Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

There were no declarations of interest.

To receive communications from the Chair and/or the Leader of the Council.

Councillor Eddie Reeves

At the Chair’s discretion, on behalf of Council, Councillor Kieron Mallon congratulated Councillor Reeves and his wife on the recent birth of their daughter.

Former Councillor Gordon Ross

On behalf of Council, the Chair paid tribute to former Councillor Gordon Ross who had passed away last month. Former Councillor Ross was a Labour Group member, who had represented the Banbury Ruscote ward from 2012 to 2014. Former Councillor Ross also represented the Banbury Ruscote ward on Banbury Town Council and served as Town Mayor in 2016/17.

Prior to becoming a Councillor, former Councillor Ross had worked for Banbury Borough Council and Bicester Urban District Council. He joined Cherwell District Council in 1968, remaining until he retired as Assistant Chief Environmental Health Officer in 1992. 

Councillor Cherry and Councillor Mallon paid tribute to former Councillor Ross.

On behalf of Council, the Chairman extended condolences to former

Councillor Ross’ family.

Former Councillor Anthony Kempton

On behalf of Council, the Chair paid tribute to former Councillor Tony Kempton who had recently passed away. Former Councillor Kempton was a member of the Conservative Group who represented the Bicester East ward during the 2002-2003 municipal year. He served on North and South Area Planning Committees and Environment Select Committee.

Councillor Wood and Councillor Cotter paid tribute to former Councillor Kempton.

On behalf of Council, the Chairman extended condolences to former Councillor Kempton’s family.

Council observed a minutes’ silence.

Members’ Allowances Survey

The Chair referred to the annual survey on Members’ allowances. A paper copy had been given to all Members and a link to complete the survey online would be emailed.

All Members were encouraged to complete the survey as the feedback was valued by the Independent Remuneration Panel when considering its recommendations on Members’ Allowances. The Panel’s recommendations for the 2026/27 Scheme would be submitted to the Budget Council in February 2026.

Chair’s Engagements

A copy of the events attended by the Chair or the Vice-Chair was published with the agenda.

The Chair highlighted the CEO Sleepout she had participated in with Councillors McLean and Brant on 9 October in Oxford. The event’s aim was to raise awareness of the homelessness crisis across Oxfordshire, as well as funds for local homeless charities and projects. The page for donations was still currently open for anyone wishing to donate and she would share the link.

The Chair advised that her Charity lunch would take place on Sunday 30 November at Exeter Hall, Kidlington. Further details would be circulated in sure course.  

Meeting Etiquette

The Chair reminded Members that all requests to address the meeting should be through the Chair. Members should remain in their seat during items and, if needed, she would adjourn the meeting to allow for a comfort break at a suitable point.

Special Council

The Chair reminded Members that that a single item Special Council is being held on Monday 10 November. The next scheduled Council meeting was on Monday 15 December.

Members’ Pigeon Holes

Members were reminded to check  ...  view the full minutes text for item 34.

The Chair to report on any requests to submit petitions or to address the meeting.

Addresses may be presented by:

·       A Local Government elector for the area,

·       A person who is wholly or mainly resident in the area,

·       A Council Taxpayer or National Non-Domestic Ratepayer for the area

Addresses must be on an item on the Agenda before the meeting and not exceed 5 minutes. No person may address more than one meeting on any particular issue.

Requests to address the meeting (including the agenda item and reason for the address) should be submitted to democracy@cherwell-dc.gov.uk  The deadline for requests to address this meeting is noon on Friday 17 October.  

The deadline to present a petition to this meeting has passed.

Full details of public participation at meetings is available in the Constitution.

The Chair to advise whether they have agreed to any item of urgent business being admitted to the agenda.

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of Council held on 21 July 2025.

The minutes of the meeting held on 21 July 2025 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chair.

a)       Minutes of Executive, Portfolio Holder Decisions and Executive Decisions not included in the 28-day notice

The Leader of the Council to formally propose that the minutes of the meetings of the Executive and Portfolio Holder Decisions as set out in the Minute Book (circulated separately) be received and to report that since the last meeting of Council held on 21 July 2025 no key or exempt decisions have been taken by the Executive which were not included in the 28 day notice.

b)       Minutes of Committees

The Leader of the Council to formally propose that the minutes of committees as set out in the Minute Book (circulated separately) be received.

a)              Minutes of the Executive, Portfolio Holder Decisions and Executive Decisions made under Special Urgency

Resolved

That the minutes of the meeting of the Executive and Portfolio Holder decisions as set out in the Minute Book be received and that it be noted that since the last meeting of Council on 21 July 2025 no decisions have been taken by the Executive which were not included in the 28 day notice.

b)              Minutes of Committees

Resolved

That the minutes of Committees as set out in the Minute Book be received.

a)       Written Questions

          No written questions have been submitted. In

No written questions have been submitted with advance notice in accordance with the Constitution. The deadline for written questions has now passed.

b)       Questions to the Leader of the Council

The Chair to invite questions to the Leader of the Council (including any matters arising from the minutes).

