Agenda item

To receive questions from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 33. 

 

A.   Councillor Julia Reynolds to Councillor Mike Murray, Cabinet member for Development and Regeneration

 

What is the council doing to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War?

 

B.   Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Mike Murray, Cabinet member for Development and Regeneration

 

I was shocked to learn that this council has £10million in developer contributions to pay for affordable housing sitting in the bank unspent. With these funds needing to be spent by various dates before having to be returned to developers, where can I find the council’s strategy for delivering these desperately needed affordable homes?

 

C.   Councillor Catherine Webber to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

 

How much section 106 funding has the Vale had to return to developers since 2011 because it wasn’t spent on time – as both a £ figure and a percentage? How many s106 payments from developers are currently overdue?

 

D.   Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

 

The last Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) internal audit in August 2017 stated a CIL spending strategy had been completed and was awaiting councillor approval. As that that function is being transferred from Planning to Development and Regeneration, my question is for the Cabinet member for Planning as the responsible Cabinet member for the past several years. What's the status of the CIL spending strategy now?

 

E.   Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

 

The Vale currently has 194 individuals and groups on our ‘Self-build register’. How many self-build properties have been delivered on plots in the Vale since April 2016 when the register was created?

And how confident is the Cabinet Member for Planning that we will be able make enough self-build or custom-build plots available to meet the demand by 31 October 2019 as per the 2016 Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations, and what is the basis for that confidence?

 

F.    Councillor Margaret Crick to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

 

What action is this council taking to reduce the single use plastics in the Vale – the council’s own use, our contractors and that of local business and other local organisations?

 

G.   Councillor Helen Pighills to Councillor Alice Badcock, Cabinet member for Community Services

 

The new outdoor pool in Abingdon is a wonderful facility and is proving very popular with swimmers with five times more swimmers than last July, so can the cabinet member explain why the pool is not being open for longer to meet such a large increase in demand?

 

H.   Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Alice Badcock, Cabinet member for Community Services

 

Could the Cabinet Member please provide to Council:

1.    Capital spend in the past five years for leisure facilities, including leisure centres, in each of our market towns/areas: Wantage & Grove, Faringdon, Abingdon and Botley. 

2.    Capital spending plans from the Medium Term Financial Plan for the next five years for each of these areas.

3.    Where we can find the leisure strategy for each of these areas, describing council's plans to address capacity and conditions issues of leisure facilities, and in particular Leisure Centres, in our growing communities.

 

I.     Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Partnership and Insight

 

Could the Cabinet member please explain what happened to cause the delay in payment of training fees for two members in May 2018? When the council’s payment wasn't received as expected, the organising agency contacted members and officers to chase the payment, causing embarrassment to council and members. Can the member assure us this will not recur?

 

J.    Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

Could the Cabinet member please update Council about any issues in the last 18 months with the collection of direct debits for garden waste services? If there have been issues, what are they and what's been done to ensure there is no recurrence?   

 

K.   Councillor Judy Roberts toCouncillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

 

'Shared Ownership' allows people to purchase a 25% to 75% share in their own home, enabling key workers and others on average salaries the opportunity to get on to the property ladder. Yet the properties listed as part of this scheme in the Vale of White Horse are only ever advertised as available to people able to buy a share of 40% or more. 

 

Can the Cabinet member tell us how many homes were bought at 25% in the Vale in the past year, and explain why the Vale is not promoting shared ownership to people on lower incomes who might only be able to afford a 25% share as other authorities do? 

 

L.    Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

Can the Cabinet member advise how an incorrect map relating to green belt land in North Hinksey was submitted at LLP1 and how this error will be rectified to ensure the green belt land is correctly identified in the Local Plan.

 

M.  Question from Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment  

 

The NPPF guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/6-delivering-a-wide-choice-of-high-quality-homes#para051) tells us this:

 

51. Local planning authorities should identify and bring back into residential use empty housing and buildings in line with local housing and empty homes strategies and, where appropriate, acquire properties under compulsory purchase powers. 

