the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which advised the Committee on the current year general fund revenue and capital budget performance to date for the services and any areas of risk and management action.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       note the report and the information on management action and risk: and

(b)       instruct that officers report the year end position to the appropriate committee.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations;

(ii)        to instruct that the Environment Manager circulate a list to Councillors regarding the damage to city parks from flooding over the Winter; and

(iii)       to request officers to provide an update to Councillor Flynn on the overspend of the Third Don Crossing.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure and the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which advised the Committee of the current year trading services revenue budget performance to date for the services and advised on areas of risk and management action.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee

(a)       note the content of the report and the information on management action and risk; and

(b)       instruct that officers report the year end position to the appropriate Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure and the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which provided a status report for the 2015/16 Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital Programme as at 31 December 2015.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       note the financial information contained within the report;

(b)       instruct that the Head of Finance continues to update the Committee in consultation with the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure on the actual outturn position for 2015/16 following completion of the year end statutory accounts; and

(c)        approve the virements outlined in Appendix 3.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update of key performance measures and the progress of key improvement work within Communities, Housing and Infrastructure.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee provide comments and observations on both the performance information contained in the report and also on the format and layout of the report.

The Head of Communities and Housing highlighted key points in the report. The first CH&I Conference was held in January to bring staff in the directorate together and the feedback from it had been positive with hope that it will be an annual event. The Committee was advised that the first Syrian refugees had arrived in Aberdeen and were settling in well and the work carried out so far by the Aberdeen City Council departments and partner organisations in the city so far was acknowledged and commended. The communal mixed recycling project was rolled out in February which was a significant step forward in waste management and by the end of the year all households in Aberdeen will have access to a recycling service.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to instruct officers to provide clarity on the 200 bedroom hotel at the new AECC;

(ii)        to instruct that the Head of Communities and Housing circulate  information on how Aberdeen City Council compares with other local authorities on voids management;

(iii)       to request that where targets are failing to be met and actions in place to resolve this be added into the report; and

(iv)       to instruct that the Head of Public Infrastructure and Environment circulate information on gulley defects and repairs to Councillors.

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 be considered as a matter of urgency as it had been agreed by the Corporate Management Team that the Directorate Business Plans would be presented to the appropriate Committee meeting immediately following the meeting of Council on 25 February 2016, consequently submission of the report had to be delayed to provide sufficient time for Trade Unions to be fully consulted.

Please note the appendix can be viewed via the link on the report and a hard copy will be provided for Members in the Members lounge.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the Directorate Business Plan for 2016-17 as well as the individual service plans.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee note the content of the Directorate Business Plan 2016-17.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

Please note the appendix can be viewed via the link on the report and a hard copy will be provided for Members in the Members lounge.

With reference to Article 17 of the minute of its meeting of 27 August 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided members with details of the responses received from the public consultation on the implementation of an HMO Overprovision policy and legal advice on the issues which needed to be addressed before Committee should consider the introduction of a HMO Overprovision policy.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       note the responses to the consultation as detailed in the report;

(b)       agree that no policy on HMO Overprovision is introduced at this time;

(c)        instruct officers to write to the Scottish Government to seek guidance on the assessment of housing need with regard to HMOs and how to determine a percentage at which overprovision may exist; if this guidance is not provided the Scottish Government should be asked to review and consider amending the legislation to allow appropriate guidance to be introduced;

(d)       instruct officers to monitor policy and legal developments in HMO overprovision and report back to Committee as appropriate if there are developments which require the Council’s position on HMO overprovision to be reviewed; and

(e)       remit this report and the decision of the Committee to the Licensing Committee for noting.

The Committee resolved:-

to instruct the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure to provide a report to this Committee’s meeting of 25 August 2016 to include -

(a)       the number and capacity of licensed HMOs in all 13 wards and broken down to proposed localities within each ward;

(b)       the need for housing accommodation in each proposed locality and the extent to which HMOs are required to meet that need; and

(c)        a recommendation on whether or not the Council ought to set a threshold for overprovision of HMOs in the relevant localities, including proposals for the levels of thresholds for each locality.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to set revised HMO licensing fees from 1 April 2016.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee continue with the current HMO licence fee structure for 2016/17.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to add additional sites into the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP).

