Agenda item

At its meeting on 10 July 2019, Cabinet will consider a report on the South Oxfordshire Emerging Local Plan. 

The report of the head of planning was circulated to all councillors and is available on the council’s website.

Cabinet’s recommendations will be circulated to all councillors.

Scrutiny Committee, at its meeting held on 3 July 2019, agreed to recommend to Council that time is set aside at its meeting on 18 July for a confidential session to consider the legal advice on the Emerging Local Plan 2034 and the legal advice be included in the agenda pack. This will be circulated separately to all councillors.

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

Nineteen members of the public addressed Council on the emerging South Oxfordshire Local Plan:

1.    Michael Tyce addressed Council on behalf of the Campaign to Protect Rural England. He welcomed Cabinet’s recommendation and urged Council to scrap the previous council administration’s local plan and to adopt option 4, to withdraw the emerging Local Plan from examination and restart the plan making process. The emerging plan included provision for more houses than required to meet the requirements of the Growth Deal. A future plan should provide for less density and identify more suitable sites for housing. 

2.    Ann Pritchard addressed Council on behalf of Chalgrove Parish Council. She urged Council to support option 3 which would allow the removal of the Chalgrove Airfield housing allocation from the Local Plan. 

3.    Caroline Baird addressed Council on behalf of Save Culham Green Belt. She urged Council to support option 4 to re-write the Local Plan and remove the Culham housing allocation which was unsustainable. 

4.    Caroline Livingstone addressed Council on behalf of the UK Atomic Energy Authority. She stated that the Culham site was and will continue to grow and stressed the importance of retaining the Housing Infrastructure Funding to provide the necessary infrastructure. 

5.    Steven Sensecall addressed Council on behalf of CEG, which promoted land at Culham.  He urged Council to progress the Local Plan through option 1 and to retain the Housing Infrastructure Funding. 

6.    Vicky Fowler addressed Council on behalf of Martin-Baker. She reminded councillors that the proposed housing allocation site at Chalgrove Airfield was not available for redevelopment due to the current tenant having a long-term lease of the site.  She reiterated that the site was required for operational reasons and its designation as a housing site was not compatible with this use. Proceeding on the basis that the land would become available would jeopardise the viability of the plan.

7.    Neville Harris, a Didcot Town and Oxfordshire County Councillor, addressed Council. He stated that the Local Plan should prioritise combating climate change and encouraged Council to undertake a radical rethink including the option of an eco town.

8.    Eugenie Buchan addressed Council. She welcomed changes to the Local Plan and urged Council to withdraw it rather than seek to change it.

9.    James Plunket addressed Council on behalf of Elsfield Parish Meeting. He urged Council to review the plan. The emerging local plan would damage the Green Belt, reduce air quality, increase flooding and damage biodiversity. The plan was not sustainable.

10. Paul Boone addressed Council on behalf of Chalgrove Airfield Action Group, expressing concern at Chalgrove Airfield remaining in the Local Plan as a housing site as it would put the plan at risk. 

11. David Jackson addressed Council on behalf of Oxford Science Village Partners. He encouraged Council to support the emerging local plan to provide much needed affordable housing and the infrastructure required to support the housing.

12. Richard Harding addressed Council. He referenced the Council’s adoption of a climate emergency and stated that the emerging Local Plan would encourage more roads, more cars and more commuter journeys. He encouraged Council to withdraw the plan and reformulate a more sustainable plan.

13. Alison Knight addressed Council on behalf of Alison Knight Consulting. She stated that many residents supported the need for growth and housing. There is a need for more affordable and social housing. The plan would secure much needed infrastructure.

14. Gill Bindoff addressed Council as a resident of Watlington. She urged Council not to jeopardise the delivery of the Watlington by pass which is required to address congestion in the town and reduce air pollution issues.

15. Angela Dickinson addressed Council as a Barton resident. She urged Council to reconsider the content of the plan in light of the climate emergency. The building of houses in the countryside would have a negative impact on the environment, reduce the availability of arable land increase the likelihood of flooding and reduce the buffer between Oxford and surrounding villages.

16. Anne-Marie Sweeney, a resident of Sandhills, addressed Council. She urged Council to reject the plan to protect the AONB.

17. Jaqi Mason addressed Council on behalf of Burcot and Clifton Hampden Parish Council. She stated that the proposed level of housing growth was unacceptable. The promised infrastructure would only address the existing problems but would be insufficient for the planned housing numbers. 

18. Nicola Mallows addressed Council on behalf of Gresswell Environment Trust. She stated that Oxford City was shifting its housing problem onto neighbouring authorities and that the proposals in the plan were not in the interests of local residents. The council should abandon the plan and use the existing adopted version.

19. Philip Owen addressed Council on behalf of Culham Parish Council. He stated that the housing numbers in the Local Plan were excessive. The promised infrastructure would increase traffic and increase traffic congestion. More could be achieved via smaller infrastructure projects

The chairman thanked all of the public speakers for their contributions. 