 

This guidance assumes councils have such policies. Can the Cabinet member for housing share with members the approach we have in Vale for getting empty homes back into use, and report on how many empty houses council has put back into use in the last three years. 

 

There were 13 questions from members of the Council under Council Procedure Rule 33.

 

A.    Councillor Julia Reynolds to Councillor Mike Murray, Cabinet member for Development and Regeneration

 

What is the council doing to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War?

 

Answer

Councillor Murray responded that the council is planning a schedule of opportunities to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War. As part of the refurbishment of Wantage Bandstand the Vale is working with Wantage Town Council to install a commemorative plaque.  The council is also reviewing other works and activities reaching important milestones this year and investigating ways in which they can also feature in the commemorations.

The Chairman of the council is also working with officers to identify other activities that can be undertaken by the council and its staff to recognise the sacrifices made by so many across the globe during this and other conflicts including the Korean War and The Falklands conflict.

 

B.    Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Mike Murray, Cabinet member for Development and Regeneration

 

I was shocked to learn that this council has £10million in developer contributions to pay for affordable housing sitting in the bank unspent. With these funds needing to be spent by various dates before having to be returned to developers, where can I find the council’s strategy for delivering these desperately needed affordable homes?

 

Answer

Councillor Murray responded that since 2005, the council has secured agreement of £9.6 million of funding towards affordable housing provision, the largest proportion recently being from the West Way development in Botley where the council secured £6.3 million, however this funding is released in line with triggers set out in planning obligation agreements (s.106 Agreements) during the life of the development as (for example) tranches of housing is completed and occupied.

 

Accordingly, to date, the council has received just over £2 million affordable housing contributions. He stated that whilst Councillor Smith is correct that there is a time limit for investment of this money, none of the money received so far has an expenditure deadline of before 2022.

 

The affordable housing team monitors receipt of funds and all expiry dates to ensure we spend this funding in a timely and appropriate way.  The S106 schedule identifies the contributions.

 

The council’s housing delivery strategy outlines the way in which the council can deliver the new-build housing numbers to meet the needs of communities across the area, whether that is for affordable housing for first time buyers, housing suitable for those who are retired, or accommodation that supports those with mobility issues or to help attract people to live and work in our key employment sites.

 

The council is developing an Affordable Housing Supplementary Planning Document to provide clarity on the delivery of affordable housing requirements that will meet housing need in line with the council' local plan policies.

 

Contributions need to be spent and invested wisely, and in terms with the original Section 106 if they are to have an impact.  Officers are therefore actively exploring the synergy between these funds and the Oxfordshire Growth Deal, to ensure that maximum benefit for residents is delivered.  The council is not in a position where it will return any of this funding, but is committed to ensuring it delivers the very best long-term outcomes for residents.

 

Supplementary question

 

In response to a supplementary question regarding the existence of a housing development strategy, Councillor Murray confirmed the development of a supplementary planning document.  

 

C.    Councillor Catherine Webber to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

 

How much section 106 funding has the Vale had to return to developers since 2011 because it wasn’t spent on time – as both a £ figure and a percentage? How many s106 payments from developers are currently overdue?

 

Answer:

 

Councillor Cox responded that the council has returned no S106 funding to developers since 2011 for which he congratulated officers on behalf of Council.

 

He confirmed that Vale of White Horse currently has one overdue receipt due to the council. Appropriate action would be taken to recover this which amounted to less than £200,000.

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question Councillor Cox confirmed that no S106 payments had been lost and appropriate action is being taken to ensure payment.

 

D.    Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

 

The last Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) internal audit in August 2017 stated a CIL spending strategy had been completed and was awaiting councillor approval. As that that function is being transferred from Planning to Development and Regeneration, my question is for the Cabinet member for Planning as the responsible Cabinet member for the past several years. What's the status of the CIL spending strategy now?

