City Council Committees

Monday night saw a variety of City Council Committees. First up was the Education Committee, this includes the school holiday dates for the 2013/14 term. This is obviously useful to parents and helps those who want to book their holidays early! There was also a report on the proposed extension to Kingspark School, I welcome this as Kingspark does a great job and should be supported as much as possible. It is unfortunate that decisions were made without reference to elected members but what is important now is to deliver the best facilities possible to children in Dundee. The Education Department also withdrew their proposals for a uniform 33 period week in secondary schools. We were told that this was essential to deliver the Curriculum for Excellence, if it is not going to happen then what are the Education Department doing to ensure the effective delivery of Curriculum for Excellence? We can't let young people miss out while the Education Department works out the way forward.

The City Development Committee considered a wide range of issues. It included a report on the redevelopment of the Highgate and surrounding area in Lochee. This is an important issue for the city and for people who live in the north of the West End ward who sees Lochee High Street as their local shopping centre. I will be keeping a close eye on this along with my colleague Councillor Tom Ferguson to ensure that the heart is put back into Lochee.

The Social Work and Health Committee looked at future support for adults with a learning difficulty. Importantly this report has been influenced by the views of service users about the services which they needed and wanted. This is how services should be provided with a balance between the views and needs of service users and the professional opinion of council officers.

The Policy and Resources Committee considered a number of reports that had been worked on at the secretive Changing for the Future Board. Including one on how the council deals with mail, this praises the earlier decision to transfer the council's mail to the private sector. This is ironic since councillors want to be able to criticise the performance of the Royal Mail and the Post Office but don't see the contradiction that they have voted to add to the Royal Mail and the Post Office's problems.

The Housing Committee set the rent rise for council tenants for next year. After consultation with tenants the council house rents will rise by 4.75%.

Unusually there was also a Development Management Committee meeting after these service committees. The Development Management Committee considered an appeal of sorts from a property owner who wanted to be allowed to turn townhouses in Larch Street into Houses of Multiple Occupation (HMO). When planning permission had been granted for this development the developer had agreed to a voluntary legal agreement known as a Section 75 agreement which meant that the houses could not be used as HMOs. There is an important issue that these entirely voluntary agreements are really useful in planning terms and can be used to protect the nature of communities in the city. If the council relented on this it would open up the floodgates and render these agreements worthless.

In this instance the property owner is saying that they have not been able to make enough money on these properties. This is in some respects a product of the current economic situation. I wonder if the owner had been making enough money whether they would have contacted the council to make a donation out of their profits? I doubt it! Property developers and owners should take the risk in their business it is not the council's role to provide some kind of safety net.

HMOs are very important in the West End they provide standards and safety for people renting properties; they also ensure standards and provide some reassurance about safety for adjacent properties. It is also important that the West End maintains a balance between student accommodation and family accommodation.