Minutes of Meeting of the Planning, Environment and Development Committee held in the Council Chamber, Council Headquarters, Glenurquhart Road, Inverness on Wednesday, 28 May 2008 at 10.30a.m.
Present:
Mr D Hendry, Mrs I McCallum, Mr G Farlow, Mr G Smith, Mr W MacKay, Mr I Ross, Mr M Rattray, Mr R Durham, Mr A Torrance, Mr D Chisholm, Mr Barclay, Mr B Clark, Ms P Munro, Mr D Henderson, Mr I Brown, Mr J Gray, Ms G Sinclair, Mr J Holden, Mr T Prag, Mr S Park (ex-officio)
Non-Members also present:
Ms L Munro, Mr W Fernie, Mrs I Campbell, Mrs M Smith, Mr A Rhind, Mr D Alston, Mr E Hunter, Mrs M Davidson, Mrs M Paterson, Mr D Cameron, Dr M Foxley, Mr B Gormley
Officials in attendance:
Mr S Black, Director of Planning and Development
Mr R Hartland, Head of Planning and Building Standards
Mr G Robson, Head of Environment and Development
Mr A McCann, Economy and Regeneration Manager
Mr G Hamilton, Countryside, Heritage and Natural Resources Manager
Mr M MacLeod, Development Plans Manager
Mr C Mackenzie, Principal Planner
Mr D Cowie, Principal Planner
Mr C Simpson, Tourism Co-ordinator
Mrs S Lunn, Business Support Manager
Mrs R Moir, Principal Administrator
Mrs L Lee, Committee Administrator
Mrs C Nicoll, Administrative Assistant
In Attendance:
Item 3: Mr P Boyer, Miss A McCallum, Miss A MacPherson, Mr G Williams and Miss E MacLeod - Pupils at Fortrose Academy
Item 4: Mr P Riddle Chief Executive, VisitScotland and Mr S Armstrong, Highland Area Director, VisitScotland
Item 23: Mr P Macinnes, Highlands and Islands Enterprise
Mr D Hendry in the Chair
Business
An asterisk in the margin denotes a recommendation to the Council. All decisions with no marking in the margin are delegated to the Committee.
1. Apologies for Absence
Apologies for absence were intimated on behalf of Mrs J Urquhart, Mrs H Carmichael and Mr J Crawford.
2. Preliminaries
i. Director of Planning and Development
The Chairman welcomed Mr Stuart Black, the new Director of Planning and Development, to his first meeting of the Committee.
ii. Valediction
A presentation was made to Mr Colin Mackenzie, Principal Planner, who had been with the Highland Council for just over 30 years and was now leaving to work for a local planning consultancy. The Committee thanked Mr Mackenzie and wished him well in his new post.
3. Presentation – Fortrose Academy Young Enterprise Scotland
A presentation was given by pupils from Fortrose Academy, national winners of this year’s UK Young Enterprise Company Programme competition. The pupils spoke about their business and the experience they had gained through participation in the Programme.
Having NOTED that the team would take part in the Scottish finals of the competition in Glasgow on 17 and 18 June 2008, the Committee congratulated the pupils on their product and their success.
4. Presentation – Visit Scotland
A presentation was given by Mr Philip Riddle, Chief Executive of VisitScotland, covering a number of areas, including the importance of the industry to Scotland; growth targets, market analysis and sales techniques; access to Scottish destinations; the importance of joint working (in particular with local authorities and transport organisations); competition; the use of Gaelic; the further development of Area Tourism Partnerships to allow increased input from the industry; career opportunities and training; the changing role of Tourist Information Centres; difficulties faced by the small private hotel sector; and the Quality Assurance scheme.
Both Mr Riddle and Members spoke positively of the activities and future of VisitScotland. The Chairman having thanked Mr Riddle, the Committee NOTED the information given.
5. Developing Highland Tourism
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-32-08 dated 22 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development outlining the Council’s involvement in developing the tourism industry in Highland and its working relationship with VisitScotland.
The Committee NOTED the information contained in the report, APPROVED a payment to VisitScotland of up to a maximum of £495,000 for the financial year 2008-09.and AGREED to:
i. advise the Area Tourism Partnership that it:
- seek a 50:50 balance between its public and private sector representatives
- resolve the geographic boundary and strategy coverage anomalies that existed with Moray and the Cairngorms National Park and have only the one strategy to deliver for its area
- appoint a chair and a vice chair, ideally from amongst the industry representatives, for a fixed term, ideally 2 years
- retain its Strategy and Action Plan monitoring role but prioritise the actions proposed and produce a concise and focussed annual Action Plan with a nominated champion for each priority;
ii. authorise the Director of Planning and Development, in consultation with the Chairman, to conclude a Partnership Agreement with VisitScotland for 2008-09; and
iii. support a review of the Partnership Agreement to inform future joint work between the Council and VisitScotland.
