Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be found here.

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 13.1 (Site 16, Lang Stracht – Demolition and Disposal Update), 13.2 (Chapel Street Car Park - Offer to Purchase), 13.3 (Pinewood - Amendment to Sale Contract Update May 2021), 14.1 (Council Financial Performance, Quarter 4, 2020/21 - Exempt Appendix), 14.2 (Procurement Workplan and Business Cases - Capital – Exempt Appendices), 14.3 (Roads and Transport Related Budget Programme 2021 - 2022 – Exempt Appendices), 14.4 (Results of Report on the Feasibility of an Aberdeen Region Greenport Bid - Exempt Appendix) and 14.5 (Aberdeen Market and Union Street Central - Exempt Appendix) 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 during consideration of the above items so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described in the following paragraphs of Schedule 7(A) to the Act:- articles 18. 19 and 20 (paragraph 9); articles 21 and 24 (paragraph 6); article 22 (paragraph 8); article 23 (paragraph 10); and article 25 (paragraphs 6, 8 and 9).

Members were requested to intimate any declarations of interest in respect of the items on today’s agenda, thereafter the following were intimated:-

(1)      Councillor Yuill declared an interest in item 13.3 (Pinewood - Amendment to Sale Contract Update May 2021) by virtue of him being an Aberdeen City Council appointed member of Robert Gordon’s College Board of Governors. He considered that the nature of his interest required him to leave the meeting and he therefore took no part in the consideration of this item;

(2)      Councillor Cooke declared an interest in item 12.3 (Beach Masterplan Review) by virtue of him being an Aberdeen City Council appointed Director of Sport Aberdeen. He indicated that He considered that the nature of his interest did not require him to leave the meeting, therefore he remained in the meeting throughout; and

(3)      the Convener declared an interest in the agenda, by virtue of him being a newly elected Member of the Scottish Parliament. He considered that the nature of his interest did not require him to leave the meeting, therefore he remained in the meeting throughout.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 3 February 2021, for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the Committee Business Planner prepared by the Chief Officer – Governance.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to remove item 5 (Aberdeen Coastal Management) from the planner for the reasons outlined therein;

(ii)       to transfer item 7 (Cooperative Development Funding) to the Operational Delivery Committee Planner for the reasons outlined therein;

(iii)      in relation to item 10 (Living Wall), to retain this item on the planner for the timebeing;

(iv)      to note the reason for the reporting delay in relation to item 16 (Joint Integrated Mortuary Project), item 17 (Prosperity Fund), item 26 (Developer Obligations - Asset Plans) and item 46 (Proposals for Investment for Works at Riverbank School to Accommodate the Relocation of St. Peter’s School);

(v)      in relation to item 26 (Developer Obligations - Asset Plans), to request that the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning circulate a Service Update to all members of the Committee; and

(vi)      to otherwise note the content of the Committee Planner.

Please note that an exempt appendix is located within the Exempt Appendices Section of this agenda.

The Committee had before it a repport by the Director of Resources which provided the full year actual financial position of the Council against budget for the financial year 2020/21, including:-

·       General Fund and Housing Revenue Account (HRA) revenue and capitalaccounts; and

·       Common Good Revenue Account and Balance Sheet.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the unaudited final outturn position for financial year 2020/21 as detailed in Appendix 1;

(b)      note that the General Fund has recorded a surplus of £0.415m for the year 2020/21, which has been added to the uncommitted working balance, which remains in line with the Reserves Policy;

(c)      note that the Housing Revenue Account has recorded a surplus of £0.500m for the year, in line with budget and increasing the uncommitted working balance for use in future years;

(d)      note that the Common Good has recorded an operating deficit of £0.273m for the year, which is better than the approved use of cash reserves. After capital receipts are included cash balances increased by £4.1m and remain in line with recommended levels;

(e)      approve the various transfers for 2020/21, between Council Reserves and Earmarked sums for the General Fund, Housing Revenue Account, Common Good and Statutory Funds as at 31 March 2021, as detailed in Appendix 1;

