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=3853&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 received the following statement by Councillor Laing:-

‘Following the tragic events at the beach at the weekend which resulted in the untimely death of Lucas Walker and his mother Julie, I sought re-assurance from the Chief Executive that we are doing everything we can to support Samuel, Lucas’ older brother who survived the tragedy.

The Chief Executive has confirmed that social work colleagues, in partnership with colleagues from NHS Grampian, are and will continue to provide all the support possible in the days, weeks and months ahead, to help Samuel and the rest of the family to come to terms with this tragedy.

In addition, the Chief Executive has confirmed that education colleagues are offering all the support possible to the school community of Bramble Brae where Lucas attended and Harlaw Academy where Samuel attends.  The loss of Lucas and the impact on Samuel will be felt by both school communities and therefore I’m pleased we are providing such support.

In addition, as you would expect, I sought clarity from the Chief Executive in terms of the council’s responsibility for beach safety and sought assurance that we were discharging our duties.  The Chief Executive confirmed that there is no statutory or common law duties applicable to the Local Authority in respect of beach safety.  However, under the Civic Government (Scotland) Act 1982, the local authority may display public safety notices and may provide staff for life saving or appropriate lifesaving equipment.

Council has elected to provide both public safety notices along the full 2km of the beach as well as providing 29 life belts every 50-100 metres along the length of the beach.  In terms of our practice in both of these areas, I understand we follow the guidance issued by ROPSA and RNLI.  The provision and inspection of the life belts is the responsibility of environmental services and the provision and replacement of the public safety notices is the responsibility of the roads section.

In terms of external independent assurance on these activities, reliance is placed on the annual two unannounced visits which are undertaken by Keep Scotland Beautiful as part of the annual beachside award which assesses a council’s management of the beach.  The beach was assessed on 14 June this year.  The report confirmed that everything was in place and no issues were raised in terms of beach safety.

Whilst our current risk assessment for the beach is not due for another year and we have just received our annual assessment, I understand Keep Scotland Beautiful has offered their assistance to undertake a new risk assessment and to undertake a second inspection.  In the spirit of not being complacent, I understand the Chief Executive and the service are in discussion about both of these offers of support.

I am therefore satisfied that all appropriate support is being provided to the family and the two school communities and I am satisfied that the council has processes and practices in place to ensure as far as  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

The Convener proposed that the Committee consider items 14.1, 14.2, 14.3 and 15.1 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 items 14.1 and 15.1 so as to avoid disclosure of information of the class described in paragraph 10 of schedule 7 (A) of the Act; and items 14.2 and 14.3 so as to avoid disclosure of information of the class described in paragraph 8 of schedule 7 (A) of the Act.

The Convener advised the Committee of a deputation request that had been received within the timescales for submission.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to agree to hear Mr Moss in respect of item 12.6 – Introduce parking charges to three existing car parks as per budget proposals;

(ii)        to hear the deputation prior to the report; and

(iii)       to bring item 12.6 forward on the agenda and consider after item 9.3.

At its juncture, the Committee agreed to bring the next three items of business forward in order that the representatives from Scottish Fire and Rescue and Police Scotland could depart the meeting after their reports had been considered.

Mr Tony Hughes, Area Manager provided an overview of the current provision of control rooms.  Since the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service (SFRS) was formed on 1 April 2013 a review of all areas of service delivery had been undertaken and it was decided to rationalise from 8 operations control rooms to 3 regional operations control rooms.

Mr Hughes advised on the current migration of the operation control rooms within the North and the redevelopment and investment in the creation of a North Operations Control Room at Dundee.  A timeline was presented which anticipated that migrations would be completed by the end of 2016 with the overall migration (into refurbished control room) completed by the first quarter of 2017.

Mr Hughes advised that the three regional control rooms would be able to support each other through knowledge sharing, resource identifying and taking each other’s calls in the event of a systems failure.

The members then asked questions of the Scottish Fire and Rescue representatives before the presentation was concluded.