6. Minutes of Tourism Project Group – 8 April 2008
There had been circulated and APPROVED Minutes of Meeting of the Tourism Project Group held on 8 April 2008.
7. Minutes of Natural Resources Working Group Meetings 9 and 16 May 2008
There had been circulated Minutes of Meetings of the Natural Resources Working Group held on 9 May 2008 and 16 May 2008 respectively. The Working Group Chair, Mrs I McCallum, commented on the meetings’ discussions.
The Committee APPROVED both sets of Minutes and AGREED the Working Group’s recommendations with regard to:
i. Minutes of 9 May 2008
- Item 3 – that the Committee approve the proposed response to the consultation by Forest Enterprise Scotland (FES) on its Framework Strategic Plan 2008-2013 (Appendix 1 to the Minutes), amended to include comments raised at the Working Group in relation to (a) maintaining sustainable timber levels in the Highlands, (b) links between sustainable timber production and local processing and community development, (c) potential leadership issues following the sale of Forest Enterprise Scotland land; (d) promotion of a strategic view of the timber industry within the private sector, (e) climate change issues, (f) vermin control measures, and (g) retention of good arable land for farming rather than the timber industry; and subject also to the incorporation of comments raised at the Committee, including that (h) with regard to its policy for promoting woodlands around towns, FES be asked to relax the population threshold of 3,000 for the Highlands; (i) with reference to paragraph 2.5 of the draft response, FES be encouraged to take a more ambitious approach; and (j) references to “working with communities” be strengthened to include such terms as “allowing” and “empowering”
- Item 4 – that the Committee (a) homologate the Working Group’s visit to the Cromarty Firth Fisheries Board on 16 May 2008, and (b) approve the Working Group’s future potential visits as listed in the Minutes
ii. Minutes of 16 May 2008:
- Item 2 – that the Committee agree to work jointly with the Cromarty Firth Fisheries Board (CFFB) and with other private sector partners on appropriate projects within the CFFB’s Fisheries Management Plan.
The Committee also AGREED that Mrs G Sinclair be appointed to the Working Group to represent the Liberal Democrat Group in place of Mr T Prag, who had stepped down from the Working Group.
8. Revenue Expenditure Monitoring 2008/09
There had been circulated and NOTED Report No. Ped-33-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development setting out the revenue monitoring position for the period to 30 April 2008. It was anticipated that the final out-turn would be in line with budget expectations.
9. Planning and Development Service – Service Plan 2008/09-2010/11
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-34-08 dated 14 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development introducing the draft Planning and Development Service Service Plan 2008/9-2010/11, together with copies of the draft Service Plan. An amended version of Appendix 2 to the Plan was tabled.
The Committee APPROVED the draft Planning and Development Service Service Plan 2008/09-2010/11, as amended (Appendix 2, Risk No. PD11 to read “No budget to cover legal costs at PLI’s” rather than “Development plans meet statutory requirements”) and subject to:
i. the incorporation of Member comment relating to the need to provide sufficient resources to meet the Council’s planning enforcement duties; and
ii. the inclusion of Grantown on Spey and Muir of Ord to the towns listed in the Objectives section of paragraph 2.1.3 of the draft Plan.
10. Audit Scotland Statutory Performance Indicators Fourth Quarterly Review 2007/08
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-35-08 dated 21 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development advising Members on the delivery of the Development Management & Building Standards and Development Plan services for the fourth quarter of 2007/08, with comparative figures for previous years.
Whilst the performance figures for the quarter overall showed a decline, Members were advised that the filling of a number of vacancies, the use of consultants and reorganisation of the Building Standards management had led to consistent improvements each month since January 2008.
Members were informed that (i) the level of vacancies being carried by the Service was not uncommon across Scotland, and (ii) the Chief Planner had given an assurance that Procurators Fiscal would deal with planning enforcement cases. There were to be new arrangements for enforcement under the Planning Etc. (Scotland) Act 2006 and some finance would be provided for this.
