Agenda, decisions and minutes

Councillor Calum Miller apologised that he would have to leave the meeting at Noon – which was the original expected end time of the meeting – as he had an unavoidable commitment to attend another meeting.

There were no declarations of interest.

Members of the public who wish to speak at this meeting can attend the meeting in person or ‘virtually’ through an online connection. 

To facilitate ‘hybrid’ meetings we are asking that requests to speak are submitted by no later than 9am four working days before the meeting i.e., 9am on Wednesday 23 November.  Requests to speak should be sent to colm.ocaomhanaigh@oxfordshire.gov.uk

If you are speaking ‘virtually’, you may submit a written statement of your presentation to ensure that if the technology fails, then your views can still be taken into account. A written copy of your statement can be provided no later than 9am 2 working days before the meeting. Written submissions should be no longer than 1 A4 sheet.

The Chair had agreed to the following 51 requests to speak and invited all speakers to address the meeting at this point so that they could speak on any of the items on the agenda.

Speakers were invited to submit one A4 page with their speech and those that have been received have been published alongside the minutes.

Petition

Sajjad Malik presented a petition against the proposed traffic filter at Hollow Way, signed by 3,100 people, mostly living the Temple Cowley area.

Speakers

Zuhura Plummer, Campaign Director of Oxfordshire Liveable Streets

Patrick Davey, Chair, Walton Manor East West Roads Coalition

City Cllr Ajaz Rehman

Richard Parnham

Cllr Jerry Patterson, Kennington PC

Dr Alison Hill, Chair of Cyclox

Patrick Lyons for Ken Pelton

David Deriaz, Vice-Chairman of Oxfordshire Transport & Access Group

Emma de la Chapelle

Cllr Louise Upton

Bernadette Evans, Jericho Traders Assoc

James Salter

City Cllr Anna Railton

Zaheer Iqbal

Clinton Pugh

Danny Yee

City Cllr Emily Kerr

Cllr Charlie Hicks

Fraser Jones

Emily Scaysbrook, Oxford High Street Assoc

Jamie Hartzell, Jericho LTN group

John Skinner

Robin Tucker

Tara Beattie

Duncan Parkes

City Cllr Katherine Miles

City Cllr Mohammed Altaf-Khan

David Wyatt

Jeremy Mogford

City Cllr Linda Smith

City Cllr Mary Clarkson

Ian Green

Alison Cadle

Mick Haines

Hannah Kirby

Judith Harley

Philippa Jackson

Scott Urban

Peter West

Laura Soden

Chris Benton

Naomi Gray

Tim Warner

Margaret Brown

Graham Jones

Cllr Susanna Pressel

Cllr David Bartholomew

Cllr Dan Levy

Cllr John Howson

Cllr Liam Walker

Reports from the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee on:

-        Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan

-        Traffic Filters

Councillor Calum Miller left the meeting at 12.00.

Cabinet received two reports from the Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee relating to items on the agenda for this meeting.

Tom Hudson, Principal Scrutiny Officer, gave apologies from the Chair and Deputy Chair of the committee and provided a summary of the reports.

On the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan and Traffic Filters, the following were believed to be key points:

·       Do the plans contribute to the ambitions of the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan?

·       What measurements will be used to monitor success?

·       What will the Council do if the plans are found not to be working?

·       There was a need to bring the various interest groups with Cabinet – for example business groups, disability groups.

·       Scrutiny emphasised the importance of transparency and accountability.

The Chair thanked the scrutiny committee for their input.  Cabinet will respond formally in due course.

Cabinet Member: Travel & Development Strategy

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/158

Contact: Joanne Fellows, Growth Manager (Central), 07990368897

Report by Corporate Director Environment & Place (CA5).

To seek approval of the content of the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)              Approve the Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan including recommended changes listed in this report.

b)              Delegate the decision on the final Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan document, including graphical format, to the Corporate Director for Environment and Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Travel and Development Strategy.

The Central Oxfordshire Travel Plan (COTP) was the first area travel plan to have been produced.  The report before Cabinet set out the results of a public consultation on the draft COTP document and recommended approval of the plan.  The report also set out a number of recommended amendments to be made to the plan following public consultation.

Councillor Duncan Enright, Cabinet Member for Travel & Development Strategy, introduced the report.  He noted that all parties in the Council had supported the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan which was designed to ensure the greatest access to every part of the County.

The Plan took account of the climate emergency, the city’s heritage in car manufacture and the huge congestion problems.  The routes in and out of Oxford were included in the consideration.  Local Plans would need to take account of this Plan.  The changes were needed to support public transport services to be more affordable and reliable.

Other Cabinet Members added comments:

·       There was a need to flesh-out the idea of mobility hubs quickly as they could make a significant contribution to connectivity.

·       The plans for tens of thousands of houses around Oxford, approved by the previous administration, have meant that doing nothing was not an option.

·       Most of the discussions around this have been between the city and council councils.  The districts need to be represented too.