(f)       approve the reprofiling of the 2021/22 – 2024/25 capital programmes to take account of the year end position and that the outcome of this is incorporated into the 2021/22 Quarter 1 reporting;

(g)      delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Finance, following consultation with the Chief Officer – Capital and Convener of City Growth & Resources Committee, to vire budgets between projects within the Council’s New Schools and Zero Waste Programmes contained in the Capital Programme, to reflect the outcomes of external procurement exercises being carried out and allow award of relevant contracts;

(h)      note the write off of historic school meal debts accounted for within the accounts for 2020/21, as described in Section A of Appendix 2;

(i)       consider and approve the writing off of further debt described in Section B of Appendix 2; and

(j)       note that the unaudited Annual Accounts for 2020/21 will be presented to Audit, Risk and Scrutiny Committee on 12 May 2021, along with the Annual Governance Statement and Remuneration Report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)       to thank the Chief Officer – Finance and all officers who contributed in the preparation of the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Operating Officer which sought approval of the updated Fleet Replacement programme for2021/22.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the phase 1 Fleet Replacement Programme for 2021/22 (as detailed in Appendix A of the report) and notes that a phase 2 Fleet Replacement Programme for 2021/22 will be submitted to a future meeting of this committee;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord in consultation with Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services and Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to report to a future meeting of this committee with a programme of infrastructure improvements to support increased numbers of electric vehicles within the council fleet, and

(c)      delegate authority to the Chief Officer – Operations & Protective Services, following consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services and Chief Officer – Finance, to consider and approve procurement business cases for vehicles and plant for the purposes of Procurement Regulation 4.1.1.2; and thereafter to procure appropriate works and services, and enter into any contracts necessary for the vehicles without the need for further approval from any other Committee of the Council.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

Please note that exempt appendices are located within the Exempt Appendices Section of this agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources, which presented a procurement workplan where capital expenditure was included for the Commissioning Function to Committee for review and sought approval of the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts as contained in the Procurement Business Cases appended to the report.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      review the workplan as detailed in the Appendices;

(b)      approve the procurement business cases, including the total estimated expenditure for the proposed contracts; and

(c)      approve the direct awards of contract where there are special circumstances outlined in the respective procurement business cases which justify not issuing a tender or calling off from a framework agreement.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 8 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Customer Services, which outlined the status of key performance measures relating to City Growth and Resources cluster activities.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the report and the performance information contained within the Appendix.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

Please note that exempt appendices are located within the Exempt Appendices Section of this agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Operating Officer which sought approval of specific schemes for 2021/22 and additional provisional programmes for 2022/23, and brought forward proposals for spending the administration’s 2018 budget for road improvements in the capital programme, all of which were vital and business critical.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

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

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services in consultation with the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services, to undertake or instruct appropriate procedures in accordance with the council’s procurement regulations to procure the works referred to in the exempt appendices for the roads capital budget programme for the financial year 2021/22 and award contracts relating thereto; and

(c)      note that officers continue to work with contractors on the financial implications and delivery of the programme in 2020 / 21 and implications for future works, as a result of the COVID-19 virus requiring changing work practices, lack of suppliers and resources across the full programme of projects.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations;

(ii)       to note the decision from the Council meeting on 10 March 2021 which instructed the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services, in conjunction with the Chief Officer – Capital to bring forward the proposals to spend the remaining £6.6 million of the additional £10 million roads investment as part of the Council budget in 2018 to advance the delivery of roads improvements included in the capital programme; and

(iii)      that officers clarify the accuracy of the roads repairs kilometre figures in appendices T and U and circulate a response to all members of the Committee via email.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – City Growth which provided details on the Printfield 10 Project and the feasibility of siting the bronze Denis Law statue in the proximity of Provost Skene’s House.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the details of the Printfield 10 Project, and the original proposal which was attached to the report for information;

(b)      approve the preferred delivery method for the public art pieces of the Printfield 10 Project from the options contained within section 3.7 – 3.11 of the report; and

(c)      approve the location and change of ownership of the bronze Denis Law statue from the options contained within section 3.15 and 3.16, and the associated costs detailed in section 4 of the report.

