Issue - meetings

The Director of Finance and Support Services submitted an exception report which provided a mid-year summary of how the Council had performed against its priorities for 2015/16 and on key projects.  The report also provided an update on the outstanding service plan actions from 2014/15, 2013/14 and 2011/12.  The Performance Monitoring Officer provided a summary of the report.

In response to a query from Councillor K Crofton regarding the resources in place to implement the Castle Weir Hydro Scheme, the Head of Environmental Services explained that the issue was not about resources but reaching agreement with the Environment Agency (EA) on flood issues and their demands for further data modelling exercises to be carried out.  The Environmental Strategy and Development Manager provided a summary of the Council’s interaction with the Environment Agency adding that comparable schemes in other areas, usually took around five - six years to complete.  The Head of Environmental Services explained that the EA’s support was needed on the project otherwise the Council would not be able to apply for planning permission and the project would be suspended.

In response to a query from Councillor M Freeman, the Head of Environmental Services explained the difficulties in trying to escalate the scheme, in terms of the EA’s turnover of staff and the need to co-ordinate with different sections within the EA which had frustrated efforts to move the scheme on.  He explained that the Council had the agreement of the EA on most points and just had to wait a little longer.

The Committee received the report.

RESOLVED – that the reported performance for the period April 2015 to September 2015 be received.