Agenda and minutes

To elect a chair for this hearing.

A motion, moved and seconded, to elect Councillor Ian Snowdon as chair of the panel was carried on being put to the vote.

RESOLVED: that Councillor Ian Snowdon be elected as chair of the panel.

To welcome all parties to the hearing and receive any announcements and general housekeeping matters from the chair.

The chair welcomed everyone to the meeting, outlined the procedure to be followed and advised on emergency evacuation arrangements.

To record apologies for absence and the attendance of substitute members.

There were no apologies for absence.

To receive declarations of disclosable pecuniary interests, other registrable interests and non-registrable interests or any conflicts of interest in respect of items on the agenda for this meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

To adopt and sign as a correct record the Street Naming Panel minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2020.

RESOLVED: to approve the minutes of the meeting held on 4 December 2020 as correct records and agree that the Chair signs these as such.

To note the procedure for this meeting.

The chair confirmed that all parties present understood the procedure.

To consider the report by the Head of Corporate Services.

The chair outlined the application and then invited the street naming and numbering officer and the IT programmes manager to present their report.

Officer’s report

The IT programmes manager informed the panel that the proposal was to add White Lane into seven property addresses in Bix where a street name plate was already erected on the corner of the street, but that the street name had not been recognised by Royal Mail.

The IT programmes manager then emphasised to the panel that street name plates and prominent house numbers existed for residents’ safety, particularly to allow for the effective access for the emergency services. As the street naming authority, South Oxfordshire District Council were responsible for the first two lines of addresses and applying street name plates and that the Royal Mail were responsible for applying the remainder of the address. It was also noted that some rural settlements had no street name, but where a settlement had more than one unnamed street, the emergency services may find an exact property location difficult to find.

On the background to the hearing, the IT programmes manager clarified to members of the panel that the original consultation to include White Lane into the seven property addresses was conducted in 1998, in response to a request from Assendon Parish Council. The District Council conducted the appropriate consultation and the then Community Services Committee, on 18 March 1999, resolved to approve the addition. Although the street plate was installed, Royal Mail did not add the name to their postal addresses. However, by the time this was noticed it was too late to add the line without another consultation.

Therefore, when a request was made by a resident of one of the properties in White Lane to include the street name in the address, another consultation was carried out. This consultation ran from 12 January to 10 February 2023 and during that period two objections were received from the same household.

The IT programmes manager emphasised that it was crucial for the Royal Mail addresses and the street name address to be aligned and therefore, in order to ensure consistency, he confirmed that either the ‘White Lane’ street name be added according to the name plate or that the addresses remained the same and that the name plate be removed. Overall, as officers believed that the inclusion of the name, as previously agreed by the District Council, was appropriate and to the benefit of the residents, the IT programmes manager recommended that the panel uphold the previous decision and add White Lane into the seven property addresses.

Councillor Ian Snowdon then asked the officers if any of these addresses included businesses and the street naming and numbering officer confirmed there was one business registered and that if the recommendation was resolved, they would have to update their business details.

One of the objectors, Ted Walker, asked the officer why this process was occurring, and the IT programmes manager confirmed that it was to correct the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 7.