Agenda and minutes

Venue: The Fountain Conference Centre, Howbery Park, Crowmarsh Gifford

Contact: Steven Corrigan  Democratic Services Manager

Items
No. Item

10.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 178 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Council minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2018 - attached. 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 17 May 2018 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

 

11.

Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest

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

Minutes:

None.

12.

Urgent business and chairman's announcements

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

Minutes:

On behalf of the Council the chairman welcomed Councillor Sue Cooper to the council following her election at the recent Benson & Crowmarsh by election.

 

On behalf of the Council she confirmed she would pass on good wishes to Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak for a speedy recovery and an early return to the council.

 

13.

Public participation

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

Minutes:

The chairman advised that Mr Hewerdine and Mr Harris had registered to address Council on motion A of agenda item 11.

14.

Petitions

To receive any petitions from the public. 

Minutes:

None.

15.

Review of political balance following the Benson & Crowmarsh by election pdf icon PDF 151 KB

To consider the report of the head of legal and democratic on the review of the political balance following the Benson & Crowmarsh by election – attached.

Minutes:

Council considered the report of the head of legal and democratic on the review of the political balance following the Benson & Crowmarsh by election.

 

Council agreed the allocation of seats to each political group as set out in the schedule attached to the report including the allocation of one of the Conservative Group’s seats on the Planning Committee to the Opposition Forum Group.

 

No councillor voted against these proposals.

 

RESOLVED: to

 

1.  appoint the committees, joint committees and panels set out below and to appoint the membership and substitutes, as indicated, to sit on them;

2.  allocate one of the Conservative Group seats on the Planning Committee to the Opposition Forum Group;

3.  authorise 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.

 

Names

 

Planning Committee, 11 Members 

Conservative (9)

Opposition Forum Group (2)

Joan Bland

Mocky Khan

Anthony Dearlove (Vice Chair)

David Turner

Lorraine Hillier

 

Elaine Hornsby

 

Jeannette Matelot

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Toby Newman (Chairman)

 

Ian Snowdon

 

Ian White

 

PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES 

 

Conservative (9)

Opposition Forum Group (2)

Nigel Champken-Woods

Sue Cooper

Steve Connel 

Stefan Gawrysiak

Elizabeth Gillespie

 

Sue Lawson

 

John Cotton

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

 

 

Names

 

Scrutiny Committee, 9 Members

Conservative (8)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Anthony Dearlove 

David Turner (Chairman)

Will Hall (Vice Chair) 

 

Elaine Hornsby

 

Jeannette Matelot

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Ian Snowdon

 

John Walsh

 

Ian White

 

PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (8)

Opposition Forum Group (3)

Charles Bailey

Sue Cooper

Steve Connel

Stefan Gawrysiak

Pat Dawe

Mocky Khan

Lorraine Hillier

 

Sue Lawson

 

Toby Newman

 

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

 

 

Names

 

Joint Scrutiny Committee, 5 Members

Conservative (4)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Sue Lawson

David Turner (Co-Chair)

David Nimmo-Smith

 

John Walsh

 

Ian White

 

PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (4)

Opposition Forum Group (3)

Pat Dawe

Sue Cooper

Imran Lokhon

Stefan Gawrysiak

Toby Newman

Mocky Khan

John Cotton

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Names

Joint Audit and Governance

Committee, 4 Members

Conservative (4)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

Toby Newman

 

Alan Thompson

 

John Walsh

 

Ian White (Co-Chair)

 

PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (4)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

Joan Bland

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Robert Simister

 

Vacancy

 

 

Names

 

 

Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee,

6 Members

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Steve Connel (Chairman)

Mocky Khan

Anthony Dearlove

 

Will Hall

 

Tony Harbour

 

Ian White (Vice Chair)

 

PREFERRED SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative (5)

Opposition Forum Group (3)

Joan Bland

Sue Cooper

Toby Newman

Stefan Gawrysiak

John Walsh

David Turner

Vacancy

 

Vacancy

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 


Names

Joint Staff Committee,

3 Members

Conservative (3)

Opposition Forum Group (0)

Jane Murphy

 

David Nimmo-Smith

 

Anthony Nash

 

SUBSTITUTES

 

Conservative 

Opposition Forum Group (0)

The Leader may be substituted by another Cabinet member.  Other members of the Committee may be substituted by any other member of the council (Cabinet or non-Cabinet). 

 

 

Names

 

General Licensing Committee,

12 Members

Conservative (11)

Opposition Forum Group (1)

Joan Bland

Stefan Gawrysiak

Nigel Champken-Woods

 

Pat Dawe (Chairman)

 

David Dodds

 

Paul Harrison

 

Lorraine Hillier

 

Imran Lokhon

 

Anthony Nash

 

David Nimmo-Smith (Vice Chair)

 

Alan Thompson

 

Ian White

 

NO SUBSTITUTES

 

 


 

Names

 

Licensing Acts Committee,

12 Members

Conservative (11)  ...  view the full minutes text for item 15.

16.

