Agenda item

Brian Young, Network Manager, and the Jim Clark Rally Committee will present routes the rally will use in Berwickshire.

8.1       Copies of a report by the Director Infrastructure & Environment on the Jim Clark Rally Consultation process had been circulated.  The report provided the Area Partnership and the local community with an opportunity to consider and comment on the proposals submitted by the event organisers to hold a rally on closed roads in the Scottish Borders from 27 to 29 May 2022.  Mr Brian Young, SBC Network Manager, presented the report, advising of the revised legislation which 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 events and were intended to introduce increased rigor to the procedure for organising and running such events.  These regulations introduced a two stage procedure where organisers must first successfully apply to an “authorised body” for a permit before applying to the local authority for a Motor Sports Order.  In determining whether to make such an Order, the Council, as local roads authority – had to consider a number of factors that were laid out in the regulations.  The report outlined those factors and provided an opportunity to, in particular, examine the proposals submitted by the rally organisers in respect of the routes and timings for the rally in May.  It was noted that the event organisers had also been in regular consultation with representatives of the Council and Police Scotland via the Safety Advisory Group system at the Council which also included representatives of Fire & Rescue Services and the Scottish Ambulance Service.  The proposal was for the rally to be based in Duns and to have a pre-rally “shakedown” stage on the Friday morning followed by two rally stages early evening; then seven rally stages over 3 different routes on the Saturday; and a further six rally stages over 3 further different routes on the Sunday.  Overall route plans, provisional stage timings and plans for all stages including a reserve route were all contained in the appendices to the report.  The Council had also launched a public consultation via Jim Clark Rally 2022 - Scottish Borders Council - Citizen Space which was due to close on 9 March 2022. 

8.2       Ms Lindsay Burnip, Mr Clayton Lackenby, Mr Graham Provest and Mrs Frances Renton from the Jim Clark Rally were all present at the meeting.  Mrs Renton gave assurances that as an organisation they were watched very closely by the local authority and Scottish Government to ensure that everything was correct in terms of health and safety.  Safety was the first priority and the organisers worked with Police, Fire and Ambulance services throughout the preparation and the running of the event.  The first PR letter to local communities had been issued and there would be at least another two letters coming out before the rally started.  Mrs Renton encouraged everyone to take part in the consultation as the organisers were interested in everyone’s views.  Mrs Renton could be contacted directly.  Ms Burnip added that the consultation was on the Council website and the Jim Clark Rally website was also just about to go live and this would have maps and also a contact email address.  Ms Burnip also dealt with accommodation enquiries and would be happy to work with local providers to support the event and put money back into the local area.  Mr Provest confirmed that, as a team, they worked closely on safety, reiterating that this was the number one priority.  The main part of safety was marshalling and although it was a voluntary sport, a training day would be run for marshals in Duns in April.  The team of safety officials had lots of experience of running events.  Mr Lackenby also added that from the marshalling point of view, there was a robust training regime in place which marshals had to complete and the Jim Clark Rally also provided their own specific training.  Should there be insufficient marshals available on a particular stage, then that stage would simply not run.  Mr Dickinson, Chair of Gavinton, Fogo and Polwarth Community Council, advised that the consultation process had been widely advertised on line and recent conversations with Frances Renton and Tom Wilkinson had been very helpful, and praised the good consultation/communication process which allowed objections to be overcome in a straightforward way.  Mrs Renton was happy to attend any Community Council meeting to explain the plans for any of the routes and answer any questions.  Ms Burnip also referred to the plans to reduce paperwork with the use of an online App with separate channels for competitors, officials and spectators, with media staff for the weekend ensuring all these channels were kept updated.  The App also gave everyone access to the safety information so they remained safe at each stage.    The Chairman thanked the representatives from the Jim Clark Rally for attending and added that it was vital that spectators had to respond to marshals and treat the rally with respect so that all would remain safe.  It was good to see the rally back in Berwickshire and he wished everyone well for the preparations and the event. 

DECISION

NOTED the application by the organisers of the Jim Clark Rally to run an event over the weekend of 27 to 29 May 2022 and encouraged everyone to make their comments about the proposed routes and timings either through the Council consultation which was due to finish on 9 March 2022 or directly to the organisers.