The report recommended:-

That the Committee approve the following additional projects to be included in the SHIP 2015-2020 –

(a)       Grampian Housing Association – 13 @ 2 bed housing units at Mugiemoss Road (including two wheelchair accessible units);

(b)       Hillcrest Housing Association – 11 @ 2 bed housing units at Loirston, with an additional 12 @ 2 bed units in a subsequent phase;

(c)        Langstane Housing Association – 6 @ 2 bed housing units at Froghall Road;

(d)       Places for People – 35 @ 2 bed housing units at Cloverleaf; and

(e)       Aberdeenshire Housing Partnership – 6 @ 2 bed housing units at Balgownie.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to instruct the Head of Communities and Housing to circulate information to Councillor Flynn on the 2000 new houses target in the Strategic Investment Programme (SIP) and clarity on whether they will be site starts or site completions by end of 2017.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which updated members on the progress made in establishing a new group to deal with issues around disability in the city.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee agree the draft constitution, the Mission Statement and Pledge, the application and election process and arrangements for the inaugural meeting of the new group.

The Equalities Manager advised that the main purpose of the application process was to get a wide range of age, disabilities and experience, with the applications being reviewed by an independent group to ensure a fair and transparent process. There would also be opportunity for those not included in the initial membership to be involved with two wider forum meetings annually and project groups set up as the group’s aim was to be as inclusive as possible.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the draft constitution with the amendment that all members must be Aberdeen resident, the Mission Statement and Pledge, the application and election process and arrangements for the inaugural meeting of the new group; and

(ii)        to request officers to provide an update for the May Committee information bulletin on progress specifically on the membership developments for the independent group.

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 be considered as a matter of urgency due to the short timeframe given by the Scottish Government to respond.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised members of a response to the Scottish Government consultation on a Draft Delivery Advice: Housing and Infrastructure.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee agree the content of the report for submission to the Scottish Government.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of updates to the Noise Management Areas and Quiet Areas in the Aberdeen Agglomeration and provided an annual update on the status of the Aberdeen Agglomeration Noise Action Plan.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       note the contents of the report;

(b)       approve the updated list of Noise Management Areas (NMAs); and

(c)        instruct relevant officers within the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Service to continue with the implementation of the Noise Action Plan (NAP) and report annually on progress.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

Incorrect appendix was circulated in the main agenda

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval for a revised Food and Feed Regulatory Service Plan and an improvement plan for the forthcoming year.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       approve in principle the maintenance and development of food and feed regulatory services necessary to satisfy the requirements of the Food Standards Agency’s Framework Agreement;

(b)       approve the Food and Feed Regulatory Service Plan 2016/17 as detailed in Appendix A; and

(c)        note the Review of the 2014/2015 Food Regulatory Service Plan as detailed in Appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sough approval for the Occupational Health and Safety Intervention Plan for 2016/17

The report recommended:-

That the Committee approve the Occupational Health and Safety Intervention Plan for 2016/17.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which informed the members of the Action plan to address the issues highlighted within the 2015 Sector Skill Needs Audit.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       support the delivery of proposed and commenced initiatives; and

(b)       support the continuation of the production of a bi-annual sector skills needs audit.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval for delivery of ERDF Funded (Scottish Cities Alliance – Scotland’s 8^th City) project for fibre to the premises (FTTP) and energy management sensor solutions in multi–tenant properties.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee approve £360,000 capital spend from the Accelerate Aberdeen budget to deliver Warm and Healthy Housing to attract a further £240,000 of European investment to be spent by December 2018.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval for the delivery of a business model for the commercialisation of the ACC duct network.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

            (a)       approve the use of its existing owned ducting capacity to generate income;

(b)       approve the delivery business model for the commercialisation of ACC duct network; and

(c)        approve that the income generated is used to maintain and expand the duct network to connect other services and the communities along the expanded network. Reinvestment in the network will support a sustainable solution and generate further income in future years.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which informed of external funds that had been awarded to, or which may become available to, the Council for transportation projects and sought approval for officers to spend any funds successfully obtained for the purposes described in the report.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the expenditure proposed under the Nestrans Capital and Revenue Programmes 2016/17;

