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Minutes of the annual meeting of the Council |
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held on Wednesday 18 May 2022on the rising of the preceding extraordinary meeting of Council, First floor, 135 Eastern Avenue, Milton Park, Milton,
OX14 4SB
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Open to the public, including the press |
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Present in the meeting room: |
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Councillors: Jerry Avery, Ron Batstone, Samantha Bowring, Nathan Boyd, Cheryl Briggs, Andy Cooke, Andy Crawford, Margaret Crick, Eric de la Harpe, Neil Fawcett, Andy Foulsham, Hayleigh Gascoigne, David Grant, Jenny Hannaby, Simon Howell, Alison Jenner, Bob Johnston, Diana Lugova, Robert Maddison, Sarah Medley, Patrick O'Leary, Sally Povolosky, Judy Roberts, Janet Shelley, Emily Smith, Bethia Thomas, Max Thompson, Elaine Ware, Catherine Webber and Richard Webber |
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Officers: Patrick Arran, Head of Legal & Democratic and Monitoring Officer, Steven Corrigan, Democratic Services Manager, and Suzanne Malcolm, Deputy Chief Executive - Place
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Remote attendance (not entitled to vote): Councillors Eric Batts and Ben Mabbett
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1. Apologies for absence
Apologies for absence were submitted on behalf of Councillors Paul Barrow,
Amos Duveen, Debby Hallett, Helen Pighills, Mike Pighills and Val Shaw.
2. Election of chair
Councillor Crick left the room during consideration of this item.
Councillor Crick was nominated as chair for the 2022/23 municipal year.
RESOLVED: to elect Councillor Crick as chair of the council for the 2022/23 municipal year, until the next annual meeting of the Council in May 2023.
Councillor Crick signed her declaration of acceptance of office and made an acceptance speech.
3. Appointment of vice-chair
Councillor Avery left the room during the consideration of this item.
Councillor Avery was nominated as vice-chair for the 2022/23 municipal year.
RESOLVED: to appoint Councillor Avery as vice-chair of the council for the 2022/23 municipal year, until the next annual meeting of the Council in May 2023.
Councillor Avery signed his declaration of acceptance of office.
4. Minutes
RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 16 February 2022 as a correct record and agree that the chair sign them as such.
5. Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest
None.
6. Urgent business and chair's announcements
On behalf of Council, the Chair welcomed Councillor Sally Povolotsky, the newly elected ward councillor for the Steventon and the Hanneys Ward.
7. Public participation
Two members of the public had registered to ask a question.
A. Elizabeth Fell asked the following question:
“I would like to know why there are still building projects going on (and further permissions being sought), when we already exceed the targets and in fact are in the top third for development in the country. Unfortunately, we are also down the bottom of the list for infrastructure to support the housing.
I am deeply disappointed for example that despite all the housing being built on Grove airfield, more houses are going to build along Letcombe Brooke behind Westbrook and Wick Green - we are losing all our green spaces.”
Councillor Bethia Thomas, Cabinet member community engagement responded as follows:
“It is true that the Vale of White Horse is a strong performer in delivering new homes, and we work to continue to meet government targets.
The Government compiles tables annually for the Housing Delivery Test, and the latest results show that Vale was in the top 25% of local authorities for homes delivered in 2020/21. For authorities in the lower ranks, there are planning penalties including the imposition of a presumption in favour of development, and higher buffers which raise housing numbers for the next year. So, it is a good thing that Vale has consistently avoided government interventions that befall lower performers. It means we retain control of where new housing development is built in our district.
At the same time the council works incredibly hard to plan for the infrastructure needed to support new housing and will continue to do so to secure new and improved public facilities like leisure, sports pitches, schools, open space, cycling and walking networks and better public transport, and is lobbying for the re-opening of Grove Station.
We are also working more with Clinical Commissioning Groups who are responsible for primary health care provision and pushing for districts to be part of the new system of Integrated Care Systems governance to ensure health care is planned on a more joined up way across the region.
However, this work is not easy when we are committed to the high levels of housing growth agreed by previous administrations.
The history of this goes back many years. In 2014 the Strategic Housing Market Assessment identified a need for 100,000 homes for Oxfordshire for the period 2011 to 2031.
The Vale's Local Plan adopted in December 2016 by the previous administration, baked in this high quantity of development in the district and allocated the sites you refer to in your question at Grove Airfield and Monks Farm including land near Letcombe Brook for housing. This was further reinforced in 2018 with the signing of the housing and growth deal. With this deal the County Council received some funding for infrastructure, but not at a level to cover the cost of all that would be required.
