DECIDED:

(a) That the technical progress of the Capital Programme 1999/2000 be noted; and

(b) That the accumulated variations in the St John’s Primary School - demolition of dining annex and kitchen project which are 17.89% less than the accepted tender amount be approved in terms of the relevant Financial Regulations.

921 CAPITAL PROGRAMME 1999/2000 - TECHNICAL PROGRESS: TRANSPORTATION 921

AND ROADS

SUBMITTED: Report dated 27 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the technical progress of the Capital Programme 1999/2000.

NOTED

922 CAPITAL PROGRAMME 1999/2000 - FINANCIAL POSITION 922

SUBMITTED: Report dated 27 August 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the current position of the Capital Programme 1999/2000.

DECIDED:

(a) That it be remitted to the Director of Transportation and Roads to write to the Trunk Roads Authority to seek an indication of the anticipated timescales for dealing with bridge strengthening in the West Station area, Greenock; and

(b) That the report be otherwise noted.

923 EUROPEAN STRUCTURAL FUNDS 923

SUBMITTED: Report by the Depute Chief Executive on the reform of European Structural Funds which will replace the 1997-1999 Western Scotland Objective 2 Single Programme which delivers funding through the European Regional Development Fund and European Social Fund, advising of action taken to secure Objective 2 Status for Inverclyde and the implications should the bid be unsuccessful.

DECIDED:

(a) That the terms of the report be noted;

(b) That the Committee endorse the case for Inverclyde’s inclusion in the Objective 2 coverage for the United Kingdom and affirm the status of independent safety net coverage for Scotland;

(d) That it be remitted to the Acting Head of Economic Development to report to the Committee on the outcome of the revision of the European Structural Funds and the impact for Inverclyde of such revision.

924 RENFREWSHIRE ENTERPRISE - LOCAL ACTION PLAN FOR INVERCLYDE AND 924

RENFREWSHIRE

SUBMITTED: Report by the Depute Chief Executive on the development of a Local Action Plan for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire by Renfrewshire Enterprise, in partnership with the Council and a number of bodies, to respond to the economic restructuring in Inverclyde and Renfrewshire and principally to address the potential impact of redundancies announced during 1999. The Plan was additional to the core activities of Renfrewshire Enterprise and the Council’s Economic Development Services and it recognised the particular circumstances which existed in Inverclyde including dependence on the electronics sector.

DECIDED:

(a) That the Renfrewshire Enterprise Local Action Plan for Inverclyde and Renfrewshire be endorsed;

(b) That the Acting Head of Economic Development allocate, where appropriate match funding is required, resources from existing revenue budgets in order to maximise the economic impact accruing from the Local Action Plan; and

(c) That the Acting Head of Economic Development provide feedback to the Committee on Local Action Plan outputs and impacts consistent with the Economic Development Service Appraisal Monitoring and Evaluation Framework.

925 INNER CLYDE SITE OF SPECIAL SCIENTIFIC INTEREST 925

SUBMITTED: Report dated 1 September 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the notification, for consultation purposes, of the Inner Clyde Site of Special Scientific Interest which would consolidate and extend the existing 3 Sites of Special Scientific Interest in the Inner Clyde Estuary. The report advised that the award of Site of Special Scientific Interest status was required prior to classification of the Inner Clyde proposed Special Protection Area which had the same boundary and detailed the implications of both designations.

DECIDED:

(a) That it be remitted to the Chief Planning Officer to express to Scottish Natural Heritage the Committee’s concern about the potential economic and planning implications arising from the designation of the Inner Clyde Site of Special Scientific Interest; and

(b) That consideration of the matter be continued to allow the Chief Planning Officer to discuss the proposal with appropriate agencies and report further thereafter.

