Agenda and minutes

Agenda and minutes

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Venue: St Aldate's Room - Oxford Town Hall. View directions

Contact: Sarah Claridge, Committee and Member Services Officer 

Items
No. Item

45.

Declarations of Interest

None.

 

46.

Addresses and Questions by Members of the Public

Minutes:

None received.

 

47.

Councillors Addresses on any item for decision on the Board's agenda

Minutes:

Cllr Landell-Mills spoke on the Item 8: Re-cladding of Evenlode and Windrush tower blocks (minute 51) and raised a number of points.

·         Concern around completion dates for the proposed work not being met due to previous delays;

  • Contingency plans would be desirable to deal with the possibilities of cost overruns and that the additional costs cannot be funded from the balance of the High Value Levy as proposed in the report;
  • Clarification of the ‘potential changes’ to other blocks as a consequence of further DCLG testing would be helpful;
  • Feedback from the consultation that had taken place with residents would be  welcome; and
  • Submitting the proposals via the normal planning process would be more transparent.

 

48.

Councillor Addresses on Neighbourhood Issues

Minutes:

None.

 

49.

Items raised by Board Members

Minutes:

None received

 

50.

Scrutiny Committee Reports

None.

 

51.

Re-cladding of Evenlode and Windrush tower blocks pdf icon PDF 103 KB

A report to  request additional budget approval in order to replace the rain screen cladding to Windrush and Evenlode towers.

 

Please note that this updated version of the report was published on 14/08 to reflect the addition of the new recommendation at 2 below.

 

The Board is recommended  to:

 

1.    Ask  Council for additional budget provision of £1m for the replacement of rain screen cladding to Windrush and Evenlode towers;

 

2.    To make a recommendation to Council to waive (but only to the extent described below) the relevant provisions in para 5.3 of the Constitution which require large applications, Council applications and significant amendments to a grant of planning permission to be determined by an area planning committee and instead delegate  to the Head of Planning and Regulatory Services the authority to determine any applications made as a result of changes required by new building regulations and/or government guidance relating to tower block design or build; and 

 

3.    Delegate to the Chief Executive in consultation with the Council’s Section 151 Officer (Head of Financial Services) the decision to accept a firm price as a variation to the current contract

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Housing Services submitted a report which requested additional budget approval in order to replace the rain screen cladding to Windrush and Evenlode towers.

 

Councillor Rowley, Board Member for Housing, spoke to the report. He said that Oxford was fortunate compared with some other authorities in only having to replace part of the cladding. The Oxfordshire Fire Service (OFS) had inspected all of the City’s tower blocks and confirmed that residents were safe in their homes, not least because of the total package of fire protection already in place (eg sprinklers, encasement of internal cabling etc). This robust approach was a consequence of having already implemented recommendations from coroners’ reports and elsewhere in the aftermath of previous tower block fires in the UK. Despite this assurance it was prudent to replace the cladding as set out in the report. As well as the self-evident desirability of doing what was the best for residents, there was an ambition to give the tower blocks another 30 years of life and this work would help future proof them against possible future changes in government requirements.

 

Turning to the points raised by Councillor Landell-Mills, he was optimistic that the £1m sought would be sufficient for the purpose. In speaking to residents, one issue to emerge was the desirability of proceeding with this work as swiftly as possible; hence recommendation 2. In relation to timescale it was not possible, at this point, to be specific given the number of other councils commissioning similar work. Having said that Oxford was in a better position than some as we still have contractors on site.

 

The Head of Housing and Property confirmed that while the government had announced a review of the relevant regulations, the likelihood of a requirement for further changes was considered, at the moment, to be low.

 

The Acting Head of Law and Governance noted, for the avoidance of doubt, that recommendation 2 did not seek to waive the planning application process but merely that it be dealt with as a delegated matter.

 

Councillor Tanner reminded the meeting of the Government’s initial commitment to fund the costs of such work.  The Government had, however, since made it clear that local authorities were expected to cover their own costs. He therefore proposed an additional recommendation:

 

“The Council should continue to seek full reimbursement of the costs associated with the re-cladding of buildings from Government, as had originally been promised.”

