Agenda item

Councillor Bartholomew had given notice of the following question to Councillor Stratford

“At the meeting of the Cabinet Advisory Group on Income Generation on 11 October I put forward a proposal for a 'Speed Tube Protocol' which I believe will not only improve Highways' response to planning applications, but will generate substantial income for the Council. 

In an exchange of emails subsequent to the meeting between myself, the Cabinet Member for Finance and the Cabinet Member for Economy & Environment, it was agreed that an officer report on this proposal would be prepared for the meeting of the CAG on 29th November. Unfortunately this did not occur and is not referred to in the final report of the CAG.

Now that the Group is ending, could I have an assurance from both Cabinet members that a working party, in which I am to be included, will be established to investigate and develop the proposals?”

Councillor Stratford replied:

Councillor Stratford commented that there was no need for a working group but that the matter would be considered by Councillor Nimmo Smith and officers as part of fees and charges and would involve Councillor Bartholomew.

Councillor Howson had given notice of the following question to Councillor Harrod:

“Using the data provided by the DfE for the Stage 2 consultation on a National Funding Formula for Schools, how many primary and secondary schools in Oxfordshire are shown in the DfE calculations as net gainers and net losers under the proposed future arrangements?”

Councillor Harrod replied:

“Figures provided by the F40 group give the following numbers of gainers and losers:

Primary: 108 gainers, 121 losers

Secondary: 24 winners, 10 losers”

Supplementary: In response to a further question Councillor Harrod agreed that it was likely that small village schools would be affected. With officers he was still analysing the impact to see if anything could be done.

Councillor Tanner to Councillor Nimmo Smith

“Does the Cabinet member now deeply regret putting dangerous buses back into the pedestrianised Queen Street in Oxford against the advice of his own officers and to the huge disappointment of the developers of the new Westgate shopping centre?”

Councillor Nimmo Smith replied:

“I think Cllr Tanner is confused about the process and should pay more attention to the agendas.

Queen Street allows for buses at present and was only closed to these services during a specific period of construction of the Westgate Centre to allow better site access - once the developers had carried out the work, Queen Street was always programmed to re-open to buses.

The recent item on the Cabinet Member Decisions Environment meeting was regarding the longer term situation in Queen Street. If Cllr Tanner had read the papers properly then he would have understood the difference.

It will be a Cabinet decision about whether or not to pedestrianise Queen Street once the new Westgate centre opens.  The item on the Cabinet Member Decisions Environment meeting has a much wider impact than the routine yellow lines, disabled parking bays and pedestrian crossings normally dealt with and it is appropriate that a wider decision is sought.  Cllr Tanner is - as always - welcome to attend the meeting and listen to the debate, which may, or may not, give him the decision he seeks.”

Councillor Purse had given notice of the following question to Councillor Nimmo Smith:

“Given the likely impact of far fewer cuts of verges will lead to changes in the vegetation on verges, what is being done to ensure that the biodiversity of Oxfordshire verges does not suffer, and are any guidelines being passed on to Parishes taking on their own grass cutting.”

No answer was available at the meeting but the response subsequently provided by Councillor Nimmo Smith is included below for completeness:

“Through the Oxfordshire Together initiative we are funding Parishes to do a minimum of two cuts which of course they can increase if they wish – and I understand that many of them do so. 

Not all verges have the same biodiversity potential.  Verges on the shallower chalk and limestone soils such as are found in the AONBs typically offer the greatest biodiversity potential. Verges on richer clay soils will naturally tend to be dominated by a more limited range of vigorous species.

Outside of villages and towns where only a 1m strip of verge is being cut, the biodiversity may increase for a year or two in the un-cut sections as more plants flower.  After this however the overall biodiversity is expected to decrease as the more vigorous grasses and shrubs will dominate the un-cut sections of the verge.  The reduction in biodiversity is therefore likely to be felt most greatly in areas with an annual 1m cut that support flora typical of lime/chalk or in some locations sandy soils. I have asked officers to consider whether it may be possible within the restricted budget that is available to carry out a limited programme of full-width cuts in those locations which will have the greatest biodiversity benefit.

In areas where the full width of the verge is being cut a reduction in number of cuts per year may benefit biodiversity by allowing verge plants more opportunity to flower and produce seed, though this is dependent upon the timing of cut.  Prior to cutting starting in 2017 officers will provide Parishes participating in Oxfordshire Together with suitable generic advice so they can consider the ecological impact of their work.

A number of verges - Roadside Verge Nature Reserves - have historically been identified as being of particularly high biodiversity value.  Through a process of survey and local knowledge gathering, we are currently reviewing the condition and management needs of the RVNRs.  At the end of the 2017 survey season, we will have identified the most biodiverse verges where management effort can be concentrated to best effect.  Management of these high value RVNR sites may require additional treatment above the current cutting regime.  We are already working on a small scale with local initiatives such as the County Council hosted Wychwood Project’s ‘Suck Seed and Sow’ project, in partnership with the Cotswolds AONB to find ways of achieving this.”

Councillor Purse had given notice of the following question to Councillor Nimmo Smith:

“Lorries parking in laybys along the Eastern Bypass between Headington and Cowley continue to bring a nuisance to local residents and others using the roads and laybys as the drives stay for hours at a time and habitually use the roadsides as toilets. Can the Cabinet member urgently enter into talks with those large local businesses likely to attract deliveries about providing proper facilities for lorry drivers to park, so reducing the unpleasantness and risk to public health being caused at present.”

Councilloe Nimmo Smith replied:

“The laybys referred to do provide an important facility to allow HGV drivers to have their statutory breaks which are designed to ensure drivers don’t drive when they are tired.

Senior officers and Councillors do have regular meetings with key representatives from the BMW Mini plant in Cowley and we continue to raise with them issues relating to the major HGV flows to and from their site. I am aware that over the last few years they have made a number of changes in their arrangements to allow them to accommodate more HGVs on site.

I have asked officers to liaise with both the City Council (who are responsible for cleansing) and Thames Valley Police to see whether there are any low-cost measures that can be taken to relieve the problems referred to.”

Supplementary: Councillor Nimmo Smith undertook to raise the specific issue of BMW having a token system although he noted that it was not only BMW vehicles using the laybys.