Agenda item

With reference to article 29 of the minute of meeting of 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 development of a process for consideration and approval of complementary uses of existing and future Park and Ride/Park and Choose services. The process developed continued to recognise, support and promote the primary function of these assets which was to support the provision of Park and Ride/Park and Choose services.

By way of background, the report reminded members that the Committee had previously been presented with two options, which would require to be addressed separately, of complementary uses of existing park and Ride sites, namely:-

Category 1.   Temporary, ad hoc events which require no permanent set up e.g. promotional, community, special events, training and awareness; and

Category 2.   Permanent facilities and/or routine events which would require fixed or invasive set up, or which require lease arrangements

On consideration of the above, the Committee had instructed officers to develop a draft process for the consideration of Category 1 uses in the first instance, similar if possible to the school lets system and also on the possibilities associated with Category 2 uses. It was emphasised that there should, at the very least, be no additional costs to the Council in supporting, facilitating or enabling any agreed complementary uses.

The report outlined a procedure for Category 1 Usage, namely that the same letting system for school and educational properties supported by the Facilities Management team to enable the let to open and operate be utilised for managing Category 1 usage of Park and Ride/Park and Choose sites. A modified application form for use by applicants who require use of a particular Park and Ride site was attached as appendix 1, whilst appendix 2 showed the proposed procedure that would then be followed in both determining if the application was suitable as a Category 1 use and the subsequent process to be followed, through to acceptance or rejection of the application. With regards charges, it was advised that these would be applied and these would be dependant on the type and length of usage and on whether the application was internal or external to the Council. An additional charge would also be applied if the applicant required the waiting area and toilet facilities to be made available. A charging policy has been developed for consideration and this can be found in appendix 3.

Secondly, the report detailed the possibilities associated with Category 2 Uses. It was advised that Category 2 uses could vary substantially in size and type. It was difficult, therefore, to develop a specific process that would deal with all possible types of Category 2 use. It might be that a procurement approach might deliver better value for the Council. In addition, it was also uncertain at this stage, what the legal advice would be in relation to these larger uses. In light of this, it was considered sufficient, at this stage that the procedure detailed above identified when an application was considered as a Category 2 use and that each was then considered on a case by case basis.

Finally, the report advised of legal issues wherein it was advised that the Kingswells Park and Ride site was the subject of a Compulsory Purchase Order (CPO) and legal advice was sought on the implication of this factor on the use of the site. At this time of writing, officers were still awaiting a definitive view from colleagues in Legal regarding the conditions attached to the CPO for the Kingswells site and the impact that this might have on any proposed complementary uses. Therefore, at present the report was based on the assumption that Category 1 uses would be allowed and that at this stage Category 2 uses would be identified and should then be considered on a case by case basis. This might also impact on the provision of future Park and Ride sites for which there was a requirement to obtain the land through a CPO, and this was currently being considered for land acquisition for the A96 Dyce Park and Choose site.

The report recommended:-

that the Committee –

(a)       approve the process developed in this report for the consideration and approval of Category 1 uses, which had been based on the school lets system;

(b)       note the process for identifying Category 2 uses which would then be considered on a case by case basis; and

(c)        refer the report to the Finance and Resources Committee for approval of the charging policy.

The Committee heard from the Head of Planning and Sustainable Development who advised that she had received advice from legal services on the impact the CPO for the Kingswells site that morning, which could have implications for the proposals, however had been unable to discuss this with legal services and was unable to advise of the implications.

The Committee resolved:-

(i)         to defer consideration of the report to the next meeting of the Enterprise, Planning and Infrastructure Committee at which point legal clarification on the legality and risk assessment of the usage of the site for complementary means should be provided;

(ii)        to instruct officers to contact all individuals who had contacted the Council regarding usage of the park and Ride site to advise of the current position; and

(iii)       to request the Head of Legal and Democratic services to provide an explanation as to why legal advice, on what had been a long awaited report, had not been provided until the day of the Committee instead of through the appropriate consultation procedure prior to the report being circulated.