Mr Hughes highlighted that the current systems in use at Aberdeen and Inverness control rooms were ‘end of life systems’ and becoming hard to maintain.  Mr Hughes reassured the members that they were doing everything they could to retain local knowledge for the Dundee control room which included 5 staff members from the current control room in Aberdeen relocating to the Dundee control room.  Mr Hughes emphasised that there would be improved safety for firefighters and greater resilience moving to a regional operation control room.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the verbal update provided regarding the Aberdeen Control Room; and

(ii)        to request that SFRS circulate to the Committee members details on the refurbishment of Mounthooly Control Room.

The Committee had before it a report by Police Scotland which presented the performance of Aberdeen City Division 2015-16. Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson presented the report and took questions from members of the Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the content of the performance report; and

(ii)        to request officers to submit a thematic report on organised crime trends to a future meeting of the Committee.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Superintendent of Aberdeen City Division which provided information on current resourcing levels within the Police Control Room and Service Centre in Aberdeen.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the content of the report;

(ii)        to note that representatives from C3 will attend the November meeting of the Committee to answer any queries regarding the transition of the Aberdeen Service Centre to a national service centre and the command and control to Dundee ACR;

(iii)       to request that Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson liaises with Councillor Yuill regarding emails sent to the service centre that he is still awaiting a response for; and

(iv)       to request that Chief Superintendent Campbell Thomson provides information to the Committee on what relocation packages staff have been offered.

Mr Moss spoke against the introduction of parking charges to three existing car parks, voiced his concerns regarding the shortage of parking spaces in the Bucksburn Station Road area for residents particularly those with young families, and intimated that asking them to pay whilst some were struggling with everyday living costs was unreasonable.

The Convener thanked Mr Moss for his contribution.

With reference to Article 2 of the minute of the  Council Budget Meeting of 25 February 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the objections to the proposed Traffic Regulation Orders received during public consultation.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee consider and approve one of the following options:

(a)       Instruct officers to commence the required implementation works as originally envisioned, noting that committee have:

(i)         Fully considered all responses received during this public consultation, as well as those received from the initial statutory consultees, and are resolving to over-rule the objections received during the full statutory consultation; and

(ii)        Instructed officers in the Traffic Management team to make the Aberdeen City Council (Off-Street Car Parks, Aberdeen) (Amendment) Order 201(X) and commence the required implementation works, as originally envisioned;

Or;

(b)       Amend and make the Aberdeen City Council (Off-Street Car Parks, Aberdeen) (Amendment) Order 201(X) to provide the facility for an initial 30 minutes of parking at no cost then a charge of £1 for up to a maximum stay of 2 hours, in each of the car parks, and commence the required implementation works, noting that committee have:

(i)         Fully considered all responses received during this public consultation, as well as those received from the initial statutory consultees;

(ii)        Noted that the expected financial impact of the proposal is an additional £500 per car park for the provision of ‘Pay and Display’ machines capable of providing the necessary functionality, and an estimated loss of income of at least 50% of the £70k income budgeted for 2016/17;

(iii)       Instructed officers to identify a method of mitigating the financial impact of this policy in 2016/17 and report this to a future Communities, Housing and Infrastructure committee; and

(iv)       Instructed officers to submit updated values for these service options to the budget process for 2017/18.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to not introduce parking charges to three existing car parks; and

(ii)        to instruct officers to identify a method of mitigating the financial impact of not taking this policy forward in 2016/17 and report this to a future Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 17 May 2016 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

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)         to remove items 1 – Quality Partnership for Public Transport, item 2 – Review of Emission Related Parking Charges, item 9 – Seaton Backies One, item 14 – Energy Services Company, and item 19 – Berryden Corridor Improvements; 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.

With reference to Article 8 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details on the viability of a temporary traffic order restricting the use by HGV’s to access only on the unnumbered road running from the B997, past Shielhill Farm to the B999 with a view to the introduction of a permanent restriction.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       note the content of the report;

(b)       consider the impact that the existing and proposed changes outlined in this report will have on the volume and speed of HGV traffic on Shielhill Road; and

(c)        resolve not to instruct officers to introduce a temporary traffic regulation order restricting the use by HGVs to access only on the unnumbered road running from the B997, past Shielhill Farm to the B999.

Councillor Reynolds moved, seconded by Councillor Donnelly:-

that the Committee instruct officers to introduce a temporary traffic order restricting the use of HGVs to access only on the unnumbered road running from the B997, past Shielhill Farm to the B999, with a view to the introduction of a permanent restriction.

