Purpose: to show the video setting out the Oxfordshire 2050 transport vision.

The video is available at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-4koosxZMmo

Councillor Hudspeth and Bev Hindle introduced the short film, available on YouTube, released to coincide with the launch of the Oxfordshire 2050 transport vision and setting out the aspirations and ideas for delivering transport improvements and innovations to support growth.

The film was played for the Board.

Report attached.

Final report (3, below) now attached as a supplement and available on the Growth Board pages at Www.oxfordshire.gov.uk/growthboard

Report Purpose

1)       At the Growth Board in May 2016, the Board approved the commissioning of an Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS).

2)       Since that date the Project Steering Group have overseen the completion of the project, assisted by the consultants - AECOM.

3)       The final report on the project has now been completed and the report is ready to be published on the Growth Board web pages of the County Council website.

4)       This report and the presentation accompanying it at the meeting, introduces this final report to the Board and asks for the approval of the report and its conclusions.

Recommendations

(i)     That the Growth Board approves the OxIS report and the conclusions contained therein

(ii)    That the Board approves the ranking of the regional and countywide projects in the OxIS report.

(iii) That the Board agrees to the periodic update of OxIS and asks officers to build this into the Board’s Work Programme and budgets 

The Board considered the report and the Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy report circulated separately. The consultants from AECOM involved in preparing the strategy, gave a presentation and answered questions.

In discussion the Board noted

·         OxIS was a comprehensive document that for the first time offered a countywide picture of the infrastructure needed to support growth

·         The projects were split into those that were regional or countywide and those that had a more local focus. All projects had been ranked once categorised.

·         OxIS included all strategic infrastructure: other more localised infrastructure that would be provided through other mechanisms or local agreements (CIL, S106) was not included.

·         The strategy needed to take account of plans from all relevant government departments.

·         OxIS highlighted a gross funding gap rather than the actual gap once all contributions had been taken into account because funding contributions are subject to negotiation with developers, infrastructure providers etc. It was not possible to entirely quantify the funding gap and what CIL and S106 may deliver. Then Board noted that councils needed to work together and with partners to fill the funding gap.

·         The capacity of the NHS and utilities to provide their parts of the infrastructure was crucial and engagement with them was essential.

·         There was more work to do on quantifying the need and costs of a number of specialist infrastructure elements such as green infrastructure and energy.

·         This was a positive strategy setting out what was necessary to support growth and must be a live document.

The Board noted the Growth Board Executive Officers Group would be the owners of the strategy and ensure that it was kept up to date, reporting to the Board as appropriate. Finally the Board noted that it had not been possible to feed all comments and representations received into the draft strategy and agreed that the consultation responses should be incorporated into the final draft.

The Board resolved:

1.    to approve the OxIS report as it is presented and the conclusions contained therein, and delegate the finalising of the report to include the consultation responses in full to the Executive Officers Group in consultation with the Leaders.

2.    to approve the ranking of the regional and countywide projects in the OxIS report.

3.     (iii)to agree to the periodic update of OxIS and ask officers to build this into the Board’s Work Programme and budgets 

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.

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.