Scottish Borders Council

Agenda and minutes

Venue: Via MS Teams

Contact: Fiona Henderson, Democratic Services Officer  Tel: 01835 826502

Link: teamsliveevent

Items
No. Item

AUDIT & SCRUTINY BUSINESS

1.

Minute. pdf icon PDF 98 KB

Minute of Meeting of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee held on 23 November 2020    to be approved and signed by the Chairman. (Copy attached.)

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There had been circulated copies of the Minute of the Meeting held on 22 October 2020.

 

DECISION

APPROVED for signature by the Chairman.

 

SCRUTINY BUSINESS

2.

Petition pdf icon PDF 3 MB

Additional documents:

Minutes:

2.1       Petitions Procedure

            There had been circulated copies of an extract from the Audit and Scrutiny Committee Petitions procedure and the Chairman asked for this to be noted.  The Chairman welcomed to the meeting lead petitioner Mr Malcolm Campbell and also Alison Campbell. 

 

2.2       Petition – Removal of Scottish Flags from Henderson Park, Coldstream

            There had been circulated copies of a petition entitled “Stop Scottish Borders Council removing Scottish Flags from Henderson Park, Coldstream”, which had received the required 10 signatories.  There had also been circulated a Change.org petition with over 3,000 signatures, although not all those signing were from the Scottish Borders.  These petitions were in response to the Council’s decision to have the flags removed from Henderson Park, Coldstream.  There had also been circulated copies of a briefing note by the Service Director Assets and Infrastructure in response to the petition. It was stated within the petition that “Scottish flags had been put in by an individual in Coldstream to cheer us all up during the Covid outbreak when we should have been celebrating out Civic Week but could not.  As Coldstream was the ’first true Border toon’ it was entirely appropriate that Scottish flags be flown proudly in Henderson Park and tourists and residents have been pleased to enjoy these flags over the years.” 

 

2.3     The Chairman invited the petitioner to present the petition via Microsoft Teams.  Mr Campbell introduced himself and explained that he wanted the Committee to understand how important these flags were to the community.  The flags had first been put up in Henderson Park in 2014 following a request from Scottish Borders Council to the Community Council to decorate the park to mark the Commonwealth Games being held in Scotland and the baton being carried through the town by Olympic athletes.   Mr David Shepherd had been asked to create a display, as he had experience in creating displays which complied with Health and Safety legislation, and to make the town more attractive.  The flags had been erected in Henderson Park every year since to mark the town’s Annual Civic Week (first full week in August) and remained up until after the anniversary of Flodden Day on 9th September.  On 7 September 2020, Mr Shepherd was advised that a complaint had been received about a saltire flag attached to Council property and that the flags should be removed with immediate effect.  Despite requests, no reason was given at the time although there had been a series of e-mail exchanges to the nature of the complaint and the flags were removed on 7 September 2020 (and therefore not flying on Flodden Day for the first time since 2014).  Scottish Borders Council had since gone on record in a Freedom of Information (FOI) request that there was no complaint, merely an enquiry and that the ‘flags were erected/attached to Council Property with no prior permission’.  The FOI response continued: “whilst these may have been erected in this location in previous years to mark Coldstream  ...  view the full minutes text for item 2.

3.

Balance between 20mph speed limits and Street Architecture pdf icon PDF 140 KB

Consider briefing paper.  (Copy attached.)

Minutes:

3.1       There had been circulated copies of a report by the Service Director, Assets and Infrastructure which provided details to members on the balance between 20mph speed limits and the use of street architecture, and an update on the 20mph experiment across settlements in the Scottish Borders.  Ms Gilhooly, Project/Road User Manager, explained that there was a variety of traffic calming features available for construction.  However, research into the efficacy of these in general was very dated, and in rural settings, was extremely rare.  The most commonly used traffic calming features were:

·           Signing

·           Lining and Surface Treatments

·           Humps and Bumps

·           Variable Message Signs

·           Islands, Chicanes, Build Outs

·           Protected Parking and Realigning

·           Light Controlled Crossings

·           Roundabouts, Gateway Treatments and Transition Buffers

·           Shared Spaces (moratorium at present)

 