 

Response:

Councillor Cox responded that the council completed a Joint CIL internal audit in August 2017, with South Oxfordshire District Council. The reference to the CIL Spending Strategy quoted was in fact South Oxfordshire’s Spending Strategy. Vale implemented it’s CIL Charging Scheme in November 2017 and is currently (through the Development & Regeneration Service) in the process of drafting a specific Vale of White Horse CIL Spending Strategy.  He stated that he is pleased with the progress being made and confident that it will be brought before members by December.

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question regarding the timing of a report to the Scrutiny Committee, Councillor Cox confirmed that this would be in December.

 

E.     Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

 

The Vale currently has 194 individuals and groups on our ‘Self-build register’. How many self-build properties have been delivered on plots in the Vale since April 2016 when the register was created?

And how confident is the Cabinet Member for Planning that we will be able make enough self-build or custom-build plots available to meet the demand by 31 October 2019 as per the 2016 Self-build and Custom Housebuilding Regulations, and what is the basis for that confidence?

 

Answer

Councillor Cox responded that he supported the view of the chief executive and officers and is confident that the council is complying with the Regulations.  These require the council to have granted sufficient planning permission to meet the identified need of 72 self and customer build dwellings by October 2019.  Since monitoring self and customer built dwellings, the council has granted planning permission for nine dwellings.  However, he believed that in reviewing completions for single dwellings between April 2016 and March 2018 (74 single dwellings built) a number will contribute to the self/customer build category and he supports officers in their assessment that the council will meet or exceed the required number by October 2019.

 

 

 

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question regarding whether the council’s Local Plan allocated sites for self build, Councillor Cox responded that it did not but the council is investigating options.

 

F.     With the agreement of Council, in the absence of Councillor Margaret Crick, Councillor Catherine Webber asked the following question to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

 

What action is this council taking to reduce the single use plastics in the Vale – the council’s own use, our contractors and that of local business and other local organisations?

 

Answer

Councillor Ware responded that the council fully supports the recent national focus on reducing the amount of single use plastics.

 

She stated that the council is supporting the international campaign Plastic Free July. Next week staff have been set the challenge of reducing their use of plastic. There is still some confusion around what plastics can be recycled so in the staff communal areas we are providing examples of single use plastics (to discourage their use), reusable alternatives and what can and can’t currently be recycled.

 

As part of the council’s waste recycling promotion programme recycling officers visit schools, community groups and attend roadshows where they discuss the waste hierarchy and promote reduction and reuse of plastics as well as providing information of what can be recycled. The council has one of the highest recycling rates in the country and already recycles all plastic bottles, pots, tubs and trays.

 

At a recent Oxfordshire Environmental Partnership meeting, all the Oxfordshire authorities discussed and agreed in principle to a coordinated media campaign to reduce the use of single use plastics and to encourage residents to recycle more.

 

A group of officers from the waste team, economic development and food safety team are working together to investigate how local businesses can be encouraged to reduce their use of single use plastics.

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question on the need for an educational campaign regarding what plastics can be recycled, Councillor Ware responded that the Oxfordshire Environmental Partnership has agreed to coordinate a media campaign on this point.

 

G.    Councillor Helen Pighills to Councillor Alice Badcock, Cabinet member for Community Services

 

The new outdoor pool in Abingdon is a wonderful facility and is proving very popular with swimmers with five times more swimmers than last July, so can the cabinet member explain why the pool is not being open for longer to meet such a large increase in demand?

 

Answer

Councillor Badcock thanked Councillor Pighills for her comments and confirmed that the council is delighted with the refurbishment of the outdoor pool at Abbey Meadow and how popular the pool has proved since its re -opening last month.  The core opening hours (9am to 6pm, daily) is consistent with opening hours from previous years managed under contract with its leisure management operator GLL.