The Convener moved as an amendment, seconded by Vice Convener Graham:-

that the Committee approve the recommendations in the report.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (5) Councillor Delaney, Donnelly, Finlayson, Reynolds and Yuill; for the amendment (15) the Convener; Vice Conveners Graham and Morrison and Councillors Allan, Carle, Copland, Corall, Crockett, Dickson, Jackie Dunbar, Flynn, Grant, Hutchison, Laing and Stuart.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the amendment.

With reference to Article 3 of the minute of the meeting of the Petitions Committee of 20 April 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details on the agent of change principle and the impact of adopting it.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the petition and write to the Scottish Government requesting that the agent of change principle is embodied in the next version of Scottish Planning Policy with similar wording to Section 123 of England’s National Planning Framework.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the petition and write to the Scottish Government requesting that the agent of change principle is embodied in the next version of Scottish Planning Policy with similar wording to Section 123 of England’s National Planning Framework; and

(ii)        to instruct the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure to present a report at the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee on 1 November 2016 on the length of time taken by music venues and other licensed premises to implement measures to ‘prevent, or to counteract the effects’ of any noise after a Noise Abatement Notice has been served and to share this report with the Scottish Government so that it could help inform them of whether it may be necessary to amend the legislation and guidelines on noise nuisance in addition to any inclusion of an Agent of Change principle into National Planning Policy.

With reference to Article 2 of the minute of the Petitions Committee of 20 April 2016, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the viability of a community using the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 to pursue the purchase of land at Cove Harbour and to consider the viability of ‘adverse possession’.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the content of the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure and the Interim Director of Corporate Governance which advised 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

(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 advised 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 content of the report; and

(b)       approve the virements outlined in Appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendations;

(ii)        to instruct officers to provide an update to Councillor Flynn regarding underspend on City Broadband (Accelerate Aberdeen); and

(iii)       to instruct officers to provide an update to Councillor Flynn regarding the costings for replacement CCTV at Kincorth Shopping Centre.

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 2016/17 Housing Revenue Account and Housing Capital Programme as at 31 May 2016 and summarised income and expenditure.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report; and

(b)       instruct that the Head of Finance continues to update the Committee in consultation with the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure on the outturn position for 2016/17.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to instruct officers to provide an update to Councillor Delaney regarding replacement of laundry facilities in Council properties.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised of the intention to issue a Mini-Tender for the provision of plumbing/heating supplies, which in the main will be used for Housing Response Maintenance Work.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       in accordance with regulation 4.1.1.4 of the Council’s procurement regulations, approve the estimated expenditure of up to £6.9 million under the framework agreement over a 4 year period for plumbing/heating supplies for Housing Response Maintenance Work and Capital Programme for Central Heating Installations; and

(b)       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, under regulation 4.2.2 of the procurement regulations, to designate the required Delegated Procurer(s) within the service in order to set in place and utilise the sole award agreement applicable to each lot that will result from the Mini Bid exercise which will be conducted on Scotland Excel – Supply and Delivery of Plumbing and Heating Materials.

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 –

(a)       note the adoption of the new corporate Performance Management Framework and the resulting revised arrangements for reporting performance information to Committees; and

(b)       provide comment and observation on the performance information contained within the report and agree the revised set of performance measures.

The Head of Economic Development highlighted key points in the Directors’ progress report including the Council’s Catering Service which had recently gained the Food for Life Silver Accreditation for all primary school sites across the City; the APSE Scotland Rising Star Awards were held in Aviemore and the Environmental Serviced had two winners in the Parks, Grounds and Streets Services category, Stephen Bly, Community Engagement Officer won Silver and Derek McKay from Seaton Park Gardens won bronze; Bucksburn Community Campus has become the first school in Grampian to endorse Scotland’s Charter for a Tobacco-free generation to mark the launch campus staff and pupil champions joined forces with a number of partners including Young Scot, ASH Scotland and NHS Grampian Smoking Advice Service to provide input and support to pupils; and the Business and Skills team were in attendance at the Ultimate Business Show at the AECC on 16 June 2016 to assist local SMEs and help them improve their success in tendering for work.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the adoption of the new corporate Performance Management Framework and the resulting revised arrangements for reporting performance information to Committees;