Concerns having been raised by Members regarding the level of out-of-hours working by officers, the Committee NOTED the current improving position in respect of both Planning and Building Standards’ performance in relation to the vacancies throughout the service and also the information given.
11. Modernising the Planning System – Consultation on Planning Appeals Regulations
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-36-08 dated 16 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development concerned with the proposed new arrangements for appeals made against decisions on planning applications, including provision for establishment of review bodies to determine appeals on local developments, minor changes proposed to the current appeal mechanism to the Scottish Ministers, and proposed schemes of delegation. The Council had been granted an extension to the deadline for comments until 29 May 2008.
The Committee welcomed the consultation and support was expressed for a “pool” of Members to sit on the proposed Review Body. Members commented that there was a need for clarification as to (i) how far the Council’s scheme of delegation could differ from the model proposed by the Scottish Government, and (ii) the mechanism for provision of independent advice to the Review Body.
The Committee AGREED that the Council’s response to the 15 questions be as set out in the report, subject to the inclusion of further comment made in discussion that the Review Body should comprise 5 to 7 persons, rather than 3 to 5 persons as proposed in the draft regulations.
12. DEFRA Consultation: Draft UK Marine Bill
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-37-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development introducing a consultation by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) on a draft UK Marine Bill, on which a response was sought by 26 June 2008.
The Committee NOTED that comments made in discussion regarding the need to build the campaign for a review of the Crown Estate, and in particular to inform coastal communities as to why the call for this review was important, would be taken forward as appropriate; and APPROVED:
i. the response to the draft UK Marine Bill, as proposed in Appendix 4, subject to the inclusion of the points raised in discussion regarding the need for improved control over hazardous cargoes in the Minch, with the Minutes of the most recent Shipping Traffic in the Minch Working Group being appended to the Council’s response; and
ii. the Cross-Party Agreement to work jointly and co-operatively during the term of the Council to promote the recommendations of the Crown Estate Review Working Group report: “New Opportunities for Public Benefit”.
The Committee also AGREED that the response be forwarded to Richard Lochhead MSP, Cabinet Secretary for Rural Affairs and the Environment, and that consideration also be given to forwarding the response to the UK Secretary of State for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs.
13. Historic Scotland Consultation – The Scottish Historic Environment Policy on the Marine Historic Environment
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-38-08 dated 19 May by the Director of Planning and Development introducing a public consultation on the Marine Historic Environment. A response was sought by 30 May 2008.
The Committee APPROVED the response as set out at Appendix 2, subject to inclusion of further comment made in discussion that funding was required not only to locate marine historical sites but also to provide interpretation.
14. Fort William Waterfront and Town Centre Urban Design Strategy and Action Plan – Consultants’ Brief
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-39-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development describing the current layout of Fort William Waterfront and Town Centre and setting out a draft Consultants’ Brief for a “Fort William Waterfront and Town Centre Urban Design Strategy and Action Plan”. The report also sought to establish a Working Group to consider proposals relating to the Brief and the appointment of Consultants and, subsequently, stage reporting of progress. Potential co-sponsors of the project, including Highlands and Islands Enterprise, British Waterways and the Crown Estate would be invited to the Working Group.
The Working Group would be asked to (i) finalise the terms of the Draft Consultants’ Brief for use as the basis for the Urban Design Strategy and Action Plan; and (ii) thereafter, invite proposals for a commission from Consultants. The commission was expected to extend over approximately six months and include Strategic Environmental Assessment and engagement with local community and business groups.
Following discussion, the Committee AGREED:
i. the Draft Consultants’ Brief as a basis for a “Fort William Waterfront and Town Centre: Urban Design Strategy and Action Plan”, and that this, including the study area, be concluded subject to discussion with the Council’s partners; and
ii. to establish a Working Group comprising all Members from Wards 12 and 22 (Caol & Mallaig and Fort William & Ardnamurchan respectively), and the Chairmen of the Planning, Environment and Development and the Transport, Environmental and Community Services Committees, along with officials of the Council as appropriate and representatives from the co-sponsors (Highland and Islands Enterprise, British Waterways and the Crown Estate), to consider proposals relating to the Brief and the appointment of Consultants and, subsequently, stage reporting of progress.
15. Spatial Planning Framework for Onshore Wind Energy Developments
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-40-08 dated 16 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development advising that, following the issue of Scottish Planning Policy 6, “Renewable Energy”, in March 2007, the Council was required to develop some new Supplementary Planning Guidance (SPG) for onshore wind energy developments. The report outlined the scope of the work required and recommended that it be formally started.
