Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member: Travel & Development Strategy

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/219

Contact:John Disley, Head of Transport Policy, Environment and Place, john.disley@oxfordshire.gov.uk / Susannah Wintersgill, Director of Communications, Strategy & Insight, Susannah.wintersgill@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Corporate Director Environment & Place (CA9).

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

(a)                    approve the council’s response to the recommendations resulting from the Citizens’ Jury;

(b)                   support the development of a policy on the future use of juries and their place within the council’s decision-making process, as resolved by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee. 

Recommendations approved

Cabinet was requested to agree its response to the Citizens’ Jury called Street Voice, convened by Oxford University and held over several weekends in June and July 2022, to explore issues related to transport, health and climate change in Oxford.

Before considering the response, the Chair had agreed to a request to speak.

Richard Parnham addressed the Jury’s Recommendation 19 and called on Cabinet to endorse it rather than reject it.  It advocated asking the universities and hospitals to give over some of their land to provide safe walking and cycling routes at no cost to them.  He outlined some examples and provided maps of these to Cabinet Members in advance of the meeting.

Anita Bradley, Director of Law & Governance, responded that under the legislation cited, Section 26 of the Highways Act 1980, the Council would have to demonstrate a need for a path and compensation would be payable to the landowner.

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Highway Management, emphasised that the Council was in discussions with the universities all the time about improving walking and cycling facilities.  He would provide a written response to Mr Parnham’s proposals.

Councillor Glynis Phillips, Cabinet Member for Corporate Services, proposed the recommendations.  She thanked the jurors and researchers for their time and work.  She noted that this method of public engagement was resource intensive and the proposal was that it should be used very prudently and only when the policy agenda and democratic cycles leant themselves to such an approach.

Councillor Duncan Enright, Cabinet Member for Travel and Development Strategy, seconded the recommendations and summarised the response to the Jury’s recommendations.  He said that the Council was trying not to over-promise but give a realistic understanding of where things stood.

Councillors Enright and Gant proposed that an updated response be brought to Cabinet at a later date to take account of the latest Council budget and assess progress on the recommendations.

The recommendations were agreed.

RESOLVED to:

(a)                approve the council’s response to the recommendations resulting from the Citizens’ Jury;

(b)                support the development of a policy on the future use of juries and their place within the council’s decision-making process, as resolved by the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and Scrutiny Committee.