Engage Broughty Ferry - let The Ferry Local Community Plannning Partnership know about your Priorities

As part of the current process to create new Local Community Plans, Dundee Partnership is seeking the views of local people about ways in which the quality of life can be improved in each electoral area of the city.

Please respond to the online survey and let the Dundee Partnership and The Ferry Local Community Plannning Partnership know about your priorities and ideas.

There are 15 general themes to the online questionnaire, each with a simple question which the partnerships would also like answered as well as an opportunity for you to tell them about your priorities and the improvements needed.

Link to the Online Survey - closing date 30 September 2016

Sort Out Concerns About New Recycling Services at 5 Drop-Ins 16-20 March 2015

A significant number of constituents have been contacting me over the last few weeks about the introduction of the new recycling services in The Ferry.

Whether your new bins have arrived or not, whether you want them or not, whether alternative communal bins are right for your close or group of properties or block of flats, whatever your query or concern:

There are five opportunities to meet members of the Environment Department this week in Broughty Ferry Library as follows:

Monday 16th March 10am - 12pm
Monday 16th March 5pm - 7pm
Wednesday 18th March 12pm - 2pm
Friday 20th March 10am - 12pm
Friday 20th March 5pm - 7pm
all at Broughty Ferry Library Queen Street,
Broughty Ferry Dundee DD5 2HN

Of course, if you or your neighbours have remaining issues that can't be resolved directly with the Environment Department, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Five Drop-In Roadshows to Sort Out Broughty Bin Queries in Week Beginning Monday 16 March 2015

Over half of the homes in Broughty Ferry will be shifted over to a new pattern of recycling and waste collections before the end of the month. Each household in the first phase of the new scheme should have already received an introductory letter about the changes and how it might affect them. 

This will involve new collections of household food waste in sealed containers and a change to additional bin collections and recycling containers. For those households that can't accommodate the new 'bins' there will be an offer of shared communal euro-bins and improved local recycling centres.

Roughly speaking it is the Eastern half of The Ferry which is in phase one. Click on this link to see map showing which parts of Broughty Ferry will start their new recycling services later this month.

If you or your neighbours have further concerns and queries, you can take advantage of the five drop-in sessions in week beginning 16 March that have been arranged at Broughty Ferry Library:

• Monday 16th March 10am - 12pm
• Monday 16th March 5pm - 7pm 
• Wednesday 18th March 12pm - 2pm 
• Friday 20th March 10am - 12pm
• Friday 20th March 5pm - 7pm 

all at Broughty Ferry Library Queen Street, Broughty Ferry Dundee DD5 2HN

Of course, if you or your neighbours have remaining issues that can't be resolved directly with the Environment Department, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Update on Changes to Bin Collections and Recycling in Broughty Ferry

Manufacturer's illustration of
1280 litre communal bins ordered
by the Environment Department

At the Environment Committee last night, the Committee approved the purchase of additional communal recycling bins for householders in Broughty Ferry and the West End at a cost of £106,940. 

Both areas of the city are in the planned first phase of the new fortnightly general waste black bin collections along with more collections of waste for recycling. These new collections are planned to begin in March of this year.

Along with two other opposition Councillors, I used the opportunity to quiz the Convener of this Committee, Councillor Craig Melville about progress with the promised consultation with community organisations and with householders prior to the switch to the new services. 

These consultations were meant to ensure that residents are given a choice about which of the new recycling containers they can accommodate. In addition, in flatted accommodation, householders as groups are meant to be able to choose the most acceptable communal recycling and waste bins for their close or block. 

I also asked the Convener whether there had been any progress with making up one calendar for all the Domestic Bin / Recycling Container Collections. I wanted to avoid householders having to check four or five calendars from the Council to work out which bin to put out each day. I reminded the Convener that I had raised this issue at a previous meeting. He assured the meeting that work was ongoing on this and this should be ready for the changes in Broughty Ferry.

With only eight weeks to go before these changes apparently are being introduced, I was not entirely satisfied by the Convener's assurances that the consultations are as thorough as promised and that it will all be fine when the fortnightly kerbside general waste collections along with more recycling collections are introduced in The Ferry.

Any residents who would like to be consulted about the new collections and which of the new recycling containers they can accommodate should contact the Environment Department via Dundee (01382) 433710

Find Out about TAYplan Main Issues Report at Drop-In Consultations in Dundee 15 May and 7 June 2014

Everywhere in the country is covered by plans that say how land should be used in the future. Around Dundee and Perth, there are two levels of plans:the Strategic Development Plan – called TAYplan – and
more detailed Local Development Plans.

