Agenda, decisions and minutes


Venue: Bodicote House, Bodicote, Banbury, OX15 4AA

Contact: Natasha Clark, Democratic and Elections  Email: natasha.clark@cherwellandsouthnorthants.gov.uk, 01295 221589

Media

Items
No. Item

15.

Declarations of Interest

Members are asked to declare any interest and the nature of that interest which they may have in any of the items under consideration at this meeting.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no declarations of interest.

16.

Communications pdf icon PDF 52 KB

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

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)            That the following amendment to the Planning Committee named substitutes for the Conservative Group be noted:

 

Remove: Councillor John Donaldson

Add: Councillor Richard Mould

Minutes:

Housekeeping

The Chairman welcomed the members of the public in attendance at our Council meeting and advised:

·         Members of the public were permitted to film, broadcast and report on the meeting, subject to the efficient running of the meeting not being affected.

·         Only those people who had registered to speak could do so and Members of the public were requested not to call out during Council’s discussions on any item.

·         There were no planned fire drills so if the alarm did sound, evacuation instructions given by officers should be followed. 

·         To all meeting attendees, to ensure mobile phones were switched off or on silent.

 

Former Councillors Wendy Humphries and Duncan Ainsworth

The Chairman referred to the recent sad passing of two former councillors.

 

Former Councillor Wendy Humphries passed away on 29 June at her home in Swansea, Wales. Wendy served as a district councillor in Cherwell from 1988 to 2000, representing the Banbury Ruscote ward. She was chairman of the council during the municipal years 1997 to 1998 and 1998 to 1999 and vice chairman during 1995 to 1996, 1996 to 1997, and 1999 to 2000.


Mrs Humphries was also a Banbury town and Oxfordshire county councillor and she served on a wide range of district council committees over the years. She was involved economic development; environmental services; planning and the redevelopment of Banbury town centre. She chaired the appeals committee in 1998 to 1999.


Wendy and her husband Tony Humphries, who was leader of Cherwell District Council from 1995 to 2000, were well known figures in Banbury and the wider district.

Former Councillor Duncan Ainsworth passed away on 28 June 2019. Duncan was the district councillor for the Banbury Easington ward from 1987 to 1995 during which time he served on numerous committees including Housing Services, Housing Management, Recreation and Amenities, Direct Services, Environmental and the Northern Area Planning Committee. He was Vice-Chairman of the Environmental Committee in 1991-1992 and Vice-Chairman of Northern Area Planning Committee from 1993-1994

 

Duncan was also a Banbury Town Councillor and served as Mayor of the Town Council in 1992/1993.

 

Council extended its condolences to the family and friends of former councillors Wendy Humphries and Duncan Ainsworth and observed a period of silence in their memory.

 

Chairman’s Engagements

A copy of the events attended by the Chairman or the Vice-Chairman had been included in your agenda pack.

 

Joint CDC / OCC Event

The Chairman referred to the emailed invitation from Councillor Corkin and Councillor Brighouse at OCC on behalf of the Partnership Working Group to a meeting of all Members of both Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council on Wednesday 4 September at County Hall. 

 

As well as meeting each other in an informal setting, the purpose of the meeting was to look at the work we have done on joint working so far and to consider future joint working proposals.

 

The Chairman reminded Members to respond to confirm if you are able to attend or not and to advise of any  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.

17.

Petitions and Requests to Address the Meeting pdf icon PDF 112 KB

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

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Chairman advised the meeting that there were no petitions but there were four requests to address the meeting on agenda 9, Motions. One request related to speaking on the motion on Climate Change and three requests related to speaking on the motion on the Local Plan. Each speaker would be able to speak for up to 5 minutes and would be called to address the meeting prior to the start of the respective motions.

 

 

 

18.

Urgent Business

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

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

There were no items of urgent business.

19.

Minutes of Council pdf icon PDF 124 KB

To confirm as a correct record the Minutes of Council held on 14 May 2019.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting held on 24 May 2019 were agreed as a correct record and signed by the Chairman.

20.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 1 MB

a)       Minutes of Executive, Lead Member 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 Lead Member Decisions as set out in the Minute Book (circulated separately) be received and to report that since the last meeting of Council at which this was reported held on 25 February 2019, 2 decisions have been taken which were not included in the 28 day notice relating to Castle Quay Tenant Update and the OVO Ladies Cycling Tour.

