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.

In relation to items 10.2 (Draft Aberdeen Local Transport Strategy 2023-2030) and 10.4 (Aberdeen City Council Road Safety Plan 2023-2030), the Convener advised for reasons of transparency that he was a member of Cycling UK and the AA, however he did not consider that this amounted to an interest which would prevent him from participating in the item.

In relation to items 10.2 (Draft Aberdeen Local Transport Strategy 2023-2030) and 10.3 (North East Scotland Roads Hierarchy), Councillor Grant advised that he was an employee of Aberdeen Inspired but did not consider that this amounted to an interest which would prevent him from participating in the item.

The Committee had before it the minute of its previous meeting of 20 June 2023 for approval.

The Committee resolved:-

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 for the delay outlined in the planner for items 6 (Building Performance – Energy Efficiency), 7 (Ellon Park & Ride Transport Corridor Study), 10 (Pay & Display – Notice of Motion by Councillor Malik), 11 (Single Use Vapes – Notice of Motion by Councillor van Sweeden), 12 (Traffic Management Measures for TECA site) and 13 (A92 Haudagain Improvement – Detrunking Settlement);

(ii)       to note that item 52 (Fly Tipping, Littering and Dog Fouling) had transferred to the Communities, Housing and Public Protection Committee and that the Clerk would circulate a copy of the report to Members outwith the meeting for information; and

(iii)      to otherwise note the planner.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented the status of appropriate key performance measures relating to the services falling within its remit, to the end of Quarter 1 (2023/2024).

Members asked a number of questions in relation to the sickness absence statistics and the Energy from Waste facility.

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:-

to note the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which provided an update on the performance of Aberdeen City Council’s Roads Maintenance and Roadworks Coordination teams following the publication of the annual performance report by the Scottish Roadworks Commissioner.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee note the contents of the Roads Commissioner’s report, dated 26 May 2023 (set out at Appendix 1 to the report) for assurance.

The Committee resolved:-

to note the report.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which set out objections and comments received as part of the statutory consultation process with respect to proposed Traffic Regulation Orders (TROs).

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      acknowledge the objections received as a result of the public advertisement of proposed Traffic Regulation Orders;

(b)      in relation to “THE ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL (ANGUSFIELD AREA, ABERDEEN) (20MPH SPEED LIMIT) ORDER 202[X]” overrule the objection received and approve this order be made as originally advertised;

(c)      in relation to “THE ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL (DEESIDE GARDENS, ABERDEEN) (PROHIBITION OF WAITING) ORDER 202[X]” overrule the objection received and approve this order be made as originally advertised; and

(d)      in relation to “THE ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL (MAIDENCRAIG AREA, ABERDEEN) (TRAFFIC MANAGEMENT) ORDER 202X” overrule the objection received and approve this order be made as originally advertised.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       in relation to “THE ABERDEEN CITY COUNCIL (DEESIDE GARDENS, ABERDEEN) (PROHIBITION OF WAITING) ORDER 202[X]” to note there were no proposals or plans to introduce a controlled parking zone in the Deeside Gardens area, overrule the objection received, and approve this order be made subject to the modifications indicated on the plan appended to the motion submitted by the Convener; and

(ii)       to otherwise approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which presented the draft Aberdeen Local Transport Strategy (2023-2030) (LTS) and its appendices and supporting documents and sought approval to undertake a process of public and stakeholder consultation on these documents.

Members asked a number of questions in relation to the report and its appendices.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the draft Aberdeen Local Transport Strategy (2023-2030), including its appendices and supporting documents, and instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning to publish them, subject to any minor drafting changes, for an eight week period of public consultation (Appendices 1-8); and

(b)      following the consultation, instruct the Chief Officer - Strategic Place Planning, to report a final Aberdeen Local Transport Strategy (2023-2030) and its appendices and supporting documents back to this Committee in Spring 2024.

The Convener, seconded by the Vice Convener, moved the recommendations as set out in the report.