Report of the leader of the council

Minutes:

Councillor Jane Murphy, Leader of the council, provided the following update to Council.

 

“I am pleased to be able to update you all on the progress of the site review work which officers are undertaking to support the South Oxfordshire Local Plan.

 

Officers wrote an initial letter to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government on 24 May, which is published on our website, and have maintained a dialogue with them over the last few weeks regarding the review process.

 

I am grateful for the support extended to the council from the Planning Advisory Service (PAS) and the Planning Inspectorate about the methodology and process of undergoing a site assessment process at this stage of the Local Plan development and their ongoing positive feedback. Notwithstanding this, in line with the democratic process, all sites under review will continue to be potential sites until a decision is made by Council.

 

The work which officers have undertaken with the support from both the Planning Inspectorate and the PAS causes me to believe that we are on track to deliver the milestones set out in the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal, something I will confirm to partners at the next meeting of the Growth Board.

 

We recognise that the publication of the National Planning Policy Framework is imminent and may impact on the work that our planning team are undertaking and could necessitate additional work to support our Local Plan. If anything should change or impact upon our timetable, we may need to revisit the question set out in the Council resolution of 15 May 2018 and I will confirm as soon as possible to members if that is the case.

 

Notwithstanding the above, I have asked that officers bring an updated version of the Local Plan timetable to Cabinet in August.

 

Officers remain in positive and regular communication with the Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government and councillors will continue to be updated on the progress of the Local Plan through the Round Table Sessions.  Our chief executive and other officers continues to liaise closely with our partner authorities across Oxfordshire regarding the Growth Deal linked aspects of this matter.

 

I would also like to update councillors on the current position in relation to the council’s ongoing contract with Capita.  The chief executive and his team have continued to keep me appraised of the latest developments in relation to the ‘5 Councils’ Contract.  As all members will be aware, we recently approved a renegotiation of the contract and I am pleased to say that the insourcing of services from VINCI and the establishment of a direct relationship with Indigo for our parking service delivery has gone exceptionally well.  Whilst we all too often take it for granted, I would like to pay tribute to the staff involved in this process, they have actioned our decision quickly, with a strong focus on residents and have done so without fuss or drama.

 

In relation to the elements of the contract that remain  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Community Governance Review - review of the parish boundary between Harpsden and Henley-on-Thames parishes

At its meeting on 16 July the Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee will make a final decision in respect of its community governance review of the boundary between Harpsden parish and Henley-on-Thames parish south of Greys Road.

 

If the committee agrees to amend the boundary, in accordance with its draft proposal, it will also recommend Council authorises the head of legal and democratic to request the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to make related alteration orders to make district wards and county divisions coterminous with the change to ensure effective and convenient representation of local residents.

 

A copy of the report which the committee will consider is attached. Any recommendations will be circulated to all councillors prior to the Council meeting.

Minutes:

At its meeting on 16 July 2018 the Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee made a final decision in respect of its community governance review of the boundary between Harpsden parish and Henley-on-Thames parish, south of Greys Road. The committee agreed the changes as recommended in the report and recommended Council to authorise the head of legal and democratic to request the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to make related alteration orders to change district wards and county divisions to reflect the changes made to the parish boundary.

 

RESOLVED:
To authorise the head of legal and democratic to request the Local Government Boundary Commission for England to make related alteration orders to change district wards and county divisions to reflect the changes made to the parish boundary.

 

18.

Questions on notice

 

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

 

Councillor Sue Cooper to Councillor Caroline Newton Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

 

Is the Cabinet member happy with the bin emptying service currently being provided by Biffa?

 

 

Minutes:

Question from Councillor Sue Cooper to Councillor Caroline Newton Cabinet member for Housing and Environment

 

Is the Cabinet member happy with the bin emptying service currently being provided by Biffa?

 

Councillor Murphy responded on behalf of Councilllor Newton who had submitted an apology for absence.

 

Answer

 

Councillor Murphy responded that there are areas of improvement required for some aspects of the service and officers are working with Biffa management to address these. Biffa are responding positively in respect of the areas where officers are seeking improvement.  Generally, the bin emptying service is good when you consider Biffa are only missing 0.11 per cent of a potential 13 million bin collections each year across the two districts, but Biffa recognise that they need to improve still further and are working with their crews to do so.  As part of this approach, officers will be working with them to identify whether any additional communication messages to residents would be helpful.

 

Councillor Murphy referred specifically to the emptying of litter bins in Crowmarsh and particularly in the vicinity of the open air pool. She confirmed that Biffa had increased the number of collections.

 

Supplementary

 

In response to a supplementary question regarding the promised improved litter bin emptying service in Crowmarsh, particularly to address the increase in visitor numbers to the swimming pool, Councillor Murphy confirmed that she was satisfied that Biffa’s promised improvements had resulted in extra collections including over the weekends.

 

19.

Motions on notice pdf icon PDF 200 KB

To consider motions from councillors in accordance with Council procedure rule 38. 

