Agenda and minutes

Venue: This was a virtual, online meeting.

Contact: Steve Culliford  Democratic Services Officer

Note: This is a virtual meeting, watch live at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCTj2pCic8vzucpzIaSWE3UQ 

Items
No. Item

11.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 124 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 9 July 2020. 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 9 July 2020 as a correct record and agree that the Chair signs them as such.

 

12.

Declaration of disclosable pecuniary interest

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

Minutes:

None

13.

Urgent business and chair's announcements

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

Minutes:

None

14.

Public participation

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

Minutes:

None

15.

Recommendations from other committees

To consider any recommendations to Cabinet from other committees. 

Minutes:

None

 

16.

Car park fees and charges pdf icon PDF 386 KB

To consider the head of housing and environment’s report. 

Minutes:

Cabinet considered the head of housing and environment’s report on a review of car park fees and charges. 

 

The Cabinet member reported that in reviewing the car park fees and charges he had taken into account the costs of running the car parks, the impact on the town and village centres, the impact on air quality, place-making, and the council’s finances.  The council had a financial deficit that it needed to reduce.  The council was allowed to cover the costs of providing car parking but had not done so in recent years.  He therefore proposed modest changes to the car parking fees and charges to cover the council’s costs, thereby helping to reduce the council’s deficit. 

 

The Climate Emergency Advisory Committee had considered a number of options for reviewing car park fees and charges on 28 January 2020.  The committee made no recommendations to Cabinet on the proposed fees but asked for consideration to be given to reducing pollution, supporting more public transport, and supporting vibrant town centres. 

 

The Cabinet member supported a reduction in car use in the town centres to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality.  However, the recent measures to promote active travel, such as some new cycle racks and the closure of some roads, were not at a stage where it would be useful or effective to use punitive parking prices as a stick to back them up.  Therefore, he did not propose that the council increased prices as an environmental policy measure at this stage.  Until there were alternatives in terms of public or active transport, he believed that this would be unfair. 

 

The Cabinet member proposed the options set out in Table 1 in the report.  These were:

 

A.        Align all charging car parks in the centre of market towns of Didcot, Henley, Wallingford and Thame, as well as Goring, to all have up to one hour of free parking between the charging hours, and to amend charging hours to 9am to 5pm Monday to Saturday in all car parks where a charge is made.

 

B.        Increase all fees (for up to two hours and above) by 20p

 

C.        Change the current permitted parking period from Monday to Saturday to Monday to Sunday, 9am to 5pm in all car parks.  This was clarified at the meeting to mean all charging car parks and not to limited waiting. 

 

D.        Increase the all-day parking fees at Edinburgh Drive car park, Didcot and Wheel Orchard car park, Goring. 

 

E.        Introduce half priced permits for electric vehicles only

 

F.        Introduce fees at the High Street car park in Chinnor.  This was clarified at the meeting to mean Mondays to Saturdays, not Sundays. 

 

G.       Review of parking permits

 

H.        Introduce charging points for electric vehicles

 

Cabinet concurred, believing that it was important to progress these measures and noted that some would require formal consultation as part of a regulatory process.  The consultation results would be reported to Cabinet later in 2020.  Cabinet thanked officers for keeping the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Exclusion of the Public

To consider whether to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business under Part 1 of Schedule 12A Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:

(i)         it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 1 to 7 Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and

(ii)       the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to exclude members of the press and public from the meeting for the following item of business under Part 1 of Schedule 12A Section 100A(4) of the Local Government Act 1972 and as amended by the Local Government (Access to Information) (Variation) Order 2006 on the grounds that:

i.          it involves the likely disclosure of exempt information as defined in paragraphs 3 and 5 of Part 1 of Schedule 12A of the Act, and

ii.         the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information. 

18.

Restrictive covenants

To consider the head of development and regeneration’s report. 

Minutes:

Cabinet agreed to adopt a revised process for dealing with applications relating to restrictive covenants imposed on right to buy sales of council houses and when dealing with applications relating to restrictive covenants imposed on voluntary sales of council houses. 

 

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