Appointment of contractors  to design and build Oxford City cycling routes under Growth Deal Funding from Oxfordshire County Council.

To appoint Oxford Direct Services (ODS) to Design and Build Oxford City Cycling Routes Under Growth Deal Funding from Oxfordshire County Council.

Oxfordshire County Council have transferred funding of £1.047m for the project management, design and construction of 4 cycle route schemes.

•                Boults Lane Recreation Ground/ Marsh Lane Path

•                Marston Road Toucan Crossing

•                Cuckoo Lane and Headington Road Crossing

•                Boundary Brook and Donnington Recreation Ground path

A programme of consultation will be put in place which will engage with all stakeholders prior to finalising design.

Completion of all schemes is programmed to be 12^th June 2021

 Following due diligence by an independent consultant it was agreed that ODS were competent to carry out the works and were in an acceptable price band. The process conforms to Procurement of ODS for capital programme projects.

The decision was taken in accordance with the Council’s Contract Rules - Part 19.22(d) of the Constitution (total contract value is over £500,000 but less than £1,000,000 where the Council is the buyer).

Council considered the report of the Head of Law and Governance setting out the decision taken by the Head of Paid Service (Chief Executive) using the powers delegated in Part 9.3(b) of the Constitution.

The Cabinet Member for Affordable Housing, Cllr Rowley explained the reasons for taking the decision to enter into an agreement with A2Dominion for the use of Canterbury House for 50 weeks from 3 August 2020 to accommodate rough sleepers and to allocate a budget for this.

Council resolved to note the decision taken as set out in the report

The Chief Executive, Gordon Mitchell, withdrew from the virtual meeting for the duration of this item.

Council considered the report of the Head of Business Improvement asking Council to approve the recommendation of the Appointments Committee to extend the Chief Executive’s fixed term contract.

The Leader of the Council, Cllr Brown, introduced the report and proposed the recommendation. This was agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to extend the Chief Executive’s fixed term contract to 30 April 2021.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

Cllr Henwood, seconded by Cllr Goddard proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note, and accepted the amendment proposed by Cllr Linda Smith.

On being put to the vote without debate the motion as amended was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

Managed Wildlife corridors are an important means of preserving and developing bio-diversity in towns and cities and there is the potential in Oxford to create more of these important habitats.

Council resolves to work with stakeholders and partners including schools, colleges, Universities, community centres and Parish Councils to convert verges into wildlife habitats where possible.

Members of the council give their thanks to the council officers and ODS staff who have worked on proposals for increasing biodiversity in the city, these proposals include the possibility of less frequent mowing of some verges as well as the creation of additional wildlife areas in our parks and open spaces.

This Council notes that these proposals involve additional expenditure and are being considered as part of the 2021/2022 budget setting process.

This Council requests that the Cabinet Member for Leisure and Parks continues to work with officers, local councillors, residents, park user groups and other interested local community groups to improve biodiversity in our city.

Cllr Landell Mills, seconded by Cllr Roz Smith proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note, and accepted the amendment proposed by Cllr Hayes and the amendment proposed by Cllr Wolff

After debate and on being put to the vote the motion as amended was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

This Council welcomes the public discussions which are taking place in this city about the value of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) in encouraging walking and cycling, preventing rat-running, and decreasing air pollution, while also having the positive effect of opening up residential and shopping streets for local communities, supporting local businesses and boosting community ties. This ongoing discussion is informed by successful LTNs in Waltham Forest, Groeningen in the Netherlands and Ghent in Belgium.

Council supports the efforts of Oxfordshire Liveable Streets (OLS) and the motion proposed by County Councillors John Sanders and Damian Haywood and passed unanimously by Oxfordshire County Council on 14 July 2020 to back Low Traffic Neighbourhoods and introduce them when and where feasible.

Nationwide there is a debate about LTNs. LTNs may create differences of views in a diverse city such as Oxford. In a democracy, we can all air our views and, through the pressing of points, deepening of understanding, and forging of consensus, we can ensure that LTNs are introduced in the right way in the right places. That way change can be lasting and widely supported.

This Council notes that Tranche 1* money received by the County Council was half of that expected due in part to the lack of ambition and because of:

·       The Department for Transport explicitly saying that bolder T1 proposals would win larger sums of funding, leading to the implication that less ambitious T1 proposals would win smaller sums of funding. Oxfordshire did not receive its entitlement because the schemes of the County Council were not sufficiently ambitious about meaningful change or reallocation of road space.

·       Short timescales for the preparation and submission of a bid, although many other local authorities were awarded a full allocation of funding, with some receiving even more (for example, Bucks and Central Bedfordshire receiving 112% of their funding allocation).

·       The rural focus of the County Council’s T1 bid when the Department for Transport sought to fund areas capable of making tangible changes. This requirement should have led the County Council to focus on the transport needs of urban areas such as Oxford City.