Unfortunately, these decisions are not something we are able to go back on and change.
It takes time for housing to come forward so the developments we see now are the outcome of this period and the decisions made by a previous administration; we are still having to use those targets and policies when our planning department and committee make decisions on applications coming through now.
Our administration has always been committed to a fairer and more sustainable approach to planning. We are working on a new Local Plan with South Oxfordshire District Council and we are working through the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 process with other Oxfordshire Councils to agree a new housing requirement figure.
Changing planning policy takes time, but after a lot of work behind the scenes, our first consultation on the Joint Local Plan launched last week. We really want to hear from the public about what their vision for the future of our district is, and what policies we can put in place to guide planning in coming years and give this council more levers to insist on sustainable levels of housing and the infrastructure and affordable homes our communities need.
The new
local plan will provide policies that seek to strike a balance
between green spaces, housing, employment sites, renewable energy,
agricultural land, etc. so please do, and encourage others, to get
involved in our consultations to make sure we are getting the
balance right in the future.
We expect that our new local plan will be produced and taken
through the independent examination and adoption process by the end
of 2024. Until then we continue to do our best with the policies
that are currently in place to address the concerns that you
identify in your question, and that this administration
shares”.
B. Steven Corrigan, Democratic Services Manager, read out the following question on behalf of Chris Henderson
“Can the appropriate Cabinet Member tell me when we will be able to see any specific plans from Vale of White Horse District Council for spending their Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) income? I can find nothing on the website. The last report on CIL expenditure appears to be from the year 2018/19 and the only expenditure was the 5% allowed for administration.
At Radley Parish Council we have consulted with the community and have come up with detailed plans for spending the CIL allocation from the strategic sites in our Parish. Many of these plans are well developed and some have already been implemented.
Yet as someone who has taken an interest in this issue since CIL was introduced I still have no clue as to how one penny of the tens of millions of pounds going to the Vale Council will be spent.
While many in our Parish initially opposed the housing developments, they can at least now start to see some benefits in improved infrastructure from our projects. It would be good if we could also point to similar projects being proposed by the district”.
Councillor Judy Roberts, Cabinet member for development and infrastructure, responded as follows:
“The council approved an updated Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Spending Strategy in December 2020 that took effect in April 2021, setting out how the CIL contributions raised from development will be shared between public health care providers, the County Council, the Vale District Council and the parish and town councils to provide facilities that our communities need across the Vale. https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/wp-content/uploads/sites/3/2021/01/Vale-CIL-Spending-Strategy-April-2021-1.pdf
When we set the 2022/23 budget
council allocated CIL funds in the capital programme totalling
£3,029,000 as set out in the attached table. This was
also published in Appendix D.3 with the budget papers at our full
council meeting in February. Most of these funds are to be used on
the Vale’s capital programme to support projects across the
district
This allocation of funding will be included in the 2021/22
Infrastructure Funding Statement which will be published in line
with CIL regulations.
Whilst funding has been allocated towards these projects, this does not constitute approval of either of the delivery of the project itself or use of the CIL for this purpose. Both the project and CIL expenditure approval will be done in line with the council’s constitution and will be dependent on the project cost and funding required and may require cabinet or full council approval. But this table gives you an idea of the projects we are looking to use CIL for.
The total of the council's CIL proportion (from its 30 per cent share as set out by the CIL spending strategy) currently stands at £2,526,284. It is to be noted that of the allocated £3,029,000, £770,000 of the allocated funding is spread out from 23/24 to 26/27 which will be covered from near term CIL receipts.
The council has also approved CIL funding of £2,722,627 to Oxfordshire County Council for education and transport, of which £2,079,976 is for the Radley CE Primary School Extension project, and also released £1,880,352 to town and parish councils in accordance with the CIL regulations”.
8. Petitions
None.
9. Appointments to committees, panels and joint committees for 2022/23
The chair referred to the following recommendation, circulated prior to the meeting, covering these appointments and to reflect the allocation of the vacant committee positions. This provided for the Liberal Democrat Group to take the vacant seats on the Planning Committee and Scrutiny Committee, the Conservative Group taking the vacant seat on the Joint Staff Committee and the non-group councillor taking the vacant seat on the Appeals Panel. The Liberal Democrat Group allocated one of its seats on the Planning Committee, General Licensing Committee and Licensing Acts Committee to the non-group councillor and one of its seats on the Scrutiny Committee to the Conservative Group.