Councillor Massey, seconded by Councillor Farquhar, moved as an amendment:-

That the Committee agrees the recommendations at (a) and (b), subject to (c) and (d):-

(c)      to recommend the preferred option for the LTS as a “Do Minimum” option with additional focus on providing increased road maintenance and increasing EV chargers, noting that this additional focus would be considered as the LTS progressed, with the appropriate budget being identified at a later stage, ensuring that wording in the LTS was updated to reflect this.

Noting that:

1.       The Option Appraisal report (per Appendix B) was a subjective analysis only. Thus the conclusion was very much open to different interpretation.

2.       The Council Medium Term Financial Strategy outlined a significant potential funding gap between the grant from the Scottish Government and the spending of our Council, indicating that the “Do maximum” transport option would be highly likely to require additional external funding to the Council; and

(d)      to recommend that the consultation, in addition to the publishing of the LTS, must include clear survey questions.  These questions should allow the public to choose between clear options of more segregated cycle lanes, more bus lanes, more of both or minimal change with a focus on increased maintenance to provide improved kerb-to-kerb surfaces.

On a division, there voted:- for the motion (11) – the Convener; the Vice Convener; and Councillors Ali, Blake, Fairfull, Grant, Henrickson, Hutchison, Lawrence, McRae and van Sweeden; for the amendment (2) – Councillors Farquhar and Massey.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to note that officers would circulate information to Members outwith the meeting in relation to the latest statistics as to the uptake of the cycle hire scheme;

(ii)       to note that officers would ascertain if there was a cycle counter on South College Street and advise Members;

(iii)      to request that officers provide information to Members outwith the meeting in relation to (a) whether certain bus routes in Aberdeen had recovered more quickly than others in terms of passenger numbers; and (b) whether long-distance bus travel had seen a rise  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Commissioning which provided information on the outcomes of a recent road reclassification exercise, undertaken in accordance with the revised Roads Hierarchy for the North East of Scotland, and how this might support greater public and stakeholder understanding of the Council’s strategic and long-term vision for transport in the city.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the final revised Roads Hierarchy and the road reclassifications undertaken; and

(b)      instruct the Chief Officer – Strategic Place Planning to promote the revised Roads Hierarchy, noting that raising awareness would inform the context behind many current and forthcoming transport projects, supporting greater public and stakeholder appreciation of the aims and objectives of these projects.

The Committee resolved:-

to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which set out the new Aberdeen City Council Road Safety Plan 2023 to 2030 which reported on the achievements in meeting the 2020 targets and progress towards the new 2030 targets.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      note the new Aberdeen City updated road casualty figures to 2022; and

(b)      approve the new Aberdeen City Council Road Safety Plan 2023 – 2030 to further reduce these figures towards the targets set within Scotland’s Road Safety Framework to 2030.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to request that officers investigate whether there was any explanation as to why the target for the reduction on killed child casualties had been reached, but the target was yet to be reached on seriously injured child casualties and advise Members accordingly; and

(ii)       to approve the recommendations.

The Committee had before it a report by the Director of Resources which  presented the Roads Winter Service Plan for the coming winter for approval, highlighting any significant changes.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)      approve the “Roads Winter Service Plan 2023/2024” (Appendix 1); and

(b)      delegate authority to the Chief Officer - Operations and Protective Services, following consultation with the Chief Officer – Finance, to continue to deliver the Winter Maintenance Service.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)       to request that officers bring forward the opening date for applications for community salt bags from 1 October to 18 September, and to note that officers would discuss promotion of this with External Communications colleagues;

(ii)       to note that officers would be providing a Member briefing session on winter maintenance and emergency planning / resilience and would also invite Members to visit the Tullos Depot;

(iii)      to note that officers would liaise with the External Communications team around the communication to areas where there was less use of the yellow bins to encourage uptake;

(iv)      to request that officers circulate a map to Members of the location of large community bins and locations for salt bag delivery if this was available;

(v)      to note that officers would liaise with Councillor Massey outwith the meeting in relation to his query about the map for Silver Route 10; and

(vi)      to approve the recommendations.

-                COUNCILLOR IAN YUILL, Convener