 

(1)      Motion to be proposed by Councillor David Turner, seconded by Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak:

 

Council recognises that:

- Thames Valley Police are stretched to capacity, and that parking enforcement is one of their lowest priorities.

- members are regularly contacted by residents about inconvenient, illegal and dangerous parking violations that aren’t being enforced.

- we have the power to introduce civil parking enforcement, as neighbouring councils have done at no additional cost to their tax payers.

This Council agrees in principle to introduce a civil parking enforcement scheme across the area covered by South Oxfordshire District Council.

Council instructs officers to produce a Business Case (to include financial costs and income, delivery options and timescales) to be considered as part of next year's budget.

 

 

(2)      Motion to be proposed by Councillor Sue Cooper, seconded by Councillor Stefan Gawrysiak:

 

That all new housing planning permissions with car parking spaces in South Oxfordshire include the provision of an electric vehicle charging point.

 

(3)  Motion to be proposed by Councillor Felix Bloomfield, seconder to be notified at the meeting:

 

 

Council is supportive of the objectives and purpose of the Oxford to Cambridge Expressway which it is acknowledged will support economic growth along the corridor.  At this stage, the Council preference is for Corridor C, including sub-option C1 to the west of Oxford (see map attached to this agenda).

 

Council ask that the leader of South Oxfordshire, Councillor Jane Murphy, write to the Rt Hon Chris Grayling, Secretary of State for Transport, to note the Council preference for road corridor options to the north and to the west of Oxford, and also note that should a south of Oxford corridor route materialise, given the potential environmental harm to southern Oxfordshire, furthermore detailed engagement and consultation should be undertaken on route options within this corridor.

 

 

(4)  Motion to be proposed by Councillor Felix Bloomfield, seconder to be notified at the meeting:

 

This Council supports the Government in undertaking the review of National Parks and Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB). We welcome the opportunity to be consulted upon the review and to feed into the process of review to assess the capability of the AONBs becoming National Park Authorities.

 

(5)  Motion to be proposed by Councillor Paul Harrison, seconder to be notified at the meeting:

 

Council notes that South Oxfordshire is an area of exceptionally high property values relative to the rest of England and that the statutory definition of Affordable Housing, whether for rented or home ownership, is related directly to these values. Average local incomes have not kept pace with average house prices or rents and ‘Affordable’ housing is not, therefore, affordable to many households and individuals. Council asks Councillor Jane Murphy, Leader of the council, to write to James Brokenshire, Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government setting out the council’s concern. Council urges the Secretary of State to give consideration to the definition of Affordable Housing, taking  ...  view the full agenda text for item 19.

Minutes:

A.        With the agreement of Council, Councillor David Turner moved an altered motion from that set out in the agenda, seconded by Councillor Mocky Khan, to take account of a proposed amendment. Additional words are shown in bold with deleted words shown by a strikethrough:

 

Council recognises that:

- Thames Valley Police are stretched to capacity, and that parking enforcement is one of their lowest priorities.

- members are regularly contacted by residents about inconvenient, illegal and dangerous parking violations that aren’t being enforced.

- we have the power to introduce request the county council to delegate civil parking enforcement, as neighbouring councils have done. at no additional cost to their tax payers.

This Council agrees in principle to introduce a civil parking enforcement scheme across the area covered by South Oxfordshire District Council.

Council requests instructs officers to produce a Business Case (to include financial costs and income, delivery options and timescales) to be considered as part of next year's budget.

 

Mr Hewerdine addressed council on this motion. He referred to the fact that the issue of civil parking enforcement had been on the Cabinet work programme in December 2013 and was the subject of questions at Cabinet 9 October 2014 at which officers were asked to gather more detail on the extent of illegal on street parking and work on financial feasibility studies. He therefore concluded that much of the information requested in the motion should exist and allow for rapid progress. He stated that the towns of the district supported civil parking enforcement. In Didcot a petition signed by hundreds of signatures was debated by Didcot Town Council. The streets are blighted with the cars of rail users and traders on The Broadway are losing footfall and sales due to people parking all day in restricted parking areas.

 

Mr Harris addressed Council on the motion. He supported the motion and spoke of the inconsiderate and inappropriate parking in Didcot both on yellow lines and on pavements, the latter of which has implications for the visually impaired. He spoke of the need to introduce a range of measures alongside civil parking enforcement, including the provision of car parks. 

 

The majority of councillors supported the motion noting that it was an issue in both the towns and villages of the district. A number of councillors spoke of problems arising from commuters parking all day in villages close to commuter rail or bus routes hampering the free flow of traffic and causing congestion. This was repeated in towns such as Henley and Didcot where commuters avoided the car park fees by parking on the streets and in residential areas.

 

Councillors referred to the number of complaints received from constituents on the issue. Councillors noted that due to other competing priorities the police are unable to fully resource parking enforcement.  It was therefore time to introduce civil parking enforcement to manage the road network safely and to ensure the smooth flow of traffic.

 

RESOLVED:

That Council recognises that:

- Thames  ...  view the full minutes text for item 19.

 

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