Pow of Inchaffray Drainage Commission (Scotland) Bill Committee

Meeting date: Wednesday, May 9, 2018

Official Report 302KB pdf

Pow of Inchaffray Drainage Commission (Scotland) Bill: Consideration Stage

Good morning and welcome to the third meeting in 2018 of the Pow of Inchaffray Drainage Commission (Scotland) Bill. The only item on the agenda today is to consider the new land plans and accompanying explanatory report submitted by the promoters of the bill. Members will recall that, at the previous meeting, on 7 March 2018, which followed the promoters’ acknowledgement that the land plans submitted by them when the bill was lodged are not accurate, the committee noted the promoters’ intention to commission Savills to redraw the land plans, and agreed to invite the promoters to submit an explanatory report, as set out in the committee papers, alongside the new plans.

The new land plans and accompanying explanatory report have now been submitted to the committee and are contained in the papers for this meeting. I would therefore welcome comment from members on the new plans and explanatory report.

Before I do that, however, I would like to note that the explanatory report that is included in the papers contains an error that the commissioners have since drawn to the clerk’s attention. I can confirm that the commissioners’ intention is to write to all heritors to invite them to a public meeting to explain and discuss the issue, rather than writing only to new heritors, as the report states. Members should therefore ignore paragraph 17 of the paper, which asked us to consider that issue. I should also note that that is ultimately for the commissioners to determine, at this stage in the process, before any formal objection period that may follow.

The committee may also wish to consider advising the commissioners on any references that they make in communications to heritors to the committee, its timetable and the process of its remaining consideration stage scrutiny, including confirming that the length of any formal future objection period will be for the committee to decide.

Are members content with that approach?

Members indicated agreement.

Are there any other matters that members wish to raise?

I am grateful to the commissioners for submitting the new land plans and the report. The only issue that I would like to raise is that of the land at Dollerie. The committee will know that there has been a long-standing exemption from payment for the owners of Dollerie, dating back to 1847, and I understand from the report that, at a meeting of the commissioners, they decided that Dollerie should no longer continue to be exempt from the annual assessment. I would be grateful if the committee could request more information from the commissioners to inform us about how that decision was reached, whether there is any evidence of the previous agreement and how that will be taken forward. I am asking for that mostly to inform the committee, for completeness when we are writing our report.

Are there any objections to that?

I have no objection. I agree that that should be done.

Okay—the committee will do as Mary Fee suggested.

That concludes our business for this morning. The clerks will communicate the outcome of the meeting to the promoters. The next meeting of the committee will be on Wednesday 23 May 2018 at 10 am, to consider the objections to the bill and a draft consideration stage report.