Agenda and minutes

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

Contact: Steven Corrigan  Democratic Services Manager

Items
No. Item

37.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 215 KB

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Council minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2018 – attached. 

Minutes:

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 11 October 2018 as a correct record and agree that the Chairman sign them as such.

 

38.

Declarations of disclosable pecuniary interest

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

Minutes:

Councillor David Turner made a statement in respect of agenda item 7, Local Plan Publication Version (2034), that he is the council’s representative on the  Culham Local Liaison Committee.

 

Nigel Champken-Woods and David Dodds declared a personal interest in item 10, the section 106 funding request by Thame Town Council, as they are members of that council.

 

Kevin Bulmer made a statement that he was a shareholder in a company which was the landlord of a bookmakers’ premises in the district. As such he would leave the meeting room during the consideration of item 11 – Joint Gambling Policy.

 

 

39.

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:

Councillor Lorraine Hillier, Chairman, advised that she had agreed to take one item of urgent business to appoint a councillor to the Joint Staff Committee following the resignation of Councillor Nash as a district councillor. Currently South Oxfordshire District Council has two representatives and it is in the interest of the council to appoint a third representative to ensure equal representation with the Vale of White Horse District Council (see Minute 40 for details of the appointment).

 

On behalf of Council she wished Nicola Meurer, Democratic Services Officer, all the best for the future and thanked her for her work at the council, particularly clerking and advising meetings of the Planning Committee. 

40.

Appointment to Joint Staff Committee (urgent item)

Minutes:

Council considered the appointment of a councillor to the Joint Staff Committee to replace Councillor Nash.

 

RESOLVED: to appoint Kevin Bulmer to the Joint Staff Committee for the remainder of the 2018/19 municipal year.

41.

Public participation

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

Minutes:

The chairman advised that a number of members of the public had registered to address Council on agenda item 7 – Local Plan publication version (2034). Council agreed to extend the public speaking time to allow each member of the public who had registered to speak three minutes to make their address.

 

Council received addresses from eighteen members of the public.

 

  • Bev Hindle, on behalf of Oxfordshire County Council, spoke in support of the Local Plan proposals. 
  • Mr Harris, on behalf of Horspath Parish Council, urged Council to remove the housing allocation at Northfields from the Local Plan. No exceptional reasons existed to remove the land from the Green Belt. Future housing would lead to urban sprawl with an increase in noise and light pollution.   
  • Professor Richard Harding, on behalf of the Campaign to Protect Rural England, believed none of the strategic housing sites were required in the Local Plan as the current plan provided adequate housing numbers. The proposed housing numbers would lead to a huge influx of people damaging the countryside and services. He expressed doubt that the proposed housing numbers would be achieved which could impact on the ability of the district council to control planning in the future.
  • Gill Bindoff urged Council to change the Local Plan’s emphasis to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and require carbon neutral buildings and schemes to provide low carbon renewable energy. 
  • Robin Bennett, on behalf of The Green Party, expressed concern that the Local Plan is not sustainable and, if passed, would have a detrimental impact on the Green Belt, farming land and the countryside. He doubted that it would be possible to achieve the housing targets set out in the plan which was produced to meet the requirements of the Growth Deal. He urged Council to agree a new plan with a reduced number of houses to protect the environment. 
  • Leigh Rawlins, of Sonning Common Parish Council, expressed the view that the number of houses proposed was too great, that the proposed density was too high and would lead to increased land values, that the plan offered no protection to the edge of existing settlements and the number of proposed houses was not deliverable.
  • Ann Pritchard, on behalf of Chalgrove Parish Council, welcomed the lower priority given to Chalgrove Airfield but urged Council to remove it from the list of housing allocation sites in the Local Plan. 
  • Paul Boone spoke on behalf of the Chalgrove Airfield Action Group.  He stated that Martin Baker was not prepared to relinquish its lease on the site, that other more deliverable sites existed, that Homes England had not costed the cost of the compulsory purchase order route and has misrepresented the deliverability of the site. 
  • Caroline Baird, a Culham resident, asked Council to remove Culham from the list of housing allocation sites in the Local Plan. The proposals will impact on the existing insufficient infrastructure, destroy the Green Belt and rural life.

42.

Petitions

To receive any petitions from the public. 

Minutes:

None.

43.

Local Plan publication version (2034) pdf icon PDF 198 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider a report on the South Oxfordshire Local Plan. 

 

The report of the head of planning and appendix two (the log of changes to the Local Plan document since publication of the Scrutiny Committee version of the plan), which Cabinet will consider on 18 December 2018, are attached. The main Local Plan document and the other appendices are available on the council’s website.

