Commissioning of feasibility design work for St Michael’s Street public realm, including surface levelling.

To commission LDA Design to lead a multidisciplinary team to undertake design development, engagement activities, and full cost preparation for St Michael’s Street public realm improvements, including surface levelling, following an open tender process.

The commission budget is up to £30,000 and will be paid for from the Council’s strategic Community Infrastructure Levy pot.

To purchase 10 homes at Warren Crescent to be wholly affordable housing (4 social rent and 6 affordable rent).

To authorise the transfer by sale of the land at Warren Crescent to Oxford City Housing (Development) Ltd for £80,000, and purchase of the land and affordable housing at Warren crescent from Oxford City Housing (Development) Limited to the Council’s Housing Revenue Account (HRA) for a consideration of £3,750,000 in total.

Agreement to provide grant funding of £2,150,000 to support this development.  The condition for the release of 90% of the funding has already been met (contractual start on site achieved, with the signing of the main build contract at the end of March 2022).  The remaining grant is to be paid on completion (in 2024/25).

To enter into a funding agreement to provide grant for the provision of further affordable housing under the Oxfordshire Housing and Growth Deal to A2 Dominion Housing Group with respect to the Gibbs Crescent development.

Cabinet, at its meeting on 22 January 2020, resolved to:

Delegate authority to 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 agreement for the award of grant, contractual arrangement and/or spend, for the provision of additional affordable housing in perpetuity, using Retained Right to Buy Receipts or Recycled Capital Grant funding.

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

Cabinet, at its meeting on 10 November 2021 resolved to:

Delegate authority to the Executive Director for Communities and People, in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Affordable Housing, Housing Security and Housing the Homeless; the Head of Financial Services; and the Head of Law and Governance, to enter into the agreement for the award of grant, contractual arrangement and/or spend, for the provision of additional affordable housing, using Retained Right to Buy Receipts, within this project approval.

Council, at its meeting on 29 November 2021, resolved to approve a capital budget in the Housing Revenue Account for £2m expenditure, subsidised using £800,000 of Retained Right to Buy Receipts, to enable further property acquisition activity in the last two quarters of 2021/22.

To purchase a 3 bedroomed maisonette at 58 Friars Wharf, Oxford into the Housing Revenue Account for the sum of £270,178.

Oxford City Council is the freeholder which allows for a buyback of the property to let as an affordable housing property.

To fly the St George’s Flag to mark the England Women’s National Football Team winning the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Championship.

To fly the St George’s Flag from the mast on Carfax Tower from 01 August 2022 until the morning of 08 August 2022 to mark the England Women’s National Football Team, the Lionesses, winning the UEFA Women’s Euro 2022 Championship.

To submit Oxford’s high level indicative investment plan to the UK Government. If approved by the Department for Levelling Up, Housing and Communities (DLUHC) the final investment plan will be submitted to Cabinet in October 2022 for approval.

To submit an indicative investment plan to the UK Government’s Shared Prosperity Fund.

The plan sets out investment priorities across three programme areas over the period from 2022/23 to 2024/25:

-       Community Wealth Building

-       Animating the City Centre

-       Greening the Economy

There is no income or financial impact arising from the specific decision to submit the indicative investment plan, but if approved by the DLUHC the Council may be awarded funding of up to £1m over 3 years.

The submission of the indicative investment plan is non-binding at this stage.