Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

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Items
No. Item

The Growth Board considered the matters, reports and recommendations contained or referred to in the agenda for the meeting together with addenda tabled at the meeting and made decisions as set out here. Except insofar as otherwise specified the reasons for the decision are contained in the agenda, reports and supporting papers attached to the signed minutes and available with these on the website. Where document were updated after original publication, these were republished and marked as such.

 

Election of Chair and Vice-Chair for the year

In accordance with its terms of reference, the Growth Board appointed Councillor Price as Chair and Councillor Cotton as Vice-Chairman for 2017/18.

 

2.

Declarations of interest

Minutes:

There were no declarations.

 

3.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 290 KB

Purpose: to confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting of the Oxfordshire Growth Board held on 29 March 2017.

Minutes:

The minutes of the meeting on 29 March 2017 were agreed as a correct record, to be signed by the Chair as such.

Note: the meeting scheduled for 1 June was cancelled.

 

4.

Chair's Announcements

To receive communications from the Chair.

Minutes:

The Chair announced that the meeting was being filmed for a about managing housing need and growth in Oxfordshire, and that there would be a presentation after the meeting on emergency planning in the county.

 

5.

Public Participation pdf icon PDF 56 KB

Members of the public may ask questions of the Chairman of the Growth Board, or address the Growth Board on any substantive item at a meeting, subject to the restrictions set out in the public participation scheme (attached).

 

The total amount of time allowed for public participation at a meeting shall not exceed 30 minutes unless the Chairman consents to that in the interests of the proper conduct of the business of the Board.

 

A person speaking to the Board may speak for up to 3 minutes. The Board members may ask questions for clarification.

 

Asking a question

Questions (in full and in writing) must be received before 5pm on Thursday 20 July 2017 by the Chief Executive of the host authority. A written or verbal answer will be provided by the Chairman at the meeting. The questioner may ask a supplementary question directly related to either the original question or the reply received.

 

Addressing the Board

Notice of a wish to address the Board must be received before noon on Tuesday 25 July 2017 by the Chief Executive of the host authority.

 

Petitions

Petitions on matters directly relevant to maters in which the Board has powers and duties must be received before 5pm on Thursday 20 July 2017 by the Chief Executive of the host authority. The representative of the petitioners may speak. Petitions are referred without discussion to the next meeting.

 

Questions, petitions and notice of addresses should be submitted to the committee secretary at democraticservices@oxford.gov.uk or delivered/ posted to the Chief Executive at Oxford City Council before the deadline.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

In accordance with the public participation scheme, the Chair invited those who had submitted addresses and questions to speak to the Board.

The Board heard:

·               a question from Helen Marshall, CPRE (question and response read out by the Chair as the questioner was unable to attend)

·               a question from Robert Warne, Chairman of Sunningwell Parishioners Against Damage to the Environment (SPADE), on behalf of Need not Greed

·               an address from Ian Green, Chairman of the Oxford Civic Society

·               an address from Robert Warne,  Chairman of SPADE, on behalf of Need not Greed

The Chair replied to the questions and addresses.

Full details of the questions, responses, and addresses are in the supplement to these minutes.

 

6.

Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy(OXIS) Approach to prioritisation and public engagement- report and presentation pdf icon PDF 84 KB

Purpose: to update the Board with progress with this project

 

Recommendation: that the Growth Board:

 

      I.        Notes progress with OXIS.

 

    II.        Approves a supplementary budget allocation of up to £19,500 to cover the additional costs of OXIS and authorise EOG to engage with the consultants to finalise the additional costs within that cap.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered the report, updated press release, and presentation given by the Growth Board Programme Manager setting out progress with this project to identify, map and rank Oxfordshire’s infrastructure requirements to 2040 and beyond.

The Board noted that the consultation on the strategy had started on 19 July, hosted on the County Council’s website, and that a report would come to their next meeting.

