Decisions

To undertake a minimum 28-day period of public consultation on the draft revised Milton Park Local Development Order – Milton Park, Milton. 

Cabinet considered the head of policy and programmes’ report, which proposed a new active communities’ strategy.  The strategy’s vision was ‘be active, be healthy, be happy’.  The strategy had six key aims to:

§  enable everyone to be active

§  create healthier communities through walking and cycling

§  maximise the potential of our natural environment

§  build the skills base of our communities

§  provide effective communication, promotion and consultation

§  provide collaborative partnerships and funding advice

A delivery plan would be brought to Cabinet later in the year. 

The Scrutiny Committee had welcomed the strategy and had made suggestions for improvements, which had been included in the policy proposed to Cabinet. 

Cabinet welcomed the strategy as it provided opportunities to increase the general health of Vale residents by getting people more active and lead to improved health.  Small changes could have significant benefits.  Councillors suggested that using the green environment would help meet the strategy’s aims. 

RESOLVED: to approve the Active Communities Strategy, attached at appendix 1 to the head of policy and programmes’ report to Cabinet on 22 July 2022. 

Cabinet considered the head of development and corporate landlord’s report.  This set out the outcome of public consultation exercise and proposed a new car park order and policy. 

The Cabinet member for finance and corporate assets welcomed the report and praised officers for the work that had been put into developing the new car park order and policy.  This brought the council’s car park order and policy up to date to support the civil parking enforcement introduced in November 2021.  It also brought the council into line with most councils in the country and would make the car parking service more efficient, and more transparent for the public. 

Cabinet noted that the only objection to the car park order was to the time allowed for free parking, an issue that was not related to civil parking enforcement but could be considered later in the year when Cabinet reviewed its car parking fees and charges. 

Cabinet welcomed the new car park orders and policy.  The new policy brought together existing and updated policy elements to set out how the council delivered its parking service.  It also was linked to the active communities’ strategy and the council’s general direction of travel in its corporate plan to encouraging greener thinking. 

Cabinet noted that the report referred to two car park orders.  The Cabinet member explained that one car park order covered the Vale district, whereas the other covered the Rye Farm and Hales Meadow car parks which, although located just outside the district boundary, were owned and managed by the council. 

The report also proposed that the council joined PATROL, the Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London Adjudication Joint Committee, as a member.  This committee enabled all councils with car park orders to carry out civil enforcement of parking contraventions and to exercise their legal functions.  Cabinet supported the council becoming a member of the PATROL joint committee and noted that the appointments of a member and substitute member to this committee were decisions to be made by the leader. 

RESOLVED to:

(a)    agree the making of new 2022 car park orders having considered the comments made during the consultation period;

(b)    authorise the head of legal and democratic to make the new order and to determine the date it comes into effect;

(c)    adopt the new Joint Management Parking Policy, set out in Appendix C to the head of development and corporate landlord’s report to Cabinet on 22 July 2022;

(d)    agree to the Vale of White Horse District Council joining PATROL (Parking and Traffic Regulations Outside London) Adjudication Joint Committee as a member;

(e)    request the leader to appoint Councillor Neil Fawcett to represent the Vale of White Horse District Council on the PATROL Adjudication Joint Committee for the remainder of this council until May 2023; and

(f)     request the leader to appoint Councillor Andrew Crawford as the named substitute in respect of the appointment under (e) above.