(ii)        to note the Director’s Progress Report;

(iii)       to instruct officers to provide an update to Councillor Jackie Dunbar on the drop of 30% in FOI requests;

(iv)       to instruct officers to provide an update for the information bulletin for the November meeting on current issues around temporary accommodation; and

(v)        to instruct officers to review the current target for emergency repairs.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Prior to consideration of the following item of business, Councillor Delaney declared an interest by virtue of his role as Chair of the Board of the Scottish Federation of Housing Associations, and withdrew from the meeting during consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to add additional units at Mugiemoss and Countesswells and to the provision of top up funding for the Countesswells project.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the inclusion of additional units at Mugiemoss in the Strategic Housing Investment Plan (SHIP) 2015-2020 with Grampian Housing Association now delivering 61 units replacing the previously agreed 20 units;

(b)       approve the inclusion of additional units at Countesswells in the SHIP 2015-2020 with AHP and Castlehill Housing Association now delivering 106 units replacing the previously agreed 69 units;

(c)        approve a grant to Castlehill Housing Association of up to £309,672 to help them fund 39 social rent affordable housing units at Countesswells; and

(d)       approve a grant to AHP of up to £303,150 to help them fund 43 social rent affordable housing units at Countesswells.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to instruct officers to provide an update to Councillor Flynn on the progress of the 2,000 new homes target by 2017.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Prior to consideration of the following item of business, Councillor Jackie Dunbar declared an interest by virtue of her status as a resident of Middlefield but did not feel it necessary to leave during consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval for redeveloping the ‘Triangle Site’ at Middlefield, offering tenants of the ‘Triangle Site’ alternative accommodations and officers to negotiate with owners to purchase their properties and to start an extensive programme of community engagement to develop and agree a plan for the triangle site.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve that the Triangle Site comprising 112 properties on Logie Avenue and North Anderson Drive is redeveloped to support community regeneration;

(b)       request that Council officers work towards vacation of all properties, including non-Council owned properties by 31 December 2017;

(c)        approve a priority status for current tenants in the site to be rehoused in alternative housing with the following provisions:

(i)         approve the provision of payments equivalent to a Home Loss Payment and Disturbance Payments to tenants whose homes are required for the ‘Triangle Site Redevelopment’ when they move with immediate effect;

(ii)        approve that in order to alleviate the issues around mixing of sexes and further rehousing that where mixing of sexes occurs, the Council would offer the household larger accommodation if the eldest child had reached the age of 5;

(iii)       grant delegated powers in the first instance to the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure and the Head of Communities and Housing to provide tenants whose homes are required for the ‘Triangle Site Redevelopment’ an appropriate level of priority within the housing lists and flexibility in terms of areas of choice, house sizes and number of offers;

(iv)       note that with immediate effect, all void properties across the city will initially be considered for offer to appropriate tenants whose homes are being acquired for the Triangle Site Redevelopment; and

(v)        note that all affected applicants will be placed on the Urgent List and provided with the highest priority and further prioritised by the length of their current tenancy.

(d)       approve Council officers to negotiate with home owners in the Triangle Site to purchase their properties;

(e)       instruct Council officers to engage with the community and relevant stakeholders to develop plans for the future use of the Triangle Site which should support the Council’s community regeneration and community empowerment objectives and report back with detailed proposals at the January 2017 cycle; and

(f)        instruct the Council Leader to continue dialogue with Scottish Government Ministers requesting appropriate assistance, including financial support, to support redevelopment of the triangle site in support of regenerating Middlefield.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendations (a), (b), (c), (d) and (e); and

(ii)        to request that the Chief Executive write to Scottish Government Ministers requesting appropriate assistance, including financial support, to support redevelopment of the triangle site in support of regenerating Middlefield.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which outlined a Participating Budgeting (PB) approach to support Locality Planning and requested that the Committee allocate £210,357 Devolved Education Management (DEM) carry forward balances to support the PB process.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the report;

(b)       approve the existing £210,357 earmarked reserve held for the Communities Development Fund with the DEM Carry Forward Balances be allocated to PB;

(c)        approve an initial allocation of £150,00 from the Communities Development Fund, to be allocated to a PB process which focuses on the priorities as identified through the 3 priority setting events to be held during September/October 2016; and

(d)       approve the balance of £60,357 from the earmarked reserve be allocated, for future PB activity, in consultation with the Convener of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to instruct officers to report the outcomes of recommendation (d) in a future circulation of the information bulletin.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Prior to consideration of the following item of business Councillors Carle, Jackie Dunbar and Graham declared an interest by virtue of their involvement with the Middlefield Community Project but did not feel it necessary to withdraw during consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to extend Middlefield Community Project’s existing Service Level Agreement until 31 March 2018.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee extend the existing terms of the Service Level Agreement between Aberdeen City Council and Middlefield Community Project until 31 March 2018.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

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

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       agree the nominations for membership of the new group;

(b)       appoint 3 administration members and 2 opposition members to the new group;

(c)        approve the change in the constitution to reflect the increase from 15 to 17 external members; and

(d)       note the proposed date of the inaugural meeting of the new group.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations;

(ii)        to instruct that officers provide Councillor Delaney with the numbers of the former Disability Advisory Group; and

(iii)       to instruct officers to liaise with Councillor Dickson and investigate the receiving and logging of applications handed into Marischal College reception.

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 be considered as a matter of urgency due to imminent commencement of the project.

With reference to Article 19 of the minute of its meeting of 19 May 2015, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided an update on the progress of developing the project, purifying the risks involved and sought approval for the project.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee confirm their authorisation for -

(a)       the creation of the contract with NPS Property Consultants Limited; and

(b)       for the project to proceed, notwithstanding the risks noted within the report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented a summary of the representations received in relation to the development and officer responses to these and details of any resulting action.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the representations received for the Site OP63, Prime Four Business Park Development;

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

(c)        approve the Development Framework as Interim Planning Advice until the emerging Local Development Plan is adopted at which time the document should be ratified alongside the other supplementary guidance documents by the Scottish Government.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which summarised the issues in effectively delivering the Developer Obligations function for Aberdeen City Council including an option of an in-house team to ensure efficient management of the Section 75 process.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       agree to Aberdeen City Council entering into a revised Service Level Agreement with Aberdeenshire Council with clearly defined roles, tasks and responsibilities.  This will provide the benefits of a shared service with the addition of an in-house post which will provide a dedicated link within the Council;

(b)       agree in principle to the creation of a new post to ensure effective management of the negotiation and consultation procedures which will be based in Marischal College; and

(c)        agree to a further report on revised working procedures which will be reported back to this committee in due course.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve recommendations (a) and (b);

(ii)        to agree to a further report on revised working procedures which will be reported back to the November meeting of this Committee; and

(iii)       to instruct officers to investigate the viability of including community groups, community councils and/or local members in the decision making process with regards to the allocation of funds from developer contributions, and that this is included in the report on revised working procedures expected at the November meeting of this Committee.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised on the Eco Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme and sought approval to implement in Aberdeen.  The report also advised on additional grant funding and presented the information within the 2016 Air Quality Progress report as well as advising on the progress of the implementation of the national Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy and future local authority implications.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the Council’s participation in the Eco Stars Fleet Recognition Scheme;

(b)       note the content within the 2016 Air Quality Progress Report; and

(c)        note the Cleaner Air for Scotland strategy implications and instruct officers to report annually on air quality in Aberdeen and progress in the implementation of any local authority responsibilities within the Clean Air for Scotland strategy.

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 on collaborative work between Aberdeen, Dundee, Edinburgh and Glasgow City Councils on a shared service model for delivering local authority public analyst services across Scotland and sought approval to take this work to the next stage subject to the approval of a Business Plan for the service.  The report also presented the proposal of exploration of a Regional Analytical Laboratory Service in partnership with other local public sector bodies and sought approval to devise a business case for this.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report;

(b)       agree in principle to the necessary actions being undertaken to set up a Scottish Shared Scientific Service, namely:

(i)         determining the full financial impact on each local authority partner;

(ii)        developing a detailed Business Plan for the new service;

(iii)       drafting and concluding all necessary legal agreements and;

(iv)       continuing consultation with staff, Trades Unions, and other stakeholders.

