Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

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Speaking at a Council or Committee meeting

Venue: Oxford Town Hall, St Aldate's, Oxford

Contact: William Reed, Democratic Services Manager 

Items
No. Item

162.

Apologies for Absence

The quorum for this meeting is 3 members. Substitutes are not permitted.

Minutes:

Apologies were received from Councillors Curran and Turner

163.

Declarations of Interest

Board Members are asked to declare any disclosable pecuniary interests they may have in any of the following agenda items.  Guidance is contained at the end of these agenda pages.

Minutes:

No declarations of interest were received

164.

Public Questions

When the chair agrees, questions from the public for up to 15 minutes – these must be about the items for decision at the meeting (excluding the minutes) and must have been given to the Head of Law and Governance by 9.30am on a day so that there are two clear working days before the meeting (email executiveboard@oxford.gov.uk or telephone the person named as staff contact).  No supplementary questions or questioning will be permitted.  Questions by the public will be taken as read and, when the Chair agrees, be responded to at the meeting.

Minutes:

None

165.

Scrutiny Committee Reports

The following scrutiny committee reports have been, or will be, submitted to this meeting:-

 

·         Fusion Lifestyle Annual Service Plan

Minutes:

None

166.

Councillor Addresses on any item for decision on the Board's Agenda

When the Chair agrees, addresses by members of Council – these must be about the items for decision at the meeting (excluding the minutes) and must have been given to the Head of Law and Governance by 9.30am on a day so that there is one clear working day before the meeting (email executiveboard@oxford.gov.uk or telephone the person named as staff contact).

 

An address may last for no more than 3 minutes. The Board Member who has political responsibility for the item for decision may respond, or the Board will have regard to the points raised in reaching its decision.

Minutes:

None

167.

Fusion Lifestyle - Annual Service Plan 2014/15 pdf icon PDF 168 KB

The report presents Fusion Lifestyle’s Annual Service Plan for the management of the Council’s leisure facilities for 2014/2015.

 

The Board is asked to endorse the plan.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Leisure and Parks submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) that presented for endorsement Fusion’s Annual Service Plan for the management of the Council’s leisure facilities for 2014/2015.

 

Ian Brooke, Head of Leisure and Parks, presented the report to the Board and provided some background and context to it.  He drew the Board’s attention to the notable increase in usage (40%) of the Council’s leisure facilities, along with significant savings. Usage by target groups has also increased pleasingly. There is a challenge to maintain the uplift in usage, which has now reached a plateau. Free sessions for young people at the Blackbird Leys Leisure Centre have proved successful, and are now being widened to include a cultural aspect.

 

Tim Sadler, Executive Director Community services, added that there was a reward scheme for the young called “Bounce” through which participants can gain points for attendance which can then be spent on various goods and prizes. The Council wanted to encourage more young people to take part in this.

 

Councillor Mike Rowley, Board Member for Leisure, commented that the Fusion contract was important for the future of the Council’s leisure services, and in particular its aspiration to produce a world class leisure service for everyone. He intended to meet with all leisure service user groups and to look at ways by which leisure participation could be increased. He thanked Officers for all their hard work on this matter, and for facilitating useful meetings with Fusion.

 

Councillor Susan Brown observed that there were weaknesses in the ways by which feedback on service was received, and that there should be greater clarity around the whole feedback process. Fusion should be encouraged to do everything it could to increase and obtain feedback.

 

Councillor Rowley proposed the following amendments to the submitted report which he felt would strengthen the Council’s commitment to continued improvement to its leisure services:-

 

(1)  Add new paragraph 1.3 to read “Nevertheless, the Council remains committed to continuous improvement in order to maintain Oxford’s leisure facilities as a word-class affordable public leisure service for the people of the City”;

 

(2)  Add to paragraph 2.1 the following sentence: “The Council will look at ways to encourage and increase user participation in the Board [Leisure Partnership Board]”;

 

(3)  Add new pargraphs 4.2 and 4.3 which will say:-

 

“4.2: The Council will step up its regular programme of unannounced inspections of all leisure facilities managed by Fusion and will ensure regular Council attendance at all user groups”

 

“4.3: Working with Fusion, the Council will seek to ensure that scheduling is optimised in order to avoid any capacity issues as usage continues to increase, with particular focus on activities aimed at target groups”

 

Resolved to endorse Fusion Lifestyle’s Annual Service Plan for 2014/15, with the amendments to the report detailed above.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

168.

Oxford Stadium, Sandy Lane - Designation as a Conservation Area pdf icon PDF 130 KB

At its meeting on 10th July 2013, the City Executive Board resolved to include the Oxford Stadium on the Oxford Heritage Asset register as a “locally designated heritage asset”.

