Provost R Wynd, Mr R Balfour, Mr I Brown, Miss J Campbell, Ms H Carmichael, Mr P Corbett, Mr J Crawford, Mrs M Davidson, Mr J Finnie, Mr D Henderson, Mr D Hendry, Mr J Holden, Mr D Kerr, Mrs B McAllister, Mr J MacDonald, Mr K MacLeod, Mrs P Munro, Mr F Parr, Mr R Pedersen, Mr T Prag, Mrs G Sinclair
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies were submitted on behalf of Mr N Donald, Mr J Ford, Mr A Graham and Mr H Wood.
2. Minutes
The Committee NOTED the minutes of the Inverness City Committee held on 4 February 2008 and APPROVED:
i. the minutes of the Donations Working Group on 25 February 2008;
and
ii. the minutes of the Kirking Working Group held on 13 February 2008,
having AGREED that any funding requirements for future Kirking
ceremonies would be reported back to the City Committee.
3. Housing and Property Services – City Service Delivery
The Committee NOTED the presentation by the Area Housing and Property Manager, who responded to questions from Members as follows:
i. the proposed Capital Programme would be reported to the Housing and
Social Work Committee;
ii. work was being undertaken to provide ward-level information to
Members.
Members further commented that:
i. a written report on major issues, such as homelessness, would be helpful
for future discussions on the matter;
ii. in relation to roads and pavements, links with TEC Services required
consideration.
The Committee thereafter NOTED the presentation, and AGREED that:
i. there was an ongoing training requirement on CRM for Housing staff;
ii. increased tenant participation would be helpful; and
iii. consideration could be given to working with Finance Visiting Officers to
help elderly etc people completing new joint agency Housing application
form.
iv. feedback would be given to Members once identified problems had been
resolved, to avoid Members chasing up issues that had already been dealt
with.
4. Inverness City Centre Streetscape and Transportation Project
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-10-08 dated 4 March 2008 by the Director of TEC Services which updated Members on progress and issues associated with the Inverness City Centre Streetscape and Transportation project.
In response to questions from Members it was explained that:
i. bike racks would be provided in appropriate places;
ii. a completion date of March 2009 was estimated. Any delays would be
discussed at regular progress meetings.
The Committee NOTED update and AGREED that:
i. the issue of ownership and parking within the lanes on either side of the
Queensgate Post Office would be discussed at the next Stakeholder
meeting;
ii. kerb levels around disabled parking spaces would be investigated to
ensure DDA compliance;
iii. in future the initials CGF would be written out in full due to confusion
between the Common Good Fund and the Cities’ Growth Fund.
5. Inverness City Vision – Update on Current Projects
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-11-08 dated 10 March 2008 by the City Partnership Officer providing an update to Members on the current status of the actions being undertaken in relation to Traffic Management and other City Vision themes.
The Committee NOTED the update and, following discussion, AGREED that:
i. Cllr Pedersen would be provided with information about the electricity
consumption of the proposed city lighting strategy;
ii. a full consultation, including with local Members, the Ness Fisheries Board
and the Atlantic Salmon Trust, would take place for the proposed Hydro
Scheme;
iii. re-allocation of the remaining £35k, which had been allocated to the
South Kessock Environmental Company project that was no longer
proceeding, should be delayed until the year end budget review.
Suggested projects would be brought to the Committee in April 08;
iv. buses were being asked to pull fully into the new 2-bus space at Falcon
Square to avoid creating traffic congestion. A report on traffic modelling
would be brought to a future Committee.
6. Community Planning Arrangements
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-12-08 dated 7 March 2008 by the Corporate Manager for Inverness, Nairn, Badenoch and Strathspey which informed Members that over the years a series of predominantly public sector partnerships had evolved in and around Inverness. The report proposed the creation of a new local community planning partnership that would have its governance through the Inverness City Committee to the Council and join up these other partnerships. This would build on the good work that had been achieved to date and enable everyone concerned to make best use of their joint resources.
The Corporate Manager summarised the proposals contained in the report, pointing out that the proposal would tie in with the Scottish Government’s Single Outcome Agreement proposals and would allow much greater joint working across the public sector.
Members voiced support for the proposals and following discussion the Committee AGREED:
i. to the creation of a new Inverness Partnership that would take the lead
in community planning for Inverness and rural area (covering Wards 13,
14, 15, 16, 17, 18 and 20);
ii. that the new Partnership would play a lead role in delivering the Single
Outcome Agreement for Highland, as this related to the Inverness and
rural area;
iii. that the INBS Corporate Manager would meet with other relevant
partnerships to outline the governance arrangements and to establish
the new partnerships.
