Agenda and minutes

1.1       The Convener congratulated Connor Price, Gillian Douglas and Duncan Morrison from the Flood Prevention Team for their work on the The Selkirk Flood Protection Scheme which had won the Environmental Award at the recent Saltire Civil Engineering Awards.

            DECISION

            AGREED that congratulations be passed to those concerned.

1.2       The Convener advised that an additional meeting of Scottish Borders Council would be held on 30 November 2017 to consider reports in relation to City Deal and Tweedbank.  A briefing for Members on this would be held on 21 November 2017.  He further advised that the Council meeting in December would be changed from 14 December to 21 December to allow the Leader, Chief Executive and Chief Financial Officer to attend a COSLA budget meeting.

            DECISION

            NOTED.

Consider Minute of Scottish Borders Council held on 28 September 2017 for approval and signing by the Convener.  (Copy attached.)

The Minute of the Meeting held on 28 September 2017 was considered.

DECISION

AGREED that the Minute be approved and signed by the Convener.

Consider Minutes of the following Committees:-

(a)     Community Planning Strategic Board               7 September 2017

(b)     Berwickshire Locality                                         7 September 2017

(c)     Cheviot Locality                                                  13 September 2017

(d)     Pension Fund                                                     14 September 2017

(e)     Pension Board                                                    14 September 2017

(f)      Local Review Body                                            18 September 2017

(g)     Executive                                                           19 September 2017

(h)     LLP Strategic Governance                                19 September 2017

(i)      Teviot & Liddesdale Locality                              19 September 2017

(j)      Lauder Common Good Fund                             21 September 2017

(k)     William Hill Trust                                                 21 September 2017

(l)      Civic Government Licensing                              22 September 2017

(m)    Audit & Scrutiny                                                 25 September 2017

(n)     Innerleithen Common Good Fund                     27 September 2017

(o)     Planning & Building Standards                           2 October 2017

(p)     Tweeddale Locality                                            4 October 2017

(q)     Local Review Body                                            16 October 2017

(r)      Executive                                                           17 October 2017

(Please see separate Supplement containing the public Committee Minutes.)

The Minutes of the following Committees had been circulated:-

(a)     Community Planning Strategic Board               7 September 2017

(b)     Berwickshire Locality                                         7 September 2017

(c)     Cheviot Locality                                                  13 September 2017

(d)     Pension Fund                                                     14 September 2017

(e)     Pension Board                                                    14 September 2017

(f)      Local Review Body                                            18 September 2017

(g)     Executive                                                           19 September 2017

(h)     LLP Strategic Governance                                19 September 2017

(i)      Teviot & Liddesdale Locality                              19 September 2017

(j)      Lauder Common Good Fund                             21 September 2017

(k)     William Hill Trust                                                 21 September 2017

(l)      Civic Government Licensing                              22 September 2017

(m)    Audit & Scrutiny                                                 25 September 2017

(n)     Innerleithen Common Good Fund                     27 September 2017

(o)     Planning & Building Standards                           2 October 2017

(p)     Tweeddale Locality                                            4 October 2017

(q)     Local Review Body                                            16 October 2017

(r)      Executive                                                           17 October 2017

DECISION

APPROVED the Minutes listed above.

The questions submitted by Councillors Moffat, Bell and Brown were answered.

DECISION

NOTED the replies as detailed in Appendix I to this Minute.

Consider report by Service Director Regulatory Services.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Regulatory Services proposing approval of the annual update of the Development Plan Scheme.  The report explained that publishing a Development Plan Scheme at least annually was a statutory duty and it must include a participation statement setting out how, when and with whom the Council would consult on the various Local Development Plan stages.  The proposed Development Plan Scheme 2017, a copy of which was appended to the report, had been prepared to provide information on the development plan process and set out the latest position on the Council’s development plans.

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)     to approve the proposed Development Plan Scheme 2017, as detailed in Appendix 1 to the report, for publication deposit and copying to Scottish Ministers;

(b)     that the Development Plan Scheme be reviewed and published at least annually; and

(c)     to authorise the Service Director Regulatory Services to make any necessary minor editing and design changes to the Development Plan Scheme prior to publishing it.

