Agendas, reports and minutes

Minute of Meeting of the Skye, Ross and Cromarty Area Committee held in the Chamber, Dingwall, on Wednesday 19 November 2014, at 10.30 am.

Present:

Dr D Alston, Mrs J Barclay, Mrs B Campbell, Dr I Cockburn, Mr M Finlayson, Mr C Fraser, Mr H Fraser, Mr R Greene, Mr A Mackinnon, Mrs A MacLean, Mrs I McCallum, Mrs M Paterson, Mr M Rattray, Mr I Renwick, Mr A Rhind, Mrs F Robertson, Dr A Sinclair, Mrs M Smith, Mr J Stone and Mrs C Wilson.

Officials in Attendance: 

Mrs C McDiarmid, Head of Policy and Reform
Ms D Ferguson, Senior Ward Manager, Ross, Skye and Lochaber
Mr S Black, Director of Development and Infrastructure
Mr M McIntyre, Area Education Manager - Mid, Education, Culture and Sport Service
Ms N Young, Area Education Manager - West, Education, Culture and Sport Service
Ms T Luxton, Area Community Services Manager
Mr B Mackenzie, Principal Planner, Planning and Development Service
Ms D Agnew, Ward Manager, Black Isle, Dingwall and Seaforth
Dr R Bain, Ward Manager, Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh
Ms S Tarrant, Public Relations Officer, Chief Executive’s Service
Mrs R Moir, Principal Administrator, Corporate Development Service
Mrs A MacArthur, Administrative Assistant, Corporate Development Service
Mr S Taylor, Civic and Facilities Team Leader, Finance Service

An asterisk in the margin denotes a recommendation to the Council. All decisions with no marking in the margin are delegated to the Committee.

Mr H Fraser in the Chair

1.  Apologies for Absence
Leisgeulan

Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mr J Gordon, Mr G MacKenzie and Mr D Millar.

2.  Declarations of Interest
Foillseachaidhean Com-pàirt

The Committee NOTED the following declarations of interest:

• Items 3 and 10 – Mr A Mackinnon (financial)
• Item 8 and 12(a) – Mrs A MacLean (non-financial)
• Item 5 – Mr D Alston (non-financial)

3.  An Overview of the Economy of Skye, Ross and Cromarty - Presentation 
Sealladh Coitcheann air Eaconamaidh an Eilein Sgitheanaich, Rois is Chromba – Taisbeanadh

Declaration of Interest: Mr A MacKinnon declared a financial interest in this item as he was a consultant to a company and involved in a project and dialogue with Highlands and Islands Enterprise (HIE) but, having applied the test outlined in paragraphs 5.2 and 5.3 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, concluded that his interest did not preclude his involvement in the discussion.

Mr Robert Muir, Area Manager - HIE Skye, Lochaber and Wester Ross, and Mr Martin Johnson, Area Manager - HIE Inner Moray Firth, gave a presentation to the meeting. Mr Muir outlined: the population trends and population change from 1851 to 2011; net migration by age group; the age structure and change to age structure of the Skye, Ross and Cromarty area in relation to the Highlands and Islands and Scotland; economic activity in the area; employment by sector; occupational structure; unemployment; age and duration of unemployed; average earnings; GVA per capita as a percentage of the UK; and regional characteristics. He also delineated the vision and priorities of Highlands and Islands Enterprise.

During discussion the following points were raised: 

• the benefit of the coming together of support for seaboard villages; Tain had had dealings with HIE’s predecessor RACE, but had had no contact with HIE; HIE had not classed Tain as a fragile area and Members requested clarification on the relevant criteria and asked whether a training session could be arranged
• a request by Members from the different wards that Mr Muir and Mr Johnson come to the individual ward business meetings and forums to discuss their specific areas
• the need for HIE to remember smaller businesses and give them the same consideration and grants as larger businesses
• the need for improved grid connections for rural communities to open up funding for them through renewable energy
• the trend for 18-24 year olds to move South for further education and then not return: the reputation of the UHI would take time to build, but in time it was hoped that UHI could retain more of the younger people in the Highland area
• the large drop in employment at Dingwall Business Park due to the loss of major contracts; this had also impacted on the spending power and economy of the town
• Members’ lack of conviction as to whether, although funded by Highland Council, HIE and also the Scottish Government, Nigg had achieved what it had set out to achieve
• the potential for future development at Kishorn 
• the spin-off from the rigs work in Invergordon, affecting many communities in the area, with foreign workers and their families welcomed to the area as a great boost to the local economy; unfortunately, the same could not be said about Nigg, where foreign lone male workers came to work and stay in a compound, while sending their money home and so out of the Highland area
• the importance of offering free parking and clean and well managed High Streets to attract people to the local shops and to be able to compete with Inverness: for example, shopkeepers and people in Alness had worked together with several agencies and had attended many meetings from which Alness had benefitted greatly; a recent vacant shop on the High Street had attracted 28 applications for the premises and the industrial estates in Alness were all occupied
• whether there was a timeline for the proposed Airport development in Skye
• the recent application by Global Energy Group to create a new harbour at Nigg and the concerns of the Cromarty Firth Port Authority as to the potential impact on access to the Firth; the Council and HIE should take a view, as the proposal was of both local and national importance.
• the good news that the population in Highland was rising, even in the fragile areas
• the positive example of groups like the Wester Ross Alliance, who had had little or no financial support.