 

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.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

a)            Minutes of the Executive, Lead Member Decisions and Executive Decisions made under Special Urgency

 

Resolved

 

That the minutes of the meeting of the Executive and Lead Member decisions as set out in the Minute Book be received and that it be noted that since the last meeting of Council at which this was reported on 25 February 2019, two decisions had been taken that were not included in the 28 day notices relating to Castle Quay Tenant Update and the OVO Ladies Cycling Tour.

 

b)           Minutes of Committees

 

Resolved

 

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

 

 

21.

Questions pdf icon PDF 112 KB

a)       Written Questions

 

          To receive any written questions and answers which have been submitted with advance notice in accordance with the Constitution.

 

          At the time of agenda publication (12 July 2019), two written questions have been submitted.

 

A written reply to each the questions will be circulated at the meeting. The Member who has received the written reply will be able to ask a supplementary question providing it is relevant to the reply and does not introduce new information. The Member to whom the question was addressed may reply to such supplementary question or may undertake to reply in writing.

 

b)       Questions to the Leader of the Council

 

The Chairman 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 Chairmen on the Minutes

 

The Chairman to invite questions to Chairmen of Committees on any matter arising from the minutes of their committee (if any).

Additional documents:

Minutes:

a) Written Questions

 

The Chairman advised Council that two written questions had been submitted with advance notice in accordance with the Constitution.

 

The first question was from Councillor Cherry and addressed to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Wood, and was in relation to Parking Enforcement. A written answer had been tabled at the meeting (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book). Councillor Cherry thanked Councillor Wood for the extensive response and confirmed he did not have a supplementary question.

 

The second question was from Councillor Brown and addressed to the Leader of the Council, Councillor Wood, and was in relation to the Local Plan. A written answer had been tabled at the meeting (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book). As Councillor Brown had submitted apologies for the meeting, there was no supplementary question.

 

b) Questions to the Leader of the Council

 

Questions were asked and answers received on the following issues:

 

Councillor Richards: Progress on the setting up of a tenants and landlord forum

Councillor Billington: The bollard in Kidlington High Street

Councillor Hallchurch: Sainsburys in Kidlington pioneering package free shopping

Councillor

Councillor Woodcock: Fire in Mascord Road, Banbury

Councillor Dhesi: Replacement of bins in Castle Quay

 

c) Questions to Committee Chairmen on the Minutes

 

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

 

22.

Motions pdf icon PDF 498 KB

To debate the following motions which have been submitted with advance notice, in accordance with the constitution:

 

Climate Change

 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their October report stated that if the planet wants to avert dangerous climate breakdown, we need to cut emissions in half by 2030, and hit zero by the middle of the century.

 

Oxfordshire is already doing its bit: we are committed to reducing emissions from our own estate and activities by 3% a year. Unfortunately, our current plans are not enough. The IPCC’s report suggests that the world has just a dozen years left to restrict global warming to 1.5? above pre-industrial levels. Should they increase by 2?, humanity’s capacity to prevent catastrophic food shortages, floods, droughts, extreme heat and poverty will be severely impaired. Limiting Global Warming to 1.5? may still be possible, but only with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities. Furthermore, bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities.

 

Cherwell District Council calls on the Leader to:

 

1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

2. Pledge to make Cherwell District Council carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions;

3. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

4. Continue to work with partners across the Cherwell and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies;

5. Report to Council within six months with the actions the Council will take to address this emergency.

 

Proposer: Councillor Mark Cherry

Seconder: To be advised

 

 

Cherwell Local Plan

 

This council notes:

1.       That when he approved the Cherwell Local Plan 2011 – 2031, the planning inspector stated that a review of the plan should be carried out “once the specific level of help required by the city of Oxford to meet its needs that cannot reasonably be met within its present confines, is fully and accurately defined”

2.       That questions and comments raised recently by Jonathan Bore and Nick Fagan, the inspectors reviewing the Oxford Local Plan 2036, along with other recent studies, have cast doubt on the assumptions underlying Oxford’s housing need, suggesting that it has not been “fully and accurately defined” and may have been over-estimated and based on outdated data.

3.       That recent announcements from the University of Oxford as to their plans for development as part of the partial review raises concerns that removal of substantial amounts of the green belt will not in fact deal with unmet housing need in Oxford.

4.     That as a result of the above, the Cherwell Local Plan 2011 – 2031 (Part1) Partial Review – Oxford’s Unmet Housing Need could be premature, based on potentially inaccurate information, and could lead to outcomes which differ significantly from expectations.


