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 Committee that the Council had won Planning Authority of the Year and the ‘Best Plan’ award for the Net Zero Aberdeen Routemap at the Royal Town Planning Institute Scotland Awards, and had been shortlisted for the City Centre and Beach Masterplan.

The Committee resolved:-

to congratulate officers on their success at the awards.

Following mention of NHS Grampian during the discussion of item 10.1 (Den Burn Restoration Project Update), the Convener, for reasons of transparency, advised that he was a member of the Board of NHS Grampian but did not consider that this amounted to an interest which required to be declared, nor would prevent him from participating in the item.

The Committee had before it the minute of its meeting of 9 May 2023 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that the service update in respect of any available data on bus patronage had not yet been circulated to Members, and that the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning would liaise with colleagues to ascertain if this could be provided;

(ii)       to note that the Clerk would include any service updates requested at the end of the business planner for future meetings to allow Members to track what was expected; and

(iii)      to approve the minute as a correct record.

The Committee had before it the minute of its special meeting of 24 May 2023 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that the Clerk would ascertain whether the various pieces of information requested at the special meeting were available to be circulated to Members; and

(ii)       to 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 note the reasons outlined in the planner for the delay to items 6 (Road Safety Plan 2023-2027), 7 (A92 Haudagain Improvement – Detrunking Settlement) and 14 (Annual Committee Effectiveness Report);

(ii)       to note that officers would provide an update on the next meeting on item 8 (Building Performance Criteria – Energy Efficiency) which would outline when the work was expected to be undertaken;

(iii)      to note that officers would ensure that item 10 (Ellon Park & Ride to Garthdee Transport Corridor Study) and item 23 (A92 Bridge of Don to Bridge of Dee) were worked on and considered together as far as possible;

(iv)      to note the update provided by the Roads and Infrastructure Manager in relation to TECA and that an update report on TECA, what remained to be done, and the current issues would be presented to Committee in August, with a full report on any controlled parking zone at a later date;

(v)      in relation to item 20 (North East Scotland Roads Hierarchy), to note that the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning would liaise with colleagues to ascertain when the communication and awareness-raising mentioned in the planner was expected to take place;

(vi)      in relation to item 36 (Infrastructure improvements to support increased numbers of Electric Vehicles (EV) within the Council fleet), to note (a) that officers were monitoring any learning points from the introduction of the Low Emission Zone in Glasgow, however a number of the Council’s vehicles already met the requirements of the LEZ; and (b) that officers would report back to a future Committee on the joint procurement exercise being undertaken in relation to EV infrastructure;

(vii)     in relation to item 41 (Aberdeen Hydrogen Integration – Governance), to note that the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning would liaise with the Chief Officer – Corporate Landlord to provide an update to Members on the work being undertaken in this area; and

(viii)    to otherwise note the planner.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented an update on the status of appropriate key performance measures relating to the services falling within its remit.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the report and provide comments and observations on the performance information contained in the report Appendix A.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)          in relation to page 36 of the report and the A, B, C class and unclassified roads performance indicators, to note that officers would provide an indication of the road lengths for each category in future reports;

(ii)         to request that officers include information in future reports on the percentage of waste going to the Energy from Waste facility;

(iii)       to note that the Chief Officer – Operations and Protective Services would ask the Waste and Recycling Manager to provide information to Members outwith the meeting in respect of (a) waste tonnage and whether this was reducing or not, and (b) the expected tonnage going to the Energy from Waste Facility and how that compared to tonnage overall;

(iv)       to request that a service update be provided to Members outwith the meeting on the uptake for the reuse facility at Hazlehead Recycling Centre and any plans to expand the facility elsewhere; and

(v)        to otherwise note the report.

With reference to article 5 of the minute of its meeting of 10 January 2023, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which provided an update on progress in securing funding to develop and deliver the Den Burn Restoration, and sought approval to enter into the Memorandum of Understanding with SEPA to further develop the project.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee -

(a)      note the success of funding secured to date and instruct the Interim Chief Officer - Governance following consultation with the Chief Officer -Strategic Place Planning to enter into a Memorandum of Understanding with SEPA detailing how Aberdeen City Council and SEPA will work together to try to further develop the project; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to (a) continue to seek additional funding; (b) evolve the project scope in line with available funding; and (c) report back to Committee once the required funding has been secured.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

With reference to article 12 of the minute of its previous meeting, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which outlined the remaining proposed Road Safety programme for the approved 2023/2024 capital budgets, and sought approval for the schemes detailed in the report and associated appendix.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the schemes listed in appendices A & B 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 Service, to undertake or instruct appropriate procedures in accordance with the Council’s procurement regulations to procure the works referred to in the appendices for the Road Safety and Road Safety Infrastructure funds as part of the capital budget programme for the financial year 2023/24 and award contracts relating thereto.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       in relation to RS03 (Road Safety Promotion), to suggest that the Roads Team could also liaise with Police Scotland in respect of the Junior Cop initiative which had been discussed at the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee;

(ii)       in relation to RS05 (Driver Education) - Implementation of vehicle activated signs at existing and new sites, to request that officers circulate information on the selected sites to Members outwith the meeting, once these were determined; and

(iii)      to approve the recommendations.

The Convener brought the meeting to a close by advising Members that it was the last meeting that Mr Doug Ritchie, Roads and Infrastructure Manager, would be attending prior to retiring from Aberdeen City Council.  He paid tribute to Mr Ritchie’s patience, professionalism, and commitment to making a difference in the city, noting that he would be sadly missed. 

Councillor Macdonald echoed the Convener’s comments, paying tribute to Mr Ritchie’s sheer hard work and his selfless public servant attitude.  She added that he had made a real difference to the Council and had helped her greatly in her previous role as Transport Spokesperson. 

Councillor Massey added that Mr Ritchie had been exceptionally helpful to him in his role as a new Councillor in assisting him with roads queries and helping him to understand the context in which the service operated.

The Committee wished Mr Ritchie well in his retirement.

-      COUNCILLOR IAN YUILL, Convener