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question regarding the possibility of a trial period to assess early morning and evening opening and closing times, Councillor Badcock responded that under its agreement with GLL, of which the district council subsidise the management of the Abbey Meadow outdoor pool, GLL has the capacity should it wish, to increase the hours of operation where they consider there is a viable business case.  GLL and officers have monitored the interests closely in the first month of operation and will continue to review the demand and interest for increasing the hours of use and other aspects of the service – in order to do so, changes to GLL’s existing staffing arrangements would be required. GLL have also introduced a new online booking form which will also further enhance GLL data analysis whilst also delivering an improved service to our customers, officers will work with GLL to further improve this over time.

 

H.    Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Alice Badcock, Cabinet member for Community Services

 

Could the Cabinet Member please provide to Council:

1.         Capital spend in the past five years for leisure facilities, including leisure centres, in each of our market towns/areas: Wantage & Grove, Faringdon, Abingdon and Botley. 

2.         Capital spending plans from the Medium Term Financial Plan for the next five years for each of these areas.

3.         Where we can find the leisure strategy for each of these areas, describing council's plans to address capacity and conditions issues of leisure facilities, and in particular Leisure Centres, in our growing communities.

 

Answer

Councillor Badcock responded to question 1 with the following information for spending in the last five years:

	2013/14	2014/15	2015/16	2016/17	2017/18
Grove	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Wantage	£45,960.00	£155,989.89	£155,582.73	£14,479.00	£533,630.15
Faringdon	£13,172.94	£32,981.73	£43,338.87	£58,190.00	£38,177.99
Abingdon	£431,804.87	£394,944.13	£251,183.07	£2,242,853.49	£1,249,662.78
Botley	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
	£490,937.81	£583,915.75	£450,104.67	£2,315,522.49	£1,821,470.92

 

In respect of question 2 regarding capital spending plans from the Medium Term Financial Plan for the next five years, Councillor Badcock provided the following information:

 

	2018/19	2019/20	2020/21	2021/22	2022/23
Grove	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
Wantage	£2,310,333.33	£10,501,000.00	£5,609,000.00	£655,000.00	£100,000.00
Faringdon	£1,247,333.33	£100,000.00	£100,000.00	£100,000.00	£100,000.00
Abingdon	£860,000.00	£100,000.00	£284,000.00	£100,000.00	£100,000.00
Botley	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00	£0.00
	£4,417,666.67	£10,701,000.00	£5,993,000.00	£855,000.00	£300,000.00

 

In respect of question 3 she stated that the Leisure Strategy is made up from a suite of documents:

·         The Playing Pitch Study,

·         Leisure & Sports facilities Study 2013 – 2031 (Part 1 & Part 2)

·         Open Spaces Report

·         Local Leisure Facilities Report

 

The Leisure and Sports Facilities Study (Part 1) address strategic need in accordance with Sport England methodology and includes the capacity and condition issues of our leisure centres.

 

The documents form part of the evidence base to support the Local Plan 2031 Part 2: Additional Sites and Detailed Policies. The documents are available on the council’s website.

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question as to whether the Cabinet member considers the split of funding fair, Councillor Badcock undertook to provide a written response.

 

 

I.       Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Partnership and Insight

 

Could the Cabinet member please explain what happened to cause the delay in payment of training fees for two members in May 2018? When the council’s payment wasn't received as expected, the organising agency contacted members and officers to chase the payment, causing embarrassment to council and members. Can the member assure us this will not recur?

 

Answer

Councillor Cox responded that this was a new supplier and it took a little time for payment arrangements to be set up and understood.  Once issued, the training provider's invoice was dated 20 April, with payment due by 20 May.  Payment was made on 16 May, within the 30 day terms and well in advance of the training date of 9 June.  

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question regarding the new supplier, Councillor Cox referred to his previous answer.

 

J.     Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

Could the Cabinet member please update Council about any issues in the last 18 months with the collection of direct debits for garden waste services? If there have been issues, what are they and what's been done to ensure there is no recurrence?

 

Answer

There have been no issues that officers are aware of in the last 18 months with the collection of direct debits for Vale’s garden waste customers. We are aware of a low number of isolated cases in South Oxfordshire where the direct debits failed and the customer has been contacted to re-establish a new direct debit.

