Minutes:
Question from Liz Wren
Liz Wren referred to Kilchattan Bay experiencing a lot of traffic in recent months with cars parked nose to tail in the summer and children running across the road to the beach. She asked if the Area Committee would support the introduction of a 20 mph speed limit in Kilchattan Bay and a 30 mph speed limit on the road from Kingarth to Kilchattan Bay before there was a serious accident.
Response from Committee
The Committee Manager said that he had been advised by Roads colleagues that before a change to speed limits could be implemented a speed volume survey would be required. It was confirmed that this area has been earmarked for a survey. In February this year it was 11th on the list of priorities and that it was now in 9th place on the outstanding list. Colleagues in Roads were waiting on a replacement battery for the survey equipment and once this was received the programme of surveys would recommence. The Committee Manager confirmed that as soon as he received any further update he would pass this on to Liz and the Committee Members.
Liz asked if there could be anyway of pushing that survey on a bit. She commented that when the 30 mph speed limit was introduced there was not the same volume of traffic as there was nowadays.
Councillor McNeilly advised that she was sure the Chair would be supportive of this and gave an assurance that this survey would be undertaken as soon as possible and that the community would be kept informed.
Question from Finlay Martin
Finlay Martin asked what the process would be for changing the speed limit from 30 mph to 20 mph.
Response from Committee Manager
The Committee Manager advised that it would involve a Traffic Regulation Order (TRO) which could be a lengthy process. He agreed to arrange for the procedure undertaken to be forwarded to Finlay for his information.
Finlay advised that it was his understanding that the Scottish Government had plans to bring all 30 mph roads down to 20 mph and that this was a policy hoped to be put in place by 2025. He said it was the long term intention to have all 30 mph roads with street lights brought down to 20 mph. He suggested that the Council should try to get ahead of the game and push this policy forward.
The Chair advised that any issues brought to the Committee’s attention were taken very seriously. She confirmed that the Committee Manager would come back separately with information on the whole TRO process.
Liz Wren commented that Angus Council had already implemented this 20 mph policy in villages and built up areas.
The Chair invited the Project Manager for Roads and Infrastructure Services to speak.
The Project Manager referred to comments made about the introduction of 20 mph limits across the area and advised that under the new Transport Act there were regulations and provisions for blanket 20 mph zones but these were not in place yet. He advised that Scottish Borders Council were currently piloting a trial on this and would be reporting back to the Society of Chief Officers for Transport in Scotland (SCOTS). This feedback would then be shared with all Heads of Roads in Scotland and would inform any plans taken forward.
The Project Manager confirmed that contact would be made with colleagues in Angus Council to find out about any pilot they may be undertaking.
Councillor Kennedy-Boyle asked about the possibility of introducing a temporary TRO for the Kilchattan Bay area. The Project Manager confirmed that this may be possible but before this could be introduced a traffic survey would have to be undertaken. The Chair confirmed that the Committee had already been advised that this area was 9th on the list of traffic surveys still to be undertaken.
Councillor Blair referred to Roads waiting on replacement batteries for the survey equipment. He asked if the Service could ensure a supply of batteries were kept in stock.
Question from Isobel Strong
Isobel Strong advised that she was Chair of the Ardencraig Gardens Friends Group and that they were very disappointed that there had been no spring planting this year. She sought confirmation of the procurement process that had been undertaken in this respect.
She then pointed out that 3,000 summer plants had just arrived in a single shipment and due to the small number of staff they were not sure how they would be planted out. She advised that the plants that had arrived were smaller than what would have been grown at Ardencraig. She asked if the decision taken to not grow plants in Ardencraig and to buy them in instead could be re-examined.
Isobel commented that in front of Rothesay there were no flower beds and walking along the promenade from Albert Pier to Glenburn Road the weeds were 3 foot high. She also advised that from the minutes of the last meeting it had been noted that the Victorian toilets would be open, but visitors to the island last week found them closed. She asked for an update on this and also asked when the pontoons would be operational.
The Chair referred to the decision taken about Ardencraig and advised that this was a Council decision taken at the budget meeting.
The Project Manager advised that an update on the pontoons and the Victorian toilets was contained within the report that would be considered at item 6 on the Agenda for this meeting. He confirmed that he would take any issues or concerns raised back to the local team.
In terms of the spring and summer planting, the Project Manager confirmed that the Council had tendered for spring and summer bedding plants and the market fed back that they would be unable to deliver spring bedding plants. He advised that at the time the savings were proposed there was no indication that this would be the case but it seemed that market forces had changed. He referred to information about the tender process previously being sent out to the Ardencraig Group and he agreed to forward that again via the Committee Manager.
Robert Macintyre commented that Isobel Strong had put forward viewpoints that were very relevant. He said that right now walking along Rothesay all you could see were bare beds when a year ago there were beautiful flowers which people from all over Scotland came to marvel at. He advised that the summer bedding plants were just starting to be planted now and the quality and size of the plants were poor compared to what had been grown locally in the past. He asked if the Council would revert back to the successful way the flowers were turned out before.
The Project Manager advised that every policy saving taken by the Council was reviewed on an ongoing basis. He confirmed that the quality of the plants in this instance would be reviewed by the Council’s professional horticulturists and a report would be prepared for consideration by Members. It was noted that this report would go before the Policy and Resources Committee. There was no timescale for this report but it was expected that it would be prepared at the end of the summer season.
Councillor Kennedy-Boyle asked what efforts were made to develop local supply chains. The Chair reminded Councillor Boyle that this was public question time and she asked the Project Manager to respond direct to Councillor Kennedy-Boyle outwith the meeting.
Question from Jean Moffat
Jean asked to whom the report would go to. She asked if it would go to every individual Councillor regarding the outcome of the purchased bedding plants and if there would be finances.
Response from Project Manager/Committee Manager
The Project Manager advised that every single policy saving was regularly reported on and that is was his understanding it went to all Members. The Committee Manager said he believed that the report would be considered by the Policy and Resources Committee and that the report would be published online 3 clear working days before consideration of that report and that this report would be accessible to both elected Members and members of the public. The Project Manager advised that all aspects of policy savings were reported on and in this case the quality of the plants and the outcome of that policy saving would be considered.
Councillor Blair asked if the Committee could make a formal request for this Committee to receive a copy of the report before it went to the Policy and Resources Committee.
The Chair advised that there was a process in place on how Committee reports were issued. She said that this would come out in the public domain before the Committee for everyone to see. The Project Manager advised that a clear and meaningful review would not likely be done before the end of the summer and that the report would be prepared after that time. He advised that like other areas Bute and Cowal was experiencing issues and, in particular, the area suffered from a relatively small field of contractors and with the Council issuing contracts that tended to be smaller than other authorities they were a less attractive customer. Councillor Blair commented that this statement was an argument for growing our own.