In agreeing the recommendations the Board made and noted points including:

·               the recommendation from the Programme Manager that a supplementary budget of £9,500 was sufficient (not £19,500 as in the report);

·               that much of the infrastructure requirement in OXIS was known to partners and had been subject to consultation through other processes (e.g. through local plans, Thames Water’s strategy, and LPT4);

·               noting that infrastructure did not stop at the county boundaries and OXIS  must align with those for the areas beyond Oxfordshire

·               that in respect of addressing the funding gap identified , that the gap was “gross” and that receipts from S106 agreements, CIL and other funding streams would offset the shortfall and would be raised from a range of private, local, and government sources;

·               that when scoring and ranking projects , anything fully funded would be shown separately;

·               that when considering the proposed questions on the web site to prompt public responses the first question was perhaps too closed and officers would re-examine the wording.

·               and asked

·               for the likely funding source(s) to be identified where this was possible;

The Growth Board resolved to:

      I.        Note progress with OXIS.

    II.        Approve a supplementary budget allocation of up to £9,500 to cover the additional costs of OXIS and authorise EOG to engage with the consultants to finalise the additional costs within that cap.

 

7.

Oxfordshire Joint Spatial Plan/Strategy pdf icon PDF 127 KB

Report of the Growth Board Partnership Programme Manager

 

Purpose: paper provides an update on the work underway on the preparation of a Joint Spatial Plan / Strategy (OJSP/S) and highlights the drivers for and opportunities from joint spatial planning.  It also sets out the issues that need to be addressed to progress the project.

 

Recommendation: that the Growth Board:

          I.       Approve the preparation of a business plan for an Oxfordshire Spatial Plan/ Strategy, to be presented to the Growth Board in September 2017, based on the flexible approach set out in this paper;

         II.       Agree that the Leaders should take part in an appropriate discussion during the autumn to address issues needed to progress the joint approach.

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered a paper setting out an update on the project and issues that needed to be addressed.

In agreeing the recommendations the Board made and noted points including:

·               a report would be brought to the next meeting setting out the route map and required decisions;

·               adequate resources would be required to keep to the timetable for developing this plan, either external consultants or a cross-district in-house team seconded from the local authorities. The latter would have advantages of flexibility and local knowledge but must be adequately resourced;

·               discussions with DCLG were continuing and productive;

·               the interaction between this plan, the infrastructure plan, and five local plans (and the County Council’s plans) was complex and, given the different timelines for each one, would require management to maintain alignment of the aims in each plan. This may mean a lighter touch plan until the end of the main local plan periods in the 2030s then a more definitive plan thereafter;

·               the report would need to cover the interrelationship with adopted and in progress local plans

·               delivery of the plan was key but much harder to achieve;

·               a major challenge was the joined up long-term planning of transport, infrastructure and development at both local and national levels.

The Board noted that as it was not a body which could make statutory plans in its own right under the planning acts, each Council would need to separately adopt this as a statutory plan in their own right.

The Growth Board resolved to:

      I.        Approve the preparation of a business plan for an Oxfordshire Spatial Plan/ Strategy, to be presented to the Growth Board in September 2017, based on the flexible approach set out in this paper;

    II.        Agree that the Leaders should take part in an appropriate discussion during the autumn to address issues needed to progress the joint approach.

 

8.

Community Employment Plans pdf icon PDF 669 KB

Purpose: OxLEP is seeking to facilitate the implementation of Community Employment Plans (CEP’s) in Oxfordshire.

 

Recommendation: that

      I.        The Growth Board endorse the CEP Evidence Paper;

    II.        The CEP Evidence Paper is published on OxLEP’s website as evidence for CEP policies in Local Plans;

   III.        OxLEP continue its work with each Local Planning Authority to facilitate the implementation of CEP policies and to request CEP’s as a condition on development sites which meet the proposed threshold.

 

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered the report and evidence paper from OxLEP seeking to facilitate the introduction of Community Employment Plans (CEP) in Oxfordshire.

Richard Byard, OxLEP, introduced the report and corrected Appendix 4 (proposed sites) to remove three which should be excluded from this paper:

·               Oxford Science Village (Land to the south of Grenoble Road)

·               Land at J7 of M40 (Harrington)

·               Barnard Gate Garden Village

He also asked, and the Board agreed to add wording to the recommendations:    III. OxLEP …………….threshold  via supplementary planning documentation as appropriate.

