Report to follow.

Cllr Gant, Chair of the Scrutiny Committee presented the report. He said the Scrutiny Committee was in agreement with the proposal.

The Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services clarified the Scrutiny recommendation. It is not a case of submitting the application “as soon as possible”  as the timing of submitting the planning application is  contingent on other scenarios playing out  for example it depends on when the Chalgrove Airfield application is submitted.

Cllr Price, Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development said the National Infrastructure Commission is looking in-depth at national infrastructure options. They think the proposal of opening up the Cowley branch line and the combination of commercial development and housing being offered by the South Oxford Science Village application as very appealing.

There is also another development being worked on South of Horspath Road for 2,000 homes.  If both applications were successful, Oxford’s unmet housing need would be met.

The Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services has submitted a report which requests approval to join Magdalen College and Thames Water in the submission of a planning application for the proposed South Oxford Science Village at Grenoble Road, to fund the determination of the application including pursuing any appeal processes that may ultimately be necessary

Recommendations: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

1.    Delegate authority to the  Executive Director, Sustainable City, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to join Magdalen College and Thames Water in the submission of a planning application for the South Oxford Science Village and, if necessary, to pursue the application at appeal.

2.    Approve pursuing the South Oxford Science Village site through the South Oxfordshire Local Plan process, including examination; and if necessary, through a planning appeal or call-in inquiry.

3.    Give project approval for the sum of up to £220,000 representing the Council’s share of the costs in accordance with paragraph 4.5 of the Council’s constitution to cover additional technical studies and a planning application, and a potential call-in inquiry or appeal. This is in addition to the approved current budget provision of £560,000, which covers promoting the scheme through the Local Plan, and provides the basis for a potential planning application.

The Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services submitted a report which sought approval to join Magdalen College and Thames Water in the submission of a planning application for the proposed South Oxford Science Village at Grenoble Road, to fund the determination of the application including pursuing any appeal processes that may ultimately be necessary

Cllr Bob Price, Board Member for Corporate Strategy and Economic Development presented the report.  He said the first instalment of the money had been budgeted for and this report was requesting another $222,000 for the next phase of the application process.

Cllr Turner suggested the Board try and foresee potential future project costs during the budget process to avoid mid-term budget requests.

The City Executive Board resolved to:

1.    Delegate authority to the  Executive Director, Sustainable City, in consultation with the Leader of the Council, to join Magdalen College and Thames Water in the submission of a planning application for the South Oxford Science Village and, if necessary, to pursue the application at appeal.

2.    Approve pursuing the South Oxford Science Village site through the South Oxfordshire Local Plan process, including examination; and if necessary, through a planning appeal or call-in inquiry.

Give project approval for the sum of up to £220,000 representing the Council’s share of the costs in accordance with paragraph 4.5 of the Council’s constitution to cover additional technical studies and a planning application, and a potential call-in inquiry or appeal. This is in addition to the approved current budget provision of £560,000, which covers promoting the scheme through the Local Plan, and provides the basis for a potential planning application.

Cllr Alex Hollingsworth, Board Member for Planning and Regulatory Services presented the report. He provided some background to the decision and highlighted the progress that had been made in working constructively with neighbouring district councils on the issue of Oxford’s unmet housing need.  The Council’s preferred approach was to agree sites and numbers with the districts and for these to be taken forward through their local planning processes. 

The Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services said that even though agreements were now in place with some of the districts, no new homes would be built specifically to meet Oxford’s unmet housing need before 2020/21.

The Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services said that the Council was looking to develop South Oxford Science Village through a three-way partnership arrangement with Thames Water and Magdalen College.  The site was being promoted as a mixed use development and all costs would be split three ways between the three land-owning partners, including the costs of hiring planning consultants to act on their behalf.  The Council’s budget allocation of £560k had also contributed to a lot of detailed technical work which had taken the partnership up to the point of submitting an application.  As the land was outside the city boundary the Council was not the planning authority but the additional costs arising from this factor were relatively small. 

Cllr Hollingsworth said that South Oxfordshire District Council (SODC), had voiced support for an alternative site at Chalgrove Airfield, which was being proactively pursued.    However, the Council’s view was that the location of that particular site was too remote, being some 12 miles from the city. The site’s location meant that the associated infrastructure costs would be very high and good public transport links were unlikely to be viable, so a big increase in car journeys would be expected.  In addition to distance the expected time-lag to completion made the site unsuitable in terms meeting Oxford’s unmet housing need. 

Cllr Hollingsworth believed an urban extension on land south of Grenoble Road would be more sustainable as it would be connected with existing bus routes, cycle infrastructure and potentially the Cowley branch line.  The increase in car journey numbers would therefore be lower than for an equivalent development at Chalgrove. 

Cllr Hollingsworth said that in his view it was likely that the South Oxford Science Village planning application would be refused by the planning authority.  It was difficult to quantify the risk to the Council of pursuing an application but the Council believed that an urban extension at this location was a major priority and that it had a robust case to put forward in a planning appeal or call-in inquiry.  The Head of Service said that the proposal was deliverable, given that the Council was a landowner, and the Council was taking all the right steps but there were no guarantees.  Sites at Wick Farm and Elsfield to the North East of the city were also in contention for development,  ...  view the full minutes text for item 117