Further, the Committee AGREED that two Community Council representatives would sit on the Inverness Partnership, one rural and one urban, and NOTED that the Administration had agreed to nominate Provost Wynd as Chair, Councillor Davidson and Councillor Kerr onto the new Partnership, and that the opposition had been invited to nominate 1 Member each from Labour and Liberal Democrats.
7. Highland Lights Outcome
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-13-08 dated 10 March 2008 by the City Manager and the Director of Highland 2007 which advised Members on the outcome of Highland Lights – Solais na Gaidhealtachd on 12 January 2008.
The Director of Highland 2007 summarised the event and the outcomes as detailed in the report. Several Members commented positively on the success of the event, stating that it had been a worthwhile use of funds and had benefited the economy and people of Inverness. Other Members acknowledged the success of the event but maintained that it had not been sufficiently worthwhile to justify the costs involved. It was hoped that third party funding sources would be found for future Winter Festivals, and the Committee thereafter NOTED the report and that proposals for future events would be included in a later report.
8. Future Proposals for an Inverness Winter Festival
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-14-08 dated 7 March 2008 by the City Manager and the Senior Community Learning and Leisure Officer which recommended the next steps towards the development of a Winter Festival for the City of Inverness.
The Committee AGREED to:
i. authorise the City Manager and Senior Community Learning and Leisure
Officer to establish an Inverness city stakeholder group to seek further
feedback on the option to develop a Winter Festival programme for the
city;
ii. authorise the Inverness City Manager to seek information from Scottish
Government officials on the potential for Inverness to form part of the
national Winter Festival programme and to identify any potential funding
that might become available;
iii. consider the information presented by the Inverness City Manager in
informing future decisions by Inverness City Committee on the option to
develop a Winter Festival for the city; and
iv. a further report coming back to the City Committee outlining the findings
of the Stakeholder Group and budget implications.
9. The Street Pastors Initiative - Joint Agency Presentation
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-15-08 dated 4 March 2008 by the Ward Manager for Inverness West and Ness-side. The report informed of the development and implementation of the Street Pastors initiative in the centre of Inverness, and a short presentation was held in relation to this item.
Several Members voiced support for the project and commended the volunteers involved. In response to questions from Members it was explained that volunteers could only be sourced from Christian Churches, as this was a Christian initiative, and some Members expressed concern that multi-denominational volunteers could not be used. In relation to Common Good Funding for the project some Members suggested that the project be run as a pilot for a year before any further funding was agreed, however other Members suggested that there was no reason not to consider a further funding application in the near future.
The Committee thereafter NOTED the presentation and AGREED that the licensed trade should also be approached for funding for the project by the organisers, since the majority of people being helped by the project were customers of the licensed trade.
10. Faith, Hope and Charity Statues
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-16-08 dated 12 March 2008 by the Greeninverness Officer and the Ward Manager for Culloden, Ardersier and Inverness South. The report provided details of the progress on the purchase and reinstatement of the statues; Faith, Hope and Charity. The project fitted with the Administration’s commitment to develop active interest in the heritage and history of the Highlands.
The Committee NOTED the content of the report and AGREED to officers carrying out the consultation using the methods suggested.
11. Update on the Highland Gallery and Museum Project
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-17-08 dated 10 March 2008 by the Senior Community Learning and Leisure Officer.
Several Members commented that since a consultation had already taken place and sites at the Northern Meeting Park and Castle Street had been indicated as unsuitable by the respondents, they should not be included in any further consultation. It was explained that it would be preferable for all 5 identified possible sites to be consulted on at the same time, these to include the 3 already consulted on plus 2 further sites as identified during the consultation process.
Following discussion, Provost Wynd, seconded by Mr R Pedersen, moved the recommendation in the report, namely that the Committee:
i. noted that two new sites for the proposed Highland Gallery and Museum
(Upper Bridge Street, and the Post Office Sorting Office) had been
identified during the public engagement process;
ii. agreed that the views of the public on all five sites would be sought to
help inform a future Education, Culture and Sport Committee decision; and
iii. agreed to receive a future report on the public engagement on the five
sites, prior to making its recommendation to the Education, Culture and
Sport Committee.
Mrs B McAllister, seconded by Mr K MacLeod, moved as a first amendment that in light of the fact we had already consulted on the 3 options, 2 of which had clearly found no favour with the public, we should now drop Northern Meeting Park from the list.
