Agenda and minutes

1.1      The Chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, in particular the Deputy Petitioner, Ms Dinah Faulds.  The meeting was held via Microsoft Teams and livestreamed and the Chair gave details of the protocols for the meeting.

1.2      Petitions Procedure

There had been circulated copies of an extract from Scrutiny and Petitions Committee procedure.  The Chair outlined the process and in particular the procedure which would be followed during the meeting and the options available to members of the Committee once they had considered all the information before them. 

1.3      Crailing Junction

There had been circulated copies of a petition entitled ‘Improve Road Safety on the A698 at the Crailing Junction (D153/4) which had been signed by each of the 65 householders in the village.  There had also been circulated copies of a briefing report by Philippa Gilhooly, Infrastructure and Environment which detailed progress made since the site visit on 21 September 2023.  In the petition statement it was explained that residents were increasingly anxious and frightened for their lives and those of their passengers when exiting and entering the village junction due to lack of visibility and speed of vehicles on A698.  It was requested that Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland address these issues as a matter of urgency before someone was injured or killed.  Several measures to improve the situation were suggested: the removal of trees from the village junction (D153/4) to the Toll House; a reduction in speed limit to 40mph with signage at each end of the village; installation of a speed camera; and a tapered slip road into the village approaching from Jedburgh and exiting the village towards Kelso.

1.4     The Chair invited Ms Faulds, Deputy Petitioner, to present the petition on behalf of the Principal Petitioner Nicola Cowe.  In support of the petition statement, Ms Faulds advised that the petition had been lodged on behalf of the village of Crailing.  There had been progress since the site visit of 21 September.  In terms of signage, pedestrian warning signs, ‘Please drive carefully’ signs and SLOW road markings on the A698 had been agreed.   SBC had accepted responsibility for the maintenance of the verges and embankments to the East of Crailing.  SBC had also commenced the thinning of self-seeded saplings and further removal work was requested by Ms Faulds and the community to fully restore the previous sightline up to the Toll House.  There had been a local agreement reached with residents for the trimming of the beech hedge to the West of Crailing.  There remained an issue related to a corner of overgrown land at Crailing Barn Road (D147/4).  Ms Faulds requested that ownership and maintenance of the land be established by SBC.  There had been a request for tapered splay lines and slip road on entry to and exit from the village; this had been deemed inappropriate by SBC and Police Scotland on the grounds of cost and land availability.  There was also a request for a central lane to be  ...  view the full minutes text for item 1.

Consider the Minute of 17 August 2023 for agreement and signature by the Chair. (Copy attached.)

Copies of the Minute of Meeting held on 17 August 2023 had been circulated.  

DECISION

APPROVED the Minute for signature by the Chair.

A presentation from Director Infrastructure and Environment. 

3.1     The Director Infrastructure and Environment gave a short presentation, the purpose of which was to provide Members with an overview of Industrial Estates in the Scottish Borders.  A report was due to be presented to Council later in 2023.  The Scottish Borders covered an area of 4,724 km2 and comprised 97 settlements and a population of approximately 115,000.  A summary map of all sites where SBC currently owned Economic Development sites/ Business Land was provided – 13 in total across Berwickshire, Eildon, Teviot & Liddesdale and Cheviot localities.  A summary map of Local Development Plan (LDP) sites was provided – 9 across all five localities.  An officer working group had been established which met monthly to progress Economic Development sites and with a view to the development of a plan of action for the sites.  The group comprised Estates, Economic Development, Planning and Capital Programme Management.  A market assessment had been completed in collaboration with SOSE and partners and a summary was provided in relation to supply and demand of office space, small industrial units and serviced land/sites and barriers which included access to development finance and investment capital among others. Several recommendations were detailed in the assessment: coordination of market demand/supply information; identification of areas of market potential by public bodies; interventions to make land serviced and developable; public sector funded development; and market intervention to ensure local demand and attraction of mobile projects.

3.2     Information was shared on the Net Zero Starts Here Investment Guide; an initiative launched on 30 August 2023 by a South of Scotland multi-agency partnership which focussed on building the economy of the future around a renewable, values-based economy and the region’s natural capital. The website had been launched and detailed guidance in several sectors: energy transition; digital business services; digital financial services; food and drink innovation; health & technology; and software & IT.

3.3     In relation to SBC’s Site Analysis and Prioritisation, five criteria had been developed and were as follows: Strategic Fit; Market Assessment; Transport & Access; Economic Input; and Development Potential.  The working group assessment had identified several key priority sites: Duns Industrial Estate; three Eyemouth Gunsgreenhill sites; Galapark and Burnfoot, Hawick; St Mary’s Mill, Selkirk; Tweedbank; and Tweeddale.  A summary of action to date on other sites in the region was provided in terms of the number of plots available now and those in need of funding or development, the number of active enquiries and plots let or sold.

3.4     In response to a question about the Jedburgh Oxnam Industrial Estate, it was confirmed that electrical works on site was still required but funding was needed.  The demand in the area was low and consequently, development had been delayed.  A Strategic Working Group had been established to liaise with Scottish Water, Scottish Gas, BT and Scottish Power to achieve better alignment of priorities and subsequent investment.  In relation to the lack of SBC owned sites in the Tweeddale LDP available, it was confirmed that there were two land holdings of interest for  ...  view the full minutes text for item 3.

The next meeting of the Scrutiny and Petitions Committee was scheduled for 7 December 2023.

The next scheduled meeting of the Scrutiny & Petitions Committee was due to be held on 7 December 2023 at 10 am.