Agenda and minutes

To record apologies for absence.

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor Max Thompson.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Council minutes of the meeting held on 17 July 2019 – attached. 

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting of Council held on 17 July 2019 as a correct record and agree that the chair sign them as such.

To receive any declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.  

Councillors Batts, Bowring, Crawford, Fawcett, Hannaby and Smith made statements declaring that they are a member of, or in receipt of a pension from, the Oxfordshire Pension Fund.

Councillor Johnston made a statement that he is a representative on the Local Pension Board of the Oxfordshire Pension Fund Committee.

Councillor Barber made a statement that as Deputy Police and Crime Commissioner he had a non-pecuniary interest in agenda item 8 “Budget for replacement CCTV equipment” and agenda item 11 “Appointment of substitute member to the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel”. 

Councillor Medley made a statement that she is employed by UKAEA which could benefit from any funding from the Housing Infrastructure Fund.

All of the above remained in the meeting and took part in the discussion and/or vote on the items.

To receive notification of any matters which the chairman determines should be considered as urgent business and the special circumstances which have made the matters urgent, and to receive any announcements from the chairman. 

The chair provided general housekeeping information. There were no items of urgent business.

To receive any questions or statements from members of the public that have registered to speak. 

The chair reported that she would invite public speakers who had registered to address Council on an agenda item to do so at the item.

Ms Lynda Crowley, Chair of Radley Parish Council, addressed Council in respect of a planning application for the development of 283 homes in the north of the parish. She stated that a condition requested by the Planning Committee in respect of upgrades to sewerage works had not been included in the planning permission issued by officers. The parish council was not satisfied by the responses received from the council to date.    

At its meeting on 4 October Cabinet will consider a report on the options for the adoption of the Local Plan 2031 Part 2. The report, which Cabinet will consider at its meeting, is attached.

The Scrutiny Committee considered a similar report at its meeting on 19 September and raised a number of concerns which are addressed in the Cabinet report.

The recommendations will be circulated to all councillors on 4 October.

A correction to the report was circulated to all councillors at the meeting. Paragraph 75 of the report provided an indicative timetable for preparing a new local plan following adoption. The timetable as published did not include dates for the latter stages of the plan making process. The table below sets out the complete indicative timetable:

Mr Michael Tyce addressed Council on behalf of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. He stated that the Plan was unsound because the housing numbers contained within it were too high and based on the outdated housing needs assessment from 2014. The Plan also included an allocation of Oxford’s unmet housing need, figures for which had not yet been tested at the Oxford Local Plan examination hearing.  The Plan would have a detrimental impact on the Green Belt, put a strain on services and impact social cohesion.  He urged Council to withdraw the Plan or defer consideration of it until Oxford’s unmet housing need figures had been tested. 

Mr Simon Jenkins, Chair of Uffington Parish Council, addressed Council. He urged Council to adopt the Plan to provide certainty, protect against speculative development and the risk of a judicial review.

Mr Richard Bartle, Chair of Shrivenham Parish Council, addressed Council. He urged Council to adopt the Plan. To not adopt the Plan would have serious implications for villages with further speculative development which would impact on the existing infrastructure, schools and medical facilities.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations made at its meeting on 4 October 2019 on the options for the adoption of the Local Plan 2031 Part 2 (LPP2). 

Council was advised that, at its meeting on 19 September 2019, the Scrutiny Committee considered a report on options for the adoption of the LPP2.The committee expressed concern that the process to form and describe the options, and the analysis of those options, provided insufficient detail to allow councillors to make an informed choice.  In particular, councillors believed that the report had not sufficiently analysed the risks of each option. The Cabinet report provided the additional information requested. In addition, the confidential QC legal advice was circulated to all councillors at the request of the committee.

The majority of councillors supported Cabinet’s recommendation to adopt the LPP2. However, a number of councillors, in supporting the adoption, expressed reservations. They expressed the view that the plan provided for too high a number of houses, included provision to meet Oxford City’s unmet housing need without an assessment of that need, removed land from the Green Belt and did not include measures to address the climate emergency. Councillors acknowledged that the risk of not adopting the plan presented a number of risks to the council and Vale communities including  ...  view the full minutes text for item 30.

At its meeting on 4 October Cabinet will consider a report on the procurement of new CCTV recording and monitoring equipment for the CCTV control room. The report, which Cabinet will consider at its meeting, is attached.

The recommendations will be circulated to all councillors on 4 October.

