Agenda and minutes

Consider Minute of Meeting held on 18 November 2020.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the meeting held on 18 November 2020

DECISION

AGREED to approve the Minute.

Consider briefing note by Solicitor on the role of Trustees.  (Copy attached.)

There had been circulated copies of a briefing note by Gillian Sellar, Solicitor which detailed the history of the Trust, its evolution, the appointment of Trustees and their duties.  With regard to the appointment of lay members the Trustees were advised that although it might not be impossible this had not worked well in the past. The structure of the Trust had specified 2 different classifications of Trustees i.e. Trustees appointed as owners and those to manage the library, museum etc. Subsequent legislative changes had replaced the management Trustee role by transferring the obligation to the Local Authority. Legislation in 1994 provided that the Council was to appoint Trustees in respect of properties it held in Trust.  Councillor Tatler commented on the fact that Common Good Funds had Community Council observers.  It was noted that such a decision would require to be made by full Council rather than the Trustees. The Chairman therefore proposed that the current membership of the 6 Tweeddale Area Councillors be maintained and this was unanimously supported.  The Chairman advised that Trustees always welcomed comments and ideas from the community which they would feed into meetings.

DECISION

AGREED that the membership of the Chambers Institution Trust remain as the 6 Councillors representing the Tweeddale Area.

Consider briefing note by the Estates Manager.  (Copy attached.)

3.1       There had been circulated copies of a briefing note by Neil Hastie, Estates Manager which provided details of current occupiers, usage figures provided by Live Borders and stakeholders who could be included in community engagement. There was also information on the condition and maintenance of the building, energy performance and building signage together with suggested actions and next steps for the Trustees to consider.  Neil Hastie advised that the Burgh Hall was normally well used and Live Borders had been working on a development concept for the building which they might be able to provide more details on at a future meeting.  Shona Smith, Communities and Partnership Manager had agreed to provide help to formulate a questionnaire for the stakeholder engagement.  With regard to maintenance of the building it would be necessary to revisit the Condition Survey which could be carried out by the District Valuer. This would allow the preparation of a 10 year plan for future maintenance and refurbishment.  Gareth Smith, Property Officer for the area had prepared a list of works for the next 3 years to bring the building up to tolerable standard and had already begun to prepare costings.  These maintenance works with suggested timescale were listed in an appendix to the paper.  With regard to energy performance it was proposed to instruct the Councils usual contactor and include the whole property.  The signage around the property had a mix of designs and was not very clear so a corporate signage plan was proposed.

3.2       Members discussed the paper and agreed that works needed to be divided into short, medium and long term with the works on the Burgh Hall being dealt with first. It was noted that the Burgh Hall was to be used as a vaccination centre so works could not start immediately and that this time be used to pull together the maintenance costs and carry out a consultation with users of the Burgh Hall regarding what type of kitchen facilities would suit them best.  A further consultation on the Page & Park Proposals could be carried out at a later date. Signage could also be treated as a longer term project.  Councillor Tatler asked that the Tweeddale Access Panel be included in the consultation regarding the Burgh Hall.  In terms of the longer term consultation it was important that this was made available as widely as possible.  It was proposed that the Chairman work with officers on the first consultation and that a further meeting be held in a months’ time to look at the proposed consultation questions and Trustees also asked that a member of the Community Engagement Team and a member of the Communications Team be invited to the meeting.

DECISION

AGREED that:-

(a)     the works to the Chambers Institution be divided into short, medium and long term with work to the Burgh Hall being carried out first following a consultation with users, then dealing with the maintenance issues followed by consultation and agreement around the implementation of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.1       Neil Hastie advised that he had received a request from Live Borders to use the street facing windows for a display to promote the “Back on Track” Project which was being carried out by the Museum and Library Service together with the Peebles Railway Group.

            DECISION

            AGREED subject to approval of the graphics to be used.

4.2       Neil Hastie advised that he had received a request from the Citizens Advice Bureau to install a post box in the Quadrangle as they did not have a letter box.  The Chairman advised that there was no access to the quadrangle at present as the Live Borders Caretaker was on furlough.  It was assumed that the CAB must have a set of keys to allow access but Gareth Smith could open the gates during the week during working hours. The issue of attaching a post box to a listed building was raised and that planning consent might be needed.

            DECISION

            AGREED:-

(a)     to give approval for the installation of a mail box subject to any necessary permissions; and

(b)     that the quadrangle gates be open from 9am to 5 pm on weekdays and that a list of keyholders be provided to the Trustees.

4.3       With reference to paragraph 2.1 of the minute of 18 November 2020, it was reported that the trees for the Quadrangle were now on order.

            DECISION

            NOTED.

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 Paragraph 9 of Part I of Schedule 7A to the Act.

SUMMARY OF PRIVATE BUSINESS

Consider private section of Minute of Meeting held on 18 November 2020.  (Copy attached.)

The private section of the Minute of 18 November 2020 was approved.