Mr Muir responded to Members by inviting Ward Managers to send a request for HIE to attend at ward business meetings or forums, where the relevant manager would be happy to attend and discuss HIE’s activities. Overall, HIE’s role was to focus on supporting businesses and social enterprises, particularly within the key sectors, in order to stimulate job creation and increased earnings – if this was successful, other services should follow. Whilst HIE supported local development officers in a number of fragile areas, they were expensive and resources were limited. In response to some of the comments made, Mr Muir confirmed that smaller businesses did receive support, including grants, and gave an assurance that HIE was interested in all businesses, from the very small to the large, provided they had the ambition to grow and to create economic benefit. Attention was drawn to the role of Business Gateway, which had been set up to deal with individual businesses and local market activity. Business Gateway was operated by Highland Opportunity Ltd, with whom HIE had a close working relationship.

HIE had shared the concerns of Members at the recent loss of employment at Serco’s service centre in Dingwall When HIE had been informed that Serco was to lose a major contract, support had been put in place for the employees through PACE (Partnership Action for Continuing Employment), led by Skills Development Scotland. HIE had also assisted the community to buy the local shop in Raasay, which was an unusual thing for HIE to undertake. The success of the project would rely on local people using the shop. The economy of an area was very dependent on its population; if they did not use local shops and businesses, the latter would not survive.

HIE was not a statutory consultee for the Cromarty Firth proposal and therefore could not comment on its specifics. Mr Johnson stated, however, that the Cromarty Firth offered huge opportunities, as it was one of the best natural harbours Scotland had. There was a great opportunity for this region to attract renewable and offshore work and HIE had worked to achieve this by investing in Nigg. The work was ongoing and the asset was still developing; the work was not yet steady, however, and so further investment was required. HIE was also still hopeful for Kishorn, with renewable energy contracts anticipated to come for offshore turbines. Training of the local workforce was essential to have the skillset required for the jobs available.

It was confirmed that, within the Lochaber, Skye and Wester Ross area, HIE was working with 13 areas under their Community Account Management Programme, all of them designated fragile areas, with designation based on a range of criteria:

• the economics, average earnings and employment and unemployment rate
• demographics, age profile and the reducing population
• distance from a major service centre such as a High School or hospital.

Further responses included:

• Grid connections were important but were out of HIE’s control, the relevant bodies should be lobbied by both HIE and the Council through the Community Planning Partnership.
• The Skye airport application was moving forward; the next stage was the updating of the business survey; this could be taken back to the next ward meeting.

Mr Muir and Mr Johnson then moved to their second presentation on the Next Generation Broadband Project. Mr Muir outlined the rollout objectives and the delivery programme, which was led by HIE’s Digital Highland team. The national aim of this project was to achieve 84% coverage of premises by 2016. Members could find the planned rollout programme on the BT website at www.superfast-openreach.co.uk/where-and-when. Additional information on the programme, including quarterly updates, was available at www.hie.co.uk/digital.

Following discussion, having thanked Mr Muir and Mr Johnson for their presentations, the Committee AGREED to invite HIE’s Digital Highland team to make a presentation to a future meeting on broadband roll-out and connectivity.

4.  Tain Town Centre Action Plan
Plana-gnìomha Meadhan-Baile Bhaile Dhubhthaich

There had been circulated Report No SRC/034/14 by the Director of Development and Infrastructure which provided feedback following the Tain Town Centre Action Plan consultation event that had taken place in May 2014. The consultation had enabled officers to consider any comments in progressing the Action Plan towards adoption as non-statutory Supplementary Guidance.