Mr D Kerr, seconded by Mr J Crawford, moved as a second amendment that both Northern Meeting Park and Castle Street be removed from the selection process.
On a division and the votes having been taken by a show of hands, the results were as follows:
The first Amendment was carried against the second Amendment by 3 votes to 2. Thereafter, the Motion was carried against the first Amendment by 8 votes to 5 and became the finding of the meeting.
12. Inverness Common Good Fund Revenue Monitoring Statement
31 January 2008
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-18-08 dated 4 March 2008 by the City Manager which set out the revenue monitoring position for the period to 31 January 2008 and showed the actual expenditure to date.
In response to questions from Members the City Manager explained that:
i. much of the £241k shown as expenditure against Bonfire Night should
be on the line below, Old New Year Event;
ii. over-budget expenditure under Common Good Fund Grants had been
agreed by the City Committee and would be taken from CGF balances;
iii. in total, £25k of additional funding had been agreed for ARMS.
The Committee thereafter NOTED the position and AGREED that a breakdown of the £52,251 of General Expenditure would be given to the next meeting of the City Committee.
13. Inverness Common Good Fund – Monitoring Report on Capital Projects
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-19-08 dated 25 February 2008 by the City Manager and the Area Housing and Property Manager which presented the current position on projects being carried out for the Inverness Common Good Fund.
The Committee NOTED the position.
14. Inverness Common Good Fund Revenue Budget for 2008/2009
Provost R Wynd, being closely related to the Safer City Centre Co-ordinator, declared a financial interest in paragraph 6.12 of the report and left the room during consideration of this item. Mr D Hendry took the Chair for this item.
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-20-08 dated 7 March 2008 by the City Manager, inviting Members to set a revenue budget for the City of Inverness Common Good Fund for the financial year 2008-2009. The report clarified:
-
Anticipated income (primarily from tenancy rentals) and;
-
Proposed expenditure, split into essential (for maintenance of buildings and the provision of basic services) and a number of items of additional expenditure.
The Committee AGREED the following paragraphs from the report:
5.1 £229,582 for Town House Maintenance, public costs and refurbishment of the ground floor toilets.
5.2 £319,180 for the Victorian Market and £16,669 for other properties.
5.3 £60,000 for improvements to Bellfield Park.
5.4 £21,190 for the Fund Managers’ fee, £134,888 for the Central Establishment Charges and £26,165 for other charges.
5.5 £2,050 for Industrial Estates.
6.1 £84,520 for Civic and Conference Hospitality.
6.2 £96,524 for Grants and Voluntary Donations – Donations Working Group.
6.3 £22,876 (provisionally, noting that fuel costs were rising and finalisation of this figure would be left to the last minute).
6.4 £8,585 for Donations towards rentals.
6.5 £25,625 for Ness Islands grounds maintenance.
6.6 £56,583 for City Events and Promotions.
6.7 £59,000 for Christmas Lights, noting the name should be changed to ‘Festive’ and that the figure stated should be a maximum, with the City Manager investigating the use of energy efficient lights with TEC Services.
6.8 £11,316 for Bonfire Night.
6.9 £350,000 for Streetscape.
6.10 £43,000 for the Inverness project, noting that the issue of floral displays would be addressed as part of the BID if the vote was successful.
6.11 £68,569 for CCTV, noting that Members wished to be provided with a list of all camera locations and details of any match funding or agreements in place with Northern Constabulary.
6.12 (Mr D Hendry in the Chair) £23,000 for Safe Inverness Initiative, noting that Members wished a further report on Safe Inverness to be submitted to a future City Committee.
6.13 £25,000 (provisionally) for the Three Graces Statues.
6.14 £13,909 for Town Twinning.
15. Sister City Status Requests - Bakersfield and Greenville, USA
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-22-08 dated 7 March by the City Manager reminding Members that a decision on whether or not to proceed with a move to establish “Sister City Status” with Bakersfield, California had been deferred for further investigation. The recommendation was to proceed to form links with the Highland Games Association rather than establish formal Sister City Status. A second request had been received from Greenville, South Carolina and the same recommendation was being made.
Following discussion, the Committee AGREED:
i. to politely decline the offers of twinning at this stage but to support the
general expansion of links through Highland Games Societies; and
ii. that a future report be brought to Committee listing current twinning,
sistering or other similar agreements currently in place.
