Decision details

Purpose: to approve the agency agreement and charges with Oxfordshire County Council

Cabinet considered the report of the head of development and regeneration.  This set out a request from Oxfordshire County Council for the South Oxfordshire District Council to act as an agent of the county council to operate and manage the responsibilities of the lead local flood authority in South Oxfordshire district.  The functions of the Land Drainage Act that the county council was looking to discharge were:

·       local flood investigations

·       the determination of applications for consent to alter a watercourse

·       investigation of any nuisance caused by erecting or altering an obstruction or culvert in a watercourse

·       enforcement action to comply with county council policy for watercourse/ditch clearing enforcement

The Cabinet member reported that this work was already being carried out by this council; the proposal was to regularise this arrangement.  The work would be carried out within existing staff resources and would be fully funded by the county council. 

Cabinet was content with the proposal. 

RESOLVED to:

(a)       support the request from Oxfordshire County Council for South Oxfordshire to adopt powers under the Land Drainage Act, as set out in paragraph 8 of the head of development and corporate landlord’s report to Cabinet on 29 September 2022;

(b)       subject to Council approving the adoption of powers in (c) below, that Cabinet authorises the head of development and corporate landlord, in consultation with the head of legal and democratic, to negotiate and finalise the agreement with Oxfordshire County Council and enter into agreement to adopt the powers from Oxfordshire County Council; and

RECOMMENDED to Council to:

(c)        approve the adoption of powers under an agency agreement with Oxfordshire County Council.