Agenda and draft minutes

Overview and Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday, 4th June, 2025 5.30 pm

Venue: Committee Room 1, Council Offices, Woodgreen, Witney, Oxfordshire OX28 1NB. View directions

Media

Items
No.	Item
8.	Apologies for Absence and Temporary Appointments To receive any apologies for absence and temporary appointments. The quorum for the Committee is four members. Additional documents: Webcast for 8. Minutes: Apologies were noted from Councillors Mark Walker and Alex Wilson.
9.	Declarations of Interest To receive any declarations from Members of the Committee on any items to be considered at the meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for 9. Minutes: There were no declarations of interest.
10.	Minutes of Previous Meeting PDF 46 KB To approve the minutes of the Committee meeting held 21 May 2025. Additional documents: Webcast for 10. Minutes: The Committee considered the draft minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2025. Head of Democratic and Electoral Services explained that the start and finish times had been corrected and the names of proposers and seconders added. With those amendments, approval of the minutes were proposed by Councillor Cosier, seconded by Councillor Wray and agreed by the Committee. RESOLVED: The Committee APPROVED the minutes of the meeting held on 21 May 2025.
11.	Chair's announcements To receive any announcements from the Chair of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Additional documents: Webcast for 11. Minutes: The Chair drew the Committee’s attention to the exempt report at agenda item 12 and explained that the Committee would need to resolve to enter into private session for consideration of that item.
12.	Participation of the Public To receive any submissions from members of the public, in accordance with the Council’s Rules of Procedure, anyone who lives in the district or who pays council tax or business rates to the Council is eligible to read a statement or express an opinion at this meeting. You can register to speak by sending your written submission of no more than 750 words to [email protected] by no later than 10.00am on the working day before the meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for 12. Minutes: There was no participation of the public.
13.	Report back on recommendations For the Committee to note the Executive’s response to any recommendations arising from the previous Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting. Additional documents: Webcast for 13. Minutes: There were no recommendations arising from the previous committee meeting.
14.	2024/25 Quarterly Service Review Q4 PDF 87 KB View the background to item 14. Purpose To provide details of the Council’s operational performance at the end of 2024-25 Quarter Four (Q4). This report will be presented to the Executive on 11 June 2025. Recommendation That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to: 1. Note the report and agree any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Executive. Additional documents: Annex A - Priority Report - Q4 2024-25 , item 14. PDF 230 KB Annex B - Action Tracker Q4 2024-2025 , item 14. PDF 104 KB Annex C - Performance Report Q4 2024-2025 , item 14. PDF 1 MB Webcast for 14. Minutes: The Leader of the Council introduced the report detailing the Council’s operational performance at the end of 2024-25 Quarter Four (Q4) and highlighted the following key points: A Youth Development Officer had been in post since February and was engaging with external organisations. The Draft Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) Charging Schedule Examination would be taking place on 10 June 2025 and the Council aimed to implement CIL by August. A revised Net Zero policy for the Salt Cross Area Action Plan (AAP) had been submitted to the Planning Inspectorate. Round 4 of the Westhive funding allocations would be announced publicly on Monday. The had been a large number of applications and a diverse range of community projects would be funded. The Senior Performance Analyst highlighted the indicators that were above target, including planning application timescales of all types, customer satisfaction, missed bins and leisure visits. Processing times for Council Tax claims and changes of circumstances were below target following a Christmas backlog and increased contacts. The number of affordable homes delivered was also below target at 198 for the year. The target was 274 and 218 were now expected as some schemes had slipped into the next reporting year. In discussion the Committee noted that: Officers had been working with Ubico to improve processed and reduce the number of missed bin collections, with a focus on repeated missed collections. The Youth Development Officer post was very welcome and was already making a positive impact. There was some concern about the reduction in the recycling rate although it was recognised that this was a national trend and that the Council’s target of 62% was very ambitious. Options such as curb-side collection could potentially make a difference to the recycling rate but the Council may not wish to do that. The current leisure visits KPI was written into the KPI and was uplifted annually. Leisure usage would be expected to increase due to population from but benchmarking was difficult, particularly with private sector providers. The increased number of Westhive applications was welcome. The Committee would welcome an update on Carterton Leisure Centre decarbonisation in a future report. In response to a question, the Leader of the Council offered to report back with more detail on the aims and objectives of the Youth Development Officer post. The Leader also agreed to follow up with the Communications Team about whether the Council could do more through its communications activities to increase the recycling rate. The Senior Performance Analyst agreed to: Take away a suggestion that there could be more information about funding contributions on the Westhive website and to come back with a written response. Provide a written response on the timescales for the markets tender. Provide a written update on the Windrush application for Lottery funding. The Chair thanked the Leader and the Senior Performance Analyst for their report and attendance. RESOLVED: The Committee NOTED the report.