Consider report by Service Director Customer & Communities.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Customer and Communities presenting the draft Local Outcome Improvement Plan (LOIP) for the Scottish Borders.  In the Scottish Borders the LOIP would be known as the Community Plan and would specify the improvement priorities that had been identified for the Community Planning Partnership (CPP).   The report explained that Part 2 (Community Planning) of the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015 came into force on 20December 2016, which placed Community Planning Partnerships on a statutory footing and imposed duties on them around the planning and delivery of local outcomes, and the involvement of community bodies at all stages of community planning.  Under the 2015 Act, CPPs were responsible for preparing and publishing a plan which had a specific focus on tackling inequalities and improve outcomes for those residing in the area of the local authority to which the plan related.  The plan aimed to meet the needs and ambitions of local people so the voices of local people were especially important.  CPPs would also have to produce locality plans at a more local level for areas experiencing particular disadvantage.  The draft Scottish Borders Community Plan, contained in Appendix I to the report, specified the outcomes that had been identified for the Scottish Borders CPP and focused the partnership on delivering better outcomes for the people of the Scottish Borders.  It set the joint commitment to the delivery of an agreed set of priority outcomes based on the conclusions of the refreshed Strategic Assessment, Scottish Index of Multiple Deprivation (SIMD), other plans, strategies and initiatives, practitioner knowledge and engagement with communities and other key stakeholders.  The Community Plan presented these outcomes under 4 themes and details of these themes were contained in the report.  The draft Scottish Borders Community Plan would be presented to the Community Planning Strategic Board on 23 November 2017 for final approval.  In response to a question on outcomes and measures the Service Director advised that following work with Community Planning Partners a refreshed version of the Plan would be produced which would include agreed actions and outcomes.  In future the Plan would be placed on the Council’s website and would become an interactive document.

DECISION

AGREED:-

(a)        to approve the draft Scottish Borders Community Plan, contained in Appendix 1 to the report, as the key strategic document for partnership working in the Scottish Borders; and

(b)       that the draft Scottish Borders Community Plan go forward to the Scottish Borders Community Planning Partnership Strategic Board for approval on 23 November 2017.

Consider report by Service Director Customer and Communities.  (Copy attached.)

With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 28 September 2017, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Customer and Communities containing proposals on the functions, framework and initial core membership, and future operation of Area Partnerships.  The report explained that at its meeting on 28 September 2017, the Council considered proposals to amend the current Locality Committees to become Area Partnerships as part of the review of the Council’s Scheme of Administration.  Members agreed to defer a decision on changes to the Locality Committees until there had been further political discussion.  Subsequently the Members Sounding Board: Political Management Arrangements met on 3 occasions to consider proposals for the new Area Partnerships.   To reflect the new statutory duties under the Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act 2015, it was proposed that the Locality Committees change their constitution, remit and focus to one of community engagement and involvement; at the same time it was proposed that they change their name to that of Area Partnerships to reflect this.  With the greater emphasis on community empowerment, participative budgeting, and locality planning – not just for the Council, but for other public authorities/services - their main aim would be to form a community engagement platform to develop priorities and outcomes for the area.  They would act as a community consultation body, not just for the Council but other service providers in the area, becoming a strong voice for their own area.  A number of options were considered in terms of core membership for the new Area Partnerships, with proposals being recommended to have the relevant SBC Ward members (voting) and 4 Community Council representatives (non-voting) as core members, with invitations to wider representatives – including the Community Planning partners and representatives from communities of interest - to attend and consider matters on a meeting by meeting basis.  Each Area Partnership could increase its core membership up to a maximum of 20.  It was also suggested that locality Community Council networks were set up in each of the 5 areas, but this would be for the Community Councils themselves to agree and manage.  It was important that any change to the focus of Area Partnerships should be reflected in their future operation.  The basis and format of meetings would need to change to move away from the report-driven/officer presentation style of current meetings.  Meetings of Area Partnerships would be structured around the Locality Plan, with an open forum section, a themed section (from the Locality Plan), a progress update on the Locality Plan, and the final section on any decisions required by Councillors on Small Schemes, Quality of Life, or Pay Parking funding.  The membership framework and functions of Area Partnerships were detailed in the Appendix to the report.  There were 2 functions from Locality Committees which would be considered in future by the Executive Committee, after consultation with local Members, and 2 functions which would be delegated to the Service Director Assets & Infrastructure in the Scheme of Delegation.  It  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.

