Agenda item

Consider report by Corporate Transformation and Services Director.  (Copy attached.)

With reference to paragraph 17 of the Minute of 29 September 2016, there had been circulated copies of a report by the Corporate Transformation and Services Director providing an update on the Borders Railway Blueprint Project to establish a permanent home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland (GTS) in the Scottish Borders. The previously favoured location was at Tweedbank; however, the potential now existed to locate the GTS in Galashiels bringing significant benefits to the town. Following further work, a Borders Railway Blueprint led due diligence process, and approval of funding from the Scottish Government, it was now recommended that approval be given to locate the GTS in Galashiels and for the project to proceed on that basis.  The report detailed the work undertaken since September and the key conclusion of the due diligence process was that the Galashiels option had the potential to deliver a successful tourism and regeneration proposition in a way that the Tweedbank option did not. The Galashiels proposal provided the opportunity for additional education and community use that was not a feature of the Tweedbank proposal. Furthermore, the Galashiels site benefited from a significant degree of community support and was consistent with the Scottish Government’s “Town Centre First” principle in relation to place-making and regeneration.  The Group undertaking the due diligence process required that a further Supplementary Report (Annex 1 to the report) was prepared for consideration by the Blueprint Leadership Group. This supplementary Report underpinned the conclusion of the Due Diligence Group and drew together all the relevant information on which they based their decision. The Supplementary Report summarised the work since 1 September 2016, presented further Business Case Information for Galashiels and updated the comparison between Galashiels and Tweedbank.  The Blueprint Leadership Group had considered the conclusion of the Due Diligence Group and the Supplementary Report and agreed to recommend to the Cabinet Secretary for Culture, Tourism and External Affairs that the £2.5Million of Blueprint funds held by the Scottish Government be approved for release.  The Council was informed on 6 December 2016 that the Cabinet Secretary had approved the Galashiels proposal and release of the Scottish Government held Blueprint funding of £2.5m.  The Director advised that recommendation (b) in the report be reworded to read “Agree the Project would be delivered in a single phase, combining new build and the old post office within a £6.7M total project cost”.  Members discussed the proposal in detail with views being divided on whether the project should progress.

VOTE

Councillor Parker, seconded by Councillor White, moved approval of the recommendations in the report, as amended.

Councillor McAteer, seconded by Councillor Marshall, moved as an amendment that the recommendation in the report be replaced with “that the Council acknowledge the considerable work completed by staff, consultants and key stakeholders including the Scottish Government and the Great Tapestry of Scotland Trustees in striving to bring the Great Tapestry of Scotland to the Borders and most recently Galashiels as the preferred choice location.  However, the resultant severe financial commitment at this time of necessary restraint on the public purse coupled with evidenced lack of strong support from the Borders public make this project unacceptable and it should be terminated infinitum.”

On a show of hands Members voted as follows:-

Motion             -           25 votes

Amendment     -           7 votes

The Motion was accordingly approved.

DECISION

DECIDED:-

(a)     to locate a permanent home for the Great Tapestry of Scotland in Galashiels at the site identified in the Feasibility Study as the Poundstretcher/Old Post Office Site;

(b)     the Project would be delivered in a single phase, combining new build and the old post office within a £6.7M total project cost;

(c)     to instruct the Chief Executive to proceed with the delivery of the project and agree that progress be reported to the Executive Committee through the normal capital monitoring process; and

(d)     the overarching governance arrangements proposed in paragraph 13 of the report be negotiated in detail between the parties and to instruct the Corporate Transformation & Services Director to bring forward a report to Executive Committee, in due course, to recommend the final detailed arrangements between the Council, Live Borders and the GTS Trustees.

MEMBER

Councillor Stewart left during consideration of the above item.

ADJOURNMENT

The meeting was adjourned at 1.15 p.m. for lunch and reconvened at 2.05 p.m.

MEMBERS

Councillors Cockburn and Marshall did not re-join the meeting after the break.