Report to follow.

Tom Bridgman, Executive Director- Development, had submitted  a report seeking support for  the introduction of a Zero Emission Zone (ZEZ) Pilot in Oxford City centre, including supporting Oxfordshire County Council in their legal implementation of the scheme. Cabinet was also asked to note the outcome of the joint public consultation on the ZEZ Pilot.

Councillor Tom Hayes, Cabinet Member for Green Transport and Zero Carbon Oxford, introduced the report. The idea of a Zero Admission Zone (ZEZ) had been worked towards since 2015 and consulted upon several times in preparation for it. The  ZEZ sought to reduce air pollution as  just one of the Council’s measures to address the  climate crisis.   While air pollution levels in the City had dropped by 26 percent in recent years, the improvement was plateauing. The Council’s recently confirmed Air Quality Action Plan set an ambitious target for improvement to which the ZEZ would contribute, not least because transport is responsible for about  68% of the main pollutant of concern.

Cabinet resolved to:

1.    Support the introduction of the Zero Emission Zone Pilot in Oxford City Centre as outlined in Appendix 5;

2.    Support Oxfordshire County Council in their legal implementation of the scheme outlined in Appendix 5;

3.    Note the content of consultation report and outcomes of the recent public consultation on the Oxford ZEZ Pilot; and

4.    Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Development, in consultation with the Head of Financial Services and the Head of Law and Governance,  to enter into legal agreement with Oxfordshire County Council in relation to the treatment of surplus funds raised from the scheme and related matters.