Consider report by Executive Director.  (Copy attached.)

With reference to paragraph 26 of the private Appendix to the Minute of 29 June 2016, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Executive Director providing an update on the overall composition of the City Deal, including both Governments’ financial offer and the Heads of Terms document signed in July and seeking authority to progress and implement the Edinburgh and South East Scotland City Region Deal through the establishment of a Joint Committee, and to delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader, to enter into a minute of agreement.  The report explained that the Terms of Reference for a Deal were agreed in March 2016, Heads of Terms, as contained in Appendix 1 to the report, were received by partners from the Governments on 19 July 2017 and authority was granted to the Leader to sign the Heads of Terms of Agreement through an Emergency Powers Report on 19 July 2017.  The specific financial offer in the City Deal for Scottish Borders amounted to £15m (against an “ask” of £26.9M), mainly to be used for development of the Business Park at Tweedbank/Lowood.  The overall costs of delivering the Tweedbank/Lowood project were estimated to be in the region of £58m.  The funding commitment approved by the Council in the capital programme was currently £5m over 2017/18 and 2018/19, with a further £1.7m being provided by Scottish Enterprise towards the development of business infrastructure.  Commercial rents and contributions of £10.6m were assumed as part of the funding package.  This indicated a current shortfall in capital funding of £25.7m to deliver the full project.  Members noted that further details on the proposals would be provided at the special Council meeting on 30 November 2017.

DECISION

(a)     NOTED the Heads of Terms of Agreement contained in Appendix 1 to the report.

(b)     AGREED:-

          (i)      to establish a Joint Committee under Section 57 of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 with City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Fife, Midlothian, and West Lothian Councils, representatives from the higher education and further education sector, and business to oversee the governance arrangements for the Edinburgh and South East of Scotland City Region Deal;

          (ii)     the arrangements that would inform the proposed Minute of Agreement establishing the Joint Committee as detailed in Appendix 2 to the report;

          (iii)    that the Leader of the Council be appointed to represent the Council on the Joint Committee;

          (iv)    to delegate authority to the Chief Executive, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to negotiate and agree the final Minute of Agreement (the draft contained in Appendix 3 to the report) establishing the Joint Committee, in line with the principles stated in Appendix 2 to the report, and any financial and resource contributions, if they were required; and

          (v)     that updates would be provided to the Economic Development themed meetings of Executive on an ongoing basis on progress with the implementation of the Edinburgh and South East of Scotland City Region  ...  view the full minutes text for item 8.

Consider report by Service Director Assets and Infrastructure.  (Copy attached.)

With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 2 March 2017, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Assets and Infrastructure requesting that the Council make a Preliminary Decision to confirm the proposed Hawick Flood Protection Scheme 2017 (the Scheme) with no modifications, under the Flood Risk Management (Scotland) Act 2009 (the FRM) and the Flood Risk Management (Flood Protection Schemes, Potentially Vulnerable Areas and Local Plan Districts) (Scotland) Regulations 2010; as the Scheme required an Environmental Impact Assessment.  It was also proposed to delegate further authority to continue the Statutory Approvals Processes, the Scheme’s Detailed Design and preparation for the Advanced Works.  The report explained that as part of the Scheme being approved under the FRM it was required to give notice of the Scheme in accordance with Paragraph 1 of Schedule 2 of the FRM.  The date the notice was published under Paragraph 1 (1) (a) was 18 April 2017.  The 28-Day Objection Period concluded on 29 May 2017 and forty eight objections were received to the Scheme.  All objections were deemed to be a ‘valid objection’ as defined within the FRM.  The project team, including the Chief Legal Officer, undertook a detailed analysis and consideration of the topics within the objections.  The Project Team provided a detailed reply to every topic identified in every objection and then engaged with the objectors who had expressed an interest in further discussions and meetings.  It was clear from the meetings with objectors that there were some common misinterpretations of what was being proposed by the Scheme, so the Project Team undertook a series of public events to enable the community to obtain a clear understanding of the proposals and raise any topics of concern.  The Project Team believed that these evenings were successful and gave objectors and supporters the chance to express their views in a public forum. The Project Team believed that all of the points raised in the objections were answered by the mitigation strategies in the suite of published document to provide a balanced scheme to meet all of the project objectives from a national, Council and local perspective.  The way forward for the scheme had been developed following the strong interest within the community to be part of the detailed design phase, so Design Working Groups and a Traffic Management Working Group would be formed.  The Project Board agreed that the Project Team had fully and robustly considered the objections and determined that no modifications were required. The parallel processes of Deemed Planning and the Water Environment (Controlled Activities) (Scotland) Regulations 2011 (i.e. CAR licence) had progressed well with the CAR licence being issued on 18 September 2017.  It was noted that before making a Preliminary Decision on a flood protection scheme with an Environmental Statement the Council must consider the environmental information to comply with Regulation 10 (3) of the FRM’s 2010 Regulations and state in their decision that they had done so.  Members spoke in  ...  view the full minutes text for item 9.

