Agenda and minutes

Minute of meeting held on 20 June 2017 to be approved and signed by the Chairman (copy attached).

The Minute of meeting of the Executive Committee of 20 June 2017 had been circulated.

            DECISION

            APPROVED for signature by the Chairman.  

Consider report by Chief Officer Roads giving an update on reported road casualties in 2016 and progress towards meeting the Scottish Government casualty reduction targets (copy attached).

2.1      There had been circulated copies of a report by the Chief Officer Roads giving an update on reported road casualties in 2016 and on progress towards meeting the Scottish Government casualty reduction targets. The report explained that in June 2009 the Scottish Government set revised targets for accident reduction across a number of key headings.  The base taken for this was the 2004 – 08 annual average and the target reduction was by the year 2020 with interim targets set for 2015.  The five areas identified as national reduction targets were:- the number of people killed in road accidents; the number of people seriously injured in road accidents; the number of children under 16 killed in road accidents; the number of children seriously injured in road accidents; and the slight injury accident rate.  The national position was generally positive based on the official 2015 figures, with reductions continuing to be shown across all the accident reduction areas identified and all but the second category outlined currently exceeding the interim 2015 reduction targets. Provisional 2016 figures, however, indicated some worrying increases in key categories. At a local Scottish Borders level, 2016 was a disappointing year with a rise on previous years in the overall number of fatal and serious injuries as well as in the number of serious injuries to children.  Consolidation of the figures for the last few years however suggests that the long-term trend of road-accident casualty reduction in the Scottish Borders area continues.

2.2       The Network Manager, Mr Brian Young, gave further information about progress against individual targets and answered Members’ questions.  With regard to causations and contributory factors he advised that the amount of information received from Police Scotland depended on the reporting level at each particular accident.  It should be noted also that only injury accidents were recorded and notified by the police. The Chief Executive advised Members that she met with the Police regularly to discuss the deployment of police resources across the Scottish Borders, including planned interventions.  It would be possible to get some statistics at a local level and she offered to bring a report back to the Executive Committee in the autumn on police activity, education, campaigns and crack downs. With regard to road engineering factors, in the majority of cases accidents were not shown to be linked to road surface or conditions but the Council’s Accident Investigation and Prevention (AIP) team’s ‘Moving Cursor’ programme identified crash cluster sites and investigated any common trends and patterns.  Where appropriate, proposals for remedial measures would be prepared for the team’s consideration.  It was recognised that the general downward trend in the number of accidents locally and nationally could be due to a host of factors.  However Scottish Borders Council would continue to take forward educational and other initiatives with a view to changing road user behaviour and attitudes.    With regard to ongoing work in schools, a representative from Children and Young People’s Services sat on the multi-partnership Scottish Borders Road Safety Working  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

Consider report by Service Director Assets & Infrastructure seeking approval to increase the funding for the Union Chain Bridge Project (copy attached).

3.1       With reference to paragraph 6 of the Minute of 7 March 2017, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director Assets and Infrastructure seeking approval to increase the funding for the Union Chain Bridge Project to £1M to support the application to Heritage Lottery Fund and match the commitment from Northumberland County Council.  The Project Management Team Leader, Mr Ewan Doyle, explained that, since the update to the Executive Committee in March 2017, that stated the Heritage Lottery Fund application date of June 2017, there had been several developments on the project that had affected its progress and budget estimate, ultimately causing a delay in the application to Heritage Lottery from Northumberland County Council, as lead agents, until December 2017. There had been proactive consultation with Historic England over the past twelve months, which was required to support the Heritage Lottery Fund application.  Unfortunately Historic England required a higher level of restoration to the original features than originally envisaged and there was also increased scope to the engineering works required.  This had contributed to an estimated increase from the aspiration of circa £5M project to £7.8M, and ultimately creating a £900k funding gap.  Northumberland County Council had approved a report to their Cabinet Committee to re-affirm their commitment to the project and increase their financial contribution over the next 3 years from £550k to £755k with an overall project contribution estimated at £1M.  A matched contribution of £1M was also consequently expected from Scottish Borders Council.  A table within the report outlined Northumberland County Council’s revised proposed funding structure for the project. Representatives from the Heritage Lottery Fund indicated that there was still strong support for the project but that if the bid was submitted with the request for increase in funding the project would be considered at a national, rather than local, level and have to compete with other national projects. 

3.2       In discussing the report Members were in support of the project to restore the bridge, recognising its historical significance and importance as a crossing point and link between two communities and tourist locations.  It was recognised that if the Heritage Lottery Fund application was unsuccessful the authorities would be left with a declining asset which may require an increased contribution from both authorities for its repair or replacement, or a reduction in the bridge’s capacity to carry vehicular traffic.  Concern was expressed at the request for additional funding for the project and the proposal to allocate this from the Roads and Bridges capital block in future years, for which there would be many other competing demands.  The delay in the application to Heritage Lottery Fund had allowed a much more technical investigation on the condition of the bridge, with only 25% of the estimated increase in cost due to heritage aspects.  The Chief Financial Officer noted the risks relating to large funding packages which were reliant on multiple funding partners and explained that the £450k was being vired within the 2019/20 and  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

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 the Appendix to this minute on the grounds that it involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the relevant paragraphs of  part 1 of schedule 7A to the Act.

SUMMARY OF PRIVATE BUSINESS

Private section of Minute of meeting held on 20 June 2017 to be noted and signed by the Chairman. 

The private section of the Minute of 20 June 2017 was approved.

Consider Private Minute of Meeting held on 10 April 2017. 

The Minute of the meeting held on 10 April 2017 was approved.