 

The Scrutiny Committee will meet on Thursday 13 December 2018 and make any recommendations to Cabinet for consideration at its meeting on 18 December 2018.

 

Cabinet’s recommendations will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December 2018.

 

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

During the course of debate on this item, Council agreed, prior to the expiry of two and a half hours, in accordance with council procedure rule 82, to suspend council procedure rule 12, which restricts the duration of a meeting to three hours, to allow Council to complete the business.

 

Councillor Felix Bloomfield, Cabinet member for planning, moved and Councillor Jane Murphy, Leader of the council, seconded Cabinet’s recommendations as set out below:

 

1.    to approve the publication version of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan and associated documents, for publication under Regulation 19 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 as the version of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan proposed to be submitted to the Secretary of State for independent examination, subject to:

a.             the updates provided by officers to the report to Cabinet on 18 December 2018, as appended to the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 18 December 2018;

b.             the changes to the Local Plan text on land at Chalgrove Airfield, as appended to the minutes of the Cabinet meeting held on 18 December 2018; and

 

2.    to delegate authority to the head of planning, in consultation with the Cabinet member for planning, to make any necessary minor amendments and corrections to the Local Plan and its associated documents including the identification of any saved plan policies as considered appropriate prior to:

a.     publication of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan; and

b.     submission of the South Oxfordshire Local Plan to the Secretary of State for independent examination and leading up to and during the examination.

 

In moving Cabinet’s recommendations Councillor Bloomfield, Cabinet member for planning, reported that, since the Council’s decision on 15 May 2018, there had been a thorough assessment of all possible housing site allocations.  By undertaking this assessment, it became very clear that such large sites each have their own delivery obstacles. In response to concerns about the delivery of enough housing to be able to demonstrate a five year supply of deliverable sites, the draft plan now includes new strategic allocations around the edge of Oxford. Although these are sites that are within the Green Belt, this approach to allocations provides a more robust plan.  He stated that the updated plan accords with the changes set out in the revised National Planning Policy Framework and provided a strengthened approach to the duty to co-operate with neighbouring councils.  The plan is not just about housing but also employment, retail, the environment and supporting infrastructure and, in his view, was more likely to be compliant with the duty to cooperate than the previous publication version of the plan.

 

He referred to the Scrutiny Committee recommendations agreed at its meeting on 13 December for Cabinet consideration.  He emphasised that if significant amendments to the plan as proposed would delay the consultation scheduled for to commence on 7 January and impact upon the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal and the milestones contained therein if the submission of the local plan  ...  view the full minutes text for item 43.

44.

Chalgrove Development Neighbourhood Plan pdf icon PDF 136 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider the head of planning’s report on the Chalgrove Neighbourhood Development Plan.

 

The report of the head of planning, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

 

Minutes:

David Turner made a statement that he would not vote on this item because he was a member of the Chalgrove Neighbourhood Plan Steering Group.

 

Council considered the recommendations of Cabinet, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on making the Chalgrove Neighbourhood Development Plan part of the development plan for South Oxfordshire.

 

Councillors congratulated local residents who had been involved in the development of the plan.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1.    make the Chalgrove Neighbourhood Development Plan so that it continues to be part of the council’s development plan; and

 

2.    authorise the head of planning, in agreement with the Qualifying Body, to correct any spelling, grammatical, typographical or factual errors in the Chalgrove Neighbourhood Development Plan, together with any improvements from a presentational perspective. 

 

 

45.

Little Milton Development Neighbourhood Plan pdf icon PDF 137 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider the head of planning’s report on the Little Milton Neighbourhood Development Plan.

 

The report of the head of planning, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

Minutes:

Council considered the recommendations of Cabinet, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on making the Little Milton Neighbourhood Development Plan part of the development plan for South Oxfordshire.

 

Councillors congratulated local residents who had been involved in the development of the plan.

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1.    make the Little Milton Neighbourhood Development Plan so that it continues to be part of the council’s development plan; and

 

2.    authorise the head of planning, in agreement with the Qualifying Body, to correct any spelling, grammatical, typographical or factual errors in the Little Milton Neighbourhood Development Plan, together with any improvements from a presentational perspective. 

 

 

46.

S106 Request - Thame Town Council - towards the replacement cricket pavilion pdf icon PDF 161 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider a report on a request from Thame Town Council for Section 106 funds.

 

The report of the head of planning, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

 

Minutes:

Councillors Nigel Champken-Woods and David Dodds did not vote on this item – see Minute 38. 

 

Council considered the recommendations of Cabinet, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on a request from Thame town Council for Section 106 funds.