Councillor Copland was in attendance as a Ward Member and spoke in support  of the project, particularly option 1 at 3.7 in the report.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note the details of the Printfield 10 Project, and the original proposal which was attached to the report for information;

(ii)       to agree to defer all options as outlined in the report. Instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to work with the Denis Law Legacy Trust and representatives of the St Joseph Church and community representatives to bring forward to the August committee meeting of the City Growth and Resources Committee a feasibility study outlining timescales and costs for the delivery of the murals as outlined in paragraph 3.5 of the report; and

(iii)      to agree to move forward with siting the bronze Denis Law statute subject to 50% of the total costs being met by the Denis Law Legacy Trust, and, subject to those costs being met, agree Location 2 for the statue, which would encourage people to linger longer and strengthen links to Provost Skene’s House.

The Committee had before it a report which sought approval for international trade priorities for 2021-22 and for associated travel expenditure.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the international trade and investment key priority markets for 2021- 2022;

(b)      approve the travel expenditure to fulfil the agreed travel plan based on identified key priority markets and as detailed below:-

(1)    one elected member plus one officer to visit Barranquilla, Columbia for the purposes of MOU fulfilment;

(2)    one elected member plus one officer to visit Villahermosa and Ciudad del Carmen for the purposes of MOU fulfilment;

(3)    one elected member plus one officer to visit Macae, Brazil for the purposes of MOU fulfilment;

(4)    the Lord Provost plus one officer to visit newest WECP partner city Ulsan, South Korea;

(5)    the Lord Provost plus two officers to attend the WECP Annual General Meeting in Dammam, Saudi Arabia;

(6)    the Lord Provost plus one officer to attend CERAWeek in Houston USA;

(7)    the Lord Provost and one officer to visit Ufa, Russia, 19th-24th October (Media-Cultural Forum) and a potential related visit to St Petersburg, Russia, for the purposes of engaging with a potential new WECP member;

(8)    potential visits by one elected member and one officer to the emerging new markets of Nigeria, Angola, Vietnam and Singapore;

(9)    an elected member and one officer to attend the Council of Peripheral Maritime Regions (CPMR) Political Bureau and General Assembly;

(10) an elected member and one officer to attend three meetings of the North Sea Commission (NSC) Executive Committee and three meetings of the Transport Group, locations to be confirmed; and

(c)      delegate authority to the Chief Officer - City Growth to authorise necessary and appropriate travel and associated expenditure, provided the cost of such travel does not exceed the budgets set out in section 4 of the report and provided that any guidance and advice related to international travel and Covid-19 is adhered to and travel is in line with current Council travel policies.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 11 of the minute of meeting of the Urgent Business Committee of 30 June 2020, the Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – City Growth which provided a final update on the delivery of the Socio-Economic Rescue Plan 2020/21.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note that the Socio-Economic Rescue Plan actions for 2020/21 are now complete, the successful delivery of this plan, and next steps for any open actions in 2021/22.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note the success of the Socio-Economic Rescue Plan and the actions taken during 2020/21 to aid economic recovery within the city of Aberdeen;

(ii)       to note the timetable as set out by the Scottish Government in relation to Covid-19 Protection Levels. Notes that by the 7 June 2021, Aberdeen is on track to be level one and an announcement is to be made by the Scottish Government regarding level zero. Therefore, instructs Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning in consultation with Public Health Scotland to bring forward a report on the timetable for removal of the Spaces for People initiatives to the next Committee in June taking into consideration any decisions made by this Committee in respect of the City Centre Masterplan and associated reports;

(iii)      to note the successful delivery of this plan and agrees for a report to be submitted to the meeting on 3 November 2021 of this Committee, providing information on the recovery initiatives, including budget allocations, undertaken in 2021/22;

(iv)      to agree to instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to write to the Implementation Group as outlined at 3.2 of the report thanking them for their support in helping the city Council deliver the Socio-Economic Rescue Plan; and

(v)       to instruct the Chief Officer – City Growth to engage with businesses and other interested parties seeking to establish the feasibility for a local food and crafts market in the vicinity of Rubislaw Terrace Gardens and to report back to the next meeting of this Committee detailing options for potential implementation in Summer 2021 in consultation with the Depute Provost.

