Agenda, decisions and draft minutes

Under the constitutional provision in Part 4.4, Section 2(b), the Leader of the Council, Councillor Tim Bearder, delegated authority to the Deputy Leader of the Council and Cabinet Member for Resources, Councillor Neil Fawcett, to attend the meeting and take the decisions in his place.

There were no declarations of interest.

Any county councillor may, by giving notice to the Proper Officer by 9 am three working days before the meeting, ask a question on an item on the agenda.

The number of questions which may be asked by any councillor at any one meeting is limited to two (or one question with notice and a supplementary question at the meeting) and the time for questions will be limited to 30 minutes in total. As with questions at Council, any questions which remain unanswered at the end of this item will receive a written response.

Questions submitted prior to the agenda being despatched are shown below and will be the subject of a response from the appropriate Cabinet Member or such other councillor or officer as is determined by the Cabinet Member, and shall not be the subject of further debate at this meeting. Questions received after the despatch of the agenda, but before the deadline, will be shown on the Schedule of Addenda circulated at the meeting, together with any written response which is available at that time.

There were none.

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There were none.

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2026/101 

Key Decision 

Contact: Clare Mills, Operational Manager – Flood Risk Management (Clare.Mills@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Director of Economy and Place (CMDL5). 

To seek agreement of the proposed allocation split of rolled over flood risk management funding of £1.39m.

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to:

a)    Note the use of multi-year flood prevention funding agreed by Council in financial year 2025/26.

b)    Note the spend to date on the current community grant scheme and approve the continuation of these grants for 2026/27 according to the grant scheme set out in Annex A.

c)    Adopt a discretionary grant/direct works scheme for the delivery of formal flood investigations recommendations as set out in Annex B.

d)    Delegate the decisions on individual business cases and funding allocation approval to the Director of Economy and Place within their existing financial delegations and within the requirements of the scheme.

The Chair introduced the item to the meeting.

Officers noted that the £2m funding was agreed by Council in 2025/26 as a result of severe flooding in 2024 and built on existing capacity and resilience. It was noted that it was a targeted investment to reduce flooding risk across Oxfordshire.

The Chair noted that this was a positive step for the Council to be working with community groups to achieve sustainable flood risk action.

The Chair thanked officers and agreed to the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED to:

a)    Note the use of multi-year flood prevention funding agreed by Council in financial year 2025/26.

b)    Note the spend to date on the current community grant scheme and approve the continuation of these grants for 2026/27 according to the grant scheme set out in Annex A.

c)    Adopt a discretionary grant/direct works scheme for the delivery of formal flood investigations recommendations as set out in Annex B.

d)    Delegate the decisions on individual business cases and funding allocation approval to the Director of Economy and Place within their existing financial delegations and within the requirements of the scheme.

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2026/024

Non-Key Decision 

Contact: Angelo Antenucci, Engineer – Highway Agreements North (Angelo.Antenucci@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Director of Environment and Highways (CMDL4). 

Proposals for bus stops, 3m shared footway/cycleway and the two signalised crossing is maintaining pedestrian and cyclist safety. The proposed highway improvement will help future and current residents to safely gain access to the existing and proposed footway/cycleway on either side of Bicester Road and the amenities in the area.

The Cabinet Member is RECOMMENDED to:

Approve the following traffic/highway features on Bicester Road in Kidlington, as advertised:

a)    New Toucan crossing located north of its roundabout junction with Oxford Road,

b)    Conversion of an existing section of footway on the eastern side to a new shared-use foot & cycleway,

c)    Two new bus stop Clearways with a ‘No stopping except local buses’ restrictions, north of its roundabout junction with Oxford Road.

The Chair introduced the item to the meeting.

Officers noted that this proposal was to support access to a development in Kidlington through a shared-use cycle path, which was in compliance with LTN 1/20. It was confirmed that funding was in place through a Section 106 agreement.

The Chair noted submissions from active travel groups, who had valid points, but confirmed that the proposal had funding and physical constraints.

It was noted that a 3m shared route for cyclists was in place inside the development on Bicester Road and that safety for cyclists was of paramount importance.

Officers confirmed that the agreements had received planning approval.

The Chair thanked officers for their work and agreed to the recommendations in the report.

RESOLVED to:

Approve the following traffic/highway features on Bicester Road in Kidlington, as advertised:

a)    New Toucan crossing located north of its roundabout junction with Oxford Road,

b)    Conversion of an existing section of footway on the eastern side to a new shared use foot & cycleway,

c)    Two new bus stop Clearways with a ‘No stopping except local buses’ restrictions, north of its roundabout junction with Oxford Road.