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendation, made at its meeting on 4 October 2019, on the procurement of new CCTV recording and monitoring equipment for the CCTV control room.

RESOLVED: to approve the transfer of £22,000 from the capital contingency programme and to create a new capital programme for the procurement of new CCTV recording and monitoring equipment for the CCTV control room.

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic – attached.

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic on a review of the political balance following the resignation of Councillor Ruth Molyneaux as a member of the Liberal Democrat Group.

RESOLVED: to

1.    appoint the membership, substitutes and chairs/chairmen and vice-chairs/vice-chairmen as indicated to sit on them (see table below);

2.    allocate a seat on the Planning Committee to the Liberal Democrat Group;

3.    allocate a seat on the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 32.

Council is invited to agree the establishment of a joint Constitution Review Task Group with South Oxfordshire District Council to undertake a review of the constitution and make recommendations to Council.

Officers propose that the task group comprises 10 councillors with five from South Oxfordshire and five from Vale of White Horse. Officers propose that each political group from South Oxfordshire is entitled to appoint one member.

RECOMMENDATION: That Council

1. establishes a joint Constitution Review Task Group with South Oxfordshire District Council comprising five councillors from each council;
2. allocates three seats to the Liberal Democrat Group and two seats to the Conservative Group and appoints councillors as set out in the schedule circulated at the meeting;
3. agrees that councillors from the same political group on the council may substitute for this council’s appointed representatives.

Council considered a proposal to establish a joint Constitution Review Task Group with South Oxfordshire District Council to undertake a review of the constitution and make recommendations to Council.

RESOLVED: to

1.    establish a joint Constitution Review Task Group with South Oxfordshire District Council comprising five councillors from each council;

2.    allocate three seats to the Liberal Democrat Group and two seats to the Conservative Group and appoint Councillors Debby Hallett, Diana Lugova, Alison Jenner (Liberal Democrat Group) and Councillors Elaine Ware and Nathan Boyd (Conservative Group) to the task group;

3.    agree that councillors from the same political group on the council may substitute for this council’s appointed representatives.

At its meeting on 17 July 2019, Council appointed Councillor Ruth Molyneaux as the substitute member on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel. In light of the recent change to Cabinet membership Council is invited to appoint Councillor Jenny Hannaby, who now has responsibility for community safety,  as the substitute member.

RECOMMENDATION: to appoint Councillor Jenny Hannaby as the substitute member on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel.

At its meeting on 17 July 2019, Council appointed Councillor Ruth Molyneaux as the substitute member on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel. In light of the recent change to Cabinet membership Council considered a proposal to appoint Councillor Jenny Hannaby, Cabinet member with responsibility for community safety, as the substitute member.

RESOLVED: to appoint Councillor Jenny Hannaby as the substitute member on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel.

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer on extending the term of office of two independent persons to advise on code of conduct issues – attached.

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic and monitoring officer on extending the term of office of two independent persons to advise on code of conduct issues.

RESOLVED: to authorise the Monitoring Officer to extend the terms of office of Chris Smith and Martin Wright, the council’s independent persons for code of conduct matters until 31 October 2020 pending the receipt of further information on potential changes to the standards framework.

To receive any updates from the leader of the council.

Councillor Emily Smith, Leader of the council, addressed Council. The text of her report is available on the council’s website.

To consider motions from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 38. 

1.    Motion to be proposed by Councillor Judy Roberts and seconded by Councillor Neil Fawcett

Council notes that a hierarchy of organisations has grown up which influence regional development, some more accountable than others. These are collectively making increasing incursions into the decision-making abilities of elected local councils and placing significant growth demands on our districts.

These organisations or bodies include:

·         England’s Economic Heartland

·         The Oxford-Cambridge Arc Region

·         The Oxfordshire Growth Board (and associated Oxfordshire 2050 Joint Statutory Spatial Plan)

·         OxLEP (and the Local Industrial Strategy)

Council notes that officers and members attend meetings related to these bodies, and welcomes the opportunity for regional collaboration, as many of us share the same concerns, but wishes to update its formal position to assist those representing our district.

This Council believes that development within our district must balance the needs of people and their communities, the environment and the local economy. Specifically, it should contribute to this Council’s (and the Government’s) commitment to carbon neutrality.

It should be based on genuine consultation and demonstrable public support.

It should ensure that infrastructure, both strategic and local, is in place to support development, with the aim of building communities, not just houses.