The Principal Planner gave a presentation and outlined the 14 proposals in the action plan. The plan consisted of three themes:

1. Improved movement networks and accessibility
2. Improved town centre environment and diversification activity
3. Development of new uses for redundant space and buildings.

If Members were minded to agree the consultation document, a report would be brought back to a future meeting with the relevant feedback, for Members to adopt the Action Plan.

Member comments included:

• This document could be used as evidence of need in Tain; however, it would need someone to drive this forward.
• Members would also have to be careful that this did not raise expectations and give people the false assumption that everything in the plan could be done, or would be done by the Council.
• Members requested that a Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Action Plan be put in place for Tain; this would permit a future bid for Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding.
• Concerns were raised regarding car parking in Tain and Members asked that a commitment be made in the Action Plan to keep car parking cost-free in Tain.
• Members asked that an approach be made to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association to gauge any interest they might have in acquiring Duthac House.

The Committee AGREED that:

i.  the draft Tain Town Centre Action Plan be finalised and published for consultation early in 2015;

ii.  Members and officers work in collaboration with community representatives in delivering the outcomes identified;

iii.  any minor changes be made in consultation with the chair of the Skye, Ross and Cromarty Area Committee and Ward 8 Members;

iv.  a Conservation Area Character Appraisal and Action Plan be put in place for Tain, to permit a future bid for Conservation Area Regeneration Scheme (CARS) funding;

v.  a commitment be made in the Action Plan to keep car parking in Tain cost-free; and

vi.  an approach be made to the Scottish Youth Hostel Association to gauge any interest they might have in acquiring Duthac House.

5.  Redesign of Health and Social Care Services in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross Consultation Response
Freagairt Cho-chomhairleachaidh a thaobh Ath-dhealbhadh Seirbheisean Slàinte is Cùraim Shòisealta san Eilean Sgitheanach, Loch Aillse agus Taobh Iar-Dheas Rois

Declaration of Interest: Dr D Alston declared a non-financial interest in this item as a Board member of NHS Highland but, in terms of the Specific Exclusion at Section 5.18(2)(i)(b) of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, remained to participate in the discussion.

There had been circulated Report No SRC/035/14 by the Head of Policy and Reform which set out the Council’s response to a recent consultation on proposed major changes to Health and Social Care services in Skye, Lochalsh and South West Ross, submitted prior to the response deadline.

There had been considerable public engagement, with an online survey, community council meetings and community group meetings. The consultation had been extended to allow for paper copies to be sent to every household, to allow everyone the opportunity to respond.

The Committee HOMOLOGATED the consultation response submitted.

6.  Winter Maintenance Plan 2014/15
Plana Cumail Suas a’ Gheamhraidh 2014/15

There had been circulated Report No SRC/036/14 by the Director of Community Services which provided information on winter maintenance preparations and arrangements for the 2014/15 winter period.

Member comments included:

• In Tain there was part of a school bus route that Members had been assured would be included in the plan as a primary route.
• The A832 from Braemore to Dundonnell was the second highest road in the Highland area; whilst the road had been treated for the last year from the Gairloch Depot, the plough and gritter did not manage to grit the road before the school bus used it, and consideration should be given to servicing this part of the road from the Ullapool end.
• Consideration should be given to categorising the back road from Dingwall to Evanton, the Swordale Road and Glenglass Road, as a primary route.
• The policy should be consistent across all wards, with gritting only occurring on the routes specified in the plan.
• The implications section in the report should evidence exploration of the potential disadvantage to rural areas.

The Area Community Services Manager confirmed that she would look into the potential adjustments raised by Members; these would, however, require compensatory adjustments elsewhere. She also stated that she was unaware of any inconsistency in the application of gritting policy across different wards; the policy would be applied robustly and rigorously. In this context, Ms M Smith clarified that, in some cases, roads were added to the schedule following requests from residents or Members for roads to be gritted in special circumstances.

The Head of Policy and Reform acknowledged the need to demonstrate proper consideration of rural implications and confirmed that additional guidance and support would be provided to report writers on how to address the rural impact. She also pointed out that, whilst the roads hierarchy did focus on where most people lived and thus seemed to favour treatment for larger population settlements, urban and town settlements could also be found further down the hierarchy on the list of secondary and other routes.

The Committee APPROVED the Winter Maintenance Plan for the Skye, Ross and Cromarty Area for 2014/15, which included the priority road lists and maps presented in Appendices B and C to the report.

