Agenda item

Report by Executive Director – Customer Services

The Council considered a report which advised Members of the position both in relation to the recent referendum and current tendering exercise recently conducted regarding the proposed works to be carried out under the Helensburgh CHORD Project.

 

The Provost adjourned the Meeting at 12.05pm and re-convened at 12.20pm.

 

Motion

 

The Council:

 

1. Notes the report.

 

2. Instructs officers to progress Option 3 to completion in consultation with the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Leader and the Helensburgh Project Board.

 

3. Instructs officers to:

 

a)      Investigate other potential applications for the SPT funding for transport projects within or adjacent to Helensburgh town centre and/or

 

b)      Negotiate an agreement with SPT to roll forward the allocated funding into future years.

 

Moved by Councillor Robb, seconded by Councillor Freeman.

 

Amendment

 

That the Council:

 

1. Notes the result of the hastily organised informal referendum on the Colquhoun Square part of the Helensburgh Chord Project and notes that the majority of those who voted preferred Option 3.

 

2. Notes that 560 people out of an electorate of nearly 19,000 will determine the future of the town centre, this representing less than 3% of the electorate.

 

3. Regrets that there were no consultants on hand at the referendum to answer questions and resolve queries on the three options presented and inform decision making, unlike all the different events and processes described in Appendix 1.

 

4. Regrets that no account has been taken of the previous elements of consultation in forming a balanced view on the option to be pursued.

 

5. Regrets that under Option 3, the estimated start date for the project has been pushed back to March 2013 at the earliest.

 

6. Regrets that the referendum denied the opportunity to vote to residents who were unable to get to the only polling place in the whole of Helensburgh & Lomond through illness, disability, distance or holiday.

 

7. Regrets that Councillors are seeing the comments from local people and the detail of the paper only today at the Council meeting with no opportunity to see how best these aspirations could be incorporated into the project.

 

8. Welcomes the Administration’s commitment to strengthen the role of Area Committee’s and in that vein:

 

a)      Instructs the Executive Director to bring forward a paper to a Special Meeting of the Area Committee which will

                                                               i.            Summarise for members, all elements of consultation since the projects inception including the recent informal referendum.

                                                             ii.            Advise members of any potential design amendments, options, composite designs that would reflect elements of the consultation whilst still ensuring that work can begin on the ground during 2012.

 

b)      Delegates the approval of the final design to the Helensburgh and Lomond Area Committee.

 

c)      Requests that the Special Committee meeting takes place in August.

 

d)      Following approval by the CHORD programme board, instructs the Executive Director of Customer Services, to take such action as may be necessary in terms of procurement and planning legislation and any other necessary steps to allow physical work on the PRI to begin before Christmas.

 

9. Ring fences the £6.6 million to the Helensburgh Chord Project so that it cannot be removed regardless of any delay.

 

10. Regrets the decision by the current administration to remove representatives of Community Councils and local Chambers of Commerce from the Chord Project Board thus minimising the involvement of the local community.

 

11. Notes that the original remit for the project was economic regeneration and the consultation was to be aimed at residents, visitors and business. The referendum carried out on Monday 25^th June did not attempt to engage either visitors or businesses.

 

12. Instructs officers to bring forward a detailed paper on the additional costs involved in carrying out the informal referendum and consultation, including the design fees for the new options; the mailshot to all households; the officer time costed in promoting, organising and running the referendum/consultation.

 

13. Note the risk to the project from the potential loss of the SMT money.

 

 

Appendix 1

 

HELENSBURGH CHORD – PREVIOUS CONSULTATION

 

Postcards went out February 2010 – 86 replies from 7,500 households

Perception questionnaire – sent out to 1,000 people, 240 responses

Businesses consulted through 100 street interviews

Strathclyde Police were met and consulted

2 days – 8 & 9 March 2010 – open day in Colquhoun Square – 77 people contributed comments

Future walks programme involving groups representing constituents with mobility issues – 125 people took part

Option appraisal process – 57 people contributed to that

Open day in May 2010 – over 100 people took part

Meetings with taxi operators, letters to bus operators, meetings with the West Kirk and St Columba’s Churches, with Enable, Tree Trust and Horticultural Society

Exhibition for 4 days – 21 – 25 June 2010 in Helensburgh Library

Meeting with matron at Waverly Ct to discuss town centre access issues Feb 2011

Presentation to Civic Society in Feb 2011

Second public exhibition in April 2011

Repeated meetings with Chamber of Commerce, including their transport group in June 2011

Meeting with Helensburgh Rotary Club June 2011

 

Moved by Councillor Mulvaney, seconded by Councillor E Morton.

 

The requisite number of Members required the vote to be taken by calling the roll, and Members voted as follows:-

 

Motion	Amendment
Councillor Blair	Councillor Colville
Councillor Breslin	Councillor Corry
Councillor Devon	Councillor Dance
Councillor Freeman	Councillor Kinniburgh
Councillor Glen-Lee	Councillor MacDougall
Councillor Hall	Councillor D MacIntyre
Councillor Horn	Councillor McNaughton
Councillor McCuish	Councillor McQueen
Councillor MacDonald	Councillor Marshall
Councillor R E Macintyre	Councillor A Morton
Councillor R G MacIntyre	Councillor E Morton
Councillor Philand	Councillor Mulvaney
Councillor Robb	Councillor Scoullar
Councillor Robertson
Councillor Semple
Councillor Strong
Councillor Taylor
Councillor Trail

 

Decision

 

The Motion was carried by 18 votes to 13 and the Council resolved accordingly.

 

(Ref: Report by the Executive Directors of Customer Services and Development and Infrastructure Services dated 28 June 2012, tabled)