(b)       approve the expenditure of approximately £50,000 available to Aberdeen City Council from the regional Cycling Development Officer Fund;

(c)        approve the expenditure of any funds successfully obtained from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the Smart City Project;

(d)       note the additional funds being provided from Sustrans Scotland’s 2015/16 Community Links programme and approve the expenditure of these funds as well as any funds successfully obtained from the 2016/17 Community Links programme;

(e)       approve the Council’s participation in CIVITAS PORTIS, the expenditure of any funds awarded to the Council from the EU as part of this programme and any associated travel should the application be successful; and

(f)        note that the Smarter Choices Smarter Places funding is likely to be available to the Council in 2016/17, the difficulty in finding match funding and that officers will be putting forward a programme of proposed works to a future meeting of this Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to Article 18 of the minute of the meeting of the Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Committee of 25 June 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update on the progress to date on developing a suite of performance indicators to report to this Committee at each meeting.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee note the actions taken and measures put in place in Fleet Services for monitoring performance of corporate Fleet Compliance.

The Head of Public Infrastructure and Environment advised that a Business Support Officer was now in post and that they had appointed a Fleet Manager who would be in post in the next month.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendation; and

(ii)        to congratulate the Head of Public Infrastructure and Environment and his team for their hard work.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided update on the publicly available Electric Vehicle (EV) infrastructure network which the Council provides and in terms of the costs associated with the project.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report; and

(b)       instruct officers to continue to offer the EV charging service at no charge for a further 12 months and that future discussions on levels of charging would be made within the budget setting process.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

Councillor Grant declared an interest in the following article by virtue of his role as a project manager at Aberdeen Inspired, and withdrew from the meeting before consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the request of Mr Iain Hawthorne that the Council should exercise discretion in terms of Section 66 of the Roads (Scotland) Act and fund work to prevent water ingress to the arches at 15-17 Bridge Street.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee refuse Mr Hawthorne’s request.

The Committee heard from one of the Council’s solicitors who advised that the Council had requested to see the title deeds in Mr Hawthorne’s possession on various occasions since 2004 and were refused. It was clarified that the Council does not own the arches so they have no statutory duty to carry out any repairs.

The Committee also heard from roads officers who advised that the bridge was last assessed in 1999 and that there were no structural issues. The Committee was advised that a membrane was put in under the Bridge Street pavement at the request of Mr Hawthorne some years ago but that there was a possibility that this was damaged by a utility company at some point however it would be too difficult to identify the company or pursue them for damages.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to refuse Mr Hawthorne’s request; and

(ii)        instruct officers in legal services to work with Mr Hawthorne over the content of his title deeds to see if ownership of the arches/vaults on Bridge Street can be determined and to update the committee of the outcome of this investigation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which set out various small scale traffic management measures. The report also bought forward proposals associated with new developments as part of the development management process and included proposals for individual parking bays which required to be progressed.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the proposals in principle;

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

(c)        instruct the appropriate officers to commence the combined statutory consultation for the traffic regulation order for the list of Blue Badge parking bays and report back 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 Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of the outcome of the final statutory stage of the following orders and presented the objections which had been received where relevant in each case.

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Links Street, Aberdeen) (Prohibition Of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Access Road Serving 80-84 West North Street, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Midstocket Road) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Walker Road/Grampian Lane/Grampian Road, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Jackson Terrace/Urquhart Lane, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Dill Road, Aberdeen) (School Keep Clear) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Earlswells Road/Cairnlee Road East, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (North Esplandade West, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of U-Turns) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Schoolhill, Aberdeen) (Loading Bay) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Hopecroft Drive, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Murtle Den Crescent, Milltimber, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (North Esplanade West/Russell Road, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Whitestripes Road, Aberdeen) (30mph Speed Limit) Order 201(X)

·         The Aberdeen City Council (Disabled Persons’ Parking Places in Aberdeen City) (Regulatory Parking Places) (Ref. 1/16) Order 201 (X)

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the orders that did not attract objections, and that all the orders be made and implemented accordingly; and