The County Council Tranche 2 bid is more ambitious with LTNs for the St Mary’s, St Clements, Divinity Road, Old Headington, New Headington, Quarry, Jericho and Walton Manor areas.

This Council therefore commits

1.     to encourage local residents’ groups and elected members in their efforts to engage communities in discussion about LTNs, so that they may be designed to get the main benefits without imposing unreasonable, adverse consequences. Local people know their streets better than anyone else and must be able to shape their communities. Consultation should precede the introduction of LTNs;

2.     to support further studies and consultation to develop LTNs as an evidence-based and democratic approach. The benefits of transportation changes should not be conferred upon one community at the expense of any other;

3.     to continue to encourage the County Council as transport authority to fund schemes including LTNs;

4.     to continue to encourage the County Council to submit funding requests to national Government to deliver LTNs and related transportation changes.

5.     to provide clear guidance to Councillors on the use of ward member CIL funds to support LTN scheme design and implementation.

Cllr Brown, seconded by Cllr Hayes proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note,

Cllr Roz Smith, seconded by Cllr Gant proposed the amendment as set out in the briefing note.

After debate and on being put to the vote the amendment was not agreed.

After debate and on being put to the vote the original motion was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

This Council notes that despite the urgent need to concentrate on recovery from the COVID pandemic and lockdown, the Government seem determined to pursue local government reorganisation as part of an explicit centralising and anti-democratic agenda. Evidence of the same agenda is clear in proposals for planning and for the NHS. The Government’s criteria require over-large local authorities remote from their populations, and elected mayors whose primary accountability will be to Central Government rather than to local people.

This Council recognises the enormous economic and social challenge currently facing our city and our most vulnerable citizens and states its firm resolve to take every opportunity to support local businesses, local people and their health and well-being.

Council notes that local business leaders and employers have clearly said that now is not the time for local government to be looking inward, but to be working together to solve the problems the current crisis has caused. This Council agrees.

This Council is appalled that it is in this context that the government is proposing instead to reorganise local government for ideological reasons, putting at risk our ability to support our city and its citizens in their time of need.

If, as now seems possible, the government itself feels that this is not the right approach, this Council calls upon them to make that clear. This council notes that leading Labour, Tory, Liberal Democrat and Green councillors from across the county are on the record as saying they do not support the imposition against local people’s wishes of a large, remote and over centralised authority.

This Council makes clear that the expense and disruption caused by a reorganisation now would be a wilful act of harm to Oxford, our economy and our citizens.

This Council therefore asks the Leader to write to the Secretary of State to make clear their proposals for local government and to seek reassurance for local citizens that no such reorganisation will be imposed upon Oxford. Instead this Council asks that the Government gives the necessary powers and financial support to all Oxfordshire’s local authorities in this time of crisis.

Cllr Wolff, seconded by Cllr Simmons proposed the submitted motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note, and accepted the amendment proposed by Cllr Brown.

After debate and on being put to the vote the motion as amended was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

Council notes that concerns over coronavirus (Covid19) continue with the ever present threat of even tighter restrictions being implemented here in Oxford. At the time of writing, Oxford City has entered amber alert on several occasions, based on weekly case numbers per 100,000.

On September 22 the Government announced further restrictions in England.

Under the Health Protection (Coronavirus, Restrictions) (England), published in July 2020, considerable powers have been given to Oxfordshire County Council to make a direction to, for example, to restrict access to, or close, individual premises, to prohibit certain events and to restrict access to, or close, public outdoor places in Oxford and elsewhere across the County. In September, the County agreed to pass on the powers to enforce these rules to the City alongside its existing environmental health duties.

This Council hopes that these new powers will never be needed, but agrees that it needs to be prepared to respond rapidly, strategically and decisively to the issuing of any direction as well as responding in a coordinated manner (alongside other authorities) on other local matters relating to management of coronavirus, the provision of public information and the impact on Council service delivery in Oxford (for example, liaising with the universities, public health authorities and others).

This Council therefore agrees to ask the Assistant Chief Executive and Head of Regulatory Services to produce a detailed briefing for members setting out how these powers will be implemented, including the decision making process, and how Members will be kept informed of action taken under these powers to ensure transparency and accountability.

Cllr Linda Smith, seconded by Cllr Wolff proposed the submitted cross-party motion as set out in the agenda and briefing note. Cllr Gant supported the motion.

After debate and on being put to the vote the motion was agreed.

Council resolved to adopt the following motion:

This Council notes that the River Thames is chronically polluted with sewage. It is currently legal for Thames Water to dump raw, untreated sewage into the river at times of heavy rainfall when treatment works are overwhelmed. Its sewage works spilled untreated liquid waste into the upper Thames for over 17,000 hours during 2019.

Contact with polluted water can endanger people’s health; furthermore untreated sewage is bad for wildlife.

This Council asks Thames Water to immediately provide real time data of where and when sewage works are overflowing so that Oxford residents will know without delay about the risks of taking to the river to swim or participate in other water sports.