926 DERELICT LAND STRATEGY - INVERCLYDE 926

SUBMITTED: Report dated 25 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on Renfrewshire Enterprise’s intention to pursue a long-term Renfrewshire wide derelict land strategy, outlining the background to the strategy and Renfrewshire Enterprise’s proposals. Each of the 3 Councils in Renfrewshire Enterprise’s area, Inverclyde, Renfrewshire and East Renfrewshire, had been asked to submit 3 priority sites for action and a schedule of priority sites for action was appended to the report. The report advised however that in comparison with the other 2 local authority areas, Inverclyde had a marked concentration of vacant and derelict sites.

DECIDED:

(a) That the Committee welcome the Renfrewshire Enterprise initiative and note with encouragement the Board’s wish to see a long-term derelict land strategy;

(b) That reservations be expressed over the proposed approach by Renfrewshire Enterprise given the scale and distribution of the problem across Renfrewshire and the corresponding greater urgency of action required to remediate derelict land in Inverclyde; and

(c) That the Sinclair Street site be added to the schedule of priority sites for action (in priority order) appended to the report and that all sites so listed in the schedule be submitted to Renfrewshire Enterprise for inclusion in the proposed derelict land strategy.

927 DRAFT INTERIM LOCAL TRANSPORT STRATEGY 927

SUBMITTED: Report dated 26 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the submission to the Scottish Executive of the Council’s Draft Interim Local Transport Strategy as proposed in the Transport White Paper “Travel Choices for Scotland”. The report advised that it was proposed to undertake internal and external consultations to enable an Interim Strategy to be produced as the basis for extensive consultation and public participation, prior to the production of a Local Transport Strategy.

DECIDED:

(a) That it be noted that the Transportation and Roads Service have produced a Draft Interim Transport Strategy document which was submitted to the Scottish Executive on 17 August 1999;

(b) That the Director of Transportation and Roads be authorised to commence the required consultations for the production of the Interim Strategy as outlined in the report; and

(c) That it be remitted to the Director of Transportation and Roads to update Members on the progress on the formation of the Local Transport Strategy.

928 PUBLIC TRANSPORT FUND BID - PROJECTS COMMENCING IN 2000/01 928

SUBMITTED: Report dated 26 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the submission of a Public Transport Fund bid for 2000/01 by the Council to the Scottish Executive for £4.55m to allow the development of an integrated transport interchange in central Gourock, in partnership with Railtrack plc, Caledonian MacBrayne Ltd, Scotrail and Strathclyde Passenger Transport, the total cost of the interchange being £9.25m.

NOTED

929 20MPH SPEED LIMITS 929

SUBMITTED: Report dated 24 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the Road Traffic Regulation Act 1984 (Amendment) Order 1999 which removes with effect from 16 June 1999 the requirement for the Secretary of State for Scotland to grant consent for 20mph speed limits although the Council would still have to promote a Traffic Regulation Order.

DECIDED:

(a) That the terms of the report be noted; and

(b) That no further action be taken until the final report on the findings of the 20mph trial scheme is available from the consultants engaged by the Scottish Executive.

930 TRAFFIC REGULATION ORDER ASSESSMENT CRITERIA 930

SUBMITTED: Report dated 26 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive setting out the criteria used by the Transportation and Roads Service in assessing the requirement for the promotion of a permanent Traffic Regulation Order.

NOTED

931 PROVISION OF BUS INFRASTRUCTURE - 1999/2000 931

SUBMITTED: Report dated 26 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive seeking approval for the transfer of capital consent from the Transportation and Roads Service Capital Programme 1999/2000 to Strathclyde Passenger Transport for the provision of bus infrastructure.

DECIDED: That the Policy and Strategy Committee be requested to approve the transfer of £1,250 capital consent from the Transportation and Roads Service Capital Programme 1999/2000 to Strathclyde Passenger Transport for the provision of bus infrastructure.

932 PELICAN CROSSING - SHORE STREET, GOUROCK 932

SUBMITTED: Report dated 25 August 1999 by the Executive Director Legal, Information and Support Services on a request received from Councillor White relative to the installation of a pelican crossing at Shore Street, Gourock.