Consider report by Chief Executive.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a report by the Chief Executive giving details of the Boundary Commission for Scotland’s revised proposals from its Review of UK Parliament constituencies in Scotland which impact on the constituents in the Council’s Tweeddale East and West Wards.  The report explained that the 2018 Review of Westminster parliamentary constituencies was being conducted simultaneously by the four Boundary Commissions in Scotland, England, Northern Ireland and Wales, with the aim of reducing the number of constituencies from 650 to 600, with Scottish constituencies decreasing from 59 to 53.  There was a number of criteria applied by the Commission in its proposals for Scottish Constituencies relating to geographic size, Council boundaries and minimum/maximum electorate numbers.  The proposed constituencies which covered the Scottish Borders Council area were Berwickshire, Roxburgh & Selkirk County Constituency, and Midlothian and Upper Tweeddale County Constituency.  This latter Constituency covered the Midlothian Council area, along with SBC Ward 1 (Tweeddale West), and part of SBC Ward 2 (Tweeddale East), where it was stated that the boundary partly followed a Community Council area and an historic ward boundary.  In effect, this meant that Innerleithen and Walkerburn would move away from the rest of Tweeddale into the Berwickshire, Roxburgh and Selkirk County Constituency.  However, if the electorate within Traquair (c. 200), Innerleithen (c. 2,500) and Walkerburn (c.590) were to be placed in Midlothian and Upper Tweeddale, this would increase the total electorate for that constituency to 80,114, which was beyond the maximum allowed electorate of 78,507.  Members noted the proposals.  Members queried which Community Council covered Cardrona and the Clerk to the Council offered to check and confirm this with the Tweeddale Members.

DECISION

NOTED the proposals for the Boundary Commission for Scotland’s Review of UK Parliament constituencies in Scotland and the changes affecting the constituents in the Tweeddale East and West Wards.

Consider Motion by Councillor Paterson in the following terms:-

“That the Leader of Scottish Borders Council writes to the UK Government expressing the Council’s concerns about reports that the changes that are being introduced by the UK government in 2019 will lead to a real-term cut in Scottish Government Funding for investment in the railways in Scotland.  It has been announced that there could be as much as a £600 million gap in funding for projects that the Scottish Government has earmarked and these projects may not now happen.  There are real concerns that this may be the death knell for any plans to extend the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Hawick and then on to Carlisle via Newcastleton; this move by the UK Government may also have a detrimental effect on future rail improvements to the Borders Railway”.

Councillor Paterson, seconded by Councillor Bell, moved the Motion as detailed on the agenda in the following terms:-

“That the Leader of Scottish Borders Council writes to the UK Government expressing the Council’s concerns about reports that the changes that are being introduced by the UK government in 2019 will lead to a real-term cut in Scottish Government Funding for investment in the railways in Scotland.  It has been announced that there could be as much as a £600 million gap in funding for projects that the Scottish Government has earmarked and these projects may not now happen.  There are real concerns that this may be the death knell for any plans to extend the Borders Railway from Tweedbank to Hawick and then on to Carlisle via Newcastleton; this move by the UK Government may also have a detrimental effect on future rail improvements to the Borders Railway”

Councillor Paterson spoke in support of his Motion.  Councillor Rowley, seconded by Councillor Edgar, moved the following amendment:-

“That the Leader of Scottish Borders Council writes to the Scottish Government's Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf MSP, requesting confirmation of his recent "unwavering" commitment to "have the stations built as early in CP6 as practicable and commitment to that objective is unwavering" and to ask him to recognise the significant part which Scottish Borders Council's £2.84 million commitment to Reston plays in delivering sustainable development in one of the lowest income areas of Scotland.

