Agenda item

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

(1)       Motion to be proposed by Councillor Newton, seconded by Councillor Murphy:

This Council acknowledges the need for renewable energy to be generated here in this district to help meet demand for power and accepts that solar power will be a part of this mix until other technologies come forward. 

However, this Council is concerned that some villages and valued landscapes in the district could be disproportionately affected by the cumulative impact of solar farms; and that valuable agricultural land is at risk of being taken out of production.

In this regard, this Council welcomes the emphasis in the draft National Planning Policy Framework to considering the availability of agricultural land for food production when deciding which sites are most appropriate for solar farm development.

This Council therefore resolves to ask officers to fully consider the cumulative impact of solar farm development during the planning process now; and urgently to progress work on policies relating to solar energy generation, to include:

·       Developing planning policies that balance the benefits of local power generation with the loss of productive agricultural land and valuable landscape;

·       Ensuring that the cumulative impacts of large solar arrays in open countryside and in the vicinity of settlements are fully assessed in the development management process;

·       Limiting excessive massing of solar farms in any area of the district; and

·       Encouraging the deployment of rooftop solar and exploring approaches for heritage assets.

(2)       Motion to be proposed by Councillor Khan, seconded by Councillor Wilson:

South Oxfordshire DistrictCouncil believe there is a clear need for:

·       a health centre and GP hub for Great Western Park in Didcot

·       a well-resourced Minor Injuries Unit or similar (which could be based at Didcot Community Hospital)

·       more NHS dental facilities for Didcot and the villages

·       increased resources to support mental health

Council resolves:

1., As a first step, to share its concerns with the following bodies by writing to and engaging with:

a)    Didcot Primary Care Network

b)    Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board

c)    Healthwatch Oxfordshire

d)    Oxfordshire Joint Health Oversight and Scrutiny Committee

e)    The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board

f)      The BOB Integrated Care Partnership

2.To call on all those responsible for health decisions that affect the wellbeing of SODC residents, to work together to ensure these needs are urgently addressed.  We look particularly to the newly established Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & West Berkshire Integrated Care Board for a response to these serious concerns.

(1)       Councillor Newton moved and Councillor Badcock seconded, in the absence of Councillor Murphy, the motion as set out on the agenda at agenda item 11 (1):

Whilst a number of members spoke in support of the motion, other members

expressed the view that the motion did not acknowledge the Climate

Emergency, the commitment to be Zero Carbon by 2050 or the need for

alternative sources of electricity. The view was also expressed that the council

already had policies in place that require that schemes should not cause a

significant adverse effect on the landscape and that such issues were

considered in the determination of planning applications.

In accordance with Council Procedure Rule 68, which provides for a recorded vote if three members request one, the chair called for a recorded vote on the motion which was declared carried with the voting as follows:

RESOLVED:

That this Council acknowledges the need for renewable energy to be generated here in this district to help meet demand for power and accepts that solar power will be a part of this mix until other technologies come forward. 

However, this Council is concerned that some villages and valued landscapes in the district could be disproportionately affected by the cumulative impact of solar farms; and that valuable agricultural land is at risk of being taken out of production.

In this regard, this Council welcomes the emphasis in the draft National Planning Policy Framework to considering the availability of agricultural land for food production when deciding which sites are most appropriate for solar farm development.

Council therefore asks officers to fully consider the cumulative impact of solar farm development during the planning process now; and urgently to progress work on policies relating to solar energy generation, to include:

• Developing planning policies that balance the benefits of local power generation with the loss of productive agricultural land and valuable landscape;
• Ensuring that the cumulative impacts of large solar arrays in open countryside and in the vicinity of settlements are fully assessed in the development management process;
• Limiting excessive massing of solar farms in any area of the district; and
• Encouraging the deployment of rooftop solar and exploring approaches for heritage assets.

(2)       Councillor Khan moved and Councillor Wilson seconded the motion as set out on the agenda at agenda item 11(2):

 Whilst supporting the motion to seek to address a need in Didcot resulting from the growth in population, a number of members highlighted the shortage of NHS facilities in other parts of the district. Whilst the council had no statutory role in the provision of healthcare services, it is positively engaging with the Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire and Berkshire West Integrated Care Board and Partnership in relation to the provision of the healthcare facilities across the district and is a participating member in many of the groups named in the motion.

On being put to the vote the motion was declared carried.

RESOLVED:

That South Oxfordshire District Council believe there is a clear need for:

·       a health centre and GP hub for Great Western Park in Didcot

·       a well-resourced Minor Injuries Unit or similar (which could be based at Didcot Community Hospital)

·       more NHS dental facilities for Didcot and the villages

·       increased resources to support mental health

Council resolves:

1. As a first step, to share its concerns with the following bodies by writing to and engaging with:

a)    Didcot Primary Care Network

b)    Oxfordshire Health and Wellbeing Board

c)    Healthwatch Oxfordshire

d)    Oxfordshire Joint Health Oversight and Scrutiny Committee

e)    The Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire, Berkshire West (BOB) Integrated Care Board

f)      The BOB Integrated Care Partnership

2.To call on all those responsible for health decisions that affect the wellbeing of South Oxfordshire District Council residents, to work together to ensure these needs are urgently addressed.  We look particularly to the newly established Buckinghamshire, Oxfordshire & West Berkshire Integrated Care Board for a response to these serious concerns.