With reference to article 3 of the minute of meeting of the Urgent Business Committee of 12 April 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided an update on arrangements to support businesses reopening, particularly in relation to trading on outdoor spaces.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the decisions made on temporary outdoor trading requests by Officers following the Urgent Business Committee on 12 April 2021 (Appendices 1 and 2 of the report); and

(b)      in recognition of the ongoing difficulties for businesses caused by Covid-19, continue to instruct the Chief Officer - Capital, following consultation with the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning and the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services, to determine requests from businesses for outdoor trading, provided that any approvals so granted will be on a temporary basis and subject to any such conditions as the authorising Chief Officer considers appropriate.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

Please note that an exempt appendix is located within the Exempt Appendices Section of this agenda.

The Committee had before it a report by the Chief Officer – City Growth which provided an update on the results of a feasibility study on a city region freeport/greenport model.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the high level results of the Feasibility Study on a city region freeport model;

(b)      based on the final prospectus guidance published by the Scottish Government, and the invitation to bid, notes that a decision on whether to bid rests with port operators;

(c)      subject to decision making processes by potential operators, supports the development of a single regional bid from the Aberdeen City Region;

(d)      note that a formal governance is not required at the time of a bid and that the informal steering group involving officers of the Council will continue to assess the case for a bid, if a decision is made to proceed, in the form of an agreed ‘co-operation plan’;

(e)      agree that Aberdeen City Council is represented on any subsequent formal governance at implementation stage if there is a successful bid, and that one of the Council Co-Leaders is the Council’s representative; and

(f)       instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to report back to this Committee on the development and outcome of any proposals if they progress.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided information on what could be prioritised within the City Centre Master Plan (CCMP) in the short term to support initial economic recovery within the city, and then set out actions to progress in the medium and long term which would ensure the CCMP contributed to the medium and long term recovery and growth.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the proposed objectives for the CCMP review set out in paragraph 3.5 of the report, noting that COVID-19 has exacerbated some existing structural changes and there are some emerging structural changes also taking place;

(b)      approve the proposed work plan set out in Appendix 1 which informs the review of the CCMP over the short (year 1), medium (years 2-4) and long term(year 5+);

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer (Corporate Landlord) to support the city’s short-term economic recovery from Covid-19, by facilitating the re-opening of existing CCMP projects, in line with Scottish Government guidance; and to prioritise non-capital works across the Council’s building stock in order to increase aggregate demand in the local economy;

(d)      instruct the Director of Resources to develop design works for current City Centre interventions on Union Street, West End, George Street and Schoolhill and report outcomes to the City Growth and Resources Committee in August2021;

(e)      instruct the Chief Officer (Capital) to support the City’s short term economic recovery from Covid-19 , by accelerating, where possible, the completion and opening of CCMP projects under construction within the next 12 months ensuring a focus on the realisation of the Council’s community benefit policy;

(f)       note that the Chief Officer (Operations) has already received an instruction to prioritise road maintenance work programmes with the aim of increasing aggregate demand in the local economy;

(g)      note that the Council’s sport and culture ALEOs and Joint Ventures (Sport Aberdeen, Aberdeen Sports Village and Aberdeen Performing Arts) will be re-opening a range of sport and cultural facilities in line with Scottish Government guidance; and that ambitions are for these attractions to be available to support this year’s “staycation” market to the city as uncertainty remains around overseas travel;

(h)      instruct the Chief Officer (Governance), in conjunction with Chief Officers (Strategic Place Planning) and (City Growth), to undertake a review and evaluation of all existing powers available to Council in order to drive the return of footfall to the city centre and incentivise city centre living;