That for the 2022/23 municipal year Council
1. appoints the committees and panels for the 2022/23 year and allocate seats to each political group as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
2. appoints councillors and substitutes to sit on the committees and panels as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting:
3. appoints councillors to the Licensing Acts Committee as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
4. appoints councillors to the Climate Emergency Advisory Committee as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
5. appoints chairs and vice-chairs as set out in the schedule circulated prior to the meeting;
6. appoints all local members representing the wards covered by the relevant area committees to those committees for the 2022/23 municipal year with the following chairs:
· Abingdon and North East – Andy Foulsham
· Faringdon – David Grant
· Wantage – Hayleigh Gascoigne
7. appoints Paul Barrow as the council’s representative and Andy Foulsham as substitute on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
8. appoints Neil Fawcett as the council’s representative and Helen Pighills as substitute on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel;
9. appoints Samantha Bowring, Andy Cooke and Nathan Boyd to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel;
10. authorises the head of legal and democratic to make appointments to any vacant committee or panel seat and substitute positions in accordance with the wishes of the relevant group leader.
RESOLVED: (with no councillor voting against) to
1. appoint the following committees and panels for the 2022/23 municipal year and to appoint the membership, substitutes and chairs and vice-chairs as indicated to sit on them (see table below);
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Scrutiny Committee, 9 Members |
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Conservative (2) |
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Jerry Avery |
Nathan Boyd (Chair) |
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Ron Batstone (Vice-Chair) |
Ben Mabbett |
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Eric de la Harpe |
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Hayleigh Gascoigne |
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David Grant |
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Max Thompson |
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Patrick O’Leary |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (7) |
Conservative (3) |
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Paul Barrow |
Elaine Ware |
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Samantha Bowring |
Janet Shelley |
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Andy Foulsham |
Simon Howell |
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Alison Jenner |
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Diana Lugova |
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Rob Maddison |
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Sarah Medley |
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Joint Scrutiny Committee, 5 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (3) |
Conservative (1) |
Non-group councillor (1) |
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Andy Cooke |
Nathan Boyd (Co-Chair) |
Cheryl Briggs |
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Amos Duveen |
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David Grant |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (3) |
Conservative (3) |
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Alison Jenner |
Simon Howell |
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Andy Foulsham |
Ben Mabbett |
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Max Thompson |
Elaine Ware |
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Joint Audit and Governance Committee, 4 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (3) |
Conservative (1) |
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Amos Duveen |
Simon Howell |
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Andy Foulsham (Co-Chair) |
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Mike Pighills |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (3) |
Conservative (3) |
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Andy Cooke |
Nathan Boyd |
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Eric de la Harpe |
Ben Mabbett |
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Alison Jenner |
Elaine Ware |
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Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee, 6 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (5) |
Conservative (1) |
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Paul Barrow |
Janet Shelley |
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Ron Batstone (Chair) |
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Alison Jenner |
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Sarah Medley (Vice-Chair) |
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Mike Pighills |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (5) |
Conservative (3) |
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Rob Maddison |
Simon Howell |
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Patrick O’Leary |
Ben Mabbett |
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Max Thompson |
Elaine Ware |
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Diana Lugova |
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Richard Webber |
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Joint Staff Committee, 3 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (2) |
Conservative (1) |
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Debby Hallett |
Elaine Ware |
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Emily Smith |
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Substitutes |
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The Leader may be substituted by another Cabinet member. Other members of the committee may be substituted by any other member of the council. |
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General Licensing Committee, 12 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (9) |
Conservative (2) |
Non-group councillor (1) |
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Jerry Avery |
Eric Batts |
Cheryl Briggs |
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Paul Barrow |
Ben Mabbett |
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Ron Batstone (Vice-Chair) |
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Margaret Crick |
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Debby Hallett |
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Alison Jenner (Chair) |
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Patrick O’Leary |
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Val Shaw |
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Richard Webber |
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NO SUBSTITUTES |
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Licensing Acts Committee, 12 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (9) |
Conservative (2) |
Non-group councillor (1) |