This Council calls on Thames Water to upgrade its sewage treatment works so they are fit for the 21st Century, and take account of a growing population and more extreme rainfall events due to climate change.

This Council notes that the Environment Agency has had its funding slashed since 2010 which has reduced its capacity to enforce environmental regulations. Environment Agency staff numbers have been cut and there has been a sharp decline in the amount of sampling carried out. Consequently pollution incidents have increased while the number of prosecutions have fallen.

This Council asks the Leader to write to urgethe city’s Members of Parliament to demand adequate government funding for the Environment Agency and to do all they can to hold the agency to account for the important responsibility it has protecting our waterways and to askour MPs to support stricter environmental legislation for the UK after we leave the EU, and reject any proposals to use Brexit to weaken current environmental protection laws.

This Council requests Cabinet adopt plans for an application for Designated Bathing Water Status for a stretch of the Thames in Oxford.

Designation by the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs would mean improved monitoring of water quality and better protection for the river from pollution. It will ensure Oxford residents have access to the information they need to be properly informed about the risks of enjoying our beautiful river Isis.

Council had before it 12 motions on notice submitted in accordance with Council procedure rules and reached decisions as set out below.

Motions agreed:

a)              Designated Bathing Water Status for the River Thames Adopting the C40 Mayors COVID-19 Recovery Task Force principles

b)              Applying and monitoring Coronavirus Restrictions (as amended)

c)               Local Government reorganisation

d)              Introduction of Low Traffic Neighbourhoods to Oxford City (as amended)

e)              Going wild (as amended)

Motions were not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished:

f)                A consistent definition of net zero buildings

g)              Government Proposals for Planning Reform

h)              Planning system and undermining of Local Democracy

i)                 Chinese New Year 2021

j)                Liveable Streets initiative

k)               Domestic Abuse and Covid-19 workplace and community safety

l)                 Carbon targets

Cllrs Azad, Haines, Harris and Simm sent apologies.

The minutes show when councillors first joined or left completely during the meeting.

Award of a contract for the supply of a revenues and benefits system.  

Cllr Aziz joined the meeting during this item.

Council considered the report of the Head of Financial Services submitted to Cabinet on 9 September 2020 seeking project approval and delegated authority for the Head of Financial Services to award a contract for the Supply of a Revenues and Benefits system.

The Cabinet Member for Customer Focused Services, Cllr Chapman, introduced the report and proposed the recommendation. This was agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to make a budget allocation of £735k within the Council’s capital programme for 2020-21 and note the savings accruing to the Council’s Medium Term Financial Plan.

This motion was not taken as the time allocated for debate had finished.

Council considered the report of the Head of Financial Services and Head of Business Improvement giving an update on Finance, Risk and Corporate Performance matters as at 30 June 2020.

The Cabinet Member for Finance and Asset Management, Cllr Turner, introduced the report, outlined the pressures on the Council’s finances caused by the impact of the Covid pandemic, and answered questions on the report before proposing the recommendation.

The recommendation was agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

Council resolved to agree an increase in the capital budget relating to the replacement housing management system of £423k funding as outlined in paragraph 16 of the report.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 09 September 2020, delegated authority to:

1. The Director of Housing*, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Affordable Housing; the Head of Financial Services/Section 151 Officer; and the Council’s Monitoring Officer, to enter into agreements for the purchase of land, and any other necessary agreements or contracts and/or spend within the identified budget, for the provision of additional affordable housing; and

2. The Chief Executive, in consultation with the Cabinet Members for Finance and Asset Management, and Affordable Housing, to approve any property or development purchases over £500,000 for affordable housing, within this project approval and budget envelope.

*This delegation is now within the remit of the Executive Director (Communities and People).

Council considered the report of the Head of Housing Services seeking project approval, delegations, and budget, to enable spending from the Housing Revenue Account (HRA), on land purchases, build contracts and other necessary agreements and associated development costs for the purpose of delivering affordable housing.

The Cabinet Member for Affordable Housing, Cllr Rowley, introduced the report, proposed the recommendations and answered questions. The recommendations were agreed on being seconded and put to the vote.

The Monitoring Officer advised and Cllr Henwood then confirmed that he would not take part in the vote because one of the sites listed in the report was adjacent to his property and so the outcome of the vote may affect an area close to his property which was a disclosable pecuniary interest. It was not possible for the Monitoring Officer to check the location of the site relative to the property more precisely at that late stage and upon advice Cllr Henwood abstained in the vote.

Council resolved to:

1.    approve a revision to the HRA capital budget in 2020/21 of £31.647m, in order for the schemes listed in this report (paras 11 to 40) to be added into the capital programme funded predominantly from additional borrowing; and

2.    approve a revision to the HRA base (revenue) budget from 2021/22 on, for £235k to be added, for the creation of the Affordable Supply Programme and Enabling Team to manage and co-ordinate the various work streams to deliver the programmes.