Agenda, decisions and minutes

The agenda and reports associated with this minute can be located 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The Convener advised that item 12.4 (Bus Lane Enforcement Programme Update and Future Planning 2023/24) had been withdrawn from the agenda and that he intended to call a special meeting of the Committee to be held online within the next two weeks to allow the report to be considered timeously.

The Convener proposed that the Committee consider item 13.1 (Roads and Transport Related Capital Budget Programme 2023/24 – Exempt Appendices) with the press and public excluded from the meeting.

The Committee resolved:-

in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973, to exclude the press and public from the meeting during consideration of the above item so as to avoid disclosure of information of the classes described paragraph 8 of Schedule 7(A) to the Act.

The following statements of transparency were noted:-

·       in relation to item 7.1 (Notice of Motion by Councillor Malik), Councillor Ali advised that he was a Trustee of Aberdeen Mosque but did not consider that this connection amounted to an interest which would prevent him from participating in the consideration of that item; and

·       in relation to item 11.1 (Trees and Woodland), the Convener advised that he was a member of the Woodland Trust and also of the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds; and in relation to items 12.2 (Roads and Transport Related Capital Budget Programme 2023/24) and 13.1 (Roads and Transport Related Capital Budget Programme 2023/24 – Exempt Appendices), he was a member of Cycling UK and of the AA, but did not consider that any of these connections amounted to interests which would require him to withdraw from the meeting during consideration of these items.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 7 March 2023 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that Councillor Massey had seconded Councillor Houghton’s motion (item 7 on that agenda), rather than Councillor Blake; and

(ii)       to otherwise approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the planner of committee business as prepared by the Interim Chief Officer – Governance (Legal).

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to remove items 4 (Various Small Scale Traffic Management Stage 2) and 12 (Performance Report);

(ii)       to note the reason for the delay to items 10 (Road Safety Plan), 11 (A92 Haudagain Detrunking) and 13 (TECA Traffic Management); and

(iii)      to otherwise note the planner.

Notice of Motion by Councillor Malik – referred from Council meeting of 26 April

Notes Council policy on Pay and Display Parking allows for free Parking on a Sunday between 8am till 1pm.

Agrees that this policy allows many citizens to drive to church for worship and park without the fear of receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice.

Agrees that Aberdeen is an extremely tolerant city that is multicultural in its outlook where its citizens appreciate the importance of many faiths and do so in harmony and respect to all faiths within our community.

Agrees that not all religious days are on a Sunday with the Qur’an invoking the importance of Friday as its day of worship.

Agrees therefore to instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to bring forward a report to the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee as soon as possible on the feasibility of changing the current policy with options and estimated cost implications.

With reference to the meeting of Council of 26 April 2023, the Committee had before it a Notice of Motion by Councillor Malik in the following terms:-

That Committee:-

(a)      note Council policy on Pay and Display Parking allowed for free Parking on a Sunday between 8am till 1pm;

(b)      agree that the policy allowed many citizens to drive to church for worship and park without the fear of receiving a Fixed Penalty Notice;

(c)      agree that Aberdeen was an extremely tolerant city that was multicultural in its outlook where its citizens appreciated the importance of many faiths and did so in harmony and respect to all faiths within our community;

(d)      agree that not all religious days were on a Sunday with the Qur’an invoking the importance of Friday as its day of worship; and

(e)      agree therefore to instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services to bring forward a report to the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee as soon as possible on the feasibility of changing the current policy with options and estimated cost implications.

The Committee heard from Councillor Malik in respect of his Notice of Motion.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the Notice of Motion.

Notice of Motion by Councillor Kairin van Sweeden – referred from Council meeting of 26 April

1.        Notes the adverse environmental effects of single use vapes which cause considerable levels of additional litter on our streets and in other public places as well as having a detrimental impact on public health;

2.        Notes that research by Material Focus, an independent not-for-profit organisation, has identified that 1.3 million single use vapes are thrown away every week in the UK.