Councillor White was present and spoke on the matter.

After discussion, Councillor Blair moved that it be remitted to the appropriate Officers to submit a report on the matter with a view to dealing with and diminishing the road traffic hazards at the Larkfield junction. As an amendment, Councillor Robertson moved that the request by Councillor White be noted in the light of the current plans for the redevelopment of central Gourock. On a vote, 4 Members voted for the motion and 5 for the amendment which was declared carried. Those Members who had voted in favour of the motion then requested, in terms of the relevant Standing Order, that the matter be referred to the Inverclyde Council for decision in terms of the motion.

C DECIDED: That the request by Councillor White be noted in the light of the current plans

for the redevelopment of central Gourock.

933 MINUTES OF MEETINGS OF STRATHCLYDE PASSENGER TRANSPORT AUTHORITY 933

SUBMITTED: Minutes of meetings of Strathclyde Passenger Transport Authority of 3 and 25 June 1999.

NOTED

934 TACKLING CONGESTION 934

SUBMITTED: Report dated 8 September 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the Scottish Executive consultation document “Tackling Congestion” relative to road user and workplace parking charges and setting out for consideration a draft response to the document.

DECIDED:

(a) That the terms of the report be noted; and

(b) That the draft response appended to the report be approved for submission to the Scottish Executive together with any further comments received from Members no later than 30 September 1999.

935 ASSISTANT PROPERTY OFFICER (ELECTRICAL) - VIREMENT OF FUNDING FROM 935

CAPITAL

SUBMITTED: Report dated 25 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive seeking approval to vire funding from capital fee income to fund the post of an Assistant Property Officer (Electrical).

DECIDED: That approval be given to the virement of £15,500 from capital fee income to fund the post of Assistant Property Officer (Electrical).

936 RESOLUTION: EXCLUSION OF PUBLIC AND PRESS 936

On the motion of the Convener it was agreed unanimously that, in terms of Section 50(A)(4) of the Local Government (Scotland) Act 1973 as amended, the public and press be excluded from the meeting during consideration of the undernoted items of business on the grounds that consideration of the items involved the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in the respective paragraphs of Part I of Schedule 7(A) of the Act as are set opposite each item:-

Item Paragraph(s)

Roadside Trees 6 & 8

Ashton Esplanade, Gourock - Repairs to Sea Wall, Appointment of

Contractor 6 & 8

Revenue Budget 1999/2000 - Monitoring Report: Roads DLO and

Cleaning DSO 8

937 ROADSIDE TREES 937

SUBMITTED: Report dated 31 August 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on proposals for roadside trees and seeking approval to carry out a comprehensive tree survey.

DECIDED: That consideration of the matter be continued to allow the report to be amended to facilitate public discussion of the Council’s policy approach.

938 ASHTON ESPLANADE, GOUROCK - REPAIRS TO SEA WALL, APPOINTMENT 938

OF CONTRACTOR

SUBMITTED: Report dated 10 September 1999 by the Depute Chief Executive on the background to the invitation of tenders for repairs to the sea wall at Ashton Esplanade, Gourock and setting out for consideration the tenders received for the works.

DECIDED:

(a) That the Committee remit the matter to the Policy and Strategy Committee to note the total expenditure of £175,000 including fees, which is being treated as recoverable; and

(b) That it be remitted to the Director of Central Services to accept the lowest tender received for repairs to the sea wall at Ashton Esplanade, Gourock, that by Barr Construction in the sum of £163,980.

939 REVENUE BUDGET 1999/2000 - MONITORING REPORT: ROADS DLO AND CLEANING 939

DSO

SUBMITTED: Report dated 26 August 1999 by the Executive Director Resource Services on the position of the Roads DLO and Cleaning DSO Revenue Budget 1999/2000 as at 21 July 1999.

DECIDED: That the terms of the report and the action to be taken by Officers to improve the projected position of the Roads DLO Revenue Budget 1999/2000 be noted.