Housing, Dundee Contract Services And Environment Services Committee - 18/04/2005

At a MEETING of the DUNDEE CONTRACT SERVICES COMMITTEE held at Dundee on 18th April, 2005.

Present:-

BAILIES

COUNCILLORS

Lord Provost LETFORD, Convener, in the Chair.

The minute of meeting of this Committee of 14 March 2005 was held as read.

Unless marked thus * all items stand delegated.

I USE OF PARKS AND OPEN SPACES AS CIVIL MARRIAGE VENUES

There was submitted Agenda Note AN160-2005 informing the Committee that under the Marriage (Approval of Places) (Scotland) Regulations 2002, local authorities could register a wide range of venues as Civil Marriage venues. Dundee had 18 such officially licensed/designated venues. The object of the legislation was to increase the choice of venues available to couples planning a Civil Marriage and statistics showed that there had been an increase in the numbers of Civil Marriages held in Dundee since the 2002 Act.

A request had been received for permission for a marriage ceremony to be held on Dundee Law and it was proposed that the Law and other park/open space venues be designated as Civil Marriage venues. Locations in Council ownership could be so designated simply by notifying the Registrar General for Scotland. It would still be necessary for couples to obtain the permission of the Dundee Contract Services Committee, so that, for example, account could be taken of other events on the same dates etc. Venues which would prove attractive for this purpose included Dundee Law, Camperdown Park, Templeton Woods etc and it was recommended that authority be granted for the Director to decide on any other locations to be so designated in liaison with the Depute Chief Executive (Support Services).

The Committee approved the above and agreed that the granting/refusing of future requests for use of these locations be delegated to the Director or nominee and that the Scheme of Delegated Powers be amended accordingly.

LORD PROVOST JOHN R LETFORD, Convener.