Issue - meetings

Report of Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy

Purpose of report

To inform members of the consultation by Oxfordshire County Council on the Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 4; to advise on the potential implications for Cherwell and ask for the endorsement of officers comments as the Cherwell District Council formal response to the consultation.

Recommendations

The meeting is recommended:

 1.1        To note the content of LTP4 relevant to Cherwell and to endorse officers’ comments as the Council’s response to the consultation. The officer response recommends general support but highlights a number of issues which need to be resolved.

Resolved

(1)          That the content of LTP4 relevant to Cherwell be noted and the officers’ comments as the Council’s response to the consultation be endorsed. The officer response recommends general support but highlights a number of issues which need to be resolved.

The Head of Strategic Planning and the Economy submitted a report to inform members of the consultation by Oxfordshire County Council on the Oxfordshire Local Transport Plan 4; to advise on the potential implications for Cherwell and ask for the endorsement of officers comments as the Cherwell District Council formal response to the consultation.

Resolved

(1)          That the content of LTP4 relevant to Cherwell be noted and the officers’ comments as the Council’s response to the consultation be endorsed. The officer response recommends general support but highlights a number of issues which need to be resolved.

Reasons

The draft LTP4 is expected to be adopted by summer 2015. While officers note and support the County Council’s approach to prioritise and address areas of change in the County and the focus on managing sustainable modes of transport to manage transport demand, officers have a number of significant concerns that need to be addressed. In its current form draft LTP4 does not provide a comprehensive strategy which clearly sets out what the LTP4 is meant to comprise now and what it will cover in the future. It does not address transport implications required to inform Local Plan Part 2 (Development Management Policies, Non-Strategic allocations across the District including the rural areas) nor other land-use plans in the Local Development Scheme and emerging Neighbourhood Plans.

The LTP4 seems southern centric (apart from the Banbury Area Strategy), more could be done within LTP4 Volume 1 to reflect corridors and economic priorities in the northern part of Cherwell and connections outside the County boundaries.

The LTP4 approach to transport options does not clearly set out how the County Council intends to assess the specific options proposed and their social, economic and environmental impacts.

Without a clear program to finalise options and an implementation plan, it is unclear how the policy objectives for sustainable transport and specific transport initiatives will be delivered and how this is going to inform Cherwell’s local plan process.

Alternative options

Option 1: Not to comment on the LTP4 consultation. The adoption of a LTP4 in its current form would reduce its effectiveness as a material consideration to be used when deciding planning applications and would not inform key land use decisions as part of forthcoming Local Development Documents in Cherwell.

Option 2: Object to LTP4. There may be scope to work with the County Council to address the shortcomings of the LTP4.