7.  Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets Programme
Prògram Rothaireachd, Coiseachd agus Sràidean nas Sàbhailte

There had been circulated Report No SRC/037/14 by the Director of Community Services which invited Members to approve the projects delivered through the Scottish Government funding for Cycling, Walking and Safer Streets for the Skye, Ross and Cromarty area, as set out in Appendix 1 to the report.  

In discussion, attention was drawn to a request at an earlier meeting of the Committee that the Safer Route road marking arrangements in Alness be revisited to reflect the actual road usage by Alness High School students, who in practice crossed at the High Street and did not make use of the marked crossing at the Alness war memorial. The request that this be added to the programme was reiterated.

The Committee APPROVED the Safer Routes to School (SRTS) Projects listed in Appendix 1 to the report and NOTED: 

i.  that the Road Safety Unit would continue to work with schools to develop further SRTS Projects for future years; and

ii.  comments as to the need to revisit the Safer Route road marking arrangements in Alness.

8.  Housing Performance Report
Aithisg Dèanadais a thaobh Taigheadais 

Declaration of Interest: Mrs A MacLean declared a non-financial interest in this item as a member of Ross and Cromarty Citizens’ Advice Bureau but, having applied the test outlined in Paragraphs 5.2 and 5.3 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, concluded that her interest did not preclude her involvement in the discussion

There had been circulated Report No SRC/038/14 by the Director of Community Services which provided Members with information on how the Housing Section had performed in relation to the Scottish Social Housing Charter and other performance indicators during the first quarter of 2014/15. Attention was drawn to an error in the figures in relation to Tables 6 and 7, referring to quarter 4; this would be amended and reported to the next Area Committee.

Member comments included:

• The reduction in rent arrears by £45,000 demonstrated that the contribution of the Money Advice Team, Income Maximisation Team and the Citizen’s Advice Bureau, who gave support to people with rent arrears, could not be underestimated; a request was made for statistics to be reported on the positive impact these teams had made on the recovery of more income and the assistance given to these people to generate more income for themselves.
• A report should be brought to the next Area Committee on the reasons for the apparent sharp increase in homeless presentations.

Following queries on court actions and evictions, the Head of Policy and Reform responded that this information was reported to the Resources Committee once a year, based on the information from each area, and that the local information could also be brought to this Committee.

It was confirmed that a robust process was in place for people with rent arrears whereby officers engaged with tenants by telephone prior to a court action, and that this formed part of the presentation made to the court in such actions.

The Committee NOTED: 

i.  the information provided on housing performance in the period from 1 April to 30 June 2014; and

ii.  that Area data on the benefits derived from the work of the Council’s Money Advice and Income Maximisation teams, and on the work of the Citizen’s Advice Bureau network in providing housing advice and support, could be extracted from the Council-wide figures and circulated to Members.

9.  Street Naming – New Housing Developments at Conon Bridge, Alness and Tain
Ainmeachadh Sràide - Leasachaidhean Ùra Taigheadais ann Drochaid Sguideil, Alanais agus Baile Dhubhthaich

There had been circulated Report No SRC/039/14 by the Head of Policy and Reform concerning the creation of addresses, following consultation with the respective Community Councils and local Members, for new housing developments at Conon Bridge, Alness and Tain.

Members asked for clarification on the lengthy process for engaging with Community Councils on choosing street names.

The Committee HOMOLOGATED the naming of the roads in the Alness and Conon Bridge developments as noted in the report; APPROVED the naming of the new street in Tain as Innis Mhor Road; and NOTED that guidance was being issued on future community engagement/consultation on street naming.

10.  Dingwall Office Refurbishment
Ath-leasachadh Oifis Inbhir Pheofharain

Declaration of Interest: Mr A MacKinnon declared a financial interest in this item as his wife was an employee of the Council working in the Dingwall Council Offices but, having applied the test outlined in Paragraphs 5.2 and 5.3 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, concluded that his interest did not preclude his involvement in the discussion.

There had been circulated Report No SRC/040/14 by the Director of Development and Infrastructure which provided Members with an update on the progress of the Dingwall Office Rationalisation Project.

Members and officers commended staff for continuing to work through the disruption of the project.

