NotesOF A MEETING OF THE |
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The Future Oxfordshire Partnership Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Advisory Group
HELD on Thursday 17 March 2022 at 10.00 am Virtual via MS Teams |
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Present:
Members: Councillors Emily Smith (Chair), Colin Clarke, Duncan Enright, Neil Fawcett, Alex Hollingsworth and Anne-Marie Simpson
Officers: James Gagg, (Oxfordshire County Council), Giles Hughes (West Oxfordshire District Council), Kevin Jacob (Future Oxfordshire Partnership), Joe Kay, (Oxfordshire County Council) and Philip Wadsworth (Oxfordshire Plan Team)
62 Apologies for absence and notification of substitutions; declarations of interest; Chair's announcements
Apologies for absence were submitted by Councillor Jeff Haine, West Oxfordshire District Council and Debby Hallett, Vale of White Horse District Council, (substituted by Councillor Neil Fawcett).
There were no declarations of interest or Chair’s announcements.
63 Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Update
Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, (LTCP)
The advisory group received a presentation from James Gagg, Principal Infrastructure Planner and Joe Kay, Strategic Transport Lead, Oxfordshire County Council which provided an update on the development of the LTCP and the keys linkages and relationships between the LTCP and the Oxfordshire Plan 2050. It was noted that public consultation on the LTCP has recently concluded. Areas highlighted included:
· The LTCP vision outlined a long term ambition for transport in Oxfordshire on the basis of zero-carbon and underpinned the policies in the document.
· Key themes of the LTCP included environment, health, place shaping, productivity, and connectivity and each of the themes were supported by headline targets in 2030, 2040 and 2050 to track and achieve delivery of a reduction of current car trips.
· LTCP policy areas included:
· Waking and cycling
· Healthy place shaping
· Road safety
· Digital connectivity
· Data
· Regional connectivity
· Public transport
· Environment, carbon and air quality
· Network, parking and congestion management
· Innovation
· Freight and logistics
· Local connectivity
· The LTCP was supported by a set of detailed place based area and corridor strategies.
· Areas of cross over between the LTCP, Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy, (OxIS) and Oxfordshire Plan 2050 as a suite of documents given the focus in the LTCP to reducing car use. The implications of the vision of reducing car use to spatial planning and future infrastructure provision:
· LTCP – provision of high level transport framework
· Area strategies – identified schemes for geographic areas using Local cycling and walking infrastructure plans, and LTCP policy framework
· OxIS – assessment of schemes for broader alignment and prioritisation
· Oxfordshire Plan 2050 – provision of the spatial planning framework
· It was expected that the LTCP and supporting strategies would be adopted by Oxfordshire County Council in the Summer of 2022 with development of OxIS Part 2 supporting strategies in late 2022, spring 2023.
In discussion, support was expressed by members for the vision of reducing car journeys from the current base, but it was felt that it was also important to set out how the need to travel by car would be achieved, bearing in mind factors such as employment location. Officers referred to digital connectivity and planning for new developments that enhanced sustainable travel and location of neighbourhood services within walking distance. Members made the point that those on lower incomes tended to have roles that could not performed by working from home, increasingly their reliance on public transport and locally accessible services.
Members stressed the importance of the relationship between the LTCP, OxIS and Oxfordshire Plan 2050 being omnidirectional in influence rather than one strategy setting the direction and content of the other pieces of work. It was important to focus on the delivery of the new LTCP given that there were schemes set out in the previous Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan that remained undelivered.
The view was expressed that to achieve the vison of significant reductions in car use, behavioural change would be required, necessitating effective communication with residents. It was also important to put in place policies that were pitched at the right level at an Oxfordshire level where appropriate and most effective, but which allowed for sufficient flexibility at a district and city level to meet different local circumstance. Parking standards was felt to be one such policy example.
Oxfordshire Plan 2050 update
Giles Hughes, Chief Executive, West Oxfordshire District Council provided an update on the development and preparation of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050.
Following the report to planning authority scrutiny committees on the feedback from the Regulation 18 Part 2 consultation, a report to planning authority Cabinets had been submitted which provided an update of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Statement of Community Involvement, (SCI) following the relaxation of Covid-19 restrictions. Cabinets had been asked to adopt a revised version of the SCI.
Plan Officers continued to look out for and assess the implications for the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 of national policy, including the Levelling up White Paper and reforms to the planning system. Confirmation of Government’s views on the Arc Spatial Framework was also awaited. Plan officers were also continuing to work closely with district, city and where appropriate county colleagues around the commissioning of further work to form part of the Plan’s evidence base, taking due account of the National Planning Policy Framework. The advisory group was advised of the further pieces of evidence base work being considered.
Officers were also working closely with district and city colleagues around spatial options methodologies and potential approaches.
In discussion, members of the advisory group asked to be updated on the list of evidence already collated or planned and to be supplied with relevant legal advice relating to the Plan.
Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Joint Leaders and Oxfordshire Plan 2050 workshop
Discussion took place regarding planning for two workshops between council Leaders and members of the advisory group, preliminary scheduled for April and June.
64 Dates of future meetings
The advisory group noted the dates of future meetings.
A discussion took place regarding future agenda items and specific requests for information for the 14 April meeting.
The meeting closed at 11.50 am
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