Agenda and minutes

Apologies for absence were received from Cllr Sally Povolotsky.

Councillor Alison Rooke substituted for Councillor Povolotsky.

To approve the minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2022                 and to receive information arising from them.

The minutes of the meeting held on 16 November 2022 were agreed as a correct record.

A member expressed concern that a number of resolutions recorded in the minutes were shown as unanimous decisions when they had been decided by a majority vote.  The Chair recognised that a number of the issues considered by the Committee were controversial and it was open for members to submit minority reports on these issues if required.

RESOLVED that future decisions of the committee should be recorded as unanimous or taken by a majority of members present and voting.

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Place

(Councillor Pete Sudbury, Cabinet Member for Climate Change and Environment, Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of OxLEP and Jasmine Gilhooley, Business Strategist, Banbury BID, attended the meeting for this item)

The Chair introduced the discussion on this item.  He referred to the introduction of a number of the Council’s environmental policies across the County and it was an appropriate time to consider the impact of these on the retail sector and town centres.

Nigel Tipple, Chief Executive of the LEP, gave a presentation on Oxfordshire Economy: Town Centres and High Streets covering the following issues:-

-        Impact of the COVID pandemic on town centres, working at home and footfall

-        Programme for enabling spaces for shops, cultural venues and other working facilities

-        Visitor economy data – comparison with 2019

-        Refresh of Oxfordshire Economic Plan

-        Growth hub grants and business support

-        Support footfall back to business and high streets

-        Information on public transport and access

-        Work with art and cultural partners to encourage more art installation and events

-        Partnerships and action for each location

Jasmine Gilhooly, gave a presentation on Love Your Town: Shopping in Banbury and covered the following issues:-

-        Proportion of local business rates allocated to town regeneration

-        Role of the local community

-        Shop window dressing competition

-        Local businesses – quality and experience

-        A video clip promoting Banbury as a place for new independent businesses

During discussion, members made the following comments:-

-        The business community needed to improve the way in which it promoted economic activity in towns

-        Place design is critically important in the regeneration of town centres

-        There is scope to review park and ride car park fees and impact on footfall in town centres

-        Moving health provision such as physiotherapy and occupational health to the street would have benefits

-        Concern about investment in improved infrastructure in cycling without evidence that this would increase cycle usage in town centres

-        Need to consider the impact of social media on promotion of local businesses

-        Improved data on predictions of footfall resulting from traffic controls would be beneficial

RESOLVED to recommend the Cabinet that:-

a)    Major policy decisions by the Council should take into account impact on local economy and accessibility

b)    The Council should be proactive in communicating the benefits of its economic and environmental policies

c)     The Council influences place-shaping in partnership with District Councils and other organisations

Report by Corporate Director of Environment and Place

Water resources regional plans across England have reached a draft stage.  The government set out the requirement for such regional plans in a recent government guideline, following the National Framework 2020for water resources called ‘Meeting our Future Needs’. 

Draft individual water company plans have also been produced.  These Water Resource Management Plans for 2024 (WRMP24) will replace those that exist from 2019 (WRMP19).  

It is recommended that the County Council responds to some of the current water resources regional and company draft plan consultations.

The Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is RECOMMENDED to feedback any comments on the draft WRSE response, appended, for consideration by the Corporate Director for Environment and Place in consultation with the Cabinet Member for Climate Change Delivery and Environment by Friday 3^rd February (a draft response is included in the Annex)

The Committee considered a report on the County Council’s proposed responses to the current South East water resources regional and company draft plan consultations. Draft responses were being prepared for those with a deadline of 20^th February 2023. The draft Thames Water WRMP24 had a delayed publication date, of 13^th December 2022 and has a deadline of 21^st March 2023, and therefore, a draft response has not yet been prepared.

The Director of Planning, Environment and Climate Change presented the report and referred, in particular, to the Council’s opposition to the proposed strategic reservoir described in the Thames Water plan.  She said that a representative of GARD had been invited to the meeting to explain their organisation’s views on the proposed development.