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Jerry Avery |
Eric Batts |
Cheryl Briggs |
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Paul Barrow |
Ben Mabbett |
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Ron Batstone (Vice-Chair) |
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Margaret Crick |
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Debby Hallett |
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Alison Jenner (Chair) |
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Patrick O’Leary |
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Val Shaw |
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Richard Webber |
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NO SUBSTITUTES |
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Appeals Panel, 3 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (2) |
Non-group councillor (1) |
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Paul Barrow |
Cheryl Briggs |
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Alison Jenner (Chair) |
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PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES |
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Liberal Democrat (3) |
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Val Shaw |
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Richard Webber |
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Debby Hallett |
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Climate Emergency Advisory Committee, 7 Members |
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Liberal Democrat (6) |
Conservative (1) |
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David Grant |
Eric Batts |
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Hayleigh Gascoigne (Chair) |
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Eric de la Harpe (Vice Chair) |
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Alison Jenner |
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Bob Johnston |
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Catherine Webber |
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Preferred substitutes |
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Liberal Democrat (6) |
Conservative (3) |
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Ron Batstone |
Nathan Boyd |
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Amos Duveen |
Ben Mabbett |
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Andy Foulsham |
Elaine Ware |
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Rob Maddison |
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Sarah Medley |
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Mike Pighills |
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2. appoints all local members representing the wards covered by the relevant area committees to those committees for the 2022/23 municipal year with the following chairs:
· Abingdon and North East – Andy Foulsham
· Faringdon – David Grant
· Wantage – Hayleigh Gascoigne
3. appoints Paul Barrow as the council’s representative and Andy Foulsham as substitute on the Oxfordshire Joint Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee;
4. appoints Neil Fawcett as the council’s representative and Helen Pighills as substitute on the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel;
5. appoints Samantha Bowring, Andy Cooke and Nathan Boyd to the Future Oxfordshire Partnership Scrutiny Panel;
6. authorises the head of legal and democratic to make appointments to any vacant committee or panel seat and substitute positions in accordance with the wishes of the relevant group leader.
10. Adoption of Oxfordshire Code of Conduct for Councillors
Council considered the recommendation of the Joint Audit and Governance Committee, made at its meeting on 29 March 2022, to adopt the Oxfordshire Code of Conduct.
RESOLVED: to approve the Oxfordshire Code of Conduct, appended to the report of the monitoring officer to the meeting of the Joint Audit and Governance Committee held on 29 March 2022.
11. Appointment of Independent Persons
Council considered the report of the head of legal & democratic and monitoring officer which proposed the appointment ofsix Independent Persons to assist the monitoring officer with code of conduct matters. The report proposed that the Independent Persons are appointed by both South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Councils.
RESOLVED: to appoint Mike Boon, Julie Byron, George Green,
Andrew Mills-Hick, Chris Smith and Martin Wright as Independent Persons for a period of four years until the annual meeting in May 2026.
12. Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme - discharge of planning functions
Council considered the report of the head of planning which sought approval for the delegation to Oxfordshire County Council of any planning responsibilities that would otherwise be exercised by Vale of White Horse District Council in relation to the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme.
RESOLVED: to delegate the discharge of the district planning authority functions in connection with the processing and determination of any planning application for the Oxford Flood Alleviation Scheme to Oxfordshire County Council, under section 101 of the Local Government Act 1972.
13. Report of the leader of the council
Councillor Emily Smith, Leader of the council, provided an update on a number of issues. The text of her address is available on the council’s website.
14. Questions on notice
No questions had been submitted by councillors.
15. Motions on notice
Council considered the motions from councillors set out in the agenda in accordance
with Council Procedure Rule 38.
- Councillor Bethia Thomas moved, and Councillor Bob Johnston seconded the motion as set out in the agenda at agenda item 15:
After debate and on being put to the vote the motion was agreed.
RESOLVED: That
Healthy food is vital to us all and food production and farming is an important economic and employment sector in our district, with agriculture at the heart of many of our communities. However, the rising costs of fuel and other supplies is creating increased pressure on farmers across the district, whilst government policies on international trade deals threaten to undermine UK food quality standards and risk putting farmers out of business – as well as exacerbating food insecurity in the UK. At the same time, significant increases in the cost of living are putting pressure on residents across the Vale, forcing them to make difficult choices regarding their household budgets, including the amount spent on food and heating.
The district council has a number of powers and opportunities that can help influence food production, support sustainable farming and distribution, reduce food waste, and promote healthy eating for the benefit of our residents and the environment, whilst supporting action to address climate change.
Council therefore resolves:
1. To create a Member Food and Farming Champion to promote local food production and distribution, as well as healthy eating in the Vale.
2. To encourage farming communities and agricultural businesses to respond to any consultation on our new Joint Local Plan and Oxfordshire Plan 2050.
