Objections
I remind everyone present to switch off their mobile phones, so that we are not interrupted.
Welcome to the second meeting of the Edinburgh Airport Rail Link Bill Committee. The first item on our agenda is consideration of a paper on the objections to the bill that have been received. As the paper sets out, 47 admissible objections have been received, all of which have been placed on the website. I thank all the objectors for their efforts.
At preliminary stage, the committee must give preliminary consideration to all admissible objections and reject any where we do not believe that the objector's interests are clearly adversely affected by the bill. That is the test that we will apply. The paper asks us to agree that we will be in a position to judge whether the objectors' interests are clearly adversely affected once we have taken sufficient evidence on the bill at preliminary stage. After we have made our decision on each objection, we will inform all objectors accordingly. Do members agree to that approach?
Members indicated agreement.
Before we move to the next item on the agenda, I will make some comments on behalf of the committee. The committee is very mindful of the fact that, for some objectors, as well as for those who may be affected but who have chosen not to object, there will be uncertainty about the bill's impact on them and, in particular, on their property. The committee is keen to ensure that that uncertainty is not unduly prolonged, so the deadlines that we set for the gathering of evidence will be both tight and final.
All the objections have been forwarded to the promoter of the bill. There is an onus on the promoter to talk to the objectors at as early a stage as possible, with a view to resolving the objections that have been made. The committee encourages both objectors and the promoter proactively to engage in identifying solutions to objector concerns. The committee will not extend deadlines for oral or written evidence because parties indicate that agreement may be reached imminently. The dates set will be adhered to unless the objection is withdrawn, and extensions are unlikely to be allowed. The committee will actively keep an eye on discussions, through the monthly update on communications that the promoter provides. I stress that the committee remains dedicated to rigorous and fair scrutiny of the bill.