Agenda and draft minutes

Councillor Richards welcomed everyone to the meeting of the Teviot and Liddesdale Area Partnership.  On behalf of the Area Partnership he expressed his sadness at the passing of Mr Jim Little.

Update from Artbeat (15 mins).

The Chairman introduced Annette Reeves, from Artbeat Studios, who was in attendance to give an update on their successful bid to the Locality Bid Fund.   Ms Reeves began by explaining that Artbeat Studios was a registered charity which had been in existence since 2002.  The studio offered support and facilities for health and wellbeing and opened 16 hours a week.   Currently there were 90 weekly attendees who were referred by the NHS, Scottish Borders Council, Job Centre and Occupational Health.    Following on from the success of the studio, and after consultation with users and the local community, Artbeat Studios applied for Locality Bid funding for a Community Art Hub.   The project had been successful in the voting process and was awarded £3,000.   The Hub provided evening art sessions for the community such as pottery, felting, fine art and jewellery making.    In response to questions, Ms Reeve explained that they did charge for classes to cover the cost of premises, heating lighting and equipment.   Regarding the consultation, she explained that this had been a ‘soft’ approach, they had discussed with attendees and attended local events and schools.  They also had a Facebook page for suggestions.  Ms Reeves concluded her presentation by highlighting some of the artwork produced at the studio, advising that the Locality Bid Fund had achieved a continuing legacy for the local community.

Copy Minute from meeting of 11 June 2019. (Copy attached).

The Minute of the Meeting of the Teviot and Liddesdale Area Partnership held on 11 June 2019 had been circulated.   A summary of the discussion and a review of priorities identified in the draft Teviot and Liddesdale Locality Plan was attached as an Appendix to the Minute.  One of the priorities was to improve the provision of transport in the area and how this could be improved to meet the needs of the local community.  A range of comments were made including:  passenger groups using digital platforms for journey planning, online booking system, flexibility in the school bus service, NHS scheduling based on locality, e-cars in villages and liaison with private bus companies to improve timetabling.   These comments led on to the main theme for the evening which was transport networks and connections within Teviot and Liddesdale, as outlined below.   

(a)             Economy, Skills & Learning: transport networks and connections within

Teviot and Liddesdale  – update on Scottish Borders Transport Conference from Timothy Stephenson, Passenger Transport Manager, SBC, and options going forward (30 mins)

(b)             Discussion re potential options/solutions/actions (45 mins)

(Copies of Teviot and Liddesdale Community Profile, Transport Planning presentation and Scottish Borders Bus map attached).

Scottish Borders Council Passenger Transport Manager, Timothy Stephenson and Transport Service Team Leader Gordon Grant were in attendance to give a presentation on Transport Planning in the Scottish Borders.   Copies of the presentation on Transport Planning had been circulated with the agenda and were available at the meeting.   Mr Stephenson explained that the Council currently subsidised local bus services at £1.5m per annum.  However, local bus services were not a statutory requirement and like all local authority budgets were always being reviewed.  In 2018, £200k saving has been made by alternatives being put in place and innovative thinking.  In 2019, £85k had already been secured without further cuts but a further £165k savings was required for 2020.    Some tough decisions had to be made and a workable plan found to make the required savings.    A number of under-performing bus routes had been identified where passenger numbers were declining and subsidy per passenger was very high.   However, rather than just making service cuts the Council wanted to meet communities to talk about transport.  Bus User Scotland were also holding a public consultation to work with communities to form a transport plan.   Mr Stephenson went on to discuss the local bus services being reviewed in the Teviot and Liddesdale area and subsidies per passenger ranging from 95p (Town Services 46/47/49) to £8.12 (Newcastleton – Hawick 4621) compared to the average cost per passenger of £3.65 across the Borders bus network.  Mr Stephenson was keen to hear from communities who wanted to try new things and encourage community led transport projects: something alternative to ‘the traditional bus’, something flexible, that could be controlled locally and that communities could commit to.  Mr Stephenson then gave examples of innovations in other areas such as NEED Ltd, an Alnwick Community Transport Scheme and Bo’ness Community Bus.   He also referred to non-bus related options such as E-car, E-bike, Tripshare and Community Transport/Social Car Schemes.  In response to questions, Mr Stephenson advised that 50% of bus passengers were non-paying.  With regard to concessionary fares, the West Linton scheme had honoured concessions, and any similar scheme could have a similar set up.  Regarding the school transport budget this was £3.5m, with £2.5m for special needs education.   Certain school buses were registered to carry public passengers but this was dependent on capacity. 

