Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Travel & Development Strategy

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/104

Contact: Jason Sherwood, Growth Manager South & Vale, 07795 684708

Report by Director of Transport & Infrastructure (CA12).

Oxfordshire County Council’s Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP), adopted July 2022, outlines a clear vision to deliver a net-zero Oxfordshire transport and travel system by 2040. One of the policies within LTCP that will be key to ensuring this vision is realised is Policy 36, which sets out how a ‘decide and provide’ approach to transport planning will be adopted.

The Cabinetis RECOMMENDED to adopt the ‘Implementing ‘Decide & Provide’: Requirements for Transport Assessments’ as a formal supplementary document to the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan.

Recommendations agreed.

Cabinet considered a report which set out how a ‘decide and provide’ approach to transport planning will be adopted.  The formal adoption of this document by Cabinet was recommended, as a supplementary document to the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan, in order to allow the relevant OCC officers to require the implementation of the approach in practice.

Before discussing the report, the Chair had agreed to the following requests to speak:

Councillor Charlie Hicks welcomed the fact that the Council will be one of the first to adopt such an approach.  However, the tool could not be used until the car journey targets were known.  He suggested that this policy be applied to new developments that were not yet master-planned as they might discover that some of the currently planned infrastructure was not needed.

Councillor Dan Levy also welcomed the policy.  He was concerned that it might be difficult to implement in practice if a lot of pressure was brought to bear by developers and, perhaps, districts.  He believed that there was a need to work with the city and districts to ensure that their plans were in line with this policy.

Councillor Duncan Enright, Cabinet Member for Travel & Development Strategy, summarised the proposals.  Previously, future needs were calculated based on continuing previous trends.  However, the new policy will take into account shifts to active travel and public transport.  He agreed on the need for baseline data in order to set the targets.  He was determined not to accept pushback on this policy.  It would inform negotiations with landowners and developers.

Cabinet Members made the following comments:

·       Some of the evidence on which previous predictions were made was very shaky.

·       Life would become unbearable in many areas if traffic increased.

·       There was a need to collocate residence and employment.

·       It was regrettable that the Oxfordshire Plan 2050 was no longer available.  However, the duty to cooperate still existed and the Future Oxfordshire Partnership would play a role.

·       The timing on this was good as districts were now looking at their local plans.

The recommendations were proposed by Councillor Enright, seconded by Councillor Hannaby and agreed.

RESOLVED to adopt the ‘Implementing ‘Decide & Provide’: Requirements for Transport Assessments’ as a formal supplementary document to the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan.