Agenda and minutes

The Chairperson had determined that items 6(a) and 10 (Housing Infrastructure Funding) on the agenda, be considered as a matter of urgency in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973.

The Committee resolved:-

to concur with the Chairperson.

The Chairperson proposed that the Committee consider item 7 (Food Hub for Innovation Business Case), item 8 (Harbour Transport Action Plan), item 9 (City Region Deal – Financial Update – Exempt Appendix) and item 10 (Housing Infrastructure Funding) with the press and public excluded from the meeting.

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 from item 7 of the agenda so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described in the following paragraphs of Schedule 7(A) to the Act:- articles 8, 9 and 10 (paragraph 6), and article 11 (paragraphs 4 and 6).

Members are Required to Intimate any Declarations of Interest in Respect of the Items on Today’s Agenda.

No declarations of interest were submitted in respect of the items on today’s agenda.

The Joint Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 22 June 2018, for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the minute as a correct record; and

(ii)       to note that in relation to article 5(ii) of the minute, a briefing paper illustrating all that was currently happening in digital connectivity in the region which would include details of further opportunities and gaps would be prepared by Wendy Robertson, Digital Lead and circulated to members in due course.

Please note that the appendix associated with this report is attached at the Exempt Section of this agenda at item 9.

The Joint Committee had before it a report by Alan Wood, Head of Finance, Aberdeenshire Council which provided details of the finances of the Aberdeen City Region Deal for the first quarter of financial year 2018/19.

The report recommended:-

that the Joint Committee note the content of the report and its appendix.

Mr Wood advised that the total spend and forecast of the City Region Deal finances were on track.

The Joint Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Joint Committee had before it a report by John-Paul Cleary, Senior Programme Manager, Aberdeen City Council on the progress of the City Region Deal and its constituent workstreams.

The report recommended:-

that the Joint Committee note the content of the report and its appendices, and the progress made.

John-Paul Cleary, Senior Programme Manager, Aberdeen City Council presented the report and advised (1) that the Annual Conversation meeting was scheduled for 11 October 2018; (2) that construction work on the full fibre infrastructure commenced in July 2018; and (3) that the City Region Deal live projects and economic indicators were contained within appendix 2 of the report.

The Joint Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendation; and

(ii)       that a progress report in relation to the objectives and plans for the cruise ship market in terms of the Aberdeen Harbour expansion be submitted to a future meeting of the Committee.

MATTER OF URGENCY

The Chairperson accepted the following item as a matter of urgency in terms of Section 50(B)(4)(b) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 due to a misunderstanding of committee timescales and awaiting feedback from partner agencies on plans. The report could not wait an additional three months as this would mean a further delay to see if access could be eased, and the Scottish Government fund continuing to be unused.

The Joint Committee had before it a report by Derek McGowan, Chief Officer – Early Intervention and Community Empowerment, Aberdeen City Council on the use of the Housing Infrastructure fund aligned to the City Region Deal.

The report recommended:-

that the Joint Committee agree that Councillor Laing should write on behalf of the Joint Committee to the Scottish Government regarding the future use and administration of the Housing Infrastructure Fund to aid local development.

Derick Murray, Nestrans Director provided information in relation to the £200M funding for transportation projects, intimating that Transport Scotland would be providing details on the proposed projects in due course. He also advised that the upgrade signalling work in Newtonhill had commenced.

It was noted that although rail work on both the Glasgow and Edinburgh lines would be undertaken and would benefit journey time to and from the central belt, it was acknowledged that Transport Scotland need to ensure that a fair proportion of the funding should be spent on projects in the north east region.

The Joint Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

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

The Joint Committee had before it a report by Lindsay McKenzie, Commercial Director, Opportunity North East which sought approval of the business case for the Food Hub for Innovation project within the Innovation theme of the Aberdeen City Region Deal.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the business case attached at Appendix 1 of the report and instruct the Head of Economic Development to intimate to the UK Government and the Scottish Government that the Joint Committee endorses the business case; and

(b)       instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth to circulate a service update to members of the committee if there are any changes of note to the business case from the UK Government or the Scottish Government.

The Joint Committee heard Lindsay McKenzie and Jennifer Craw speak in support of the report and answer questions, particularly in relation to the management of food storage, the building model, research/testing and the training agenda.

The Joint Committee acknowledged the significant amount of work undertaken by Jennifer Craw and Lindsay McKenzie in the preparation of the report and business case.

The Joint Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Joint Committee had before it a report by Paul Finch, Strategic Transport Projects Manager, Aberdeenshire Council and Kirsty Davison, Peter Brett Associates in relation to the Transport Action Plan for the new Aberdeen South Harbour.

The report recommended:-

that the Joint Committee note the content of the report and its appendix.

The Joint Committee received a powerpoint presentation from Kirsty Davison, during which she outlined the aims of the study commissioned by the two local authorities, potential operating scenarios, key findings and key assumptions including the following:-

·         Passenger capacity;

·         Passenger/crew preferences;

·         Planned excursions/personal excursions; and

·         Travel demand.

Kirsty Davison answered several questions raised by members, specifically in relation to proposed coach routes to and from the harbour in to the city and out to the countryside, the size of the vessels and passenger numbers, the road network and transport assessment, facilities for passengers within the port to ensure best quality experience, that planned coach excursions would be organised by cruise ship companies and details in relation to usage of shuttle buses.

Sir Ian Wood raised concerns in relation to potential traffic issues resulting in delays for cruise passenger coaches and taxis during morning rush hour along the Coast Road, Hareness Road and Wellington Road. In response Kirsty Davison and Ken Neil, Senior Engineer, Aberdeen City Council explained that analysis of this had been undertaken in terms of the baseline 2020 traffic flow model using extensive data and no perceived risks were identified within the Transport Action plan in this regard. It was also noted that coaches would be travelling in the opposite direction on the Coast Road during peak times.

The Joint Committee resolved:-

(i)        to approve the recommendation; and

(ii)       that in conjunction with the decision taken at article 6(ii) of this minute, that a presentation be undertaken on Cruise Aberdeenshire’s objectives, actions and plans to include details of the transport position, proposed onsite configuration layout around the passenger arrival experience, quality assurance measures and the potential for future port embarkation needs and demands.

The Joint Committee had before it an exempt appendix in relation to the City Region Deal Financial Update report (article 5 of this minute refers).

The Joint Committee resolved:-

to note the exempt appendix.

The Joint Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Housing Infrastructure Funding report (article 7 of this minute refers).

The Joint Committee resolved:-

to note the exempt appendices.

-           COUNCILLOR JENNY LAING, Chairperson.