3.        Understands that single use vapes pose a number of concerns, including but not limited to;

a.        The loss of critical raw materials such as Lithium and Copper

b.        The impacts of hazardous waste

c.        The loss of plastic

d.        Fire risk

4.        Welcomes the decision by the Scottish Government to commission a review, led by Zero Waste Scotland into the environmental impacts and management of single use vapes.

5.        Instructs the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to write to the Scottish Government, as part of their review of the environmental impacts and management of single use vapes, expressing Aberdeen City Council’s support for a proposed ban on single use vapes and management of single-use vapes, and to support measures to ban their sale.

6.        Instructs the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to report to the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee outlining any policy implications of a ban for the Council and to prepare a Council communications campaign highlighting the environmental and health impacts of single-use vapes; and

7.        Instructs the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to write to Lorna Slater MSP, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity in the Scottish Government, and to Iain Gulland, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zero Waste Scotland, making them aware that Aberdeen City Council supports a ban on single use vapes.

With reference to the meeting of Council of 26 April 2023, the Committee had before it a Notice of Motion by Councillor van Sweeden in the following terms:-

That Committee:-

(a)      note the adverse environmental effects of single use vapes which caused considerable levels of additional litter on our streets and in other public places as well as having a detrimental impact on public health;

(b)      note that research by Material Focus, an independent not-for-profit organisation, had identified that 1.3 million single use vapes were thrown away every week in the UK;

(c)      understand that single use vapes posed a number of concerns, including but not limited to;

a.        The loss of critical raw materials such as Lithium and Copper

b.        The impacts of hazardous waste

c.        The loss of plastic

d.        Fire risk

(d)      welcome the decision by the Scottish Government to commission a review, led by Zero Waste Scotland into the environmental impacts and management of single use vapes;

(e)      instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to write to the Scottish Government, as part of their review of the environmental impacts and management of single use vapes, expressing Aberdeen City Council’s support for a proposed ban on single use vapes and management of single-use vapes, and to support measures to ban their sale;

(f)       instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to report to the Net Zero, Environment and Transport Committee outlining any policy implications of a ban for the Council and to prepare a Council communications campaign highlighting the environmental and health impacts of single-use vapes; and

(g)      instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to write to Lorna Slater MSP, Minister for Green Skills, Circular Economy and Biodiversity in the Scottish Government, and to Iain Gulland, Executive Director and Chief Executive Officer of Zero Waste Scotland, making them aware that Aberdeen City Council supports a ban on single use vapes.

The Committee heard from Councillor van Sweeden in relation to her Notice of Motion.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the Notice of Motion.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which explained the framework of place-based strategies in place within the Council, and the interrelationship and interdependencies between them.  The report also set out the role of the strategies in the decision-making process and the timeline for their development and review of some of the key strategies.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the details of the plans and strategies set out in the report and the indicative timelines provided; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to keep the framework up to date and report back to this Committee annually, noting that this will be in addition to the ongoing reports to Committee required as part of each plan and strategy review.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would look at incorporating all masterplan work (including the George Street masterplan) into the work around the plans and framework; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which sought approval of a work plan for city collaborative place-based climate change work, in line with the objectives of the Net Zero Aberdeen Routemap and Aberdeen Adapts: Climate Adaptation Framework.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the summary of key collaborative actions progressed in 2022/23; and

(b)      approve the indicative work plan 2023/24 (Figure 1) for partnership activity to support delivery of Net Zero Aberdeen and Aberdeen Adapts.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