Following a response to their question being provided Members will be entitled to a follow up or supplementary question.

c)       Questions to Committee Chairs on the Minutes

The Chair to invite questions to Chairs of Committees on any matter arising from the minutes of their Committee (if any).

a) Written Questions

There were no written questions.

b) Questions to the Leader of the Council

Questions were asked and answers received on the following issues:

Councillor Vaitkus: Rodent infestation levels in the Cherwell district

Councillor Rogers: Local Government Reform

Councillor Okeke: Community safety

Councillor Rogers: Cherwell Local Plan

Councillor Sibley: Christmas free parking in CDC operated car parks

Councillor Mallon: Banbury Borough Council Minute Books

c) Questions to Committee Chairs on the Minutes

There were no questions to Committee Chairs on the minutes of meetings.

Report of Monitoring Officer

Purpose of report

To note the amendments to the constitution of political groups and amendments to the proportionality calculations and committee membership arising from a change to political Group membership.

Recommendations

Council resolves:

1.1           To note the amended constitution of Political Groups (paragraphs 3.2 and 4.2).

1.2           To note the amended allocation of seats on committees that are subject to the political balance requirements as set out in Table 1.

1.3           To note the amended allocation of seats on committees that are not subject to the political balance requirements as set out in Table 2.

1.4           To note the amendments to committee membership, as advised by the respective Leaders of the Cherwell Conservative and Independent Alliance and Labour Group (paragraphs 4.7, 4.8 and 4.9).

Resolved

(1)          That the amended constitution of Political Groups (paragraphs 3.2 and 4.2 of the report) be noted.

(2)          That the amended allocation of seats on committees that are subject to the political balance requirements (Table 1 of the report) be noted.

(3)          That the amended allocation of seats on committees that are not subject to the political balance requirements (Table 2 of the report) be noted.

(4)          That the following Cherwell Conservative and Independent Alliance committee membership amendments be noted:

·         Budget Planning Committee

o   Remove Councillor David Rogers

o   Add Councillor Zoe McLernon

·         General Licensing Committee

o   Add Councillor Douglas Webb 

·         Licensing Acts Committee

o   Add Councillor Douglas Webb

·         Overview and Scrutiny Committee

o   Remove Councillor Zoe McLernon

o   Add Councillor David Rogers

·         Planning Committee

o   Add Councillor David Rogers as a full committee member (currently a named substitute, therefore creating a named substitute vacancy)

o   Add Councillor Dr Chukwudi Okeke as named substitute (vacancy arisen as per above)

(5)          That the following Labour Group committee membership amendments be noted:

·         Appeals Panel

o   Add Councillor Mark Cherry

·         General Licensing Committee

o   Remove Councillor Andrew Crichton

·         Licensing Acts Committee

o   Remove Councillor Andrew Crichton 

·         Overview & Scrutiny Committee

o   Add Councillor Dom Vaitkus

·         Planning Committee

o   Remove Councillor Rebecca Biegel as full committee member

o   Add Councillor Rebecca Biegel as a named substitute

The Monitoring Officer submitted a report for Council to note the amendments to the constitution of political groups and amendments to the proportionality calculations and committee membership arising from a change to political Group membership.

Resolved

(1)            That the amended constitution of Political Groups be noted.

·       Liberal Democrat (17 Members, all Liberal Democrat party members)

o   Group Leader: Councillor David Hingley

o   Deputy Group Leader: Councillor Lesley McLean

·       Cherwell Conservative and Independent Alliance (13 Members, all Conservative Group members and 1 Independent Member, Councillor Ford) 

o   Group Leader: Councillor Eddie Reeves

o   Deputy Group Leader: Councillor David Rogers

·       Labour (11 Members, all Labour and Labour & Co-operative party members)  

o   Group Leader: Councillor Amanda Watkins

o   Deputy Group Leader: Councillor Andrew Crichton

·       Green and Independent Alliance (5 Members, comprising 4 Green members and 1 Independent Member, Councillor Broad)  

o   Group Leader: Councillor Ian Middleton

o   Deputy Group Leader: Councillor Tom Beckett

·       Independent (2 Members, comprising 2 Independent Members)

o   Group Leader: Councillor Les Sibley

(2)            That the amended allocation of seats on committees that are subject to the political balance requirements (Table 1 of the report) be noted.