 

 

The City Executive Board resolved to:

 

1.    Ask Council for additional budget provision of £1m for the replacement of rain screen cladding to Windrush and Evenlode towers;

 

2.    Recommend to Council to waive (but only to the extent described below) the relevant provisions in para 5.3 of the Constitution which require large applications, Council applications and significant amendments to a grant of planning permission to be determined by an area planning committee and instead delegate to the Head of Planning and Regulatory Services the authority to determine any applications made as a result of changes  ...  view the full minutes text for item 51.

52.

Discretionary Business Rates Support Scheme- pdf icon PDF 134 KB

The Head of Financial Services has submitted a report which advises Members of additional rate relief schemes arising from the Government’s spring budget and to agree the recommendations below:

 

Recommendations: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

 

1.    Delegate to the Head of Financial Services the authority to administer a) the Public Houses Relief Scheme and

b) the Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme.

 

2.    Approve the Revaluation Discretionary Relief Scheme for businesses for 2017-18 at Appendix 1

 

3.    Delegate authority to the Head of Financial Services to administer and award the reliefs in the Revaluation Discretionary Relief Scheme at Appendix 1 including revising the scheme for the subsequent 3 years.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head of Financial Services submitted a report which advised Members of additional rate relief schemes arising from the Government’s spring budget and recommended responses to them.

 

The Revenues and Benefits Service Manager introduced the report. She explained that the support scheme was in response to the significant rise in business rates due to the recent revaluation. The scheme creates a transition period to ease the rate rise for businesses over the next 3 -4 years. The costs of running the scheme are fully funded but unfortunately unspent relief allocated to a particular year cannot be carried forward.

 

The City Executive Board resolved to:

 

1. Delegate authority to the Head of Financial Services the authority to administer

a) the Public Houses Relief Scheme and

b)  the Supporting Small Business Relief Scheme

 

2. Approve the Revaluation Discretionary Relief Scheme for businesses for 2017-18 at Appendix 1

 

3. Delegate authority to the Head of Financial Services to administer and award the reliefs in the Revaluation Discretionary Relief Scheme at Appendix 1 including revising the scheme for the subsequent 3 years.

 

53.

Littlemore Neighbourhood Plan Area Application pdf icon PDF 98 KB

The Head of Planning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services has submitted a report which seeks to designate the Littlemore Neighbourhood Area for the purpose of delivering a Neighbourhood Plan.

 

Recommendations: That the City Executive Board resolves to designate the proposed Littlemore Neighbourhood Area

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Head ofPlanning, Sustainable Development and Regulatory Services submitted a report which sought to designate the Littlemore Neighbourhood Area for the purpose of delivering a Neighbourhood Plan.

 

The Planning Officer spoke briefly to the report. She said that the application had been made by the Parish Council and the City Council had a duty to designate it as the proposal coincided with the Parish Council boundary

 

The City Executive Board resolved to designate the Littlemore Neighbourhood Area

 

54.

Appointment to new Outside Body 2017/2018 pdf icon PDF 115 KB

The Acting Head of Law and Governance has submitted a report  to include the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors (UK) on to the list of Oxford City Council Outside Bodies and to appoint a representativefor the 2017/18 Council Year.

 

Recommendations: That the City Executive Board resolves to:

 

1.    Agree to include the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors (UK) on the list of Oxford City Council Outside Bodies and;

2.    To appoint Councillor Jamila Azad as the Oxford City Council representative to the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors (UK)  for the 2017/18 Council Year.

Additional documents:

Minutes:

The Acting Head  of Law and Governance  submitted a report to include the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors (UK) on to the list of Oxford City Council Outside Bodies and to appoint a representativefor the 2017/18 Council Year.

 

The City Executive Board resolved to:

 

1.    Agree to include the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors (UK) on the list of Oxford City Council Outside Bodies; and

 

2.    Appoint Councillor Jamila Azad as the Oxford City Council representative to the National Association of Black, Asian and Ethnic Minority Councillors (UK)  for the 2017/18 Council Year.

 

55.

Minutes pdf icon PDF 128 KB

Minutes of the meeting held on 18 July2017

 

Recommendation: The City Executive Board NOTES the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2017 as a true and accurate record.

Minutes:

The Board resolved to APPROVE the minutes of the meeting held on 18 July 2017 as a true and accurate record.

 

56.

Dates of Future Meetings

Meetings are scheduled for the following dates:

 

19 September 2017

17 Oct ober 2017

21 November 2017

19 December 2017

 

All meetings start at 5pm.

Minutes:

The Board noted that the next meeting was to be held on 19 September.