In discussion, Members raised a number of points for consideration by officers when drafting the new SPG, including:
- the Council’s targets for renewable energy production remained unchanged
- the process required to be open and transparent
- the need to reassure communities that there would not be a “free for all”
- it would be helpful to identify areas with significant sensitivities – previous work carried out for the Council’s Renewable Energy Strategy might assist with this
- a light touch was required for wind energy projects for small communities, as there were benefits from reduced fuel poverty
- with regard to cumulative impact, it was important that the first wind farms in an area were well placed – a “first come first served” approach might not always provide the best outcomes; there was a need to anticipate where applications would be lodged
- attention should also be paid to reducing energy use and improving the standard of buildings
- it was important to protect the natural heritage of the Highlands; the profitability of wind energy schemes relied on Government subsidy and was therefore vulnerable to changes in political will.
Following discussion, the Committee NOTED that significant infrastructure such as improvements to roads might be delivered through onshore wind energy projects, and, where this would be a planning requirement, the potential for such developments could be investigated by officers from Planning & Development and Transport, Environment & Community Services. However, revisions to arrangements concerning community benefits not deriving from planning requirements were outwith the remit of the Committee. This issue, if Members so wished, would need to be raised via the full Council, to be taken forward corporately.
The Committee AGREED that:
i. the part of the Highland Renewable Energy Strategy and Planning Guidelines dealing with onshore wind energy be reviewed and replaced by non-statutory supplementary planning guidance, which would be incorporated into the development plan in due course; and
ii. draft supplementary planning guidance be reported to the Committee at its meeting on 24 September 2008, for consideration for public consultation purposes.
16. Draft Highland Access Strategy 2008-2011
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-41-08 dated 14 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development introducing the Highland Access Strategy 2008-2011 and seeking Committee approval to conduct further consultation, allied to Strategic Environmental Assessment, and, following this, to publish the final Strategy.
The Committee NOTED the amended and updated draft Highland Access Strategy 2008-2011 and APPROVED:
i. a further eight week consultation with the accompanying Environmental Report; and
ii. publication of the Highland Access Strategy 2008-2011, incorporating any minor amendments resulting from consultation.
17. Extension of the Length of Appointment of Local Access Forum Membership
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-42-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development regarding the length of appointment of persons nominated to the six Local Access Fora in Highland.
The Committee AGREED to extend the length of appointment from the present three year period until such time as Scottish Ministers authorised the Highland Council to adopt its Core Path Plans.
18. Core Path Plans – Caithness and Sutherland
There had been circulated Report Numbers Ped-43-08 and 17 Ped-44-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development updating Members on progress with the Caithness and Sutherland Core Path Plans respectively.
The Committee NOTED comments raised in discussion that representations should be made to the Scottish Government seeking the provision of adequate funding to maintain core paths, particularly in light of a foreseeable increase in their use and raised public expectations following publication of the Core Path Plans, and APPROVED the Core Path Plans for Caithness and Sutherland for submission to the Scottish Ministers.
19. Highland Opportunity Limited
As Directors of Highland Opportunity Limited, Mr D Hendry, Mrs I McCallum, Mr G Smith, Mr B Barclay, Mr D Henderson, Mr I Brown and Mr J Gray each declared a non-financial interest in this item but, having applied the test outlined in Paragraph 5.18 of the Councillors’ Code of Conduct, each concluded that their interest did not preclude their involvement in the discussion.
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-45-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development bringing Members up to date with the performance of Highland Opportunity Limited (HOL), against a range of agreed targets set by the Council as part of the 2007/08 contract to deliver business development services.
The Committee NOTED:
i. amendments to figures in paragraph 2.6 of the report (Value of Loans) as follows: Ross and Cromarty to read £97k rather than £107k, and Inverness to read £244k rather than £198k;
ii. the performance of Highland Opportunity Limited against the targets set out for it in financial year 2007/08; and
iii. that the Employment Grants Scheme would need to be reviewed in light of developments with the Fairer Scotland Fund in 2009.
The Committee APPROVED the proposed renewal of the contract as detailed at paragraph 3.1 for the delivery of Business Development Services by HOL; and AGREED to retain existing targets for service delivery as listed in Section 2.2.
20. Vacant and Derelict Land Fund
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-46-08 dated 20 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development informing Members that, on 28 April 2008, the Scottish Government had advised the Highland Council that it had been allocated £4.5m over a three year period from the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund. In order to access this fund, the Scottish Government had required the Council to submit a Draft Delivery Plan by 19 May 2008. The criteria for selection of sites had been set by the Government.
