Agendas, reports and minutes

Minutes of Meeting of the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Committee held in the Chamber, Council Offices, High Street, Dingwall on 11 February 2020 at 10.30 am.

Present:

Mrs I Campbell
Dr I Cockburn
Mr A MacInnes
Mr D MacLeod

In attendance:

Dr R Bain, Ward Manager (Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh), Chief Executive’s Office
Mrs D Ferguson, Senior Ward Manager, Chief Executive’s Office
Mr I Moncrieff, Roads Operations Manager (Skye, Ross and Cromarty), Community Services
Mr J Holden, Housing Manager (North), Community Services
Mrs A MacArthur, Administrative Assistant, Chief Executive’s Office

Also in attendance:

Mr P Mascarenhas, Community and Democratic Engagement Manager

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

Preliminaries

The Ward Manager took the Chair pending the appointment of the Chair of the Committee at item 3 below.

Business

1.  Apologies for Absence
Leisgeulan

There were no apologies for absence.

2.  Declarations of Interest
Foillseachaidhean Com-pàirt

There were no declarations of interest.

3.  Appointment of Chair
Cur Cathraiche an Dreuchd

The Ward Manager invited nominations for the Chair.

Mr A MacInnes, seconded by Mr D MacLeod nominated Dr I Cockburn as Chair of the Committee.

The Committee therefore AGREED to appoint Dr I Cockburn as Chair of the Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Committee and Dr Cockburn took the Chair.

Dr Cockburn thanked Members for his nomination and stated that it would be a privilege to Chair the meeting for the newly formed and long-awaited Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh Committee.  This ward covered just under 5,000 square kilometres not only was it the largest geographical ward in the United Kingdom but it contained a lot of diverse communities.  A vice Chair would be appointed at the next meeting and there would be a workshop after this meeting to discuss the business to be brought forward. 

4.  Roads Maintenance Programme 2020/21
Prògram Càradh Rathaidean 2020/21

There had been circulated Report No WRSL/001/20 dated 21 January 2020 by the Executive Chief Officer – Infrastructure and Environment.  Prior to the replacement of the Ross and Cromarty Committee with the three new area committees, a draft capital budget for 2020/21 had been drawn up, based on the 2019/20 Ross and Cromarty budget allocation.  As Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh has a total of 48% of the road length in the former Ross and Cromarty area, the proposed capital programme is based on 48% of the 2019/20 Ross and Cromarty Area Capital budget and equates to an allocation of £524,785.  Should this figure be amended the programme would be reviewed as appropriate. 

During discussion, the following main points were raised:-

• an explanation was sought and provided on work to the U4895 Strathie Hill road which was desperately needing repair on health and safety grounds as this was the route for the school bus to Plockton High School;
• on a query on the figure of 48%, clarification was given that the figure only partly reflected the length of roads, other factors were also included, for example bridges, gullies, road openings and population, this figure had still to be confirmed;
• Slattadale – clarity on whether this had been shelved due to the larger scheme;
• Kyle and Plockton desperately needed white lining to be undertaken;
• the repairs to date to the road West of Achnasheen had been welcomed, clarity on the sealing or dressing of this road was sought; and
• could developer contributions from larger planning applications be attributed to the roads.

The Committee APPROVED the proposed 2020/21 Roads Maintenance Programme for Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh.

5.  Garage Rent Increases
Ardachaidhean Màil Gharaidsean

There had been circulated Report No WRSL/002/20 dated 4 February 2020 by the Executive Chief Officer – Property and Housing.

The Committee is invited to agree a level of rent increase to apply to Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh garages and garage sites.

The Committee also discussed the condition and usage of Council garages within the Ward acknowledging the run-down condition of garages and the investment that would be required to re-condition them. Members have asked officers for a detailed report to come to a future committee providing options surrounding the future of Council garages in Ward 5.

The Committee APPROVED:

1. a level of rent increase to garages and garage sites in Wester Ross, Strathpeffer and Lochalsh of 3%; and
2. that a detailed report come to a future committee providing options surrounding the future of Council garages in Ward 5.

The meeting closed at 11.05 pm.