We reaffirm that this Council has the strongest-possible commitment to ensuring the economic and social benefits of the Borders Railway are extended through to Hawick, Newcastleton and on to Carlisle, so the Leader will ask the Minister to make clear that current East Coast Main Line projects and budgets have no connection to future proposals for extension of the Borders Railway and an early meeting will be sought to see how best to progress extension of the Borders Railway to Hawick, Newcastleton and beyond.”

Councillor Laing, seconded by Councillor H. Anderson, moved as an addition to the original Motion that the words “It could also threaten plans to re-open Reston Station” be added after “improvements to the Borders Railway.  Councillor Paterson agreed to accept this amendment to his Motion.

VOTE

On a show of hands Members voted as follows:-

Motion as amended    -           12 Votes

Amendment                 -           17 Votes

The amendment was accordingly approved.

DECISION

DECIDED that the Leader of Scottish Borders Council write to the Scottish Government's Minister for Transport and the Islands, Humza Yousaf MSP, requesting confirmation of his recent "unwavering" commitment to "have the stations built as early in CP6 as practicable and commitment to that objective was unwavering" and to ask him to recognise the significant part which Scottish Borders Council's £2.84 million commitment to Reston played in delivering sustainable development in one of the lowest income areas of Scotland.  We reaffirm that this Council had the strongest-possible commitment to ensuring the economic and social benefits of the Borders Railway  ...  view the full minutes text for item 11.

Consider appointment of Members to the Group.

With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 28 September 2017, Councillor Haslam, seconded by Councillor Turnbull, proposed that the membership of the Major Contracts Governance Group be as follows:-

Councillor G. Turnbull (Chairman)

Councillor G. Edgar

Councillor J. Fullarton

Councillor T. Miers

Councillor D. Moffat

Councillor E. Thornton-Nicol

Councillor T. Weatherston

This was unanimously approved.

DECISION

AGREED the membership of the Major Contracts Governance Group as detailed above.

Consider appointment of replacement for Councillor Marshall on the Roxburgh Sports Council.

Following the resignation of Councillor Marshall as the Council representative on the Roxburgh Sports Council, Councillor Haslam, seconded by Councillor Weatherston, moved that Councillor Richards be appointed.  The was unanimously approved.

DECISION

AGREED to appoint Councillor N. Richards as the Council representative on the Roxburgh Sports Council.

Before proceeding with the private business, the following motion should be approved:-

“That under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 the public be excluded from the meeting for the following items of business on the grounds that they involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs of Part 1 of Schedule 7A to the aforementioned Act.”

DECISION

AGREED under Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 to exclude the public from the meeting during consideration of the business detailed in  Appendix II to this Minute on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 1, 6, 8 and 9 of Part I of Schedule 7A to the Act.

      SUMMARY OF PRIVATE BUSINESS

Consider private Section of Minute of Scottish Borders Council held on 28 September 2017.  (Copy attached.)

The private section of the Council Minute of 28 September 2017 was approved.

Consider private Sections of the Minutes of the following Committees:-

(a)     Cheviot Locality                                                  13 September 2017

(b)     Pension Fund                                                     14 September 2017

(c)     Executive                                                           19 September 2017

(d)     LLP Strategic Governance                                19 September 2017

(e)     Civic Government Licensing                              22 September 2017

(f)      Planning & Building Standards                           2 October 2017

(g)     Executive                                                           17 October 2017

(Please see separate Supplement containing private Committee Minutes.)

The private sections of the Minutes listed in paragraph 3 of this Minute were approved.

Consider report by Executive Director.  (Copy attached.)

The report was withdrawn from the agenda.