Corporate

Posted on 23 Nov 2007

It has been a busy week for work which relates to the whole KI effort and not just to one individual project. On Monday I was invited to do a presentation to Sir John Elvidge who is the most senior civil servant at Scottish Government. This was part of a general discussion on what is happening in East Dunbartonshire and the ways in which local government and central government can work together. The presentation triggered an extensive discussion during which the innovative approach being taken by KI was praised.

The KI Executive Group also met this week. The group considered reports on progress of the delivery of the Kirkintilloch Link Road (KLR) and a review of the KLR budget and associated funding sources. The programme for the Integrated Care Centre was also discussed, along with the agenda for the quarterly KI Partnership Board meeting which takes place on 5 December.

This week I also attended the Council’s Policy & Resources Committee. I had two reports on the agenda - the first of which was a general update on progress with the KI projects. I was asked questions by the Councillors about the timing of KI’s contribution to economic regeneration in Kirkintilloch Town Centre and about KI’s plans for and commitment to the provision of affordable housing in the area. The second report was about the administrative and legal arrangements for the letting of the KLR construction contract. It is important to ensure that the proper arrangements are in place for letting the contract, while the design and statutory processes are progressing. The KLR will be a public road, so it’s important that the arrangements for construction and hand-over are agreed with East Dunbartonshire Council at this stage.

I also had one of the regular liaison meetings with the Council’s Planning Service this week. Discussions tended to focus on the live planning applications such as the KLR, the Southbank Access Road and the Integrated Care Centre. We also discussed the KI programme for future planning applications such as the McGavigan’s Field applications, our proposals for the old Eagle Inn building in Kirkintilloch Town Centre and potential development at Glasgow Road in Kirkintilloch Town Centre. These meetings help both parties to plan workloads and to identify any potential conflicts as early as possible.

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