15.	West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2041 PDF 101 KB View the background to item 15. Purpose To consider the Local Plan 2041 Preferred Policy Options Consultation Paper which is proposed to be published for consultation in accordance with Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012. This item will be considered by the Executive on 11 June 2025. Recommendation That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to: 1. Note the report and agree any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Executive. Additional documents: Annex A - Draft Preferred Options Paper May 2025 , item 15. PDF 4 MB Annex B - Summary Overview of Draft Development Management Policies , item 15. PDF 165 KB Preferred Policy Options - Schedule of Proposed Minor Changes 10 June 2025 , item 15. PDF 526 KB Webcast for 15. Minutes: The Executive Member for Planning introduced the Local Plan 2041 Preferred Policy Options Consultation Paper report, stating that site allocations would be considered in the coming months. This was not a draft Local Plan, rather a set of policies on which the Council wanted to receive feedback from members, the public, town and parish councils, site promoters and others. The Local Plan Working Group had considered the proposals over a series of meetings and there had been two all-member briefing sessions held. The Executive Member extended his thanks to the planning team during what had been a particularly busy period. The Committee considered the report page by page, asked questions and made a number of suggestions. The Committee’s list of suggestions is included as an annex to these minutes. The Executive Member thanked the Committee for its input and said that the preferred sites would be coming forward to the Overview and Scrutiny Committee and the Executive in August or September 2025. The Committee thanked the Executive Member, officers and the Local Plan Working Group for all their work. RESOLVED: The Committee NOTED the report. RECOMMENDED to the Executive to include the suggested amendments contained within the Annex be included in the final version West Oxfordshire Local Plan 2041.
16.	Committee Work Programme PDF 113 KB Purpose: For the Committee to review and note its work programme. Recommendation: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to: 1. Note and comment on the work plan. Additional documents: Webcast for 16. Minutes: The Committee noted that the membership of the Leisure Task and Finish Group did not include a member of the Overview and Scrutiny Committee. Councillor Stuart McCarroll was appointed as Chair of the Leisure Task and Finish Group. The Committee asked to invite the Youth Development Officer to the September meeting. The Head of Democratic and Electoral Services agreed to look at the timeline for the Public Conveniences Task and Finish Group.
17.	Executive Work Programme PDF 165 KB Purpose: To give the Committee the opportunity to comment on the Executive Work Programme and select Executive reports for pre-decision scrutiny at future Committee meetings. Recommendation: That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to: 1. Note the report and agree any additional items it wishes to add to its work plan for pre-decision scrutiny. Additional documents: Webcast for 17. Minutes: Councillor Cosier suggested that the Executive Member for Environment should be notified of the Environment Agency’s new flooding maps.
18.	Exclusion of Press and Public If the Committee wishes to exclude the press and the public from the meeting during consideration of any of the items on the exempt from publication part of the agenda, it will be necessary for the Committee to pass a resolution in accordance with the provisions of section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972. Additional documents: Webcast for 18. Minutes: The Committee resolved to exclude the press and the public from the meeting in accordance with section 100A of the Local Government Act 1972 on the grounds that their presence could involve the likely disclosure of exempt information as described in paragraph 3 of Schedule 12A of the Local Government Act 1972, with the public interest in maintaining the exemption outweighing the public interest in disclosing the information.
19.	Knights Court Business Case View the reasons why item 19. is restricted View the background to item 19. Purpose To agree the next steps regarding a council owned asset that is under review. This report will be presented to the Executive on 11 June 2025. Recommendation That the Overview and Scrutiny Committee resolves to: 1. Note the report and agree any recommendations it wishes to submit to the Executive. Minutes: The Committee considered a report on the next steps regarding a council owned asset that was under review. The report was considered in private session. The Executive Member for Finance and the Business Manager for Assets and Council Priorities presented the report and answered questions. The Committee welcomed the report. RESOLVED: The Committee NOTED the report.

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