TAYplan sets the overall planning vision for the next 20 years for the whole of the Dundee and Perth area, including North Fife and parts of Angus and Perth and Kinross. What TAYplan says will affect all our futures – where we live, work and play, where businesses and the public sector invest, and what our towns and countryside will look like in the future.

Click on maps to enlarge

TAYplan is being reviewed and updated. They have produced a Main Issues Report which they are now consulting on. For example two options are proposed for the demand for new housing. Within the boundaries of Dundee City, both options propose 480 new houses each year so not much choice there. 

There are two consultation events in Dundee over the next month. These events provide opportunities for interested parties to find out more about the Main Issues Report (2014) (MIR) consultation and to speak with planning officers.

TAYPlan Main Issues Report Consultation Drop-In Events - Dundee
Thursday May 15th, 2014
Times 3pm till 7pm
Falcon Scott Suite
1st floor Discovery Point
Discovery Quay, Dundee  DD1 4XA

Saturday June 7th, 2014
Times 11:30am till 4:30pm
Marryat Hall, Caird Hall
City Square, Dundee  DD1 3BB

Read/Download Main Issues Report or Summary

Comments have been invited the Main Issues Report between 15th April and 12 noon on 27 June 2014. To comment online go to www.tayplan-sdpa.gov.uk/mir2014. You will need to register and login in order to comment online. 

Consultation on Review of Statement Of Licensing Policy 2013-2016

In terms of Section 6 of the Licensing (Scotland) Act 2005, the Licensing Board of Dundee City Council is obliged to review its Statement of Licensing Policy by the end of 2013.
The Board has already reviewed its policy on licensing hours for each premises in the city. At its meeting on 19th September 2013, it decided that premises which operate as traditional “public houses” or bars will be allowed to open until 0100 Friday/Saturday, premises with “substantial entertainment” (which shall not include karaoke or recorded music) can open until 0200 Friday/Saturday, and purpose-built nightclubs and other dedicated entertainment premises are allowed to open until 0300 Friday/Saturday.
 
Insofar as the remainder of the Board’s policy statement is concerned, the Board is pleased to receive any comments on the contents thereof. The statement can be found on the licensing pages of the Dundee City Council website or a copy can be inspected at the Licensing Office at 18 City Square, Dundee. In particular, the Board would welcome comments on the following,
 

• are there any areas of the city which may be overprovided with licensed premises (either generally or of a specific type, e.g., off-sales) and, if so, which areas are these?
• in light of the Board’s new policy on licensing hours set out above, should the Board continue with its current policy of allowing an additional hour over and above these closing times at trade holidays, Christmas, etc.?

A report summarising responses to this consultation will be submitted to the Board at its meeting on 14th November 2013. The consultation period runs until Thursday 31st October 2013. Responses can be sent to the Clerk to the Licensing Board, 21 City Square, Dundee DD1 3BY or by e-mail to licensing.board@dundeecity.go.uk
 

Consultation with Parents and Carers on the Future of Early Learning and Childcare in Dundee

Dundee City Council's Education Department is undertaking a consultation with Parents and Carers on the future of early learning and childcare in Dundee. If you have have a child between the ages of 1 and 3, this may be of particular interest to you.

Did you know? The Scottish Government has promised to increase the number of hours for 3 and 4 year old children to early learning and childcare from 475 hours per year to 600 hours per year from August 2014. 

Dundee City Council wants to know what you think about this about how it should be delivered.

A survey is available online at:
http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/content/future-early-learning-and-childcare-dundee

Or you can go to your nearest City Council Early Years Establishment to complete a paper questionnaire.

The consultation will be open until Monday 14 October 2013 for you to give your views.

Carers and Relatives of Service Users Hear from Social Work Managers about Bleak Future for Kemback Street Adult Resource Centre but Councillors Excluded from Meeting

The Evening Telegraph highlighted the anxieties of Jane Smith regarding her sister’s care needs with the planned closure of Kemback Street Adult Resource Centre (Evening Telegraph 28/05/2012). 
Councillor Lesley Brennan met with Jane, who lives in her ward, and wrote to the Director of Social Work on her behalf. Jane contacted Councillor Brennan on Saturday 9 June about a meeting being held on Tuesday 12 June and asked if she could attend with her.