Councillor Rawlins, Cabinet member for planning, addressed Council and thanked the members of the public and business community who had made representations to the meeting.  He reported that following the local elections in May 2019 and the subsequent change in leadership, the new council administration had requested some time to look at key policies and projects under development; the Local Plan 2034 was one of these.  To assist councillors, officers had prepared a report to Cabinet outlining the advantages and the risks of four different options to take forward the Local Plan were:

·         Option 1 suggested that the emerging Local Plan 2034 continued its progress through the Examination process.  No changes would be recommended by the council.  Any modifications made during the examination would be at the discretion of the Inspectors. 

·         Option 2 allowed the emerging Local Plan to continue through its examination, but the council might be able to recommend a series of main modifications to the plan.  These changes would be at the discretion of the Inspectors.  The plan could not be changed unless the Inspector found that part of the plan was unsound.  There were no early conclusions from the Inspector about the soundness of aspects of the submitted Local Plan or if modifications were needed. 

·         Option 3 provided the opportunity to withdraw the Local Plan from examination.  The council could make changes to the plan, then conduct a further Regulation 19 consultation.  The extent of changes would need to fall within the remit of Regulation 19 consultation, i.e. not introduce new subject areas for the plan to cover.  The council could then submit a revised plan for examination. 

·         Option 4 provided an opportunity to withdraw the Local Plan from examination and to restart the plan making process from scratch.  This would allow the council to prepare a significantly different plan, subject to compliance with the law, national policies and guidance.  The council would need to undertake at least two consultations (Regulations 18 and 19) before submitting the new plan for examination. 

He thanked the Scrutiny Committee for its input, and for its recommendation to Cabinet to progress with option 3.

He reported that, at its meeting on 10 July 2019, Cabinet had expressed concerns regarding a number of aspects of the emerging local plan including the environmental impact of the plan, the uncertainty regarding Oxford City’s unmet housing need numbers, the oversupply of housing in the emerging plan and housing density. Cabinet considered that the council needed the opportunity to explore these concerns, whilst protecting the Housing Infrastructure Funding. 

Accordingly, he moved the following slightly altered motion with the consent of Council (changes from the resolution of Cabinet shown with new words in bold and deleted words by a strikethrough):

1.    express its determination to maintain its housing land supply and avoid speculative housing development;

2.    express its continued support for the Housing and Infrastructure Fund (HIF) funding and the proposed infrastructure projects that will could be delivered by it;

3.    ask officers to explore with Oxfordshire County Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes England options for protecting the HIF funding whilst enabling the council to address concerns about the current emerging Local Plan 2034 including (but not limited to) climate change issues and Oxford City’s unmet housing need, and to report back to Cabinet and Council;

4.    recognising that the Climate Change Emergency is all too real and is recognised to be of key and statutory importance under the Climate Change Act 2008 and the associated objective of “zero carbon by 2050”, express its wish to do all that it can to respond through the Local Plan process; and

5.    agree that as soon as practicable, alongside satisfactory progress being made on resolving issues in the emerging Local Plan, work on a subsequent Local Plan shall commence, strengthening climate change considerations.

A number of councillors expressed the view that the current emerging Local Plan would have a detrimental impact on the environment and Green Belt and was at odds with the climate change emergency motion declared by Council. The plan provided for an oversupply of housing against the housing requirement figure.  If housing need was adjusted, the sites contributing towards the supply needed to be reviewed to meet the overall requirement.    The council required clarification of Oxford City’s unmet housing need, which was not yet determined.  The plan currently provided a housing figure for Oxford City which was not based on the standard methodology.  It was reasonable that the new administration should review the local plan in light of its priorities and manifesto commitments. The Housing Infrastructure Funding (HIF) and Growth Deal required a higher number of houses which would increase pressure on infrastructure and resources and impact on the environment and amenity of residents. More time was needed to explore options to protect the essential HIF, whilst enabling the council to address concerns about the current emerging Local Plan 2034, including climate change issues and Oxford City’s unmet housing need.   

However, a number of councillors expressed concern that any delay to the local plan process could jeopardise the HIF and therefore funding for much needed infrastructure in the district to reduce congestion improve transport links, including road, rail and cycleways, and support economic growth. Any delay could increase the likelihood of speculative development and this could result in further unplanned housing in Didcot and surrounding areas which had already accommodated substantial housing growth.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 67, which provides for a recorded vote if three members request one, the Chairman called for a recorded vote on the motion which was declared carried with the voting as follows:

RESOLVED to:

1.    express its determination to maintain its housing land supply and avoid speculative housing development; 

2.    express its continued support for the Housing and Infrastructure Fund (HIF) funding and infrastructure projects that could be delivered by it; 

3.    ask officers to explore with Oxfordshire County Council, the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government and Homes England options for protecting the HIF funding whilst enabling the council to address concerns about the current emerging Local Plan 2034 including (but not limited to) climate change issues and Oxford City’s unmet housing need, and to report back to Cabinet and Council; 

4.    recognising that the Climate Change Emergency is all too real and is recognised to be of key and statutory importance under the Climate Change Act 2008 and the associated objective of “zero carbon by 2050”, express its wish to do all that it can to respond through the Local Plan process; and 

5.    agree that as soon as practicable, alongside satisfactory progress being made on resolving issues in the emerging Local Plan, work on a subsequent Local Plan shall commence, strengthening climate change considerations. 

The chairman adjourned the meeting at 9.55pm and reconvened it at 10.00pm.