(b)       in relation to ‘The Aberdeen City Council (Hopecroft Drive, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)’ overrule the objection received and approve the order as originally envisaged.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of the proposed roads and transportation programme from the approved Capital budgets for 2016/17. The report sough approval for the specific schemes where detailed and the budget headings for the remainder. In addition provisional programmes for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were also included.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)          approve the schemes listed in the Appendices as the detailed proposals for expenditure within the budget heading;

(b)          approve expenditure under the Nestrans Capital and Revenue Programmes 2016/17; and

(c)          instruct appropriate officials to implement the detailed programme.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of progress in relation to the Hazlehead Grove Nursery project.

The report recommend:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report and acknowledge the success of the Hazlehead Grove Nursery project to date;

(b)       agree that with the project now up and running, its future governance, under the continued guidance of the Environmental Manager, should pass to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee;

(c)        agree that the Working Group status be amended to that of an Advisory Group and meet every six months, reporting to the Committee as necessary;

(d)       approve to the implementation of the suggested Development Plan for the continued development of the nursery; and

(e)       request that Environmental Services apply the lessons learned and positives from the Nursery project to other service led, partnership and community initiatives across the city.

Councillor Thomson on behalf of himself and Councillor Boulton, thanked officers for their work on the project and expressed thanks to Councillor Jean Morrison for her involvement in the project as Chair of Working Group.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of the progress of the 2015/16 Environmental Services Programme of Play Area Refurbishment Works.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       acknowledge the success of the 2015/16 refurbishment programme;

(b)       agree that the Service should continue the rolling programme of Play Area Refurbishment for 2016/17 as detailed in section 5.4 of the report; and

(c)        approve the use of the ESPO Framework as part of the 2016/17 procurement process.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

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

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of the proposed roads and transportation programme from the approved Capital budgets for 2016/17. The report sough approval for the specific schemes where detailed and the budget headings for the remainder. In addition provisional programmes for 2017/18 and 2018/19 were also included.

The report recommended:-

In addition to the recommendations approved at Article 31 of this minute, that the Committee -

(a)       authorise the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure, the Head of Public Infrastructure and Environment and the Roads Infrastructure Manager in connection with the attached programme, to undertake or instruct tendering procedures or competitive quotation procedures as appropriate to be carried out;

(b)       grant approval to appropriate officers to awards contracts on receipt of a valid tender submission subject to necessary funding in the approved revenue and capital budgets;

(c)        exempts all such procedures and contracts from Standing Order 1(3) of the Council’s Standing Orders relating to Contracts and Procurement;

(d)       note the submission made on behalf of Aberdeen City Council to the ‘Smarter Choices, Smarter Places’ fund and should this be successful, authorise officers to expend the funds as outlined in the proposed programme;

(e)       note the submissions made on behalf of Aberdeen City Council to Sustrans Scotland’s Community Links Fund 2016/17 and should these be successful authorise officers to expend the funds in accordance with the proposed programme of work; and

(f)        where traffic legislation is necessary, to approve the proposals in principle and instruct the appropriate officials to progress the necessary legal procedures. Where no significant objections have been received at the statutory consultation or public advertisement stages to instruct the appropriate officials to implement the scheme, otherwise these would be reported back to future committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

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 be considered as a matter of urgency to enable the Council to maximise the potential income streams and enable officers to pre-register the project and thereby meet the RHI accreditation criteria requirements.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which outlined the project background, procurement scope and timescales to construct and operate a bio-methane gas to grid Anaerobic Digestion plant in the new Aberdeen Exhibition and Conference Centre (AECC) development site. The report also sought approval to proceed with the procurement in order to maximise the Council’s return on investment.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       instruct officers to proceed with the procurement of the AECC Anaerobic Digestion Gas to Grid Facility under three contracts –

              i.        Design, construction and commissioning;

            ii.        Operations and maintenance; and

           iii.        Energy crop feedstock

(b)       note that a report will be provided to Committee advising of the preferred bidder when selected; and

(c)        delegate authority to Head of Finance and Head of Legal and Democratic Services to negotiate and select the preferred contractor and enter into all necessary contracts arising therefrom.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.