Councillor Laurie Bidwell was contacted separately by a constituent whose daughter has been a service user at Kemback Adult Resource Centre for 26 years, currently attending on four days a week. He was also invited to attend the meeting.

On Tuesday evening 12 June nearly thirty carers and relatives of service users met a number of social work staff about the planned withdrawal of services at the Kemback Street Adult Resource Centre. The meeting was held at the Central Baptist Church in Ward Road. Although the meeting was called by one of the Carers/Relatives, a Social Work Manager refused to speak with the carers and relatives of service users if the two Councillors remained present.

Ferry Councillor Laurie Bidwell said:

I was surprised and disappointed that a senior social work manger should insist that she would not talk with the carers and relatives of service users if Councillor Lesley Brenan and I remained at the meeting. We had made it clear that we were only there as observers at the invitation of specific constituents. 

When our presence was publicly raised with us by the Manager, many of the people present indicated they wanted us to remain to listen to what was being said. Lesley Brennan and I eventually volunteered to leave so that the meeting could continue without us, because we knew how long these folk have been waiting to be properly informed about the closure. 

Clearly the threat of withdrawing the Kemback services is already generating distress amongst existing service users. I have discovered already that many of the current service users at Kemback Street have long term associations with the centre stretching back as far as the opening in the1980s and some of them attend nearly every weekday. It is therefore understandable that there should be scepticism about this change being in the best interests of the current service users. The fashion for social work services may have changed but to withdraw from existing service users the services that they benefit from, enjoy and have come to rely does not seen to be primarily centred on their needs or preferences.

Lesley Brennan, Councillor for the East End ward said:
The Social Work Committee gave their agreement to the Kemback Street Adult Resource reprovisioning proposals on the 26th of March 2012. Seventy-eight days passed before Mrs Smith and the other carers heard anything regarding what is going to happen to their family members who attend to Centre. I hope this evening’s meeting brought clarity to the next steps.

I am deeply disappointed that the Social Department has fallen short of one of the Council’s core values:

Dundee City Council Elected Members and employees will at all times inform, consult and involve users of council services about what the Council is doing ....

32 Period Week Proposal to be Withdrawn but Parents Still Require Urgent Answers

At the next Education Committee (Monday 23rd January 2012) there is a report about responses to the consultation about the 33 period week. This consultation was about a proposal to standardise the school week across the 9 secondary schools in Dundee. 

It is clear from the committee report that this proposal neither persuaded parents and carers nor teachers. With such a mixed response, it is not surprising that the proposal has been withdrawn.

There is however a crucial question which is not contained within the report and requires answers at the Education Committee.

In the presentation which was used at the consultation events, the preferred timetable had thirty one periods of 50 minutes with the addition of one daily twenty minute period, called Tutorial, which combined the functions of registration and some roles connected with guidance. Attenders at the consultation were all told that Tutor Time was necessary as part of meeting the new pupil entitlement in the Curriculum,for Excellence. More specifically, that each pupil should have one teacher that knows her/him particularly well. How will this entitlement now be met for every one of our pupils in her/his secondary school?

It is long overdue that the Education Committee are informed about the next steps the Education Department are proposing for the introduction of Curriculum for Excellence in our schools, not merely providing a report telling us what it isn't going to do.

Issues Arising From the Consultation About The Proposed 33 Period Week In Dundee Secondary Schools

The series of consultation meetings about the proposed thirty three period week kicked off at Grove Academy on Monday evening. 

About eighty parents and carers gathered to hear from Acting Head Teacher, Lesley Elder and Acting Head of Secondary Education in the City, Paul Clancy. The new Head Teacher of Grove Academy, Graham Hutton, (prior to taking up his new post at the end of the month) was also on the platform.

While many issues were satisfactorily clarified and the exchanges between parents and carers and senior teachers and school managers remained polite, a number of reservations remained at the end of the evening. These were particularly about the implementation of the proposed thirty three period week as it would affect Grove Academy.

Firstly, strong concerns were raised about the proposed closing time of 15:15 on the four shorter days - Tuesday to Friday. If left as it appeared on the template projected onto the screen, it would clash with the main closing time for pupils at Eastern Primary School. While alternatives were discussed, there appeared to be insufficient acknowledgement that a clash with the finish time at Eastern Primary School was not an option. It was mentioned that a differential start and finish time for the school day in Grove Academy and Eastern Primary School had been guaranteed at the Project Board meetings that David Dorward, the Council's Chief Executive, had chaired in advance of the move by Eastern Primary School to the 'old Grove' site.

