Plans for biomass plant at Dundee Port withdrawn

The plans for the biomass plant at Dundee Port have been scrapped. Forth Energy has withdrawn its application, which was to be determined by a Scottish Government inquiry. The inquiry was triggered by the council’s decision last June to formally object to the plant.

When it was first considered by Dundee City Council I moved that the council’s position should be to object to it to allow a public inquiry to be heard, but a majority of councillors voted to defer a decision until more information was available about its impact on public health and the environment. When it came back to the council I seconded the motion that resulted in the council formally objecting to the plant.

My concerns about a biomass of this size at the port were in respect of health and visual impact. Dundee already has issues with air quality standards and from the evidence presented to councillors it seemed to me that this was likely to be exacerbated by a biomass plant.

The large buildings would have had a significant impact on the appearance of the city, particularly in such close proximity to the waterfront project. The regeneration of the waterfront is forecast to generate a lot of jobs for the local economy and V&A Dundee is expected to provide a magnet for business and tourism. I didn’t think it was worth taking the risk of putting any of this at jeopardy.

I’m sure that the many hundreds of people who raised concerns about the biomass will be pleased at this outcome.

2014/15 unadopted footways programme

Kerrington Crescent

Today I received the outcome of the ranking exercise for the 2014/15 unadopted footways programme. Broughty Ferry has done reasonably well this year with a further nine pavements being brought up to standard and adopted by the council for future maintenance. These are Strathmore Street-east end of the section near to the shops, Margaret Crescent-east footway,  Stewart Street, Kerrington Crescent-north footway, Boyd Place, Ramsay Street, Hutton Place, South Balmossie Street-west footway, Oakley Place.

There are twenty two pavements across the city to be attended to this year and work will be carried out on a phased basis starting in late summer.

I have received a number of representations about these pavements over the years; Kerrington Crescent in particular has generated a lot of contact from residents. A few years ago I was able to establish that a number of the properties in the street dated back before 1919 and as a result it was awarded the maximum number of priority points for the age of housing in the street. Likewise for this year’s reassessment I submitted to the city engineer’s office evidence that there were properties prior to 1919 in the section of Strathmore Street that is to be done. This was accepted and as a result of the additional points it jumped to the top of the priority list. 

There is still a few more pavements to be done yet and I will continue to look for ways of improving their priority.

Opposition to councillors going to conference

An item at tonight’s Social Work Committee sought instruction regarding elected member attendance at the annual conference of the Association of Directors of Social Work. It is to take place at Crieff Hydro Hotel  at a cost of £399 plus vat per person excluding travel and subsistence allowances.

The committee convenor proposed one member from the administration group of councillors attend and one from the opposition councillors. I put forward an amendment that no elected members attend. It has always been my view that there is no need for councillors to attend conferences, especially at a time when we have to make every penny count. Instead I think it is perfectly acceptable for council managers who attend  conferences in their professional capacity to cascade any information to councillors on their return.

I had previously sought to delete the amount for councillors attending conferences from the council’s 2014/15 budget so my approach has been consistent. 

My amendment was defeated by 15 votes to 12.

Broughty Ferry Conservation Area

The findings of the consultation held for the draft Broughty Ferry Conservation Area appraisal is being reported to the City Development Committee on Monday. The recommendation is to approve the conservation area appraisal as supplementary guidance to the local development plan and refer it to the Development Management Committee for approval as a material planning consideration. 

 

When it came to committee in October 20013 prior to the commencement of the consultation I had suggested that the eastern edge of the proposed conservation area should be extended along the Esplanade to include the Glass Pavilion and I am pleased to report that this has happened. The committee report states that the extension to the east of Rugby Terrace is seen as making a positive contribution to the character and appearance of the Broughty Ferry Conservation Area. The historic association with Eastcott further highlights its importance. Broughty Ferry Community Council is noted as saying that not only is Eastcott a large late Victoria/Edwardian house in its own right; it was also home of the distinguished son of Broughty Ferry, Sir Francis Mudie. It is also proposed to extend the conservation area north of the railway line to include the cabmen’s shelter on Gray Street due to its close associations with Broughty Ferry Railway Station.

 

The proposed changes in the boundary are welcomed and will help preserve the special quality and unique character of the Broughty Ferry conservation area.

Claypotts Junction roadworks

I have received notification that Dundee City Council proposes to make an Order under Section 14(1) of the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 for the purpose of facilitating junction improvements and surfacing works at Claypotts Junction. The Order is expected to be in force for seven days from 24th March 2014. 

 

The Order will prohibit temporarily all vehicular traffic from making the following turns:

 

-Right turn from Baldovie Road onto Arbroath Road (A92) (Westbound)

-Left turn from Baldovie Road onto Arbroath Road (Eastbound)

-Right turn from Arbroath Road (Westbound) onto Baldovie Road

-Left turn from Arbroath Road (Eastbound) onto Baldovie Road

 

Only two prohibitions will be in place at any time. Pedestrian thoroughfare will be maintained and vehicular access to premises will be maintained where possible.

 

An alternative route will be available via:

 

-Arbroath Road eastbound / Balgillo Road East roundabout /Arbroath Road westbound

-Tom Johnston Road / Arbroath Road eastbound

-Arbroath Road eastbound / Balgillo Road East roundabout /Arbroath Road westbound /Scott Fyffe roundabout / Douglas Road / Drumgeith Road / Baldovie Road 

-Arbroath Road westbound / Scott Fyffe roundabout / Douglas Road / Drumgeith Road / Baldovie Road.