·       The poor are the most reliant on public transport and we must reduce congestion to allow the buses to run reliably.

·       The proposals on new railway branches were very welcome, particularly for areas of population growth.

·       Were the various proposals being implemented in the correct order?  If the workplace parking levy had been brought in sooner, it would have alleviated some of the concerns around the other measures.

A number of amendments were proposed:

Councillor Enright proposed an amendment to the report: on Agenda Page 7, delete the first bullet point titled “Wider commitment to/ a better balance on 20mph speed limits”.  This was seconded by Councillor Sudbury and agreed.

Councillor Bearder proposed an additional recommendation:

“Request that the Corporate Director for Environment and Place brings to the December Cabinet meeting a programme for the other measures mentioned in COTP.”

Following discussion with officers as to when they could produce such a report, Councillor Enright proposed that such a report be brought to the January 2023 meeting.  This was seconded by Councillor Sudbury and agreed.

Councillor Glynis Phillips proposed an amendment to recommendation b) to append “and for Cabinet to be informed of any changes”.  This was seconded by Councillor Enright and agreed.

Councillor Sudbury left the meeting.

Councillor Andrew Gant proposed a further amendment to recommendation b): insert after ‘graphical format’, “and amendments to bring the document in line with any Scrutiny recommendations subsequently agreed to by the Cabinet”.  This was seconded by Councillor Enright and agreed.

The recommendations as amended were proposed by Councillor Enright and seconded by Councillor Gant and agreed.

RESOLVED:

On Agenda Page 7, delete the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 156/22

Cabinet Members: Climate Change Delivery & Environment, Highway Management and Travel & Development Strategy

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/139

Contact:Mehdi Zegmou, Senior Project Manager (Oxford City) Email: mehdi.zegmou@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Corporate Director Environment & Place (CA6).

Seek Approval for the implementation Traffic Filters ETRO.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

(a)            approve the making of an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order (or Orders) introducing six traffic filters in Oxford as described in Annex 8, subject to further minor changes to allow the scheme to operate as intended without affecting the scheme outcomes;

(b)            authorise delegation to the Corporate Director for Environment and Place to make and implement the necessary Experimental Traffic Regulation Order(s) and make and implement any relevant adjustments to the scheme once it is in force;

(c)            noting that an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order allows the council to adjust the scheme once it is in force, authorise the Corporate Director for Environment and Place (in consultation with the Director for Law and Governance and the Cabinet Member for Travel and Development Strategy) to make changes to the experimental scheme before it comes into force, provided that these changes do not materially alter the scheme’s impacts, particularly in relation to bus journey time savings and

(d)            approve the development and implementation of the infrastructure and supporting systems required for the traffic filters, at an estimated cost of £6.458m.

Councillor Duncan Enright left the meeting.

Cabinet was asked to approve an Experimental Traffic Regulation Order to introduce six new traffic filters which the report stated would:

·             make walking and cycling safer and more attractive

·             make bus journeys quicker and more reliable

·             enable new and improved bus routes

·             support investment in modern buses (including the ZEBRA project to fund up to 159 electric buses)

·             help tackle climate change, reduce local air pollution and improve the health and wellbeing of our communities

Councillor Andrew Gant, Cabinet Member for Highway Management, introduced the report.  He proposed an amendment to recommendation a):

Insert after ‘minor changes’, “(including adopting any Scrutiny recommendations)”.  This was seconded by Councillor Phillips and agreed.

Responding to speakers on this item, he emphasised that this was a democratic process – the decision was being made by democratically elected councillors.  He did not accept suggestions that he had not met with opponents to the scheme.  He noted that some of the objectors had previously opposed the High Street traffic filters but nobody was suggesting to remove them now as they had been very effective.

Councillor Gant stated that Cambridge had introduced similar measures decades ago.  There was nowhere in the city that you will not be able to drive to after the introduction of the filters.  Changes have been made following the consultation process.  The effects of the filters will be monitored, including the effects on businesses.  The aim was to open up the city and enhance public transport.

The Chair read a statement from Councillor Calum Miller who had to leave the meeting before the speakers had concluded.  The statement is included in the collection of statements published with the minutes.

Other Cabinet Members commented on the proposal:

·       The Low Traffic Neighbourhoods (LTNs) that have been introduced should have been one of a series of measures to deal with traffic problems but other important measures such as the workplace parking levy have been delayed and this endangers the LTNs.

·       The biggest problem was that there were just too many cars in the city.  In many cases, several cars to one house.

·       Given the climate emergency, everybody has to change and tread as lightly as possible.

Councillor Mark Lygo stated that he would not vote for this proposal.  He believed that there had been many failings in the process.  He called on Cabinet to pause, even at this late stage and reconsider the proposals, avoiding blame.

Councillor Gant summed up, thanking officers for all their work in very difficult circumstances.  He welcomed the support from Oxford City Council’s Cabinet.