This council therefore agrees:

 

1.       The ‘working assumption’ of Oxford’s housing need can no longer be relied on as an accurate figure and should be  ...  view the full agenda text for item 22.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)            That the following motion, as amended, be adopted:

 

Cherwell District Council calls on the Leader to:

 

1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

2. Pledge to make Cherwell District Council carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions;

3. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

4. Continue to work with partners across the Cherwell and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies;

5. Endorse the cross party position taken by LGA, in particular to call on HMG to explore supporting domestic implementation of Sustainable Development Goals through funded partnership roles within each local authority area;

6. Report to Council within six months with the actions the Council will take to address this emergency.

 

 

Minutes:

The Chairman advised that two motions had been submitted and would be debated in the order submitted. Members of the public who had registered to speak on either of the motions would be invited to address Council at the start of the relevant motion prior to the proposer of the motion presenting their motion to Council.

 

a) Climate Change

 

The Chairman invited Bicester Town Councillor, Robert Nixon, who had registered to speak on the motion, to address Council.

 

It was moved by Councillor Cherry and seconded by Councillor Dhesi that the following motion be adopted:

 

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in their October report stated that if the planet wants to avert dangerous climate breakdown, we need to cut emissions in half by 2030, and hit zero by the middle of the century.

 

Oxfordshire is already doing its bit: we are committed to reducing emissions from our own estate and activities by 3% a year. Unfortunately, our current plans are not enough. The IPCC’s report suggests that the world has just a dozen years left to restrict global warming to 1.5? above pre-industrial levels. Should they increase by 2?, humanity’s capacity to prevent catastrophic food shortages, floods, droughts, extreme heat and poverty will be severely impaired. Limiting Global Warming to 1.5? may still be possible, but only with ambitious action from national and sub-national authorities, civil society, the private sector, indigenous peoples and local communities. Furthermore, bold climate action can deliver economic benefits in terms of new jobs, economic savings and market opportunities.

 

Cherwell District Council calls on the Leader to:

 

1. Declare a ‘Climate Emergency’;

2. Pledge to make Cherwell District Council carbon neutral by 2030, taking into account both production and consumption emissions;

3. Call on Westminster to provide the powers and resources to make the 2030 target possible;

4. Continue to work with partners across the Cherwell and region to deliver this new goal through all relevant strategies;

5. Report to Council within six months with the actions the Council will take to address this emergency.”

 

The Chairman referred to the amendment submitted by Councillor McHugh which had been circulated prior to the meeting.

 

Councillor McHugh proposed the following amendment to the motion, which was duly seconded by Councillor Sames.

 

Add the following after point “4” as “5” and the current “5” will become “6”,

 

“endorse the cross party position taken by the LGA, in particular to call on HMG to explore supporting domestic implementation of Sustainable Development Goals through funded partnership roles within each local authority area.” 

 

Councillor Cherry confirmed that he was happy to accept the amendment to the motion. The Chairman advised that being the case, as proposed and seconded at the very start of the debate and the proposer of the motion having accepted it, the amendment was taken as a friendly amendment and would not be debated but included with the submitted motion for Council to debate.

 

The motion as amended was debated and on being put to  ...  view the full minutes text for item 22.

23.

Cherwell District Council / Oxfordshire County Council Signage Agency Agreement pdf icon PDF 80 KB

Report of Assistant Director: Environmental Services

 

Purpose of report

 

To agree to enter into agency agreements with Oxfordshire County Council regarding unauthorised signs, sponsorship of roundabouts and maintenance of the roundabouts outside Bicester Village.

 

Recommendations

            

The Council is recommended:

 

1.1           To note the progress on partnership working with Oxfordshire County Council;

 

1.2           To approve entering into Section 101 agreements with Oxfordshire County Council for the purpose of transferring to the district council the following responsibilities:

 

                           i.          Removal of unauthorised signs

                         ii.          the landscape maintenance of roundabouts outside Bicester Village and

                        iii.          the sponsorship of roundabouts

 

1.3           To delegate negotiation and final agreement of the Section 101 agreements to the Assistant Director: Environmental Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Clean and Green, the Director: Law and Governance and the Executive Director: Finance.

 

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)            That the progress on partnership working with Oxfordshire County Council be noted.

