Agenda
Venue: Council Chamber, Council Offices, Woodgreen, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1NB. View directions
Contact: Democratic Services
Media
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Apologies for Absence To receive any apologies for absence from members of the Council. The quorum for Council is 14 members. |
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Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations of interest from members of the Council on any items to be considered at the meeting. |
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Minutes of Previous Meeting To approve the minutes of the previous meeting, held on Wednesday 22 May 2024. Additional documents: |
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Receipt of Announcements To receive any announcements from the Chair, Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive, the Chief Executive Officer, the Director of Governance and the Director of Finance. |
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Participation of the Public A member of the public, who is a registered elector in the District, may ask questions of the Chair of Council, any Member of the Executive or the Chair of any Committee, on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties or which affects the District. A member of the public is limited to asking one such question at any meeting of the Council, other than Annual Council. No more than one question can be asked on behalf of any organisation or body at any Council meeting. Notice that the question is to be asked, together with a written copy of the question, must be provided to the Director of Governance, via email to [email protected], and is to be received no later than noon on the seventh working day before the day of the meeting. The deadline for submissions for public participation to be received by Democratic Services is 12.00pm on Monday 15 July 2024. |
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Questions by Members The following questions have been submitted by Members of Council to Members of the Executive, in accordance with the Council Procedure Rules (Constitution Part 5A, Rule 12).
Written responses will be circulated to Members and published on the Council’s website at least one working day prior to the meeting. A Member submitting a question is entitled to ask one supplementary question at the meeting which must arise directly from the question or the response to it.
The supplementary questions and answers will be detailed in the minutes of the meeting.
Question 1: Councillor Thomas Ashby to Councillor Tim Sumner, Executive Member for Leisure and Major Projects How many hirings have we received for the new Council Chamber yet?
Question 2: Councillor Thomas Ashby to Councillor Tim Sumner, Executive Member for Leisure and Major Projects When will the plans be released for the new 3G Pitch in Witney?
Question 3: Councillor Jane Doughty to Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance What are the plans to fill the shops in Marriotts Walk?
Question 4: Councillor Adrian Walsh to Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance Will a structural survey be undertaken at Marriotts Walk to ensure the long-term viability of storing electric vehicles?
Question 5: Councillor Thomas Ashby to Councillor Lidia Arciszewska, Executive Member for Environment Our grass verges are in a desperate state, making West Oxfordshire look untidy and dangerous in visibility splays. What plans does the Council have in place to coordinate, Towns/Parishes, District and County Councils to ensure that our green spaces are well maintained across West Oxfordshire?
Question 6: Councillor Ed James to Councillor Alaric Smith, Executive Member for Finance Since taking over Marriotts Walk, what has the return on investment been to the District Council?
Question 7: Councillor Adrian Walsh to Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council Does the Leader support the new MPs view that Witney North’s housing plans are moved to the land at Ducklington Farm?
Question 8: Councillor Nick Leverton to Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council How much money has the Council spent on planning appeals?
Question 9: Councillor Alex Wilson to Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council Can the Leader confirm that WODC will continue with bi-weekly bin collections? |
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Recommendations from the Executive and the Council's Committees |
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Recommendations from the Executive Purpose: To agree recommendations made to Council by the Executive, from its meetings since 22 May 2024.
Recommendations: The Executive Recommends that Council resolves to:
And subject to the resolutions of 22 July 2024, the Executive recommends that Council resolves to:
Additional documents: |
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Recommendations from the Council's Committees Purpose:
Recommendations: 1. Approve the draft Pavement Licensing Policy, subject to any further amendments; 2. Approve the new fees as detailed in paragraph 3.3 of the original report (see Annex A). Additional documents: |
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Reports from Officers |
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Results of Member Survey on Council Start Times Purpose: To report to Council the results of the Member Survey on Council start times which Council agreed to undertake at the Annual Meeting on 22 May 2024.
Recommendations: That Council resolves to: 1. Note the report; 2. Agree any trial of a different start time for a meeting of full Council. Additional documents: |
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Motions on Notice |
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Motion A: Council of Sanctuary - Proposed by Councillor Rachel Crouch This council acknowledges the dedication and achievements of the officer team in fulfilling the council’s obligations towards people seeking sanctuary in West Oxfordshire. The Council has acted promptly and efficiently to deliver support and housing for those seeking sanctuary (asylum seekers, refugees, guests), including using the main funding rounds for:
In many cases, particularly surrounding work with the Home Office and the residents of the Witney Four Pillars Hotel, council officers have worked in diligent new ways to ensure people seeking sanctuary receive the best welcome to Witney that could be offered. This council pledges to learn from these experiences, from the local volunteers who work with our sanctuary seekers, and from sanctuary seekers themselves; and from organizations with even more experience, to develop into a district with a joined-up strategy and framework for welcoming people who seek sanctuary. https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WeT7xRyDnqGr27As0BUEg6Aghw9wsVLg/edit To do this, the Council resolves to request that the Executive considers proposals to follow the Awards Process for becoming a Council of Sanctuary and to: https://docs.google.com/documentd/1WeT7xRyDnqGr27As0BUEg6Aghw9wsVLg/edit
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Motion B: Community Governance Reviews - Proposed by Councillor Ruth Smith New developments on the boundaries between towns and villages and between larger and smaller villages bring with them the question of what structure of town and parish governance would best reflect the identities and interests of the new residents and the newly-shaped communities. A Community Governance Review gathers evidence and viewpoints from the communities involved and may result in ‘reparishing’; the redrawing of parish boundaries; changes to the number of councillors, changes to ward boundaries, changes to the name or type/style of ‘parish’ council, grouping or ungrouping parishes and even the creation of new councils. West Oxfordshire District Council has not routinely conducted such reviews since the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007. Council resolves to adopt, by the end of 2024, a policy for Community Governance Reviews, based on recommendations to be brought to the Executive when officers have considered it, to include: - The expected interval between reviews, per parish and as a whole district - The size of proposed developments that should trigger a CGR for parishes - Other considerations in line with the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 and the joint guidance on community governance reviews published by the Communities and Local Government Department and LGBC [Local Government Boundary Commission].
Links: The webpage for the Vale of White Horse Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee https://democratic.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/mgCommitteeDetails.aspx?ID=542 Examples of recent local CGRs and evidence of a policy for regular reviews (Vale says every 4 years) - Vale: https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/community-governance-review/ - Cherwell: https://www.cherwell.gov.uk/info/11/elections/315/community-governance-review - Vale and South working together every 4 years https://www.whitehorsedc.gov.uk/democracy/have-your-say-on-proposed-changes-for-parishes-in-south-oxfordshire-and-the-vale-of-white-horse/ A 2011 NALC roundup of lessons from CGRs. https://www.nalc.gov.uk/library/our-work/create-a-council-resources/1357-community-governance-reviews-some-lessons-from-recent-practice/file Government Guidance on Community Governance Reviews (2010) https://www.lgbce.org.uk/sites/default/files/2023-03/community-governance-review-guidance.pdf
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