(i)       note that the Council will participate in the Scottish Government’s cities recovery taskforce via Cllr Laing, as the Council’s member in the Scottish Cities Alliance, and that the outcome of the Chief Officers’ review and evaluation of existing powers referred to in (h) will be discussed with the taskforce;

(j)       note that the Chief Officer (City Growth) will continue to review the economic trends over  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

Please note that an exempt appendix is located within the Exempt Appendices Section of this agenda.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which set out potential options for the purchase and redevelopment of Aberdeen Market and former BHS retail unit, together with reimagining public realm in the associated central section of Union Street.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      agree the outline business case for the former site of the Aberdeen Market and former BHS retail unit and agree that this progress to Full Business Case, considering all options to deliver the development including delivery with a development partner and operator and to report the outcome of this to this committee at the earliest opportunity;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord in consultation with the Chief Officer - City Growth to submit funding applications to support the wider project to the Levelling Up Fund, Nestrans, Sustrans and such other organisations that could support the development;

(c)      instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement to procure any necessary consultancy, design or implementation work necessary to complete the business case through Hub North Scotland, as identified in the Outline Business Case (OBC);

(d)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord in consultation with the Chief Officer – Governance to proceed with the purchase of the property and thereafter to enter into a contract to demolish the building, either directly or with a development partner all as identified in the OBC; and

(e)      agree the review and visioning of the central section of Union Street, including stakeholder consultation, and instruct the Director of Resources to report the outcomes to City Growth and Resources Committee in August 2021.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to approve the recommendations; and

(ii)       that the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord circulate a Service Update in terms of the management details and progress of the demolition process.

With reference to article 10 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which  outlined the specification for a review of the Masterplan to incorporate appropriate surrounding areas, including the area known as the beach; and identified the initial land area that technical feasibility studies would need to be undertaken to inform what the masterplan could accommodate.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      agree the review zone (Figure 1);

(b)      delegate authority to Instruct the Head of Commercial and Procurement Services to procure and appoint the required consultancy, design or implementation work necessary to complete the technical reviews through Hub North Scotland as covered in paragraph 4.3;

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer – Governance to take any necessary steps to ascertain land ownership within the review zone;

(d)      instruct the Director of Resources to undertake a public survey on the future of the Beach to help formulate the development of the Beach Masterplan; and

(e)      instruct the Director of Resources to report back an update on the output of the technical feasibility studies, public consultation and proposed Beach Masterplan to the City Growth and Resources Committee on the 10th August 2021.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener moved:-

           that the Committee –

(1)    approve recommendations (a), (b), (d) and (e); and

(2)    Instruct the Chief Officer – Governance to take any necessary steps to ascertain land ownership within the review zone and to provide a service update on his findings to the June 2021 Committee.

Councillor Nicoll, seconded by Councillor Yuill moved as an amendment:-

           that the Committee –

(1)    approve the recommendations, subject to amending recommendation (a) to read “Agree the review zone (Figure 1) and in addition to extend it southwards to include Queens Links Leisure Park, together with the grassed area bounded by Wellington Street, York Place and Beach Esplanade, updating section 4.4 of the report to increase the estimated costs to £1.5M to cover the revised study area as identified above;

(2)    Instruct the Chief Officer – Governance to take any necessary steps to ascertain land ownership within the review zone and to provide a service update on his findings to the June 2021 Committee;

(3)    Instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord supported by Chief Officer - City Growth to progress discussions with the existing owners/occupiers of the properties at Queens Links Leisure Park as to opportunities to improve accessibility to beach front access from existing and future properties; and

(4)    Instruct the Chief Officer - City Growth to consider funding options that may qualify to support and deliver a beach masterplan and to report back to the committee with the result of those discussions in due course.

On a division there voted:- for the motion (5) – the Convener, the Vice Convener and Councillors Boulton, Laing and Wheeler; for the amendment (4) – Councillors Cooke, McLennan, Nicoll and Yuill.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt  ...  view the full minutes text for item 17.

