See pages 195 to 196 of the agenda.

Mr Gibson, who submitted the petition, will address Council. There is a time limit of five minutes for this address.

The Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report which advises on the procedure that Council needs to follow under the Council’s Petitions Scheme in respect of large petitions, and to provide information specifically on the petition entitled “Oxford City Council MUST deliver value for the community”.

Council is recommended to follow the procedure for large petitions by hearing the head petitioner, then debating the petition and deciding how to advise the Executive.

Nigel Gibson had submitted a petition to Council titled ‘Oxford City Council must deliver value for the community’ via the Scrutiny Committee meeting on 2^nd September 2014. 

The petition stated “We the undersigned express our support for the Save TCP cic plans for the Temple Cowley Pools and Fitness Centre and ask Oxford City Council to accept this bid as offering best value for the community and so keep health, fitness community facilities on this site”

Council had before it the report of the Head of Law and Governance setting out the subject of the petition and the procedure.

Nigel Gibson addressed Council, setting out the need for leisure facilities and a pool in Cowley and that the community bid to be submitted would provide improved community facilities. He asked for Council’s support for the bid to allow the project to be delivered.

Councillor Rowley moved and Councillor Coulter seconded a motion that “Council notes the petition and move straight onto the next business.”

Councillor Wolff moved and Councillor Hollick seconded a motion:

“Recognising

•      that the Leader's statement in the Oxford Mail on June 16^th suggesting that other developers (of the Temple Road site) "will be offering different combinations of housing and leisure/community use" was overridden by a refusal of the Labour majority to support any community/leisure component supported by public funds on the site at last July's Council meeting

•      that the Temple Cowley Pools & Leisure Centre is registered as a Community Asset

•      that a housing-only development would mean the loss of a designated community asset to Temple Cowley, and

•      that this would represent an acknowledgment by the Council that any 'community asset' designation has no practical meaning as far as it is concerned

Council agrees to give highest priority to any tenders that include leisure/community use.”

The Head of Law and Governance advised Council that it was generally inadvisable to pass resolutions which fettering the decision making body’s discretion, and that if agreed it could not be binding upon the City Executive Board as the decision maker when it considered all bids according to the set criteria .

On being put to the vote:

The motion proposed by Councillor Wolff was declared lost.

The motion proposed by Councillor Rowley was declared carried.

Council agreed to note the petition and move straight onto the next business.