Agenda item

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 into account the impact very high values have on the current definition of affordable housing and urges him to consider a national debate on affordability and the implementation of a regional based definition of “affordable housing” to be introduced to set a maximum price model for affordable housing.

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 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 request the county council to delegate civil parking enforcement, as neighbouring councils have done.

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

Council requests 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.

B.        Motion to be proposed by Councillor Sue Cooper, seconded by Councillor David Turner:

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

Whilst some councillors referred to the lack of electric vehicle ownership in the country and lack of knowledge regarding the likely growth in ownership, the majority of councillors supported the motion. A move to electric vehicles will help address air quality issues. Offering charging points at home, whilst acknowledging that provision would be difficult for those with remote or off-street parking spaces or flat owners, would provide a convenient alternative to public charging points and provide an incentive to electric vehicle ownership. 

On the advice of the head of legal and democratic, and with the consent of the mover and seconder of the motion and Council, additional words were added to the motion to provide for officers to bring forward any necessary planning policies to achieve the terms of the motion.   

RESOLVED:

That Council agrees the principle that all new housing planning permissions with car parking spaces in South Oxfordshire should include the provision of an electric vehicle charging point and asks officers to bring forward any necessary planning policies to achieve this.

C.   Motion proposed by Councillor Felix Bloomfield, seconded by Councillor Bill Service:

“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”.

Some councillors questioned the need for an Oxford to Cambridge Expressway. The road is designed to support economic growth but was this required in the area? Consideration should be given to the economic growth of the more deprived areas of the country.  The road would have few interchanges and would therefore not be of use to existing residents or alleviate the existing traffic problems. Priority should be given to the construction of the long awaited East-West rail link. 

However, the majority of councillors supported the motion and the need for an Oxford-Cambridge expressway to improve the capacity and reliability of existing routes and support economic growth. The route to the north and west would align with the existing busy roads around Oxford, alleviate congestion on these roads, serve the growth areas and mirror the East-West rail link. Councillors expressed concern regarding the environmental impact of alternative routes which would have a detrimental impact on rural communities, the Green Belt and the Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty and their setting.

RESOLVED:

That 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 (as shown on the map attached to the agenda for the Council meeting on 19 July 2018).

That 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.

D.   Motion to be proposed by Councillor Felix Bloomfield, seconded by Councillor Lynn lloyd:

“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”.

In supporting the motion councillors expressed views that designation as a national park would offer greater protection for the districts Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty against development and expansion from neighbouring areas as well as serving to conserve and enhance the natural environment.  

RESOLVED:

That 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 proposed by Councillor Felix Bloomfield, seconded by Councillor Toby Newman:

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 into account the impact very high values have on the current definition of affordable housing and urges him to consider a national debate on affordability and the implementation of a regional based definition of “affordable housing” to be introduced to set a maximum price model for affordable housing.

Councillors supported the motion. Councillors noted that affordable rents and affordable home ownership is linked to local market house prices which are well above the national average. To meet the statutory definition of affordable can be far more expensive than many other parts of the country relative to local income, impacting on the ability to recruit key workers, allow people to get on the property ladder or find suitable accommodation.

RESOLVED:

That 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 into account the impact very high values have on the current definition of affordable housing and urges him to consider a national debate on affordability and the implementation of a regional based definition of “affordable housing” to be introduced to set a maximum price model for affordable housing.