Agenda and draft minutes

The Democratic Services Officer invited nominations for Chair of the Charlotte Coxe Trust Committee for the 2024/25 council year. Cllr Bennett proposed Cllr Saul and Cllr Van Mierlo seconded the nomination.

With no other nominations and no objections, Cllr Saul was ELECTED Chair for 2024/25.

Having taken the Chair, Cllr Saul invited nominations for Deputy Chair of the Charlotte Coxe Trust Committee for the 2024/25 council year. Cllr Van Mierlo proposed Cllr Bennett and Cllr Saul seconded the nomination.

With no other nominations and objections, Cllr Bennett was ELECTED Deputy Chair for 2024/25.

Apologies were received by Councillor Jane Murphy.

See guidance note.

There were no declarations of interest.

To confirm the minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2024 to be signed by the Chair as a correct record.

The minutes of the meeting held on 25 January 2024 were approved as an accurate record.

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 22 August 2024. Requests to speak should be sent to: committeesdemocraticservices@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.

There were two public addresses to the Committee.

Report by Director of Law and Governance

The Committee is RECOMMENDED:

(a)  To resolve to enter into a year long tenancy of 33 High Street starting on 1 September 2024 with a named local sponsor which will stipulate that the property is to be occupied by Ukranian refugees and to delegate authority to the Director of Law and Governance and Monitoring Officer to negotiate and conclude the terms of the lease in consultation with the Director of Property and Assets;

(b)  To resolve that it would be in the best interests of the Trust for trusteeship to remain with the Council rather than to have the Trust’s property assets transferred to a “custodian trustee” and have individuals appointed as trustees; and

(c)  Assuming the recommendation at (b) is accepted, to authorise entering into a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the County Council regarding the library service’s occupation of Watlington Library.

Richard Hodby introduced the report to the Committee in 3 strands: firstly by looking at 33 High Street, secondly by looking at the transfer of the Trust and lastly, looking at the library and arrangements for its use.

Richard Hodby confirmed that due to the generosity of the sponsor and because of local efforts, 33 High Street has been transformed into a fully occupiable property, enabling refugees from Ukraine to stay there in the past 12 months.

Richard Hodby noted that the property had been empty since the 31^st July 2024.

Richard Hodby stated that up until May 2024, a formal tenancy to the property could not be granted due to low energy efficiency performance, which has been subsequently upgraded and tenancies can now be granted.

Richard Hodby noted that the County Council felt it would be inappropriate for direct tenancy agreements to be made with the Ukrainian families, but that the local sponsor had agreed to take the tenancy in his name and then sub-let out the property. It was noted that there will be a clause to ensure that the local sponsor cannot live in the property himself, and thus, this minimized risk of creating a Secure Tenancy.

Moving onto the transfer of the Trust, Richard Hodby noted that the expectation was originally that Watlington Parish Council would directly take over the Trust from Oxfordshire County Council, but that it had now indicated it was only willing to act as a “custodian trustee”. Local people would have to take on trusteeship.

Richard Hodby noted the concern that this might not create stability going forward as individuals cannot provide the longevity a permanent institution can and stated that Oxfordshire County Council has the responsibility to ensure that its successor would be as good as it.

If Oxfordshire County Council remained the Trustee, a question likely to arise is whether non-elected people could be co-opted onto the Charlotte Coxe Committee. Richard Hodby noted that most committees at Oxfordshire County Council are made solely out of elected members and pointed out that there would be no electoral accountability if members of the public were appointed to executive roles in managing the Trust and allowed to take decisions that expose the County Council to risk.

Moving onto the issue of the library, Richard Hodby noted that the library service was occupying a Trust asset without any formal arrangement.

Richard Hodby explained that the Council felt there should be clear understanding between the Trust and the County Council, as libraries authority, regarding the terms of the occupation of the building.

Richard Hodby stated that the County Council could not grant itself a lease on the property, as the County Council is also the trustee, but suggested that a memorandum of understanding between the library service and the Trust would be useful.

Richard Hodby explained that Section 121 of the Charities Act 2011 stated that before charity trustees make any disposal of a property, they are meant to have a public consultation about  ...  view the full minutes text for item 13.