Chamber and committees

All three organisations are statutory consultees under the Environmental Impact Assessment (Fish Farming in Marine Waters) Regulations and were invited to comment on the proposals during the screening and scoping exercise initiated by the Crown Estate in December 2002.

The Executive issued a consultation document on 19 March inviting views on those areas of Scotland which might be classified as "remote" to benefit from a derogation under the EU Animal By-Products Regulation No. 1774/2002.Arran was not part of the original proposals for a possible derogation since the island is already covered by the BSE fallen stock surveillance arrangements. However, all replies are currently being assessed to inform the final definition of the "remote area". It will then be necessary to inform the European Commission as to how we intend to apply this derogation in Scotland.

There are no plans in the current programme to build a bypass around Dalry. While the Executive recognises the importance of the A737 to the Ayrshire economy, a bypass for Dalry would need to compete for future funding against the demands for other major trunk road improvement schemes throughout Scotland.

The Scottish Executive is committed to the sustainable management of Scotland's marine environment. A number of initiatives are already under way to help deliver that objective, which will support seabed regeneration. These include the development of a Scottish biodiversity strategy; the development of a management framework for Scotland's marine environment, and the recently published strategic framework for Scottish aquaculture. We are working, with the UK Government where appropriate, to identify marine Special Areas of Conservation under the EU Habitats Directives; and we support the ecosystem-based approach to fisheries management under the revised Common Fisheries Policy. For the future, the Partnership Agreement makes clear that we plan to consult on the best strategy for protecting and enhancing all of Scotland's coastline, including the options of establishing a national coastline park and marine national parks.At a local level, the Community of Arran Seabed Trust (COAST) has been developing proposals for a nature conservation reserve in Lamlash Bay. COAST met with the Scottish Executive last year to discuss these proposals and held a public meeting on them last August. Although there has been no recent contact, we are happy to continue discussions with COAST.

The Scottish Executive contributed to a traffic study carried out by North Ayrshire Council in Dalry town centre. The council has been asked to take forward the necessary traffic modelling work on behalf of the Executive for suggested improvements involving the Roche Way, Vennel Street and New Street junctions with the A737 trunk road. If the results of this work show benefits any proposals will require to demonstrate value for money and will be taken forward subject to the availability of funding and other trunk road priorities.

The Executive wrote to Chief Executives of local councils in January to alert them to the support it is giving to the national police initiative "Secured by Design", and asking them to lend their support to this very worthwhile initiative. The Executive is currently providing support to the initiative on two fronts; funding for publicity materials and other general support for the National Development Officer for Scotland, and for the salary costs of an Architectural Liaison Officer to the Glasgow Housing Association, exclusively for the purposes of promoting "Secured by Design" within the Glasgow housing stock transfer process. The Executive also issues to councils Planning Advice Note (PAN) 46, Planning for Crime Prevention, which advocates close liaison with the police on planning issues. Local authorities have powers under the Town and Country Planning (Scotland) Act 1997 to stop-up or divert footpaths. Such powers, however, would normally only be used where it was necessary to do so and then only in order to enable development to be carried out.