(c)        agree to open formal discussions with potential public sector partners such as NHS Grampian, Local Authorities in the North of Scotland, Aberdeen University and Robert Gordon University, to scope out and potentially develop an outline business case for a Regional Analytical Laboratory Service; and

(d)       note that a further report will be submitted to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee upon completion of the Business Plan for the Scottish Shared Scientific Service, and a potential business case for a Regional Analytical Laboratory Service, with recommendations on whether and how these two proposals should proceed.

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 new legislation and the implications and benefits to the Council and sought agreement to authorise the appropriate officers within Environmental Health to enforce the Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee authorise the appropriate Officers within Environmental Health to enforce the Microchipping of Dogs (Scotland) Regulations 2016.

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 of the draft Grampian Joint Health Protection Plan for the period 2016-18.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the Grampian Joint Health Protection Plan; and

(b)       instruct the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure to ensure that the health protection priorities outlined in the plan continue to be resourced.

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 overview of the flooding events over December 2015 and January 2016 as they affected Aberdeen City.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee note the efforts of staff in responding to the flooding events and to also note that recommendations and actions arising from the events will be carried forward by a group led by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the preferred option for operating the Council owned hydrogen station located near Cove, on a commercial basis over 4 years.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       instruct officers to proceed with the preferred operational model which includes leasing Aberdeen City Council’s hydrogen van/car fleet to cover the estimated operational costs with any deficit made up by existing budgets within the Economic Development service;

(b)       approve a one year fixed term Hydrogen Facility Attendant post to undertake the safe daily operation of the site;

(c)        approve officers to pursue external funding opportunities in order to increase the number of vehicles in the city therefore optimising utilisation of the station; and

(d)       instruct officers to enter into operational leases for the hydrogen and fuel cell vehicles with external organisations as a means of revenue generation.

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 of an annual update on the activities of the World Energy Cities Partnership (WECP) in which Aberdeen is a founding member of.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the activities of the WECP in 2015/16;

(b)       instruct officers from the Economic Development service to report to the Committee annually on the activities of the WECP; and

(c)        approve the payment of the annual membership fee to WECP.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which informed members of the successful award of funding from the European Social Fund (ESF) to enable delivery of an enhanced employability pipeline service in Aberdeen (‘Aberdeen Pipeline to Progress through Positive Partnerships’), provided information on the rationale, objectives and target outcomes for the proposed additional service and sought approval for the Economic Development service to access an agreed contingency fund of £200,000 from the City Centre Masterplan budget which may be accessed to underwrite a portion of eligible delivery and support costs if match funding cannot be secured for all eligible costs.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the acceptance of the offer of a grant from Scottish  Government;

(b)       agree to support the stated objectives and outcomes of the proposed intervention;

(c)        approve that 1.4 FTE posts from within the Economic Development Service are assigned to management and delivery of the project;

(d)       approve that financial support not exceeding £200,000 be made available from the City Centre Masterplan budget to underwrite approved project expenditure that may not attract external match funding; and

(e)       instruct officers from the Economic Development Service to submit regular progress reports on actual vs target achievements to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee.

The Senior Officer for Employability, Skills and Community Enterprise advised the Committee that they have had assurances from the Scottish Government that should the UK not be part of the EU the funding will still be available until end of 2018 and 12 weeks into 2019.

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 the Depute Provost and accompanying officer’s overseas travel and associated accommodation and subsistence to support the internationalisation objectives as prioritised in the Regional Economic Strategy.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the following activities (as described in the report and summarised in Appendix One) and the relevant costs of travel, accommodation and subsistence by the Depute Provost and one officer to the following destinations:-

1a.       USA (Houston, Baton Rouge, Atlanta) October 2016

1b.       Singapore to coincide with Subsea Asia and OSEA 27 November – 3 December 2016 in Singapore; and

(b)       instruct officers from the Economic and Development Service to report back to the Committee on each activity referred to in 1a – 1b above as part of the Elected Members Overseas Travel Bulletin submitted to Council.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to check the description from UKTI regarding Singapore on page 7 of the report and provide clarity to the Committee members.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to participate in the Office of Low Carbon Vehicles and Erasmus+ funding programmes in order to meet the deadline of September 2016.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve participation in the Office of Low Carbon Vehicles (OLEV) Funding Programme -