 

RESOLVED: to

1.    create a budget for £168,915.00 for the replacement cricket pavilion project in Thame;

2.    agree to pay Thame Town Council £148,951.72, subject to completion of building regulations;

3.    agree to pay Thame Town Council the balance of £19,963.28, once equivalent funds have been received from developers under the S106 agreements; and 

4.    agree to secure a legal agreement with Thame Town Council for the use of these S106 monies. 

 

47.

Joint Gambling Policy pdf icon PDF 351 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider the recommendations of the Licensing Acts Committee, made at its meeting on 29 November 2018, on the Joint Gambling Policy following the statutory consultation.

The report of the head of housing and environment, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

Minutes:

Councillor Kevin Bulmer left the room during the consideration of this item – see Minute 38.

 

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on a Joint Gambling Policy developed with South Oxfordshire District Council.

 

 

RESOLVED to:

 

1.    adopt the Joint Gambling Policy attached to the council agenda for the meeting held on 20 December 2018;

 

2.    authorise the head of housing and environment to make minor editorial changes to the joint gambling policy; and

 

3.    authorise the head of housing and environment to publish the joint gambling policy in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005 (Licensing Authority Policy Statement) (England and Wales) Regulations 2006. 

 

48.

Virement of surplus capital budgets for refurbishment works at Henley and Thame Leisure Centres pdf icon PDF 107 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider a report on the use of surplus budget for the refurbishment of the dry side facilities at Thame and Henley leisure centres.

 

The report of the head of community services, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

 

Minutes:

Council considered the recommendations of Cabinet, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on the use of surplus budget for the refurbishment of the dry side facilities at Thame and Henley leisure centres.

 

RESOLVED: to

1.    create a new capital scheme within the council’s approved capital programme to refurbish the dry side toilets at Thame Leisure Centre; 

2.    vire £22,135 from the existing Thame wet side changing room refurbishment budget into that new capital budget;

3.    create a new capital scheme within the council’s approved capital programme to refurbish dry side changing rooms at Henley Leisure Centre; and

4.    vire £19,271 from the existing wet side changing room refurbishment budget into that new capital budget. 

 

49.

Council Tax Empty Homes Premium pdf icon PDF 231 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider a report on the level of premium to be applied to long-term empty dwellings.

The report of the head of finance, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

Minutes:

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on the level of premium to be applied to long-term empty dwellings.

 

 

RESOLVED:  that in accordance with the Rating (Property in Common Occupation) and Council Tax (Empty Dwellings) Act 2018 the Long Term Empty Property Premium (currently set at a 50%) is:

 

(i)        increased to 100% from 1 April 2019 for those properties which are empty for two years and over;

(ii)       increased to 200% premium from 1 April 2020 for those properties which are empty for five years and over;

(iii)      increased to 300% premium from 1 April 2021 for those properties which are empty for 10 years and over. 

 

50.

Council Tax Base 2019/20 pdf icon PDF 114 KB

Cabinet, at its meeting on 18 December 2018, will consider a report on the council tax base for 2019/20.

 

The report of the head of finance, which Cabinet will consider on 18 December, is attached.

 

The recommendations of Cabinet will be circulated to all councillors on 19 December.

 

Minutes:

Council considered Cabinet’s recommendations, made at its meeting on 18 December 2018, on the council tax base for 2019/20.

 

RESOLVED:

 

1.    to approve the report of the head of finance to Cabinet on 18 December 2018 for the calculation of the council’s tax base and the calculation of the tax base for each parish area for 2019/20;  

 

2.    that, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by South Oxfordshire District Council as its council tax base for the year 2019/20 be 56,793.3; and

 

3.    that, in accordance with The Local Authorities (Calculation of Council Tax Base) (England) Regulations 2012, the amount calculated by South Oxfordshire District Council as the council tax base for the year 2019/20 for each parish be the amount shown against the name of that parish in Appendix 1 of the report of the head of finance to Cabinet on 18 December 2018. 

 

 

51.

Report of the leader of the council

Minutes:

Councillor Jane Murphy, Leader of the council, reported that Homes England is working with officers and leaders across Oxfordshire to support housing growth.    A Housing and Infrastructure Fund bid is expected in January 2019.

 

52.

Questions on notice

No questions were submitted in accordance with Council procedure rule 33.   

Minutes:

No questions were submitted by councillors under Council procedure rule 11.

 

53.

Motions on notice

No motions were submitted in accordance with Council procedure rule 38.

 

Minutes:

No motions were submitted by councillors under Council procedure rule 38.

 

 

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