(3)            That the amended allocation of seats on committees that are not subject to the political balance requirements be noted.

(4)            That the following Cherwell Conservative and Independent Alliance committee membership amendments be noted:

·       Budget Planning Committee

o   Remove Councillor David Rogers

o   Add Councillor Zoe McLernon

·       General Licensing Committee

o   Add Councillor Douglas Webb 

·       Licensing Acts Committee

o   Add Councillor Douglas Webb

·       Overview and Scrutiny Committee

o   Remove Councillor Zoe McLernon

o   Add Councillor David Rogers

·       Planning Committee

o   Add Councillor David Rogers as a full committee member (currently a named substitute, therefore creating a named substitute vacancy)

o   Add Councillor Dr Chukwudi Okeke as named substitute (vacancy arisen as per above)

(5)            That the following Labour Group committee membership amendments be noted:

·       Appeals Panel

o   Add Councillor Mark Cherry

·       General Licensing Committee

o   Remove Councillor Andrew Crichton

·       Licensing Acts Committee

o   Remove Councillor Andrew Crichton 

·       Overview & Scrutiny Committee

o   Add Councillor Dom Vaitkus

·       Planning Committee

o   Remove Councillor Rebecca Biegel as full committee member

o   Add  ...  view the full minutes text for item 40.

To receive the following motions which have been submitted with advance notice, in accordance with the Constitution (to be considered in the order submitted). Please note that the deadline to submit motions has passed.

In accordance with Procedure Rule 4.18, as the detail of both submitted motions fall within the remit of Executive, there will be no Council debate on the motions. 

The proposer of the motion will propose the motion, the seconder will confirm, the Leader of the Council response and the motions will stand referred to Executive for consideration.

The Chair advised that two motions had been submitted. In accordance with Procedure Rule 4.18, as the detail of both submitted motions fell within the remit of Executive, there would be no Council debate on the motions. The proposer of the motion would propose the motion and address Council, the seconder would confirm their seconding, and the Leader, Councillor Hingley, would respond to the motion. The motions would then be referred to Executive for consideration.

Motion One: Supporting young women’s community action for safe public spaces

Councillor Dr Thornhill proposed and presented the following motion, which was duly seconded by Councillor Brasha. Councillor Hingley, Leader of the Council, responded to the motion.

“Young women in Cherwell District have reported long-standing concerns related to their right to be free and safe in public spaces, especially after dark. In 2025, local women have started organising, both formally and informally, to put a stop to gender-targeted harassment and assaults. Some emerging initiatives include: young women who work at night clubs organising to make their industry better at preventing harassment and assault, young women setting up peer support networks in the community, and women seeking the creation of dedicated spaces in town centres for peer support for young women and LGBTQ+ residents and visitors.

Community action from young women leaders is commendable. It benefits all of society, and it deserves strong support from Councils.

Cherwell District Council recognises that our goal to promote a thriving night-time economy must be inclusive of young women’s safety and freedom in these spaces. We will ensure young women leaders are consistently engaged as stakeholders in implementing this aspect of the 2042 Local Plan.

Cherwell District Council pledges to encourage local businesses and other private sector stakeholders to support and sponsor young women’s community initiatives for safety.

Cherwell District Council will identify low cost out-of-use sites that are suitable for proposals from women-led initiatives for the community benefit, and ensure these sites are financially accessible for community-based initiatives.”  

Motion Two: Planning support for Town and Parish Councils

Councillor Rogers proposed and presented the following motion, which was duly seconded by Councillor McLernon. Councillor Hingley, Leader of the Council, responded to the motion.

“Council notes with concern the significant development pressures arising from recent announcements, including: the proposed new town at Heyford Park, the Puy du Fou theme park, large-scale warehousing at Baynard’s Green, and the rail freight interchange.

Council recognises that these proposals will have far-reaching impacts on local communities, infrastructure, and the environment, and that Town and parish councils play a vital role in representing residents’ views.

However, these councils often lack the specialist planning expertise and resources required to respond effectively to complex applications of this scale.

Council therefore resolves:

1.     To provide accessible planning-related advice and support to councils within the affected areas, ensuring they are equipped to understand, scrutinise, and respond to major development proposals.

2.     To establish a dedicated point of contact within the Planning Department for councils seeking guidance on strategic developments.

3.  ...  view the full minutes text for item 41.