Report attached.

Purpose: to consider the business case for a Joint Spatial Plan for Oxfordshire.

Recommendations: that the Growth Board recommend to constituent councils:

·                     that they work together to take forward a joint spatial plan; and

·                     within the first stages of the project and in discussion with government, seek to agree the most appropriate  arrangements to take forward a joint plan; and

·                     that the Chief Executives of the Oxfordshire Local Authorities take forward the necessary programme of work to achieve a joint plan.

The Board considered the report and the business case for a Joint Spatial Plan (JSP) for Oxfordshire.

Gordon Mitchell and Adrian Colwell introduced the report and set out the rationale for having a Joint Spatial Plan, namely to provide an Oxfordshire-wide integrated strategic planning framework and supporting evidence base to support sustainable growth across the county, including the planned delivery of the new homes and economic development, and the anticipated supporting infrastructure needed. It was noted that as the JSP would in part replace elements of current local plans that there would be consequent savings that could be reinvested and that the business case had attempted an initial estimate of this although more detailed budget analysis was required.

In discussion the Board noted comments including but not confined to:

• Councillor Cotton was in favour of starting from the basis of a statutory plan as this would give greater control and certainty, and the agreement and the overseeing body should be set up at the outset. He commented however that it was difficult to agree to the process when no funding was agreed and no money available.
• Much of the work required in the initial stages of evidence collection was identical for both the non-statutory or statutory JSP options. Consequently, while the status of the plan must be agreed in a timely manner and legal advice taken into account, this decision point did not prevent the JSP progressing.
• The timetable set out in the report was provisional and dependent on a number of external factors including any agreement of progressing the spatial plan with government and any proposed new NPPF regulations that will be changed upon the conclusions of the current consultation on the calculation of Objectively Assessed Need.
• The costs of preparing the plan, were outlined in the Business case. All councils noted that it was not possible to complete the JSP without adequate additional resources.
• The deficit in infrastructure was holding back growth and a JSP would allow key and major pieces of infrastructure to be planned across district boundaries.

The Board resolved to note the comments and to recommend to constituent councils:

1.    that they work together to take forward a Joint Spatial Plan; and

2.    within the first stages of the project and in discussion with government, seek to agree the most appropriate  arrangements to take forward a Joint Spatial Plan; and

3.    that the Chief Executives of the Oxfordshire Local Authorities take forward the necessary programme of work to achieve a Joint Spatial Plan.