3.2       Each traffic calming feature came with its own advantages and disadvantages and some worked in tandem better with others.  Costs varied depending on the interventions, with some having ongoing maintenance issues and others causing problems on bus routes and emergency access roads, with noise and vibration frequently cited as intolerable by residents.  It was rare for an individual traffic calming feature to be successful in the longer term, and it was generally accepted that a mix and match of features was the most appropriate.  Also worth bearing in mind was that some traffic calming features had a very localised effect, and consideration was needed into possible adverse effects elsewhere and unintended consequences.  The Council’s traffic and road safety team had successfully applied to the Transport Scotland Road Safety Research fund for ‘The Eddleston Study’ into traffic calming features.  This research involved Edinburgh Napier University conducting a worldwide literature review of the effects of traffic calming as well as an analysis of recently introduced local traffic calming features in Eddleston.  An assessment of the strengths of traffic calming measures was detailed in the report.  In the context of Eddleston village, where Dragon’s teeth at the speed limit change were introduced first, followed by Vehicle Activated Signage (VAS), the evidence from this Literature Review was that careful selection of additional traffic calming measures may provide a synergetic effect in bringing down motor vehicle speeds as they enter and proceed through the village.  Further application of traffic calming measures on the approach or at the village gateways, plus the potential for further measures in the village itself, would look to be the approach needed.  There was a range of options which included, for example, installing VAS at or close to each gateway and changes in road surface colour, potentially with the 30mph speed limit painted onto the red surfacing. The potential for speed tables and chicanes may be limited by the proximity of residential properties and geometry but may be worth exploring as they were both reported as achieving relatively high speed reductions.  There was a need to keep traffic moving within the speed limit, with drivers preferring to keep moving rather than stop/start, which could lead to faster speeds at places within the limit.  

 

3.3  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

4.

Police Community Action Teams Governance pdf icon PDF 111 KB

Consider report by Executive Director, Finance & Regulatory.  (Copy attached)

Minutes:

4.1       With reference to paragraph 13 of the Minute of the Audit and Scrutiny Committee of 22 October 2020, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Executive Director, Finance & Regulatory, which provided further details of potential amended governance arrangements for the Police Community Action Teams (CATs).  As had been reported previously, the performance monitoring of the CATs could be moved from the CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group to the Executive Committee and be reported through the Executive Committee on a quarterly basis.  This would allow a more public view of the work of the CATs, with reports being published committee papers and available on the Council website.  A workshop could be held for members of the Police, Fire & Rescue, and Safer Communities Board to explain the process used to decide on the work of the CATs, including when issues are passed to Police Scotland.  This would allow members of that Board to gain an insight into the governance of the CATs.  It may also be helpful to consider whether the CAT Oversight Group and the Police, Fire & Rescue and Safer Communities Board should meet informally, in private, once per year to discuss the work of the CATS and raise any concerns.  The Clerk to the Council explained the potential amendments contained within the report and, following discussion, Councillor Harry Scott sought to simplify the recommendations as follows:-

 

4.2       Councillor Harry Scott, seconded by Councillor Anderson proposed the following motion:-

 

(i)      that the tasking of the Police Community Action Teams remains with the CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group;

 

(ii)      that the performance monitoring of the Police Community Action Teams be moved from the CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group to the Executive Committee, with reporting on a quarterly basis; and

 

(iii)     that a workshop be held for members of the Police, Fire & Rescue, and Safer Communities Board to explain the process of tasking for the Police Community Action Teams.

 

4.3       Councillor Fullarton, seconded by Councillor Greenwell, proposed as an amendment that the recommendations contained within the report be approved as follows:

 

(i)      Notes that those involved in the current CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group consider it to be working effectively, therefore it remains the officer view that no changes are required to the governance arrangements.

 

(ii)      Agrees to make recommendations to Council on the current Police Community Action Teams governance arrangements, potentially:

 

(1)     that the tasking of the Police Community Action Teams remained with the CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group;

 

(2)     that the performance monitoring of the Police Community Action Teams be moved from the CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group to the Executive Committee, with reporting on a quarterly basis; and

 

(3)     the Police, Fire & Rescue and Safer Communities Board and the CAT Member/Officer Oversight Group meet informally, in private, on an annual basis, to discuss the work of the Police Community Action Teams.

 

(c)     Agrees to recommend that a workshop be held for members of the Police, Fire & Rescue and Safer Communities Board to explain the process of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4.

 

CONTACT US

Scottish Borders Council

Council Headquarters Newtown St. Boswells Melrose TD6 0SA

Tel: 0300 100 1800

Email:

For more Contact Details