To hear addresses from members of the public in accordance with Council Procedure Rule 11.8 for which the required notice (1.00pm on Thursday 12^th July) and the full wording of the address has been given to the Head of Law and Governance.

Council received the following addresses from the persons mentioned below:-

(1)       Nigel Gibson – petition – ‘Labour must listen to Oxford’ – Mr Gibson presented a petition entitled ‘Labour must listen to Oxford’ which he explained contained just under 2000 signatures. It had been collected over a 3 week period. The preamble to the petition read as follows:-

‘In the Local elections in May Labour received 14,321 votes, 12.8% of the electorate. The save Temple Cowley Pools campaign has over 17,500 signatures on the petitions it has submitted to the Oxford City Council Labour still controls. As a result, we the undersigned, do not believe that Labour has a moral mandate to build a new 25 metre non-Olympic swimming pool in Blackbird Leys for over £13 million, one third of this years building budget affecting all Oxford Council tax payers when £3 million will refurbish and improve the existing leisure facilities in East Oxford. I call on Labour to stop the scheme now, keep the green in Blackbird Leys for the estate to enjoy and ensure that both the existing Blackbird Leys swimming pool and Temple Cowley Leisure Centre remain open.’

Council received the petition and noted that, provided it contained 1,500 signatures or more it would be considered formally at the Council meeting on 8^th October 2012.

(2)       William Clark – Blackbird Leys Swimming Pool – Mr Clark made an address concerning the decision-making around the provision of a new swimming pool at Blackbird Leys. The full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

(3)       Joshua Knight – St Clement’s Car Park – Mr Knight made an address opposing the sale of the St Clement’s Car Park. The full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

(4)       David Quinn – Squash provision – Mr Quinn made an address concerning the impending closure of Squash courts at Ferry Sports Centre. Full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

(5)       Martin Murphy – St Clement’s Car Park – Mr Murphy made an address concerning the nature of the proposed development at the St Clement’s Car Park and its impact on the surrounding area. The full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

(6)       Mark Pitt – Barn, Bury Knowle Park – Mr Pitt made an address concerning the preservation of the Barn adjacent to Bury Knowle House in Bury Knowle Park. The full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

(7)       Nigel Gibson – Democracy in Oxford – Mr Gibson made an address concerning the ills as he perceived them of the current governance structure of the Council. The full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.

(8)       Nigel Gibson – Financing Leisure Services in Oxford – Mr Gibson made an address in which he analysed the cost per visit to leisure facilities under the Fusion Leisure contract. The full address is appended to the signed copy of these minutes.