 

The report explains the purpose of the conservation area designation and sets out the reasons for proposing to designate Oxford Stadium as a conservation area. The extent of the area is shown on the plan attached as Appendix 1 of the report.

 

The Board is recommended to designate Oxford Stadium, Sandy Lane, as a Conservation Area.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of City Development submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) concerning the proposal to designate Oxford Stadium as a Conservation Area. Councillor Colin Cook, Board Member for City Development, presented the report to the Board and provided some background to it.  He thanked Officers for all their hard work on this matter. The community value of this site was enormous, and he was proud to think that it could be designated as a conservation area.

 

Nick Worlledge, Heritage and Specialist Services Team Leader, added that Oxford City council had been quite progressive in recognising areas of the City that were valued locally. There had been a public consultation on this matter, but there was nothing in the responses that would lead officers to make a different recommendation from the one that was currently before the Board.

 

Resolved to designate Oxford Stadium, Sandy Lane, as a Conservation Area.

 

169.

Saving Community Public Houses pdf icon PDF 148 KB

At its meeting on 3rd February 2014, Council approved the following motion:-

 

“Oxford City Council notes the possibility of submitting the following proposal to the government under the Sustainable Communities Act:

 

    ‘That the Secretary of State help protect community pubs in England by ensuring that planning permission and community consultation are required before community pubs are allowed to be converted to betting shops, supermarkets and pay-day loan stores or other uses, or are allowed to be demolished.”

    This Council notes that if this power was acquired it would allow the council to determine if pubs should be demolished or converted into other uses and could save many valued community pubs.

    This Council resolves to ask City Executive Board to consider and submit the proposal to the government under the Sustainable Communities Act and to work together with Local Works and the Campaign for Real Ale to gain support for the proposal from other councils in the region and across the country.”

 

The report has been produced in response to this motion.

 

The Board is recommended to:-

 

(1)  Approve the preparation and publication of a Technical Advice Note to support Policy RC 18 on public houses;

 

(2)  Support officers in working with amenity bodies and the local community to ensure public houses of heritage significance are included on the Local Heritage Assets Register, and to increase awareness of listing public houses as Assets of Community value;

 

(3)  To support Kirklees submission under the Sustainable Communities Act;

 

(4)  Officers will also continue to monitor and review the operation of the Sustainable Communities Act’s effectiveness in bringing forward new proposals for measures that would help to protect community public houses in other Local Authority Areas.

Minutes:

The Head of City Development submitted a report (previously circulated, now appended) concerning a range of measures and actions to help preserve community public houses in Oxford. Councillor Colin Cook, Board Member for City Development, presented the report to the Board and provided some background to it.

 

Councillor Cook explained that the report before the Board had come about as a result of various motions on this issue that had been presented at Council. Community pubs can be great community assets, they can also be buildings with a considerable heritage attached. The proposals contained in the report would allow greater clarity for applicants when applying for a change of use for one of these building. The Technical Advice Note proposed would support policy RC18 as well.

 

Michael Crofton Briggs, Head of City Development, added that the Council already worked with the local community to add to the City’s assets of local worth and local interest; and it was intended to continue with this work. It was of particular value outside Conservation Areas, as such buildings could be difficult to protect.

 

Resolved to:-

 

(1)  Approve the preparation and publication of a Technical Advice Note to support Policy RC18 on public houses;

 

(2)  Support officers in working with amenity bodies and the local community to ensure public houses of heritage significance are included on the Local Heritage Assets Register, and to increase awareness of listing public houses as Assets of Community value;

 

(3)  Support Kirklees submission under the Sustainable Communities Act;

 

(4)  Note that Officers will also continue to monitor and review the operation of the Sustainable Communities Act’s effectiveness in bringing forward new proposals for measures that would help to protect community public houses in other local authority areas;

 

(5)  Ask officers to circulate all Members and ask them to identify any public houses that they believe are worthy of listing.

170.

Future Items

This item is included on the agenda to give members the opportunity to raise issues on the Forward Plan or update the Board about future agenda items.

Minutes:

Nothing was raised under this item.

171.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 52 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 12th March 2014

 

Minutes:

Resolved to confirm as a correct record the minutes of the meeting held on 12th March 2014.

172.

Matters Exempt from Publication

If the Board wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Board to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of Paragraph 21(1)(b) of the Local Authorities (Executive Arrangements) (Access to Information) (England) Regulations 2000 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in specific paragraphs of Schedule I2A of the Local Government Act 1972.

           

The Board may maintain the exemption if and so long as, in all the circumstances of the case, the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighs the public interest in disclosing the information.

Minutes:

None