Phil Stride from Thames Water gave a presentation on the consultation on the two plans. He said that that Thames Water were keen to hear the Council’s views on these plans. He made the following points:-

-        The need for resource planning to address the potential shortfall in water resources in future decades

-        Work with the Environment Agency and other stakeholders on scenarios for abstraction reduction

-        The development of a best value plan

-        Managing leakages and water demand effectively

-        Development of new sources of water

-        Proposals for the South East Strategic Reservoir

-        Opportunities from the plan for Society, the Economy and the Environment

-        Proposals for consultation and engagement

Derek Stork, Group Against Reservoir Development gave a presentation covering the following points:-

-        Aims of the GARD campaign/response to the plan

-        Analysis of water demand predictions

-        Performance of Thames Water against government targets on water efficiency and leakage

-        Drought resilience

-        Supply-side solution -de- emphasising new reservoirs

-        New infrastructure to 2040

During discussion, members made the following comments on the draft response to the plan set out in the report:-

-        Too much emphasis on engineering solutions to the problems

-        Targets on water leakage and performance were not sufficient

-        Insufficient proposals on educating the public on reducing water usage

-        Concern that an Oxfordshire-built reservoir will benefit other areas

-        There was no local support for the reservoir plans

-        Concern about the choice of language in the Council’s proposed response set out in the report

-        A holistic approach was needed to water resourcing before detailed matters raised in the proposed response are considered

The representatives from Thames Water answered a number of questions on their presentation.

RESOLVED to:-

a)    recommend that the Council includes, as part of its consultation response, a statement setting out Oxfordshire County Council’s vision in terms of a holistic approach to water management, highlighting our preference for solutions that are based in nature and that recognise the reality of an increasingly water scarce environment and the need to adapt to this reality.

b)    support the proposed response to the consultation set out in the report

c)     recommend that the Council ensures appropriate language is used in future  ...  view the full minutes text for item 4/23

Report of the Corporate Director of Environment and Place

The Environment Act 2021 became law on the 9^thof November 2021. The Act introduces legislation that will improve air and water quality, tackle waste, increase recycling, halt the decline of species, and improve our natural environment.   The Act bolsters the environmental role of local leaders by providing additional powers and flexibilities to deliver action, so that they are empowered to play a fundamental role in delivering the environmental improvement needed in local areas.

The Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee is RECOMMENDED to

Feedback any comments on Environment Act 2021 or the implications for the Oxfordshire Climate and Natural Environment Policy Statement to the Corporate Director, Environment and Place.

The Committee considered a report on the Environment Act 2021 and the implications for the Oxfordshire Climate and Natural Environment Policy Statement.

The Director of Planning, Environment and Climate Change presented the report and summarised the implications of the legislation for the County Council.

The Director then answered a number of questions as follows:-

-        Members noted that control of noise pollution was primarily a district function and the County Council would need to consider its role e.g. transport and infrastructure planning

-        The Council had a role with District Council partners in managing air quality

-        The Council was working closely with the local nature partnership and other partners on environmental issues

-        There were staff restructuring exercises taking place to improve capacity to respond to environmental legislation.  The Director could not comment on whether these would extend to legal services.

The Chair reiterated the Committee’s concern regarding the need for adequate permanent staffing resources to respond to the demands of the Council’s priorities and government legislation.

RESOLVED to:-

a)    note the report

b)    inform the Performance and Corporate Services Overview and  Scrutiny Committee of concerns regarding staffing resource issues within the Council and request an update on the restructuring of the Environment and Place Directorate in particular

The Committee is RECOMMENDED to note the action and recommendation tracker which is being used to monitor the implementation of formally agreed actions and recommendations.

The Committee considered the current action and recommendation tracker report.

RESOLVED to:

a)    note the current position on the Committee’s actions and recommendations

b)    ask the Scrutiny Officer to review the items listed as amber and provide a timeline for their completion in the next report.

Attached is a proposed work programme for Committee’s forthcoming meetings. The Committee is recommended to AGREE its work programme, having heard any changes from previous iterations, and taking into consideration the Council’s Forward Plan and any issues arising from the Business Management and Monitoring Report.

The Committee considered its work programme.

RESOLVED to:-

a)    ask the Scrutiny Officer to arrange an informal meeting to consider its future work programme

b)    establish a transport policy task and finish group