Secondly, it became clear that no provision had been made to gather the opinions of parents who were not able to attend the formal consultation event. Is the opinion of Grove parents in this consultation restricted to the less than 10% that were able to attend the meeting on Monday night?

Thirdly, it was clear that some parents were shocked and disappointed at the related news that when the proposed new timetable begins in August 2012, pupils in Dundee Schools will apparently take 6 school subjects from S4 leading to the new national examinations in S4. This is a reduction from the eight choices currently available in our nine Secondary Schools at Standard Grade starting in S3 and examined at the end of S4. This was a matter of regret for some parents who pointed out that Grove had very recently been rated as the twentieth most successful state Secondary School in Scotland by the Sunday Times. 


Incidentally, this apparent reduction in subject choices has not yet been brought to the Education Committee.

West Ferry Conservation Area Appraisal - Out for Consultation

The Planning section of the City Development Department has issued for public consultation the updated West Ferry Conservation Area Appraisal.

The purpose of the consultation process is to raise awareness of the proposal and to address the public’s views prior to a finalised decision reported to Dundee City Council’s City Development Committee.

Copies of the Conservation Area Appraisal document can be viewed at:

Broughty Ferry Community Library - Queen Street,
Central Library - The Wellgate Shopping Centre and
Floor 2 Tayside House - Crichton Street.

Alternatively the document (24 pages) can be viewed or downloaded using the following web link
http://www.dundeecity.gov.uk/dundeecity/uploaded_publications/publication_1831.pdf

Consultation responses shall be required to be submitted prior to the close of business on Friday the 10th of December 2010. Responses can be submitted in writing to the address below marked “Consultation Response”. Alternatively responses can be e-mailed to conservationareas@dundeecity.gov.uk

If you have any queries, comments or suggestions feel free to contact the
City Development Department, Development Management, Dundee City Council,Floor 15 Tayside House, Crichton Street, Dundee DDI 3RB
Telephone 01382 433105 Fax 01382 433013
e-mail conservationareas@dundeecity.gov.uk

10 days Left to Respond to Consultation on Eastern Primary School Move

The City Council's Education Department propose to move Eastern Primary School from its present site in Whinny Brae to the buildings previously used by Grove Academy on the south side of Camperdown Street with effect from August 2011. These buildings were previously earmarked for conversion into office accommodation for Council staff.

There are only ten days left for members of the public or parents to send in their comments about these proposals to the Education Department.

Click on this link to read or download the full proposal paper.

Written responses to these proposals should be sent to
Mrs Lina Waghorn
Head of Primary and Early Years Education
Floor 8, Tayside House
28 Crichton Street,
Dundee, DD1 3RJ
lina.waghorn@dundeecity.gov.uk

by the close of consultation on Tuesday 28 September 2010

Eastern Primary School Move - More Information

Many parents and residents have contacted me about the 'Review of Grove Office and Eastern Primary School' (Item 4.b) concurrently on the Agendas of tonight's Education and Policy & Resources Committees. This seeks approval to consult parents, teachers, children and the community on permanently relocating Eastern Primary School from its current site on Whinnybrae to the old Grove Academy site in Camperdown Street.

This was a late addition to the Agendas of both of tonight's Education and Policy & Resources Committees and was issued, apparently on the grounds of urgency, on lunch time on Wednesday 23rd June.

To help parents and residents engage with this issue I have assembled links to the relevant papers and reports:

4(b) REVIEW OF GROVE OFFICE AND EASTERN PRIMARY SCHOOL
The paper issued to the Education & Policy & Resources Committees

The process of closing or relocating a school is covered by new legal protections contained in the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010 which came into force in April.

There is a leaflet that you may find helpful which explains these provisions:
Proposed Changes to your Child's School: Guide to the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

The Act of the Scottish Parliament
The Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010

The Explanatory Notes that accompany the Act (not legally binding)

Statutory Guidance to Local Councils on the Schools (Consultation) (Scotland) Act 2010


The ‘Changes to School Estate’ page on the Scottish Government
website


Information on individual consultations and opportunities for public involvement should be sought from the relevant local authority - in this case:
Dundee City Council
Director of Education, Jim Collins
Email
jim.collins@dundeecity.gov.uk

To request Scottish Ministers to call in a flawed school closure
decision e-mail
schoolestates@scotland.gsi.gov.uk

or write to
James Newman, School Estates Team, Scottish Government,
2-D (S) Victoria Quay, Edinburgh EH6 6QQ