This Council supports the following approaches in relation to regional economic growth:

1.    Planned development should demonstrate how it will help our economy move towards its zero-carbon target

2.    Housing targets should be based on an up-to-date objective assessment of need

3.    Planned housing should reflect the needs of the local community, offering a range of sizes and tenures including genuinely affordable housing to buy, and rent at affordable and social rates

4.    Housing developments should be sited near to existing or proposed public, mass and active transport facilities, not based on ever increasing road traffic

5.    Seek greater developer contributions to expand rail capacity and bus services and cycle paths

6.    All housebuilding and other development should meet zero-carbon standards or better.

7.    Strategic planning should reduce the need to travel by building homes near to employment sites

8.    The priority for transport investment should be in the rail network (e.g. an electrified East-West rail, electrification of the Didcot-Oxford line, re-opening of Grove Station), improved bus (and similar) services, and substantial investment in ‘active travel’ – including cycle and pedestrian infrastructure - within and between settlements

9.    Opposition to the proposed Oxford-Cambridge Expressway

10. Increasing biodiversity, protecting landscapes, capturing carbon naturally and increasing access for residents to green spaces

11. Genuine consultation with the public on the rate of growth and housing development to produce plans that carry genuine public support

12. Genuine democratic accountability and scrutiny for any plans or strategies that come forward (i.e. we do not support basing spatial planning solely on the Local Industrial Strategy which faced no democratic scrutiny.)

13. Spatial planning decisions to be informed by strong evidence 

14. Flexibility in plans and strategies in order to take account of changing circumstances  ...  view the full agenda text for item 37.

1.    Motion proposed by Councillor Judy Roberts and seconded by Councillor Neil Fawcett

Council notes that a hierarchy of organisations has grown up which influence regional development, some more accountable than others. These are collectively making increasing incursions into the decision-making abilities of elected local councils and placing significant growth demands on our districts.

These organisations or bodies include:

·         England’s Economic Heartland

·         The Oxford-Cambridge Arc Region

·         The Oxfordshire Growth Board (and associated Oxfordshire 2050 Joint Statutory Spatial Plan)

·         OxLEP (and the Local Industrial Strategy)

Council notes that officers and members attend meetings related to these bodies, and welcomes the opportunity for regional collaboration, as many of us share the same concerns, but wishes to update its formal position to assist those representing our district.

This Council believes that development within our district must balance the needs of people and their communities, the environment and the local economy. Specifically, it should contribute to this Council’s (and the Government’s) commitment to carbon neutrality.

It should be based on genuine consultation and demonstrable public support.

It should ensure that infrastructure, both strategic and local, is in place to support development, with the aim of building communities, not just houses.

This Council supports the following approaches in relation to regional economic growth:

1.    Planned development should demonstrate how it will help our economy move towards its zero-carbon target

2.    Housing targets should be based on an up-to-date objective assessment of need

3.    Planned housing should reflect the needs of the local community, offering a range of sizes and tenures including genuinely affordable housing to buy, and rent at affordable and social rates

4.    Housing developments should be sited near to existing or proposed public, mass and active transport facilities, not based on ever increasing road traffic

5.    Seek greater developer contributions to expand rail capacity and bus services and cycle paths

6.    All housebuilding and other development should meet zero-carbon standards or better.

7.    Strategic planning should reduce the need to travel by building homes near to employment sites

8.    The priority for transport investment should be in the rail network (e.g. an electrified East-West rail, electrification of the Didcot-Oxford line, re-opening of Grove Station), improved bus (and similar) services, and substantial investment in ‘active travel’ – including cycle and pedestrian infrastructure - within and between settlements

9.    Opposition to the proposed Oxford-Cambridge Expressway

10.Increasing biodiversity, protecting landscapes, capturing carbon naturally and increasing access for residents to green spaces

11.Genuine consultation with the public on the rate of growth and housing development to produce plans that carry genuine public support

12.Genuine democratic accountability and scrutiny for any plans or strategies that come forward (i.e. we do not support basing spatial planning solely on the Local Industrial Strategy which faced no democratic scrutiny.)

13.Spatial planning decisions to be informed by strong evidence 

14.Flexibility in plans and strategies in order to take account of changing circumstances and public opinion

This Council is positive about working with other Oxfordshire authorities, regional  ...  view the full minutes text for item 37.

No questions from were submitted from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 33. 

No questions were submitted by councillors under Council procedure rule 33.

To receive any petitions from the public. 

None.