To receive feedback on the work of the Infrastruture Advisory Group from its Chair, Councillor Liz Leffman.
Minutes:
The Chair welcomed Councillor Liz Leffman, Chair of the FOP Infrastructure Advisory Group and Leader of Oxfordshire County Council to the meeting. The Chair commented that Councillor Leffman had been invited to give a verbal general update on the activities of the Infrastructure Advisory Group, (IAG) in the context of Vision Zero, the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy, (OxIS) and Active Travel.
Councllor Leffman set out the IAG’s role in monitoring the infrastructure elements of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal on a quarterly basis with a focus on the Homes from Infrastructure Programme. Other areas of activity had included the OxIS, the Oxfordshire Rail Corridor Study, the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, (LTCP) and the Bus Service Improvement Plan. As the delivery of the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal was completed in 2025, the focus of the group in the future would include the refresh of the OxIS in light of the fifth iteration of the LTCP and other appropriate policy initiatives including Vision Zero and the strategic Active Travel network.
The advisory group has also been looking at local area energy planning which is important in the context of the growing number of solar fam applications. This was relevant to individual councils, but also the wider Future Oxfordshire Partnership because of the constraints on the local electricity distribution grid and the work to deliver a transition to green energy through the Net Zero Route Map and Acton Plan. Other initiatives linked to the delivery of net zero commitments including electric vehicle infrastructure and Project LEON.
Councillor Leffman acknowledged the high degree of interaction and connectivity between plans such as the LTCP and OxIS which were the responsibility of Oxfordshire County Council but which it was accepted had significant impacts across the county and on the role of districts and city councils. It was expected that an item on the refresh of the OxIS would be brought to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership later in 2023.
Susan Harbour spoke to process being applied to update the OxIS which would include the identification of gaps to ensure wider infrastructure needs, not just highways and transport related issues, but also issues such as electricity grid infrastructure constraints. A multi-criteria assessment had been developed for this purpose which was already in use by some by some Future Oxfordshire Partnership partners and details of the assessment could be circulated to the Panel if a member wanted a copy.
In detailed discussion, the Panel welcomed the comprehensive verbal update from Cllr Leffman. Specifically, the panel had requested information on the relationship between the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS), to the Strategic Action Travel Network (SATN), Vision Zero, and the county’s Local Connectivity and Transport Plan (LCTP). The Panel welcomed the acknowledgement of the interlinkage between these items, and the indication of the imminent refresh of the OxIS bringing together these different strands of policy within an updated version including indicative timelines.
RESOLVED: Arising from the discussion between the Panel and Councillor Leffman and the Panel, the Future Oxfordshire Partnership was asked to:
1. Request that Oxfordshire County Council produce a map or visually based infographic to summarise the relationships between key Oxfordshire wide strategies, plans and policies which relate to infrastructure, (both directly and indirectly), including, but not limited to, the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS), the Strategic Active Travel Network, (SATN), the County’s Local Connectivity and Transport Plan (LCTP) including its supporting Active Travel Strategy, Oxfordshire’s Vision Zero commitments, the Net Zero Route Map and Action Plan and Oxfordshire County Council’s policy for future generations.
2. Request that Oxfordshire County Council apply the traffic user hierarchy within the LCTP, a future generations lens, Net Zero Carbon and Vision Zero considerations within any future prioritisation of infrastructure within the OxIS update.
3. That following the conclusion of the current District and City Local Plan review process and building on the refresh of OxIS, Oxfordshire County Council consider the development of an Active Travel ‘Toolkit’ which District and City councils could use if they wished to assist in considering the active travel implications of major developments. It is suggested that the Cambridgeshire Active Travel Design Guide is one example of such a document.
4. To bring forward a paper setting out potential options for the use of alternative and innovative sources of infrastructure funding to expediate the delivery of the prioritises within the updated OxIS outside of HM Government, Community Infrastructure Levy or Section 106 sources.
5. To encourage the use by all the District and City councils of the current OxIS multi-criteria assessment tool as well as supporting the OxIS refresh.