16. Civic Hospitality Review
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-23-08 dated 25 February 2008 by the City Manager, following on from a motion brought to the City Committee which was agreed by Members and which instructed the City Manager in consultation with the Members of the Civic Hospitality Group, to review the processes and procedures which were applied when considering requests for hospitality.
The Committee NOTED the current procedures and that they fell within the guidelines of the operation of the City’s Common Good Fund.
The Committee RESOLVED in terms of Section 50A(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 that public be excluded from the meeting for the following items (item 17, only if it wished to consider items contained in Booklet A; item 19, only if the working group minutes were referred to), on the grounds that they involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in Paragraphs 4, 6 and 9 of Part 1 of Schedule 7A of the Act.
17. Common Good - Funding Application Requests
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-24-08 dated 5 March 2008 by the City Manager following on from the City Committee held on 4 February 2008, where several requests, including the application for the Handyperson scheme, were deferred for further information/consideration. It also detailed fresh requests, all for funding from the Inverness Common Good Fund from the current budget. There had also been circulated, to Members only, copies of supporting documentation.
The Committee AGREED the following:
2.1 Handyperson Scheme
Agreed £30k.
2.2 Northern Constabulary Pipe Band
Deferred to future City Committee pending more information.
2.3 Youth Inclusive
Delegated decision to next meeting of the Donations Working Group on the £10k being sought.
2.4 Inverness YMCA
Deferred to a future City Committee pending more information.
2.5 National Trust for Scotland
In relation to this application for £10k for the provision of a water storage reservoir to compensate for the lack of water pressure in the mains supply, for use by the Fire Emergency Services, some Members spoke in its favour, given the importance of the Culloden Battlefield visitor centre to the economy of Inverness. Other Members considered that the centre was outwith the geographic boundary of the Common Good Fund and that the Fire Service should be consulted on the need for the water tanks prior to any funding being agreed.
Mr J Gray seconded by Mr J Holden moved that the application be refused as recommended.
Mrs M Davidson seconded by Mr T Prag moved as an amendment that £10k be granted subject to a condition on the provision of an additional free open day at the centre.
On a division and the vote having been taken by a show of hands the Motion received 16 votes and the Amendment 6, and the Committee refused the application.
2.6 Charleston Toddler Group
Agreed £6k.
18. Common Good Fund - Sites and Premises Transaction Report
There had been circulated Report No. ICC25/08 dated 4 March 2008 by the Head of Housing Development & Estates. The report summarised the property transactions recently approved by the Head of Housing Development & Estates, under the Highland Council’s Scheme of Delegation, after consultation with local Members as appropriate and in accordance with policy, together with a statement on the current position in respect of Inverness Common Good fund rents and tenant arrears.
The Committee NOTED Inverness Common Good transactions approved by the Head of Housing Development & Estates, under delegated powers, during the period 12 November 2007 and 25 February 2008, and the position regarding the tenant rent roll as at 26 February 2008.
19. Grant Street Park – Update
There had been circulated Report No. ICC-26-08 dated 5 March 2008 by the City Manager. There had been re-circulated Report No. ICC04/08. The working group had met twice (minutes having been circulated to Members only). Detailed discussions had taken place and the Committee NOTED that:
i. the current tenant, Clachnacuddin Football Club (1990) Ltd. had
voluntarily renounced the lease of the football pitch and ground upon
which the stand sat at Grant Street Park, to the Inverness Common Good
Fund;
ii. the Committee would nominate two Members to be put forward (one
administration Member and one opposition Member), to sit on a working
group to be set up by the Club/interested parties, along with the City
Manager. Their remit would be to represent the interests of the
Common Good fund and assist the Club in finding a long term solution.
iii. whilst all efforts would be made to recover the costs of maintaining the
football pitch at Grant Street Park, there was a potential liability to the
Common Good Fund, whilst the future use of Grant Street Park was under
consideration. However, these costs could be met out of revenue
balances: and
iv. the City Manager would be providing update reports to the City
Committee as appropriate.
20. 71 Carsegate Road, Inverness
There is circulated Report No. ICC28/08 dated 4 March 2008 by the Head of Housing Development & Estates which invites Members to consider an application received for the lease of Site 71 Carse Industrial Estate, Inverness.
Following discussion, the Committee DEFERRED a decision on the application pending consultation with local Members. It was NOTED that if local Members were supportive of the applicaiton, power would be delegated to officials to approve the application. If local Members did not support the application, the matter would be referred back to Committee.
The meeting ended at 4.40pm, having adjourned for lunch between 1.15pm and 2pm.