Agenda item

With reference to article 4 of the minute of the meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee of 23 February, 2010, the Committee had before it a report by the Director of Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure which advised of the developments of projects and programmes following the completion in February 2010 of the feasibility work identified in the scoping report that was undertaken by the University of Aberdeen for the development of the South Aberdeen Coastal Regeneration Project. 

The report provided a detailed background to the study and its wider aims and future benefits for the area. The report advised that to date, the attention had been given to developing or supporting work that had focused on the following six projects/themes: -

·        The Torry Battery

·        Torry Community Wetlands Project

·        The SSSI at Nigg Bay

·        Coastal Paths and interpretation points from the mouth of the Harbour to Cove

·        The Marine and Coastal Resource Centre at Nigg Bay

·        Climate Challenges and Marine Spatial Planning

Details of the work undertaken for each of the above projects were provided.

Finally, the report advised that it was envisaged that the projects would deliver benefits that would be cumulative over a ten to twenty year timescale, enabling a turnaround in the degraded environmental conditions that have built up over a long period of time.  Early commitment to projects and sub-projects could help bring forward these anticipated benefits, and would provided a rich backdrop to the heritage and changing climate conditions affecting the North East.

The principle focus for the work of the Project Steering Group was the development of projects that promoted the goal of sustainability linked to offsets in climate change, and would also be well placed to attract external investment.  In support of this goal, the Torry Community Council at a recent meeting agreed to form a fund raising group that would have the ability to bid for awards of funds that the statutory sector was unable to bid for.  If any bids were successful, then a multi agency and community focused approach would be deployed in the creation of any such project, e.g., interpretation / seating / planting.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to note the progress made to date on inter-agency support for the a range of projects and sub-projects through the leadership and co-ordination role undertaken by the Project Steering Group (PSG);

(ii)        to endorse the continuing development of funding proposals in support for the restoration of the Torry Battery and enhancement of its environment, and agree to support the sponsorship a Torry Battery day to commemorate the 150^th Anniversary of its construction, to be scheduled for the summer months of 2011 as set out in section 6.2.1 of the report;

(iii)       to agree to the continuing development of a funding bid in 2011 for European and other funding streams or the creation of the Torry Community Wetland Project, as set out in section 6.2.2. of the report;

(iv)       to accept an invitation by the East Grampian Coastal Partnership and the University of Aberdeen to give a presentation to Members, Officers and Partners on emergent themes of Marine Spatial Planning that links to the new legislation of the Marine (Scotland) Act 2010 as set out in section 6.2.4 of the report; and

(v)        to agree to receive a report back to this Committee in the April/May 2011 cycle, and a report for information to be submitted to the following meeting of the Housing and Environment Committee.