Agenda item

Consider report by Executive Director & Service Director Assets & Infrastructure.  (Copy attached.)

5.            JIM CLARK RALLY 2020 PUBLIC CONSULTATION PROCESS

There had been circulated copies of a joint report by the Executive Director and Service Director Assets and Infrastructure.  The aim of this report was to raise awareness with Members of the revised legislation for motor sport events on closed public roads and to agree the Council’s consultation process for the proposal submitted by event organisers of the Jim Clark Rally to hold a rally on closed roads in the Scottish Borders on 30 and 31 May 2020.  The report explained that revised legislation was introduced in 2019 to allow motor sports events to take place on closed public roads.  The new regulations built upon previous experience through the Jim Clark Rally and other such events and were intended to introduce increased rigor to the procedure for organising and running such events.  The 2019 Regulations introduced a two stage procedure where organisers must first successfully apply to an “authorised body” for a permit before applying to the local roads authority for a Motor Sports Order.  In determining whether to make a Motor Sports Order, Scottish Borders Council, as local roads authority, had to consider a number of factors laid out in the Regulations.  The report outlined those factors and provided an opportunity to examine the proposals submitted by the rally organisers in respect of the routes and timings for the rally on 30 and 31 May 2020. 

5.1         The organisers of the Jim Clark Rally, having successfully applied for a permit from “the authorised body”, had lodged an application with Scottish Borders Council (within the specified 6 month period required to allow consideration) seeking a Motor Sports Order to undertake an event on Saturday 30 & Sunday 31 May 2020.  It was noted that the event organisers had, prior to submitting the application, been in consultation with representatives of Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland through the established Safety Advisory Group (SAG) system in place at the Council.  The intention of the Jim Clark Rally organisers was for the event to be based in Duns and to run a total of 8 rally stages (over 4 different routes) on the Saturday and 6 rally stages (over 3 different routes) on the Sunday.  The four routes on the Saturday were Westruther, Scott’s View, Eccles and Longformacus – Abbey St Bathans. This would see a single run, in an anti- clockwise direction of travel, over the first three routes followed by vehicle servicing and refuelling in Duns and then a repeat of that earlier sequence. Following a further re-group and service in Duns the day would then conclude with two runs over the Longformacus – Abbey St Bathans route. Sunday would see routes at Edrom, Ayton and Whitsome. The intention being to run a clockwise loop of these routes followed by servicing and refuelling in Duns before a repeat loop over the three routes and a podium finish in Duns.

5.2      As this was the first time that the Jim Clark Rally would be run out-with Berwickshire, it was felt appropriate that the Executive Committee should be provided with an opportunity to comment on the proposals.  The Members welcomed the report and the Jim Clark Rally which was a major sporting event and brought significant economic benefit to the Scottish Borders. It attracted a high number of spectators, supporters, staff and competitors to the area, many of whom stayed a number of nights and by extending the route it would spread the benefits throughout the Borders.  Elected Members acknowledged the significant Officer time spent getting the rally back to the Borders following the tragic events in 2014.  In response to a request that the Community Councils affected be contacted individually, the Infrastructure Manager confirmed that the organisers had already committed to do so.  Clarification was sought in terms of indirect costs to the Council.

DECISION

(a)             NOTED the introduction of the new legislation and the application by organisers of the Jim Clark Rally to run an event on 30 and 31 May 2020.

(b)            AGREED that:-

(i)        reports would be taken to the three Area Partnerships in whose areas the event was scheduled to take place;

(ii)     as in 2019, a public consultation would be launched on the Council’s website; and

(iii)      at this stage the Committee had no comments about the proposal to  run an event and/or the proposed routes and timings for that event.