Councillor Liz Brighouse proposed an amendment to recommendation b) to append: “and for Cabinet to be informed of any changes”.  This was seconded by Councillor Phillips and agreed.

The recommendations as amended were proposed by Councillor Gant and seconded by Councillor Hannaby.  The recommendations were approved with 6 votes in favour and 1 against.

The Chair reminded Cabinet Members that there was a duty under collective responsibility to take  ...  view the full minutes text for item 157/22

Cabinet Member: Highway Management

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/216

Contact: Olu Solola, Programme Lead, olu.solola@oxfordshire.gov.uk

Report by Director of Transport & Infrastructure (CA7).

To review the programme phasing.

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:

a)              Approve Officers recommendations that The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure - A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) Compulsory Purchase Order 2022 (“the CPO”) and The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure - A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) (Side Roads) Order 2022 (“the SRO”) must be withdrawn from the ongoing statutory process to allow time to further review the scheme.

b)              Authorise the Director of Law & Governance to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to formally withdraw The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure – A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) (Side Roads) Order 2022 (“the SRO”) and The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure - A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) Compulsory Purchase Order 2022 (“the CPO”) (including the related Order Maps, Plans, Schedules and Joint Statement of Reasons) and noting that this will result in a formal non-confirmation decision from the Secretary of State;

c)              To authorise the Director of Law and Governance to include in the letter to the Secretary of State that it is not considered that any objections to the current Orders can carry to any fresh orders as the timescale for fresh orders is imprecise at this stage, and because it is unclear whether the amended proposal in fresh orders might attract those same objections, and to authorise the settlement of any professional fees that may have been incurred by objectors to the Orders in relation to the production of such objections.

d)              As soon as the CPO and the SRO have received a non-confirmation decision from the Secretary of State, to authorise the Director of Law & Governance to comply with all associated requirements in respect of personal, site and press notices of non-confirmation and to take all other relevant actions required thereon to ensure the withdrawal of the CPO and the SRO.

Cabinet received an update report on the HIF2 Scheme.  As part of the ongoing delivery of the HIF2 A40 Programme and in light of the global inflationary pressures being experienced in all sectors, a detailed review had been undertaken of the HIF2 Scheme.  As a result of this review, cost pressures had been identified that result in the HIF2 Scheme exceeding its current budget.  This had made it necessary to obtain Cabinet approval to withdraw the current CPO and SRO from the ongoing statutory process to allow further time to review the scheme in detail and consider mitigations to these cost pressures.

Councillor Duncan Enright, Cabinet Member for Travel & Development Strategy, summarised the report.  In light of the current difficulties around inflation, availability of materials and workforce pressures, governance and finance staff had been monitoring progress on all major infrastructure projects.

Compulsory Purchase Orders and Side Road Orders had been approved by Cabinet for this scheme which was aiming to improve connectivity for newly planned development.  Having reviewed this project, it was proposed to withdraw these Orders and return with a new scheme that fits the current financial and legal situations.

Councillor Enright proposed the recommendations.  They were seconded by Councillor Gant and agreed.

RESOLVED to:

a)          Approve Officers recommendations that The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure - A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) Compulsory Purchase Order 2022 (“the CPO”) and The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure - A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) (Side Roads) Order 2022 (“the SRO”) must be withdrawn from the ongoing statutory process to allow time to further review the scheme.

b)          Authorise the Director of Law & Governance to write to the Secretary of State for Transport to formally withdraw The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure – A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) (Side Roads) Order 2022 (“the SRO”) and The Oxfordshire County Council (Highways Infrastructure - A40 HIF2 Smart Corridor (Hill Farm to Dukes Cut)) Compulsory Purchase Order 2022 (“the CPO”) (including the related Order Maps, Plans, Schedules and Joint Statement of Reasons) and noting that this will result in a formal non-confirmation decision from the Secretary of State;

c)          To authorise the Director of Law and Governance to include in the letter to the Secretary of State that it is not considered that any objections to the current Orders can carry to any fresh orders as the timescale for fresh orders is imprecise at this stage, and because it is unclear whether the amended proposal in fresh orders might attract those same objections, and to authorise the settlement of any professional fees that may have been incurred by objectors to the Orders in relation to the production of such objections.

d)          As soon as the CPO and the SRO have received a non-confirmation decision from the Secretary of State, to authorise the Director of Law & Governance to comply with all associated requirements in respect of personal, site and press notices of  ...  view the full minutes text for item 158/22

Cabinet Member: Leader

Forward Plan Ref: 2022/192

Contact: Colm Ó Caomhánaigh, Committee Officer, 07393 001096

Report by Director of Law & Governance.

Appointment of governors with NHS Foundation Trusts.

Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to

a)                  designate Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust and Oxford University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust as Strategic Outside Bodies;

b)                  appoint governors to both bodies as listed in the Annex.

(Annex to follow)

It was agreed to defer this item to the next Cabinet meeting on 20 December 2022 to allow for further discussions.