Issue - meetings

“We need to end sewage pollution and make our rivers clean and fit for recreation once again.  We have in this Country a "clean beach policy" - we now need a clean river policy (such as a Blue Flag approach for our rivers so that they can again become clean and healthy).”

Oxfordshire County Council therefore requests the Leader of the Council to write to Oxfordshire MPs and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ask that HM Government takes urgent action to ban the dumping of raw and untreated sewage into our rivers and to support a clean river policy including the reintroduction of quality status in order to re-establish the high quality of water in our rivers.”

The amendment by Councillor Tim Bearder was lost by 38 votes to 28.

The Substantive Motion was carried nem con.

Councillor Field-Johnson moved and Councillor Walker seconded the following Motion:

“We need to end sewage pollution and make our rivers clean and fit for recreation once again.  We have in this Country a "clean beach policy" - we now need a clean river policy (such as a Blue Flag approach for our rivers so that they can again become clean and healthy).”

Oxfordshire County Council therefore requests the Leader of the Council to write to Oxfordshire MPs and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ask that HM Government takes urgent action to ban the dumping of raw and untreated sewage into our rivers and to support a clean river policy including the reintroduction of quality status in order to re-establish the high quality of water in our rivers.”

Councillor Tim Bearder moved and Councillor Leffman seconded the following amendment as shown in bold italics below:

“We need to end sewage pollution and make our rivers clean and fit for recreation once again.  We have in this Country a "clean beach policy" - we now need a clean river policy (such as a Blue Flag approach for our rivers so that they can again become clean and healthy).”

Oxfordshire County Council therefore requests the Leader of the Council to write to Oxfordshire MPs and the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, to ask that HM Government takes urgent action to ban the dumping of raw and untreated sewage into our rivers, to block any attempt to weakening of the protections provided to our rivers by the EU’s water framework directiveand to support a clean river policy including the reintroduction of quality status in order to re-establish the high quality of water in our rivers.”

Following debate, the amendment was put to the vote and was lost by 38 votes to 28.

The Substantive Motion was then put to the vote and was carried nem con.