Agenda and minutes

The Chairman, Councillor Edgar, welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Eildon Area Partnership and thanked Community Councils, Partners and local organisations for their attendance.    Councillor Edgar explained that the theme for this evening’s discussion was ‘Our Place’ and there would be a series of short presentations to facilitate discussion.   

The Minute of the meeting of the Eildon Area Partnership held on 10 May 2018 had been circulated along with a summary of the discussion attached as an appendix to the Minute. The theme for the meeting had been ‘Our Quality of Life’ and concerns, issues, challenges and opportunities raised at that meeting were referred to during the discussion. 

A facilitated discussion on the subject in order to put forward a set of initial outcome(s) for Eildon - further information on local data and statistics

3.1       The Chairman provided an introduction to the theme for the meeting – Our Place -  and introduced Mr Ian Aikman, Chief Planning Officer, SBC.   Mr Aikman provided information about the Main Issues Report (MIR) explaining that that MIR was the forerunner to the Local Development Plan.  The MIR focused on the main issues and asked for comments on proposed sites and suggestions for other sites that could be designated for housing. A 12 week consultation on the MIR was underway and involved officers holding a series of drop in sessions and workshops across the Scottish Borders as well as a formal consultation process.   Mr Aikman encouraged everyone to put forward their views either at one of the sessions, or via the website or by phone.  Feedback would then be reported back to the Council and fed into the process for preparation of the Local Development Plan.   In response to questions, Mr Aikman advised that the MIR was not just about land allocation but included regeneration of  town centres, suggested housing/affordable housing sites, the types of housing required,  flooding issues affecting some towns, location of land for industrial purposes and policy changes, for example, to allow development of single dwellings in isolated areas.

3.2       Mr Andy Tharme, Ecology Officer, SBC, then made reference to the Local Biodiversity Action Plan (LBAP) which was currently out for consultation. Feedback from the consultation would be included in the Local Development Plan.  The LBAP was based on an ecosystem approach to deliver targeted, collaborative action to maintain and enhance the sustainable use of local natural resources.   Mr Tharme explained that the LBAP addressed the impact of climate change, pollution and land use.  The document was available on the Council’s website and people were asked to participate in the consultation by providing comments.  The consultation was open until 30 November 2018 and could be accessed through the Citizen Space online system.

3.3       Ms Donna Bogdanovic, SBC’s Senior Housing Strategy Officer discussed the Local Housing Strategy.  Ms Bogdanovic explained that the Council did not hold any housing stock, having transferred all its housing stock to be managed by local housing associations.  However, the Council was the strategic housing authority and was required to produce a Local Housing Strategy every five years.  The Strategy was developed with a wide range of partners, including Eildon Housing Association, and covered a wide range of issues and solutions to increase the housing supply within the Scottish Borders.  The Strategy also covered energy efficiency, condition of properties in the rental sector, homelessness and empty properties.   The Strategy detailed the requirement to build 348 homes every year, 128 of which must be affordable.  Ms Bogdanovic explained that trying to meet the needs of everyone was a big challenge and the Strategy focused on the delivery of housing and related services to meet the needs of local communities. One of the main issues affecting the Scottish Borders was the disrepair and energy efficiency of many older properties which would require significant investment.    Homelessness  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

Ms Gillian Jardine, SBC Locality Development Co-ordinator, reminded everyone that the Locality Bid Fund was now open for application until the end of September 2018.  Anyone requiring advice and guidance on submitting an application was asked to contact the Communities and Partnership team.

15 November 2018

Discuss venue and time

It was noted that the next meeting of the Eildon Area Partnership was provisionally Thursday, 15 November 2018.     However, the Chairman asked that Community Councils be consulted on their availability to attend on the proposed date.   The theme and the venue for the meeting would be confirmed in due course.   The Chairman encouraged Community Councils to complete their response to the Area Partnership Review survey and wished everyone a safe journey home.