During discussion of the following item, Councillor Blake advised, for reasons of transparency, that her husband was employed by NatureScot, but she did not feel that this connection amounted to an interest which required her to withdraw from the meeting.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided an update on the ongoing work to Aberdeen’s public trees and woodland following the storms of 2021 and 2022.  The report set out information on Environmental Services’ sustainability projects and initiatives undertaken to protect and enhance Aberdeen’s public trees and woodlands including the work to deliver elements of the Tree and Woodland Strategic Implementation Plan.  Finally, the report sought approval for Environmental Services to explore funding options, including grants and sponsorship to help fund further tree planting programmes in Aberdeen.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note and endorse the information contained within the report; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services, to explore funding options, including grants and sponsorship to help fund further tree planting in Aberdeen.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to thank Arboricultural and Environmental Services teams for the significant work carried out following the winter storms – Arwen, Malik and Corrie;

(ii)       to instruct the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services to report annually to the Net Zero, Environment & Transport Committee on progress with the objectives of the Tree & Woodland Strategic Implementation Plan (T&WSIP) approved by Operational Delivery Committee in June 2022;

(iii)      to recognise that the interconnectedness of the strategic priorities of T&WSIP and the key performance indicators should be considered together;

(iv)      to instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to take account of the tree planting, woodland and biodiversity objectives included in “A Partnership for Aberdeen” in the upcoming Natural Environment Strategy and to ensure this was in turn included in a refreshed Trees and Woodlands Implementation Plan; and

(v)      to approve the recommendations contained in the report.

With reference to article 7 of the meeting of the former Operational Delivery Committee of 31 August 2022, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which  presented a proposed Road Sign policy, including the criteria for determining requests and associated costs.

The Committee heard from Councillor Malik in relation to the report.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee approve the Road Sign Policy as a suitable document for approving discretionary signs applied for in Aberdeen City.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would meet with the Culter Men’s Shed and Councillor Malik to discuss whether the organisation could make any adjustments which would enable them to meet the criteria in the new Road Sign Policy;

(ii)       to note that officers would correct the wording at 3.3 of the policy to ‘any sign permitted is erected, maintained and removed in a manner that is safe for all road users’;

(iii)      to note that officers would use alternative wording at section 3.5 of the policy instead of ‘offender’;

(iv)      in relation to section 5.2 and the requirement for no less than five parking spaces, to note that officers would review the policy on an annual basis and this number could be adjusted if required; and

(v)      to approve the recommendation contained in the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which outlined the proposed Roads and Transportation programme for the approved 2023/2024 capital budgets and sought approval for the schemes as detailed in the report and their associated appendices.

At this juncture, the Committee heard from Mr Doug Ritchie, Roads and Infrastructure Manager, who advised that there had been a slight error with the appendices to the report and therefore one of the schemes would be presented to the next meeting of the Committee for approval.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

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

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services, following 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 2023/24 and award contracts relating thereto.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that the NESTRANS related works should have been labelled as Appendix O rather than Appendix P, and that the actual Appendix P (Road Safety Fund expenditure) had been omitted from the agenda and would therefore be presented to the next meeting of the Committee for approval; and

(ii)       to otherwise approve the recommendations contained in the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented the outcomes of a recent report to the NESTRANS Board on the Aberdeen Rapid Transit (ART) Options Appraisal and next steps towards Outline Business Case (OBC).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the decision of the NESTRANS Board in relation to the content of the Aberdeen Rapid Transport Detailed Options Appraisal report and agree that it be submitted to Transport Scotland as part of the Bus Partnership Fund (BPF) Gateway Review process; and

(iii)      endorse the NESTRANS Board’s decision to progress Options 3A and 5 to Outline Business Case (OBC) and the associated funding request to Transport Scotland, and instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to continue to work with NESTRANS Officers as the OBC developed.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would provide a service update in relation to any available data on bus patronage which could be shared; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations contained in the report.

As noted at article 1 of this minute, this report was withdrawn from the agenda.

In accordance with the decision taken under article 2, the following item was considered with the press and public excluded.

The Committee had before it exempt appendices relating to the Roads and Transport Related Capital Budget Programme 2023/24 (article 12 refers).

The Committee resolved:-

to note the exempt appendices.

-      COUNCILLOR IAN YUILL, Convener