3. To encourage developers to include community gardens and allotment provision within all new housing developments.
4. To encourage and promote high environmental health standards at all stages of food production, distribution and redistribution, and continue to support local businesses and ‘farm-door’ sales, recognising their positive impact on reducing the carbon emissions associated with food miles.
5. To maximise opportunities to highlight the importance of food and farming in our local economy via the press and through social media.
6. To continue to investigate ways we can support food redistribution organisations and food charities to address food poverty in the district, noting the work that has already been done in this regard.
7. To continue to promote ways we can reduce food waste through our waste service and the use of food recycling bins.
8. To continue to promote the use of waste food and the highlight the climate benefits this can bring.
9. To minimise food waste at any event that we may host that serves food, and to use such occasions to highlight the use of waste food, low carbon options, and locally sourced produce wherever possible.
B. Councillor Eric de la Harpe moved, and Councillor Samantha Bowring seconded the motion as set out in the agenda at agenda item 15:
After debate and on being put to the vote the motion was agreed.
RESOLVED: That
There have been a number of fatal road accidents in Oxfordshire recently involving cyclists. This is despite changes to the highway code which came into force on the 29 January 2022. The aim of these changes, which Council believes are to be commended, is to improve the safety of pedestrians, cyclists and horses on the highway by assigning a hierarchy of responsibility such that the heavier the mode of transport, the more responsibility the operator carries for the safety of others using lighter modes of transport. Motorists turning left, for example, must stop for cyclists behind them in a cycle lane. Cyclists are now also advised to ride in the centre of the lane and to ride two-abreast
Encouraging active travel is central to Council’s key themes of tackling the Climate Emergency and Building Healthy Communities. However, not all residents are aware of these new changes to the Highway Code and any confusion arising from this could lead to serious incidents, between motorists and cyclists and this could discourage active travel.
Council resolves to:
- Express regret for the recent loss of life on our roads and believes that the changes to the Highway Code should be commended as they seek to mitigate any risk to safety.
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Ask
sthe Leader to write to Oxfordshire County Council to ensure that -
- the County Council as the highways authority publicises the changes to the Highway Code widely as part of its highways safety messaging and requesting it ensures that all future transport schemes in the Vale of White Horse reflect the latest changes to the Highway Code and encourage Active Travel by default.
- all cycle infrastructure should be delivered in accordance with the standards set out in the Government's Cycle infrastructure design (LTN 1/20) guidance
- Ask the Cabinet member for Community Engagement to work with officers to highlight government and county council communications about the Highway Code changes via our media channels and signpost (for example in Vale News) to the Government website and the latest guidance where relevant.
C. Councillor Max Thompson moved, and Councillor Richard Webber seconded the motion as set out in the agenda at agenda item 15:
After debate and on being put to the vote the motion was agreed.
RESOLVED:That
Oxfordshire County Council has been undertaking consultation on its new Oxfordshire Transport and Connectivity Plan, which will support the County Council’s local transport plan vision, which is to deliver a zero-carbon Oxfordshire transport system that enables all parts of the county to thrive, with the intention of supporting clean growth, tackling inequality and protecting our natural and historic environment.
The County Council are seeking to reduce the need to travel within the County and discouraging unnecessary individual private vehicle use by individuals and wish to see walking, cycling, public and shared transport become the natural first choice for residents. These objectives are in line with those that the district and city councils within the County have already signed up to as part of the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 process and also with the Government’s climate change and carbon reduction policies.
Council resolves to:
- Welcome Oxfordshire County Councils commitment to set out an ambitious plan to reduce car journeys and reliance on private motor vehicles
- Support the commitment by the County Council to put climate change action at the heart if its proposals.
- Continue to respond to consultations on the Oxfordshire Transport and Connectivity Plan supporting the overarching objectives but asks the cabinet member to work with Officers to challenge the policies, as appropriate, in order to ensure they are robust enough to achieve their aim.
- Ask the Cabinet member for Planning to work with officers to continue to ensure that this council’s contributions to OxPlan2050 and the forthcoming Joint Local Plan support these aspirations and work to develop spatial planning and policies within those plans reflects the need to reduce the number of avoidable journeys that are currently undertaken by car, such as those required purely for commuting or shopping.
- Ask the leader to write to the Leader of the county council encouraging them to ensure that they reflect, as far as possible, their aspirations when responding to planning consultations, not only Vale, but across the County noting that they will need to comply with policy.