4.2       Following the presentation, the Chairman invited those present to take part in a round table discussion about transport planning in terms of potential options, solutions and actions within communities.  There was templates on the tables to aid the discussion on which points should be recorded.  A summary of the output of the discussion is attached as an appendix to this Minute.

·        Interim Community Fund overview map

·        Internal & external funding maps for Teviot and Liddesdale

Copies of documents attached.

The Locality Development Co-Ordinator, Gillian Jardine, referred to documents which had been circulated and which were available at the meeting, which gave an overview of the Interim Community Fund and internal and external funding maps for Teviot and Liddesdale area.  She explained that there was a total 2019/20 budget allocation of £174,308 for the Teviot and Liddesdale Community Fund.  Within this fund, after committed allocations of £7,000 for Community Councils; £12,550 to Local Festivals; £4,729 to Village Halls; there was an available balance of £150,029 remaining in the Fund.  Regarding the committed allocations, Ms Jardine explained that these would remain for the 2019/20 financial year. However, would be reviewed as part of the Area Partnership/Community Fund consultation.   

5.2       Ms Jardine then explained the Interim Community Fund application process, advising that there was £10,000 available for constituted groups, £5,000 for non-constituted groups and up to £1,500 available for fast track applications.   Applications would be brought to the Area Partnership for decision.   Ms Jardine asked those in attendance to encourage community groups, who might be interested in applying to the Fund, to contact the Communities Partnership Team for guidance.  Regarding any underspend at the end of the financial year, this had previously been carried forward to the next year financial year, but confirmation was still awaited from Council – The Area Partnership requested that any underspend remained in the Teviot and Liddesdale locality.

5.3       The voting process was then discussed, Ms Jardine explained that applications would be brought to the Area Partnership meetings for consideration.  If the consensus was to agree the application then the funding would be granted.  If there was no consensus then elected members would be required to vote on the application.  There was concern at the lack of transparency in relation to the grant process and that if a community council was unable to attend an Area Partnership how would they be able to support or raise any concerns?   Ms Jardine explained that the application assessment would be circulated with the agenda, and any views could be fedback to officers for reporting at the meeting.

Suggestions/Proposals.

The Chairman asked the meeting for any suggestions/proposals for future agenda items or any items to be submitted to Ms Jardine for the next meeting. 

Questions for Elected Members.  

There was concerns about the format of the Area Partnership meetings, and that elements from previous Area Forums should be incorporated, such as the Community Council Spotlight, reports from Police Scotland and from the Scottish Fire and Rescue Service.  It was also noted that now the Locality Plans were in place, the Partnership should be discussing actions and projects arising from the Plan.   Ms Jardine asked that everyone respond to the Area Partnership/Community Fund consultation raising their concerns and giving suggestions for improvement. 

7.2       Regarding the Area Partnership/Community Fund consultation. Ms Malster explained that the community fund was an integral part of the Area Partnership meetings and that was why they were both included in the same consultation.  However, she would review the format to improve accessibility and re-circulate if required. 

7.3       Public Conveniences – no decision had been made on the future of the Council’s public convenience.

  7.4     Denholm Community Shed Asset Transfer - Ms Jardine would refer to the Council’s Neighbourhood Services Team. 

Healthy Hawick Newsletter. (Copy attached for information).

The Chairman referred to the Home Energy Scotland information booklets on the tables and the Healthy Hawick newsletter which listed a range of activities around Scottish Borders Diversity Week.   

8.1       Councillor Ramage invited everyone to attend the Burnfoot Benches Celebration on 10 October at Burnfoot Community Hub from 2 pm to 3.30 pm for an afternoon tea party.

Tuesday, 19 November 2019 at 6.30 pm in Hawick High School.

The next meeting of the Teviot and Liddesdale Area Partnership was scheduled for Tuesday, 19 November at Hawick High School   Councillor Richards thanked all those who had attended the meeting for their participation.