 

K.    Councillor Judy Roberts toCouncillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

 

'Shared Ownership' allows people to purchase a 25% to 75% share in their own home, enabling key workers and others on average salaries the opportunity to get on to the property ladder. Yet the properties listed as part of this scheme in the Vale of White Horse are only ever advertised as available to people able to buy a share of 40% or more. 

 

Can the Cabinet member tell us how many homes were bought at 25% in the Vale in the past year, and explain why the Vale is not promoting shared ownership to people on lower incomes who might only be able to afford a 25% share as other authorities do? 

 

Answer

Councillor Ware responded that in 2017/18 a total of 10 shared ownership properties in Vale of White Horse were either purchased or are currently being purchased at a 25% equity share level.   The total number of shared ownership properties in the district either purchased or progressing to purchase in 2017/ 18 was 83.

 

All shared ownership properties are advertised through the “Help to Buy South” website.  The website explains that applicants can purchase between 25% and 75% of the home’s value. The council’s websites also provides a link to “Help to Buy South” and Officers can provide advice to households who are considering shared ownership. 

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question Councillor Ware stated that the council’s website provides an example of a 40% shared ownership although applicants can purchase a greater or smaller share.

 

L.     Councillor Emily Smith to Councillor Roger Cox, Cabinet member for Planning

Can the Cabinet member advise how an incorrect map relating to green belt land in North Hinksey was submitted at LLP1 and how this error will be rectified to ensure the green belt land is correctly identified in the Local Plan.

 

Answer:

In response Councillor Cox stated that a clerical error was made following the Local Plan Part 1 Inspectors recommendation to retain a parcel of land at North Hinksey in the Green Belt on the Adopted Policies Map. Following legal advice, officers will be preparing a report to Cabinet and Council on how to regularise this error.  The chief executive has apologised for this error, which Councillor Cox regretted, but did not believe should detract from the overall work officers have undertaken to deliver the council’s Local Plan.  The chief executive has asked that any concerns regarding this matter are raised directly with him.

 

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question seeking reassurance that the piece of land will be protected, Councillor Cox responded that he could not speculate but the council had attempted to resolve the issue at the LLP2 hearing.

 

 

M.    Question from Councillor Debby Hallett to Councillor Elaine Ware, Cabinet member for Housing and Environment  

 

The NPPF guidance (https://www.gov.uk/guidance/national-planning-policy-framework/6-delivering-a-wide-choice-of-high-quality-homes#para051) tells us this:

 

51. Local planning authorities should identify and bring back into residential use empty housing and buildings in line with local housing and empty homes strategies and, where appropriate, acquire properties under compulsory purchase powers. 

 

This guidance assumes councils have such policies. Can the Cabinet member for housing share with members the approach we have in Vale for getting empty homes back into use, and report on how many empty houses council has put back into use in the last three years. 

 

Answer

Councillor Ware responded that the council has a number of policies to encourage empty homes back into use.  The council applies a 50% council tax premium to properties that have been empty for more than two years. (unless a statutory exemption applies).   The council does not use Empty Dwelling Management Orders as they have proven prohibitively complex and time consuming to administer in the past.

 

The Environmental Protection team regularly engage with owners to help bring their properties back into use.  The Housing Needs team provide Deposit Bonds and Rent-In-Advance loans to encourage private landlords to rent their properties to low income households.  There is also an Empty Home Loan available to homeowners which provides a flexible loan over five years to bring the property up to a decent standard.

 

The number of long-term (empty longer than two years) empty properties in Vale, according to council tax records, were as follows:

 

                                    31.03.2016      133

                                    31.03.2017      129

                                    31.03.2018      126

                       

     

Supplementary question

In response to a supplementary question regarding how many empty homes the council had put back into use, Councillor Ware responded the council provides incentives for private landlords to put homes into use but has no control.