The Director of Planning and Development, in consultation with the Convener, Vice Convener, Chairs and Vice Chairs of the Planning, Environment and Development and Resources Committees, and with the Directors of Transport, Environmental and Community Services, Housing and Property and Finance, had compiled a 3 year delivery plan listing the Council’s proposed projects, and this had been submitted to the Scottish Government ahead of the deadline.
The Committee welcomed the allocation of £4.5m of grant from the Vacant and Derelict Land Fund and asked that the respective Ward Members be kept fully informed of progress, including discussions with owners etc, and NOTED:
i. that, whilst the £4.5m grant had been allocated to Highland Council, it would not be formally awarded until towards the end of June 2008, following appraisal and approval of the Council’s draft delivery plan by Scottish Ministers; and
ii. that the plan could be reviewed and altered over the three year period if required.
The Committee HOMOLOGATED the submission of the draft Delivery Plan 2008-2011 to the Scottish Government prior to the deadline of 19 May 2008.
21. Proposed Article 4 Direction – Structural Landscaping Areas, Achnagonalin Industrial Estate, Grantown on Spey
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-47-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development recommending that the Council take steps to protect visual amenity around Achnagonalin Industrial Estate at Grantown on Spey.
The Committee AGREED:
i. to promote an Article 4 Direction withdrawing Class 7 Permitted Development rights in relation to all areas at Achnagonalin Industrial Estate outwith the approved development boundaries;
ii. that consultation be held with the relevant parties to allow representations which would be considered by the Committee before the Direction was submitted to Ministers for confirmation; and
iii. in response to points raised in discussion, that a report be brought to a future meeting on protecting landscape value in the Highlands.
The Committee APPROVED a Provisional Tree Preservation Order in relation to the wooded areas forming part of the peripheral structural landscaping at Achnagonalin Industrial Estate, with confirmation of the Order to be subject to consideration by the Committee of any comments or objections.
22. Committee of Inquiry on Crofting – Final Report
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-48-08 dated 19 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development advising that the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting had concluded its evidence gathering phase, had published a vision for the future of crofting and had now published its final report to Ministers.
The Committee NOTED the recommendations of the Committee of Inquiry on Crofting and AGREED to write to the Minister for the Environment, Michael Russell MSP:
i. welcoming the final report and indicating that the Council looked forward to working with the Minister towards implementing the various recommendations made by the Committee of Inquiry; and
ii. suggesting that, in view of the foreseeable conflict between the recommendations of the report and market forces, consideration be given by Ministers to the re-establishment of the Joint Consultative Committee on Crofting.
23. MIPIM Property Conference
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-49-08 dated 14 May 2008 by the Inverness City Manager and Highland and Islands Enterprise (HIE) advising that, following Council approval, the Provost of Inverness, the Inverness City Manager and two colleagues from HIE had attended the MIPIM Conference (Marché International des Professionels de I’Immobilier – The International Market for Property Professionals) in Cannes on 11-14 March 2008.
Having heard Mr P MacInnes from Highlands and Islands Enterprise summarise the outcomes from the event, the Committee AGREED that:
i. contacts made from MIPIM 2008 continue to be pursued;
ii. an approach be made to HIE with a view to continuing a working partnership at future MIPIM conferences;
iii. work be progressed with the other five Scottish City Councils and Scottish Development International with regard to developing sustainable partnerships; and
iv. future reports be brought to the Committee on appropriate occasions – this to include an update in around 6 months’ to 1 year’s time as to which contacts made at MIPIM had been taken further.
24. Inverness Architectural Association – Design Awards
There had been circulated Report No. Ped-50-08 dated 21 May 2008 by the Director of Planning and Development recommending that, to help promote the aspirations of improving design and layout for all forms of development, the Highland Council sponsor the Inverness Architects Association Award Scheme for 2008.
The Committee APPROVED the Council’s sponsorship of the Inverness Architects Association Award Scheme at a cost of £7,500; and NOTED that a further report would be presented to the Committee on the conclusion of the Awards Scheme in November 2008.
25. Dounreay Invitation to Visit
The Committee NOTED that arrangements were being made for its Members to visit the former nuclear power plant at Dounreay on Friday 1 August 2008 and that further details would be issued in due course.
The meeting ended at 3.15 p.m.