The Board noted:

·               that sites listed which already had planning permission and S106 agreements could not be subject to a requirement to develop a CEP;

·               South and Vale were including the requirement for CEPs as a policy in their Local Plans to give more weight to these ;

·               thresholds should include small satellite sites, and there was a need to be mindful that minimum thresholds could be circumvented.

 

The Growth Board resolved to:

      I.        endorse the CEP Evidence Paper with the deletion on three sites from Appendix 4: Oxford Science Village (Land to the south of Grenoble Road); Land at J7 of M40 (Harrington); Barnard Gate Garden Village;

and that

    II.        the CEP Evidence Paper (as amended to include the changes above)  is published on OxLEP’s website as evidence for CEP policies in Local Plans;

   III.        OxLEP continue its work with each Local Planning Authority to facilitate the implementation of CEP policies and to request CEP’s as a condition on development sites which meet the proposed threshold via supplementary planning documentation as appropriate.

 

9.

City and Growth Deal Programme reports pdf icon PDF 67 KB

Purpose: to update the Growth Board on progress with the City and Growth Deal projects agreed with government.

 

Recommendation: that the Growth Board note the report and appendix.

 

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered the report and appendix setting out progress on the City and Growth Deal projects. The Board noted the announcement of funding for two new south-facing slip roads at the Lodge Hill Interchange.

On final funding for the flood alleviation scheme, Prof Alistair Fitt undertook to report back on the status of commitments from the two universities and Richard Byard undertook to report back on the status of commitments from private firms.

The Growth Board agreed to note the report and appendix.

 

10.

Matters arising from the LEP

A representative of OXLEP may provide a verbal update.

Minutes:

The Growth Board noted a verbal update from Richard Byard on the work of OxLEP.

·         Three European Social Fund projects for Oxfordshire have been announced to support:

o   Skills opportunities for growth in Oxfordshire;

o   Training and employment for jobseekers and inactive people in Oxfordshire;

o   Skills for business in Oxfordshire.

·         In addition there were substantial EU funds available for projects around social enterprises and access to finance.

·         There was no confirmation of availability of place-based funding.

·         OxLEP was looking for a ‘long list’ of viable projects to enable quick responses to funding opportunities.

 

11.

Local Plan update pdf icon PDF 70 KB

Purpose: to update the Growth Board with progress towards Local Plans adoption across the county

 

Recommendation: to note the report

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered a report setting out progress towards Local Plans adoption across the county.

Cllr Barber reported that final planning permission for Grove Airfield had been issued.

Cllr Hudspeth announced the approved funding for the slip roads onto the A34 at Lodge Hill. This will unlock the delivery of 950 homes to the north of Abingdon currently being considered by the planning authority.

The Growth Board resolved to note the report

12.

National Infrastructure Commission and DCLG Update pdf icon PDF 66 KB

Purpose:

 

1.    This report is to update the Board with progress on a number of workstreams that the councils are currently working on with the National Infrastructure Commission (NIC) on the Oxford to Cambridge corridor (O2C)

2.    This report also updates the board on early discussions with Government officials on a housing and growth deal for Oxfordshire

 

Recommendation: that the Growth Board:

 

I.              Notes the progress with the NIC workstreams.

II.            Notes the progress on the development of an Oxfordshire  housing and growth deal proposition to government.

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered a report and verbal update on these projects and noted the challenges and progress, including ongoing discussions on the middle (South Northamptonshire) section of the Oxford to Cambridge corridor.

The Growth Board resolved to:

I.              Note the progress with the NIC workstreams.

II.            Note the progress on the development of an Oxfordshire housing and growth deal proposition to government.

 

 

13.

Growth Board Forward Plan pdf icon PDF 117 KB

Purpose: the Forward Plan is attached for information.

 

Recommendation: that the Growth Board note and comment on the report.

Minutes:

The Growth Board considered the work plan and noted there was a need for both them and the CCG to better understand the interrelationships between the strategic planning and siting of health facilities (primary and hospital care; local and central) and the emerging infrastructure and spatial plans. 

The Board asked for a formal meeting with the CCG to discuss these issues.

The Board noted their forward work plan.