(i)         The making of the Council of an application to Office of Low Carbon Vehicles for grant funding of £631,614

(ii)        Expenditure by the Council of that grant funding and the additional sum of £8,822 (profiled over three years) from the Fleet Services revenue budget towards the abovementioned project

(b)       to approve participation in Erasmus+ Funding Programme for Training of Technicians of Hydrogen Fuel Cell (FCH) vehicles -

(i)         The making of the Council of an application to Erasmus+ for grant funding of €44,030 (£36,941)

(ii)        Expenditure by the Council of that grant funding and the additional sum of €8,806 (£7,390) from the Fleet Services and Economic Development revenue budgets towards the abovementioned project; and

(c)        to note that approved project governance processes will be applied to both projects.

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 to commission Crowdfunder to launch a Crowdfund Aberdeen online platform.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the commissioning and launch of Crowdfund Aberdeen and associated expenditure.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the LTS Costed Action and Delivery Plan.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the Council’s Costed Action and Delivery Plan to accompany the Local Transport Strategy (2016-21); and

(b)       request officers to report back to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee with an update on the delivery of the Plan on an annual basis.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)        to request that the Chief Executive write to Scottish Government Ministers seeking advice on how to work with the Council over the next five years to resolve the funding gap.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented a draft Aberdeen Active Travel Action Plan and recommended that it be released for a period of public and stakeholder consultation.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       approve the release of a Consultative Draft Aberdeen Active Travel Action Plan 2016-2021 for a period of public and stakeholder consultation; and

(b)       instruct officers to prepare a final Aberdeen Active Travel Action Plan following this period of consultation and present the final plan to a future meeting of this Committee.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which provided details of external funds that have 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)       note the offer to the Council from Sustrans Scotland of a further match-funding contribution of £750,000 to the pedestrian and cycle infrastructure associated with the Diamond Bridge;

(b)       agree to the terms of this offer, namely that the resulting savings on the Diamond Bridge scheme from the Capital programme be re-invested in active travel projects;

(c)        accept the award and receive the funds into the existing Non-Housing Capital Programme Active Travel Infrastructure Fund;

(d)       approve the expenditure of approximately £2,867 in match-funding awarded to the Council from the Sustrans School Cycle and Scooter Parking Fund 2016;

(e)       note, and approve the expenditure of, the additional award of £20,000 received from Transport Scotland’s Smarter Choices Smarter Places fund;

(f)        approve the expenditure of £102,000 awarded to the Council from Transport Scotland’s Grant for Chargeplace Scotland Network 2016/17 fund; and

(g)       note the awards made to the Council from the Sustrans Community Links Fund 2016/17 and the Scottish Government’s Air Quality Grant Scheme 2016/17.

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 need for various small scale traffic management measures that had been identified and verified as necessary through surveys by officers.  The report also presented proposals for individual disabled parking bays which now require to be progressed through the normal legal process for the required Traffic Regulation Order.

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 if objections are received; and

(c)        instruct the appropriate officers to commence the statutory consultation for the traffic regulation order for the list of Blue Badge parking bays with a view to implementing the bays fully if no substantial objections are received.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which presented the orders at the final statutory stage.

(1)       The Aberdeen City Council (Cairnie Drive / Back Hilton Road, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(2)       The Aberdeen City Council (Endrick Place / Summerhill Terrace, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(3)       The Aberdeen City Council (Frederick Street, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Loading) Order 201 (X)

(4)       The Aberdeen City Council (Gairsay Road / Stronsay Drive, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(5)       The Aberdeen City Council (Grampian Place / Grampian Road, Torry, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(6)       The Aberdeen City Council (Kingsford Road, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(7)       The Aberdeen City Council (Market Street, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of U-Turns) Order 201 (X)

(8)       The Aberdeen City Council (Nelson Street, Aberdeen) (Traffic Management) Order 201 (X)

(9)       The Aberdeen City Council (Nigg Kirk Road, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(10)     The Aberdeen City Council (Broomhill Road / Morningside Avenue / Morningside Gardens / Morningside Road, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(11)     The Aberdeen City Council (Printfield Walk Area, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(12)     The Aberdeen City Council (Park Road, Aberdeen) (On-Street Car Club Parking Places) Order 201 (X)

