Agenda and minutes

Minute of Meeting of 1 October 2015 to be approved and signed by the Chairman (copy attached)

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of 1 October 2015.

DECISION

APPROVED and signed by the Chairman.

Note meeting procedure (copy of extract from the Scottish Borders Council Petitions Procedure attached)

There had been circulated copies of an extract from the Scottish Borders Council Petitions Procedure which set out the process to be followed at the meeting.

DECISION

NOTED.

There had been circulated copies of a petition, submitted to the Council on 19 August 2015, entitled “120 Bus Petition”.  The form was accompanied by a large number of signatures and was submitted by the Chairman of Hawick Community Council.  However it was explained that action had been co-ordinated with other Community Councils, with elected Councillors and the local MSP.   There had also been circulated copies of a briefing note by the Service Director Neighbourhood Services.  The Chairman welcomed Mr Andy Maybury to the meeting to present the petition on behalf of the Principal Petitioner and asked for a round of introductions from Members of the Committee and officers. 

3.2.      On being invited by the Chairman to address the Committee, Mr Maybury explained that the petition had grown out of a number of concerns, some general and some specific to the bus service about which the petition referred.   He challenged an often expressed view that one must have a car to survive in the Borders, maintaining that 85 – 90% of the population of the Scottish Borders lived within major settlements but 20% of households did not have a car.  Bus services were the key for transport between settlements and, although once considered a public service, were more recently left to be run on a commercial basis.  Mr Maybury explained that the No. 20 (later No.120) bus service was a combination of four services: Hawick to Jedburgh; Jedburgh to Kelso; a Jedburgh loop incorporating Howdenburn; and Hawick loop incorporating Weensland Road.  The route was taken over in 2011 by First Borders and operated on a commercial basis resulting in a significant increase in fares and subsequent outcry from users.  The Council had then provided a subsidy for some return fares to reduce these to a more reasonable level.  However sometime in December 2014/ January 2015 First Borders dropped the service from its standard schedule and said they would pull out.  A separate timetable was issued for Services120 and 20 with temporary financial support from Scottish Borders Council.  Mr Maybury alleged that nothing more was communicated to the public domain until late summer when the Council’s temporary support ended and the service was threatened.  It was at this stage that the petition to save this bus service was started. Mr Maybury outlined that after 17 August a revised bus timetable resulted in the previous 13 Hawick – Jedburgh and 9 Jedburgh – Kelso journeys being reduced to 6 and 3 respectively.  After particular engagement with residents in Eckford the timetable was further revised to offer 8 Hawick – Jedburgh and 7 Jedburgh – Kelso journeys but Mr Maybury pointed out that this service was still a reduction from the original.  He concluded by saying that the petition asked for the retention of this bus service.

3.3      Members welcomed the petition.  In response to a request for further clarification about exactly what petitioners were requesting, Mr Maybury said he had not seen any communication from the Council to indicate that the support  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Consider Briefing Note by Clerk to the Council (copy attached)

There had been circulated copies of a briefing note by the Clerk to the Council advising the Committee of the non-acceptance of a petition received against the siting of a 3G Pitch in Victoria Park, Peebles.  The note explained that the petition was received on 26 November 2015. The Executive Committee had agreed at its meeting on 29 September 2015 that Victoria Park was the preferred location for a 3G synthetic pitch in Peebles.  Within the terms of the Petitions procedure agreed at Council, petitions would not be accepted which ‘relate to a decision made by the Council or a committee during the preceding six months’.  A letter was therefore written to the Principal Petitioner on 2 December 2015 advising that the petition could not be accepted for consideration by the Petitions and Deputations Committee at this time.In the ensuing discussion Councillor Bell advised that he had since been contacted by the Principal Petitioner and had provided information on the process in relation to the proposed 3G Pitch in terms of future decisions on the application for planning consent, consideration of the use of the land by the Peebles Common Good Fund Sub Committee, and provision of capital budget.

DECISION

NOTED.