Member concerns included: 

• the need for lessons to be learned from the exercise and for Members, trade unions and Health and Safety to be kept informed from the start of any such project
• that final figures for the rationalisation include contributions from individual departments for carpeting, blinds and painting works, to provide evidence that forecasted figures had been achieved
• in relation to capital receipts, whether the Council would be prepared to sell to community groups interested in acquiring surplus buildings
• that, although a stated benefit was the reduced travel and property costs through video-conferencing, the video-conferencing facility was still not working
• whether there were sufficient parking, toilet facilities and canteen and kitchen facilities for the staff in the building
• whether, if public car parking charges were introduced, staff would be expected to pay for parking in Dingwall when they had to decant to other car parks because the car park at their offices had insufficient space
• whether the satellite archive store in Dingwall would take in records from other areas
• that the Council had to be careful, as it had been shown that too many people in a building could cause added stress and illness among staff
• whether there would be a staff survey to highlight any issues and the experiences of staff during the rationalisation project.

Ms M Smith stated that, as far as parking was concerned, the intention was to charge for parking at the Council Buildings in the evenings and at weekends only. Members’ concerns relating to parking would be taken into account in the budgetary consultations.

The Director of Development and Infrastructure stated that he had met with Members in August and lessons would be learned. Contact with Members, Trade Unions and Health and Safety would be made much earlier in future projects. The capital receipts would be a saving, but it was not expected that all the surplus buildings would be sold off immediately. The Director noted that there was community interest in some buildings and he would take stock and consider each application received from such groups for these. Appendix 2 to the report set out the projected costs and he would report back once these had been finalised. The issue with video-conferencing was included in the snagging for the project. The current level of facilities in the building met all the legal requirements. The issue with car parking was appreciated. Staff met regularly with their managers and any issues from staff should be brought up with their managers.

The Committee NOTED the report and that:

i.  a survey of staff’s experience of the refurbishment exercise would be conducted;

ii.  consideration would be given to community interest in property disposals; and

iii.  further detail on the costs of the project would be reported to Members.

11.  Common Good Funds
Maoin Maith Choitchinn

There had been circulated Reports Nos. SRC/041/14-SRC/045/14 by the Head of Policy and Reform which provided information on each of the five Common Good Funds: Cromarty, Dingwall, Fortrose and Rosemarkie, Invergordon and Tain.

The Head of Policy and Reform stated that, under the Community Empowerment Bill, once enacted, the Council would have to consult more widely on Common Good Funds and assets and to make these reports more accessible to the public; a glossary of the terms should be defined in each report and this would be included in the next round of reporting.

The Committee NOTED:

i.  the updated information provided in relation to each Fund; and

ii.  that, with particular reference to the expected impact of the forthcoming Community Empowerment (Scotland) Act, consideration would be given to providing with reports a glossary of technical terms used.

12.  Associated School Group Overviews
Sealladh Coitcheann air Buidheann Sgoiltean Co-cheangailte

a)  Fortrose Academy Associated School Group Overview

Declaration of Interest: Mrs A MacLean declared a non-financial interest in this item as her sister was Head Teacher at a Primary School within the Associated School Group but, having applied the test outlined in Paragraphs 5.2 and 5.3 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, concluded that her interest did not preclude her involvement in the discussion.

There had been circulated Report No SRC/046/14 by the Director of Care and Learning which provided an update of key information in relation to the schools within the Fortrose Academy Associated School Group (ASG) and provided useful links to further information in relation to these schools.

In response to Member concern that some siblings were having to attend different primary schools, the Area Education Manager - Mid reminded Members of the Council’s staff/pupil ratio criteria, as contained in the existing administrative circular which was applied at the start of each term to confirm final staffing allocations to primary schools. He stated that, in the event that children in the same family were attending different schools, any solution such as the employment of an “over entitlement” teacher would place further pressure on existing budgets. The cost to transport the children to a different school outweighed the cost of an additional teacher.

Members were of the view that it had not been intended that siblings should have to go to different schools. They asked that a paper be brought to the Education Committee to discuss the splitting of siblings’ schools.

The Committee NOTED the content of the report; and AGREED that a report be brought to the Education, Children and Adult Services Committee on the impact of the Council’s policy on staff/pupil ratios on families where siblings were required, as a result, to attend different primary schools.

b) Portree High School Associated School Group Overview

There had been circulated Report No SRC/047/14 by the Director of Care and Learning which provided an update of key information in relation to the schools within the Portree High School Associated School Group (ASG) and provided useful links to further information in relation to these schools.

The Committee NOTED the content of the report.

13.  Minutes
Geàrr-chunntas

There had been circulated and were NOTED Minutes of the Skye, Ross and Cromarty Area Committee held on 6 August 2014, which had been approved by the Highland Council at its meeting on 11 September 2014. 

The meeting ended at 2.40 pm, having adjourned for lunch between 12.45 am and 13.20 pm.