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

With reference to article 27 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided an update on tender prices and an updated offer for an onward sale of the site albeit this was dependent on further demolition works being undertaken.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note that a revised offer to purchase the site has been received since the last committee, as identified in the report.

(b)      agree to accept the revised offer and instruct the Chief Officer – Governance to conclude the appropriate legal agreement incorporating qualifications as are necessary to protect the Council’s interest; and

(c)      note that in order to meet the terms of the revised offer more extensive demolition, site separation and remediation works are required than previously agreed and to therefor instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to award the contract to progress a demolition programme for the building incorporating site separation and remediation works.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, moved:-

           that the Committee –

(1)    approve recommendation (a);

(2)    agree not to accept the revised offer and instruct the Chief Officer - Corporate Landlord to award the contract to progress a more extensive demolition programme for the building incorporating site separation and remediation works, estimated at £1.9m, from Capital receipts of £4.394m identified in the quarter 4 report agreed earlier; and

(3)    agree not to sell or market the site without committee approval.

Councillor Nicoll, seconded by Councillor Cooke, moved as an amendment:-

           that the Committee approve the recommendations contained within the report.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (5) – the Convener, the Vice Convener and Councillors Boulton, Laing and Wheeler; for the amendment (3) – Councillors Cooke, McLennan and Nicoll.

The Committee resolved:-

to adopt the motion.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which advised that the council had been approached by an organisation of an office building in the West End of Union Street to acquire the Chapel Street Car Park to meet potential occupiers’ parking requirements.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve in principle the allocation of 400 spaces in the Chapel Street Car Park, this being conditional upon a long term lease being agreed with the proposed occupier;

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to continue discussions on the best financial model for the council to deliver this and report back to a future meeting of this Committee; and

(c)      instruct the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord, on the basis that any lease is agreed to include conditions to support green travel and negotiate a percentage of parking spaces to support EV’s/Hybrids with this percentage increasing over the length of the lease.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to agree not to sell the heritable interest in Chapel Street car park to the organisation outlined in the report;

(ii)       to approve in principle the allocation of 400 spaces in the Chapel Street Car Park at the rental identified in the report (being index linked and excluding VAT) subject to a minimum 15-year lease with the proposed occupier of the building outlined in the report and report back to a future meeting of this Committee not later than November 2021 on progress;

(iii)      to agree that the costs associated with any adjustments or upgrades to the Car Park to accommodate the proposed occupier is met by the organisation outlined in the motion, or the proposed occupier of the organisation outlined in the report;

(iv)      that in the event that a long-term lease is entered into as per (ii) above with the proposed building occupier, instruct the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services to implement any required traffic orders; and

(v)      to agree that if a Lease can be agreed with the proposed occupier of the building outlined in the report , officers undertake a consultation exercise to ensure that residents and businesses in the area are not impacted by this decision and if they are what parking measures can be put in place around the area to mitigate this proposed Lease.

DECLARATION OF INTEREST

In accordance with article 2 of this minute, Councillor Yuill withdrew from the meeting prior to consideration of the following item of business.

With reference to article 28 of the minute of the previous meeting of 3 February 2021, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided an update in relation to Pinewood.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note that the amendment to the sale contract for the site was agreed in May 2021.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendation.

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix relating to the Council Financial Performance, Quarter 4, 2020/21 report. Article 5 of this minute refers.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

The Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Procurement Workplan and Business Cases report. Article 7 of this minute refers.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.

The Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Roads and Transport Related Budget Programme 2021-2022 report. Article 9 of this minute refers.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendices.

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix relating to the Results of the Report on the Feasibility of an Aberdeen Region Greenport Bid report. Article 14 of this minute refers.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

The Committee had before it an exempt appendix relating to the Aberdeen Market and Union Street Central report. Article 16 of this minute refers.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the information contained within the exempt appendix.

-                 COUNCILLOR DOUGLAS LUMSDEN, Convener