Wall repair Beach Lane

It was brought to my attention that a coping stone on the wall that runs along the path that leads from Beach Lane to the footbridge at Grassy Beach hasn’t been repaired. Apparently it was dislodged when the Environment Department cleared the path of vegetation a while back. A repair had been anticipated but it appears to have been missed. I raised the matter with the council’s director of environment and in response I have been advised that an order has been issued to reinstate it.

SNP must re-do White Paper sums after GERS oil blow

The SNP must scrap its economic calculations for independence after figures published today showed Scotland’s fiscal deficit had spiralled, the Scottish Conservatives have said.

A huge drop in oil revenues means Scotland’s public spending deficit now sits at more than £12 billion, according to the Government Expenditure and Revenue Scotland (GERS) data. Last year, oil revenues accounted for £5.58 billion, a figure that had almost halved from the previous year’s £10 billion.

The report also stated that, in 2012/13, Scotland produced 9.1 per cent of the UK’s overall tax revenue, and received 9.3 per cent of the public spending. It raises huge questions as to how well equipped an independent Scotland would be to cope with volatile and decreasing levels of oil tax receipts, something on which many on the Yes side believe the economy would be based.

In previous Scottish Government estimations, even the most pessimistic projection for oil revenues in an independent Scotland was considerably higher than the reality set out today. And as the UK Treasury points out, the outlook for 2013/14 looks set to be even more bleak, with revenues projected to be a further 20 per cent lower.

Scottish Conservative finance spokesman Gavin Brown MSP said: “This is a staggering drop in oil revenues by almost 50 per cent in a single year. That shows just how volatile this resource can be, and it appears that the figures for next year may be even lower. Given the Scottish Government’s White Paper relies heavily on last year’s figures – which was a strong year for oil – it’s important that it now reworks its calculations, update the figures and make sure future projections are based on the most reliable data. This has to be done as a matter of urgency.”

Scottish Conservative constitution spokeswoman Annabel Goldie MSP said: “Today’s figures from GERS show the yawning gap between the Yes campaign dream and the stark financial reality. The much vaunted SNP White Paper underestimated expenditure and ambitiously overestimated oil receipts. Even with that cosmetic touch there was still a substantial budget deficit and the dramatic tumble in oil receipts laid bare today shows how flawed the SNP White Paper is.

"We now know the budget deficit for an independent Scotland is far bigger than the White Paper guesstimate. That is a threat to both public services and jobs. With currency chaos, no Plan B, and EU membership uncertainty, the YES campaign was already in choppy waters. Today’s evidence of plummeting oil receipts is another hole below the waterline for the good ship Separation.”

Impact of revised speed limit on Monifieth Road

The speed limit on Monifieth Road was reduced last year from 40mph to 30mph however local residents continue to contact me to express concern that a lot of drivers appear to be unaware of this. I raised the matter with the council’s head of transportation and he arranged for a speed survey to be undertaken.

 

I received a copy of the survey data this week and it shows that the average speed is 34.1 mph.  In a survey carried out in 2010 the average speed was 34.9 mph. So the reduction in the speed limit has had minimal impact.

 

The head of transportation has asked for vehicle activated signage to be provided which will remind drivers that the speed limit is 30 mph. This is likely to happen in the new financial year. Police Scotland has been advised of the outcome of the survey and no doubt will consider additional enforcement.  

 

It is anticipated that there will be similar issues on Dundee Road, which had its speed limit reduced earlier this year, and this will be monitored over the coming months.

Platform at Broughty Ferry Station

I previously posted about my correspondence with TACTRAN, the regional transport partnership, regarding the height of the platform at Broughty Ferry Station. TACTRAN, in pursuing the issue, had been informed by Network Rail that the condition of the platform had been reviewed and that there could be an opportunity to raise the platform should funding be available within its current control period (CP4) and if the work couldn’t be funded within CP4 then it would be undertaken in CP5, which starts in 2014/15.

In response to an enquiry from Broughty Ferry Community Council, First Scotrail provided stepping-boxes at the station towards the end of last year, but unfortunately these didn’t work too well as sometimes the step boxes aligned with the train doors and sometime they didn’t. 

Network Rail’s current control period is due to end soon so last week I contacted TACTRAN again to ask if platform works had been included in Network Rail’s new control period. TACTRAN told me that it has asked for an update on when the work is programmed and also about possible other low cost solutions to deal with the height problem in the short term.

Post box update

I received a letter earlier this week from Royal Mail's Director of External Relations Scotland. It confirmed that when repairs to the damaged wall are completed the box at the corner of Bughties Road, Camphill Road and Panmure Street  will be reopened to the public

Gordon Street and Godfrey Street

Works are progressing to bring the pavements in Gordon Street and Godfrey Street up to standard. When I was the councillor for the former West Ferry ward I nominated all of its unadopted pavements for inclusion in the council's unadopted footways scheme and nearly all of those have been attended to. Gordon Street and Godfrey Street were the first pavements  I nominated for the scheme when I became the councillor for the new multi-member Ferry ward.  I'm hopeful that even more Barnhill pavements will be adopted during 2014/15.