(13)     The Aberdeen City Council (Car park serving property No’s 1-91 May Baird Gardens, Aberdeen) Order 201 (X)

(14)     The Aberdeen City Council (Unnamed access road serving property No’s 80-84 West North Street, Aberdeen) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)

(15)     The Aberdeen City Council (Quarry Road, Northfield, Aberdeen) (Doctor / Disabled Parking Bays) (Regulatory Parking Places) Order 201 (X)

(16)     The Aberdeen City Council (Disabled persons parking places in Aberdeen City) (Regulatory parking places) (Ref.3/16) Order 201 (X)

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

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

(b)       that in relation to “The Aberdeen City Council (Grampian Place / Grampian Road, Torry, Aberdeen ) (Prohibition of Waiting) Order 201 (X)” overrule the objection received and approve this order be made 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 on the results of the recent public consultation into options for a Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) or Priority Parking around Hill of Rubislaw and a proposed extension to the Zone X CPZ.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       note the content of the report;

(b)       seek the required funding for implementing the proposed extension of the Zone X CPZ;

(c)        subject to the above, instruct the appropriate officers to progress the detailed design of the proposal to extend the Zone X CPZ to the preliminary statutory consultation stage and, if no objections are received, to proceed with the public advertisement; and

(d)       instruct the appropriate officers not to progress the proposals for controlled parking measures in the area surrounding the Hill of Rubislaw office complex at this time and instead undertake further consultation at a future time, should the parking issues in the area significantly worsen, and report the findings to a future Committee meeting.

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 a retrospective request for exemption to standing orders to allow officers to award a contract for emergency embankment repair works at Donmouth Road.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the retrospective request.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

In accordance with the decision recorded under Article 2 of this minute, the following items were considered with the press and public excluded.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

Prior to consideration of the following item of business, Councillor Jean Morrison declared an interest by virtue of her position as a Council representative on SCARF Ltd but did not feel it necessary to leave during consideration of the item.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which sought approval to accept the preferred response following the Invitation to Tender for the Provision of an Energy Efficiency Information, Support and Advice Service.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the award of a contract to the preferred response for provision of Energy Efficiency Information, Support and Advice Service for the residents of Aberdeen.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

Please note the incorrect report for this item was circulated in first agenda pack

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure  which advised of the intention to appoint several Contractors for various lots on the ‘Electrical Maintenance Term Framework 2016-18’ and sought approval of the estimated expenditure.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       in accordance with Clause 4.1.1.3 of the Council’s Procurement Regulations, approve the estimated expenditure as detailed in the report over a 4 year period from October 2016 for the provision of electrical maintenance services and the appointment of Contractors to this end; and

(b)       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services under regulation 4.2.2 of the Aberdeen City Procurement Regulations to designate the required Delegated Procurer(s) within Communities, Housing and Infrastructure to conclude the framework agreements and contracts pursuant to the tendering exercise and to award contracts based on such framework agreements.

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 tender programme and associated costs, for multiple individual contracts for Construction Services, Work and Material Supply and sought approval of the total estimated expenditure.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee -

(a)       in accordance with Regulation 4.1.1.3 of the Council’s procurement regulations, approve the total estimated expenditure as detailed in the report under contract over a 4 year period, for a tender programme of multiple individual contracts for Construction Services, Work and Material Supply; and

(b)       instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services under Regulation 4.2.2 of the Council’s procurement regulations to designate the required Delegated Procurer(s) within Communities, Housing and Infrastructure in order to conduct procurements, and to agree to award, amend or vary contracts for Construction Services, Work and Material Supply as detailed in this report.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Communities, Housing and Infrastructure which advised on the outcome of the tendering process for the replacement Bus Shelter Advertising contract and sought approval to award to the preferred supplier following the tender evaluation process.

The report recommended:-

That the Committee –

(a)       approve the award of the contract for bus shelter advertising and associated street furniture to the preferred supplier;

(b)       request officers to report back to the Communities, Housing and Infrastructure Committee, via the information bulletin with a detailed implementation plan for the new contract; and

(c)        agree that the income generated from the new contract be reinvested within the service infrastructure to ensure bus shelter provision levels are sustained.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

- COUNCILLOR NEIL COONEY, Convener