 

(2)            That the entering into Section 101 agreements with Oxfordshire County Council for the purpose of transferring to the district council the following responsibilities be approved:

 

                           i.          Removal of unauthorised signs

                         ii.          the landscape maintenance of roundabouts outside Bicester Village and

                        iii.          the sponsorship of roundabouts

 

(3)            That negotiation and final agreement of the Section 101 agreements be delegated to the Assistant Director: Environmental Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Clean and Green, the Director: Law and Governance and the Executive Director: Finance.

 

Minutes:

The Assistant Director: Environmental Services submitted a report to agree to enter into agency agreements with Oxfordshire County Council regarding unauthorised signs, sponsorship of roundabouts and maintenance of the roundabouts outside Bicester Village.

 

Resolved

 

(1)          That the progress on partnership working with Oxfordshire County Council be noted.

 

(2)          That the entering into Section 101 agreements with Oxfordshire County Council for the purpose of transferring to the district council the following responsibilities be approved:

 

                     i.        Removal of unauthorised signs

                    ii.        the landscape maintenance of roundabouts outside Bicester Village and

                   iii.        the sponsorship of roundabouts

 

(3)          That negotiation and final agreement of the Section 101 agreements be delegated to the Assistant Director: Environmental Services in consultation with the Lead Member for Clean and Green, the Director: Law and Governance and the Executive Director: Finance.

 

24.

Police and Crime Panel Annual Report pdf icon PDF 75 KB

Report of Chief Operating Officer (Deputy Chief Executive)

 

Purpose of report

 

This report presents to members the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel Annual Report for 2018/2019 and provides members with background to the role of the Police and Crime Panel.

 

Recommendations

            

The meeting is recommended:

 

 1.1          To note the Annual Report of the Police and Crime Panel and the manner in which this panel provides oversight and scrutiny of Thames Valley Police by holding the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to account.

 

1.2     To appoint a named substitute member to the Police and Crime Panel.

 

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)          That the Annual Report of the Police and Crime Panel and the manner in which this panel provides oversight and scrutiny of Thames Valley Police by holding the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to account be noted.

 

(2)          That Councillor Tony Ilott be appointed as Cherwell District Council’s named substitute member to the Police and Crime Panel.

 

Minutes:

The Chief Operating Officer (Deputy Chief Executive) submitted a report which presented the Thames Valley Police and Crime Panel Annual Report for 2018/2019 and provided members with background to the role of the Police and Crime Panel.

 

In introducing the report, the Lead member for Health and Wellbeing, Councillor McHugh, advised Council that at the June meeting of the Panel it was agreed that the membership rules of the Panel be changed to enable all authorities to appoint a named substitute member. It was proposed by Councillor McHugh and seconded by Councillor Wood that Councillor Ilott be appointed the substitute for Cherwell District Council.

 

Resolved

 

(1)          That the Annual Report of the Police and Crime Panel and the manner in which this panel provides oversight and scrutiny of Thames Valley Police by holding the office of the Police and Crime Commissioner to account be noted.

 

(2)          That Councillor Tony Ilott be appointed as Cherwell District Council’s named substitute member to the Police and Crime Panel.

 

25.

Revised Scheme of Officer Delegations pdf icon PDF 64 KB

Report of Director of Law & Governance

 

Purpose of report

 

To enable the Council to adopt a revised scheme of officer delegations that reflects the recent revision to various Senior Officer responsibilities.

 

Recommendations

 

The meeting is recommended:

 

1.1           To adopt the revised scheme of officer delegations at Appendix 1 with immediate effect.

 

1.2     To delegate authority to the Director of Law & Governance, in consultation with the Chief Executive, to make any amendments that are consequential on the current allocation of service responsibilities being revised, new service responsibilities being introduced or post titles changing.

Additional documents:

Decision:

Resolved

 

(1)            That the revised scheme of officer delegations (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be adopted with immediate effect.

 

(2)            That authority be delegated to the Director of Law & Governance, in consultation with the Chief Executive, to make any amendments that are consequential on the current allocation of service responsibilities being revised, new service responsibilities being introduced or post titles changing.

 

Minutes:

The Director of Law & Governance submitted a report to enable the Council to adopt a revised scheme of officer delegations that reflects the recent revision to various Senior Officer responsibilities.

 

Resolved

 

(1)          That the revised scheme of officer delegations (annex to the Minutes as set out in the Minute Book) be adopted with immediate effect.

 

(2)          That authority be delegated to the Director of Law & Governance, in consultation with the Chief Executive, to make any amendments that are consequential on the current allocation of service responsibilities being revised, new service responsibilities being introduced or post titles changing.