Roads and Infrastructure Services Update
Argyll and Bute Council · 6 December 2023
Back to Mid Argyll, Kintyre & the Islands Area Committee — 6 December 2023 and its agenda
Text extracted from the council's PDF. Layout and reading order may differ from the original.
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ARGYLL AND BUTE COUNCIL MID ARGYLL, KINTYRE AND THE ISLANDS AREA COMMITTEE ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE 6 DECEMBER 2023 SERVICES ROADS AND INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES UPDATE 1.0 INTRODUCTION 1.1 A Roads and Infrastructure standing report was a fixture on Area Committee agendas throughout the life of the last Council. In the first two rounds of Area Committee meetings in the new Council feedback was sought on the value of these updates, and their format and frequency. Generally Members felt having a standard item was beneficial and it was acknowledged that the Roads and Infrastructure weekly briefings issued to all members each Friday afternoon provide for the main sources of live information on current activities. On top of these briefings there is a bank of resources on the new Member Zone system which include the weekly briefings, subject specific briefings, ad hoc short briefings on issues, relevant previous committee reports, operational service procedures, legislation and Council policies. 1.2 In the last Council the purpose of these reports was to provide an update on service activities but since weekly briefings were introduced around 18 months ago (at the time of writing this report we are on to briefing Edition 121) these have largely superseded the original stated purpose of these reports. 1.3 On the basis of the above this new format has been agreed through the December 2022 round of area committees for this standing item. This format removes duplication for Officers and rather links to existing published information, with additional updates only in the body of the reports if these are specifically requested/noted from previous meetings. The report remains as a standing item and continues to provide the opportunity for Officer engagement at the committee meetings. 2.0 RECOMMENDATIONS It is recommended that the Area Committee: 2.1 Note and consider the contents of this report.
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3.0 DETAIL 3.1 Roads and Infrastructure Services provides Members with weekly briefings on topical service activities which are all available here. 3.2 As part of the resources on the new Member Zone system there are various key documents available in an online library here. 3.3 There are also additional online resources covering the streetlighting, footway, surface dressing and roads reconstruction programmes available on the website here. Roads Capital Programme 3.4 Officers met with Members of Mid Argyll, Kintyre and the Islands Area Committee in October as part of our Roads Capital Programme engagement process. The slides that formed the presentation have also been emailed to Members and provide detailed information on the programme development process. Initial draft schemes were presented for discussion and comments and suggestions from Elected Members have been noted for consideration as we develop next year’s programme of works. A816 Ardfern Landslip 3.5 Works are ongoing following the Ardfern landslip which occurred on 6/7 October 2023 which include stabilising the hillside, clearing the A816 road of material and building an emergency route. To date the following has taken place: Formal agreement in place with Forest and Land Scotland, SEPA etc. to open up a disused quarry to tip the landslip material. Approx. 15000 tonnes of material have been taken from on and around the road and deposited at the quarry. Road corridor cleared, work continues to remove material which continues to slump down the hill, including rocks up to and over 200 tonnes in weight. Archaeological and ecology assessments for the emergency route which is on track to open before the A816 will be available. Elected Members continue to receive regular detailed updates on this and the other sites which were affected during the heavy rainfall experienced on 6/7 October. A Member’s seminar has been arranged for 29 November 2023. 4.0 CONCLUSION 4.1 This report provides links to existing published information on service activities and provides for the opportunity for Officer attendance and engagement at committee meetings. 5.0 IMPLICATIONS
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5.1 Policy – Roads and Infrastructure work to a number of policies across the range of service areas 5.2 Financial – revenue and capital budgets are in place to deliver projects and cyclic work 5.3 Legal – none known 5.4 HR – none known 5.5 Fairer Scotland Duty: 5.5.1 Equalities - protected characteristics – where appropriate EqSEIAs will be carried out to identify any implications 5.5.2 Socio-economic Duty – where appropriate EqSEIAs will be carried out to identify any implications 5.5.3 Islands – where appropriate Island impacts assessments will be carried out to identify any implications 5.6. Climate Change – due regard will be given to climate change with a view to minimising any climate change impact and these will be considered as and when they arise 5.7 Risk – risk managed through toolbox talks, safety briefings and where appropriate risk registers – all of the above are monitored through the RIS leadership and management teams 5.8 Customer Service – none known Executive Director with responsibility for Roads and Infrastructure Services, Kirsty Flanagan Policy Lead for Roads and Transport, Councillor Andrew Kain November 2023 For further information contact: Jim Smith, Head of Roads and Infrastructure Services