Councillor Goff, seconded by Councillor Fooks, proposed her submitted motion (Planning sustainability and the Green Belt)

Councillor Brandt proposed and Councillor Simmons seconded an amendment:

Add to the beginning of the motion:

Recognising that, with the exception of land to the west of the City, most Green Belt falls within the boundaries of our neighbouring authorities so Oxford City Council currently has very limited influence on how the land is developed.

Add the following bullet point: 

• Council will only support developments which align with the Council’s social housing policies

On being put to the vote, the amendment was declared carried.

Councillor Hollingsworth proposed and Councillor Pegg seconded an amendment:

Redraft text of the submitted motion as follows:

Council notes that while the Oxford Green Belt was instituted in the late 1950s it remained interim for several decades, and its boundaries have been adjusted continually throughout its existence. The Council further notes that the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework, paragraph 84) specifically allows for the review and alteration of green belt boundaries. The Council further notes that neighbouring local authorities Cherwell, Vale of White of Horse and South Oxfordshire have all proposed or agreed modifications to the boundaries of the Oxford Green Belt as part of their most recent Local Plans. Council recognises the current crisis in availability of housing, but also recognises that the purposes for which the Green Belt was invented have not gone away. Council accepts that people living near areas of Green Belt have legitimate concerns at any suggestion of part of it being lost, and that these concerns need to be carefully balanced against the duty of the City Council to plan for a successful city with sufficient homes, employment, facilities and recreation space for current and future residents of Oxford.

Council will in the development of the Local Plan and other planning policy give due consideration to the following:

-Oxford's Green Belt remains protected by existing local and national policies that prevent inappropriate development in all but exceptional circumstances

-proper weight will be given to the agreed methodology and framework for reviewing Green Belt boundaries that form part of the comprehensive review of the Oxford Green Belt already carried out by LUC on behalf of all the relevant Local Planning Authorities, and used by neighbouring District Council’s in their recent Local Plan reviews and updates

-studies will be commissioned to properly assess the full value of the  biodiversity and the ecosystem of open spaces both within and outside the Green Belt as part of the analysis of the overall value of the Green Belt and specific sites within it-any building within the Green Belt will not only replace but actively enhance the biodiversity and natural capital provided by the area lost, by use of scientific techniques such as ecological risk assessment and biodiversity management plans working closely with relevant environmental NGOs, or as otherwise set out in existing NPPF or local policies governing development in the Green Belt.

-as applicant Council will support buildings which meet the eco-village and low-carbon approach supported by Council at its meeting of 18 April 2016 as an “…example [to] persuade / push / cajole private developers in Oxford to make their contribution to saving planet earth”

-Council will support projects which guarantee sustainable infrastructure such as bike lanes to and from the development as well as on it, will encourage scientifically-based and forward-looking approaches to sustainable transport such as smart traffic lights

On being put to the vote, the amendment was declared carried.

After debate and on being put to the vote, the amended motion was declared carried.

Council resolved to adopt the motion as set out below:

Recognising that, with the exception of land to the west of the City, most Green Belt falls within the boundaries of our neighbouring authorities so Oxford City Council currently has very limited influence on how the land is developed,

Council notes that while the Oxford Green Belt was instituted in the late 1950s it remained interim for several decades, and its boundaries have been adjusted continually throughout its existence. The Council further notes that the NPPF (National Planning Policy Framework, paragraph 84) specifically allows for the review and alteration of green belt boundaries. The Council further notes that neighbouring local authorities Cherwell, Vale of White of Horse and South Oxfordshire have all proposed or agreed modifications to the boundaries of the Oxford Green Belt as part of their most recent Local Plans. Council recognises the current crisis in availability of housing, but also recognises that the purposes for which the Green Belt was invented have not gone away. Council accepts that people living near areas of Green Belt have legitimate concerns at any suggestion of part of it being lost, and that these concerns need to be carefully balanced against the duty of the City Council to plan for a successful city with sufficient homes, employment, facilities and recreation space for current and future residents of Oxford.

Council will in the development of the Local Plan and other planning policy give due consideration to the following:

-Oxford's Green Belt remains protected by existing local and national policies that prevent inappropriate development in all but exceptional circumstances

-proper weight will be given to the agreed methodology and framework for reviewing Green Belt boundaries that form part of the comprehensive review of the Oxford Green Belt already carried out by LUC on behalf of all the relevant Local Planning Authorities, and used by neighbouring District Council’s in their recent Local Plan reviews and updates

-studies will be commissioned to properly assess the full value of the  biodiversity and the ecosystem of open spaces both within and outside the Green Belt as part of the analysis of the overall value of the Green Belt and specific sites within it-any building within the Green Belt will not only replace but actively enhance the biodiversity and natural capital provided by the area lost, by use of scientific techniques such as ecological risk assessment and biodiversity management plans working closely with relevant environmental NGOs, or as otherwise set out in existing NPPF or local policies governing development in the Green Belt.

-as applicant Council will support buildings which meet the eco-village and low-carbon approach supported by Council at its meeting of 18 April 2016 as an “…example [to] persuade / push / cajole private developers in Oxford to make their contribution to saving planet earth”

-Council will support projects which guarantee sustainable infrastructure such as bike lanes to and from the development as well as on it, will encourage scientifically-based and forward-looking approaches to sustainable transport such as smart traffic lights

-Council will only support developments which align with the Council’s social housing policies