News Release

Meeting of Aberdeenshire Council, 11th March 2010

11th March 2010

Aberdeenshire councillors met today (11th March 2010) to discuss a range of issues.

Cllr Strathdee asked that a letter of congratulation be sent to the three young people from Huntly, Andrew Young, Andrew Musgrave and PJ Barron who had all competed in the Winter Olympics in Vancouver. This was agreed.

Cllr Linda Clarke asked that congratulations be sent to Ben Kilner who also competed in the Winter Olympics in the snowboarding events. This was agreed.

Councillors went on to discuss two notices of motion put forward by Cllr Sam Coull.

The first notice of motion was: “This Council resolves that failure by private landowners to take effective measures to prevent run-off from their land onto the public highway, after being so requested by the Council, will then be either carried out by Aberdeenshire Council at the expense of the landowner or, alternatively for the basis of a formal complaint to the police.”

Cllr Coull explained that the condition of the roads was poor and that something had to be done. He recognised the expenditure spent on fixing the roads had increased dramatically in recent years and that this year had experienced the most severe weather conditions for many years.

He explained that water running off private land was one of the causes of potholes and damage to roads, as well as being a threat to motorists when the water froze.

He set out three options including landowners taking suitable measures to resolve the issues; that landowners pay the local authority to fix the problems or that complaints be made to the police.

He was seconded by Cllr Cullen who explained that this was a serious issue and that the council had legal powers to deal with the issue and he urged the council to use these powers.

Leader of the Council, Cllr Anne Robertson explained that whilst the council had enforcement powers, their preferred route of dealing with landowners was by negotiation and agreement. She also highlighted that there were significant risks of non-recovery of costs if landowners could not or would not pay for works.

She suggested that the matter be referred to the Infrastructure Services Committee where a full report could be considered by councillors. This was seconded by Cllr Jim Gifford and widely supported around the council chamber.

Cllr Coull agreed to the issue being referred to ISC for a full and comprehensive report which sets out the legal and practical issues for discussion.

The second notice of motion from Cllr Coull was: “This Council agrees to contact the Scottish Government as a matter of urgency to express concern and seek an early amendment in relation to regulation 18 – 20 of the Town & Country Planning (Development Management procedure) (Scotland) Regulations 2008 relating to neighbour notification advertising.”

Cllr Coull explained that he had been approached by a member of the public who had applied for planning permission and been charged £56 for a public advertisement, even though the adjacent land was owned by the council. Cllr Coull accepted that the council was bound by legislation but asked councillors to ask the Scottish Government to reconsider the arrangements.

The motion was seconded by Cllr Ford.

Cllr Arygle explained that the council was bound by regulations and suggested that the matter should be referred to Infrastructure Services Committee to gain greater clarity on the issues and for full consideration of the matter.

Cllr Webster seconded the suggestion and explained that it was a complicated issue and that councillors needed more information before they were in a position to make a decision.

Councillors agreed to refer the matter to ISC.

A progress report was considered on the Audit of Best Value and Community Planning Improvement Plan. Assistant Chief Executive Colette Backwell set out the report and the progress on the actions identified and explained that a new Corporate Improvement Plan would be presented to Policy and Resources Committee at a future meeting.

The report was agreed.

In light of an impending general election, a report was considered on the designation of new polling places.

In Fraserburgh North it was agreed that the polling station would change from Broadsea Hall to the JIC Building in Albert Street.

St Combs Community Hall which was destroyed by fire will be replaced by the Roads Community Café in St Combs High Street and the St Fergus Parish Hall will be replaced by St Fergus Primary School.

The council noted a number of questions received and the answers provided to them. These can be found here: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees/files_meta/802572870061668E802576D4003E4CBE/(6)%20Written%20Questions-Final.pdf

You can access further details of recent and upcoming committee meetings by clicking here: http://www.aberdeenshire.gov.uk/committees/index.asp

 

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