A number of interesting items at tonight’s council committee meetings.
The Policy and Resources Committee heard that it is projected that savings totalling £8.4m in 2014/15 will be required to be identified in order to deliver a balanced budget and a council tax freeze.
The Housing Committee agreed to consult with tenants over a two month period on the proposed options for the rent increase for 2014/14. These are 2.25%, 2.5% and 2.75%. The committee heard what the impact each of these options would have on service delivery. Other charges, including the sheltered housing charge, are being maintained at current level.
The City Development Committee was asked to give approval to consult on the Draft Broughty Ferry Conservation Area Appraisal. An extension of the existing conservation area is being proposed and I asked a question about the possibility of widening it further to include parts of Broughty Ferry which I believe to be typical of the existing character of the area and would sit comfortably within the Broughty Ferry Conservation Area, including The Esplanade, taking in The Glass Pavilion, and the south side of Monifieth Road. I was told that these are outwith the scope of the appraisal but would be considered in a future review of the neighbouring conservation areas.
I also asked a question at this committee when it was considering the alterations to waiting restrictions across the city. I had expected the large junction at the railway bridge on Dundee Road to be included in the review. It has been my understanding for some time that a single yellow line with limited waiting was being considered to the east of the junction in response to the concerns raised by local residents about the use of the location by advertising vehicles which are constantly parked there. However the council’s head of transportation said that his department was putting on hold any changes as the introduction of short stay parking may encourage these vehicles to park further along the adjacent network and be more of a driver distraction or hazard. In a separate email response to me he gave an undertaking to carry out a policy review in terms of how the council manages unauthorised road side advertising.
