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Agenda item

Oxfordshire Plan Consultation Document

Purpose

To consider the approval of the Oxfordshire Plan consultation document which sets out a range of planning policy options and a series of spatial strategy options for Oxfordshire.

When complete the Oxfordshire Plan will provide a high-level spatial planning framework for Oxfordshire up to 2050 and will be a statutory planning document supplementing Local Plans.  The Plan aims to be transformational and occupies new policy areas, such as on climate change, environmental betterment, health impacts and zero carbon transport.   It has now reached the Regulation 18 part 2 stage.

 

Recommendations

a)    That the Regulation 18 (Part 2) consultation document be approved for public consultation as attached; and

b)    That the Chief Executive be authorised to make any necessary editorial corrections and minor amendments to the documents, and to agree the final publication style, in liaison with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and subject to agreement with their counterparts in the other four partner Local Planning Authorities.

Minutes:

Members received a report from the Chief Executive which asked them to consider the approval of the Oxfordshire Plan consultation document, which set out a range of planning policy options and a series of spatial strategy options for Oxfordshire.

 

The Oxfordshire Plan 2050 (OP2050) is being produced by the five local planning authorities in Oxfordshire, working in close partnership with Oxfordshire County Council and OxLEP throughout.

 

When complete the Oxfordshire Plan would provide a high-level spatial planning framework for Oxfordshire up to 2050 and would be a statutory planning document supplementing Local Plans. The Plan aimed to be transformational and occupied new policy areas, such as climate change, environmental betterment, health impacts and zero carbon transport. It had now reached the Regulation 18 part 2 stage.

 

The report and consultation document were considered by the Economic and Social Overview and Scrutiny Committee on 8 July 2021.  The Committee did not raise any objections but noted some points of detail.  These points were noted by the Chief Executive and would be taken into account in the context of recommendation b).

 

The report noted that the proposed Consultation document at Annex B differed from that published for the meeting of the Economic and Social Overview and Scrutiny Committee but only in relation to the information on page 120 of the document.

 

An alternative option was that Cabinet could choose not to approve the consultation document.

 

Councillor Haine outlined the report and reported the content of an email received from the CPRE to all Members.  The CPRE whilst supportive in principle had raised concerns that the document was not fit for purpose.  Councillor Haine provided an overview of the document and the reasons he felt it should be approved for consultation.  He proposed the recommendations as laid out and this was seconded by Councillor Davies.

 

In response to a query from Councillor Graham, the Chief Executive assured Members that the comments and suggestions from the Economic and Social Overview and Scrutiny Committee would be taken into account, as per the paragraph at section 3 of the report.

 

Councillor Enright advised that the County Council had approved the document for consultation at their recent Cabinet meeting and highlighted the importance of joint working.  The Leader assured Councillor Enright that the District’s response would be delivered by the Chief Executive along with the CEO’s of all Council’s.

 

Councillor Postan advised that, alongside his colleague Councillor Levy, the document had been considered by the Growth Board Scrutiny Panel.  The Panel had given a clear understanding that the document needed to reflect that the country was in a Climate Emergency and therefore the attitude towards all plans being developed, needed to reflect that view.  He also advised of technological developments that had the potential to be interesting and positive, which he intended to brief Members on in due course.

 

Councillor Cooper raised a query as to what cases had been looked at and consideration given to a buffer zone at Blenheim.  He cited the recent situation in Liverpool who had lost their World Heritage Site status.  In response, the Chief Executive advised that this document did not look at the detail of locations and this would be considered in more detail, further through the process.

 

The Leader concurred that once the document reached the Regulation 19 level, it included far more detail.  Councillor Postan noted that there was such thing as a Buffer Zone in legal terms.

 

Having considered the report, and having heard from the Scrutiny Committees and the Members present, Cabinet

 

Resolved that

a)      the Regulation 18 (Part 2) consultation document be approved for public consultation as attached; and

b)     the Chief Executive be authorised to make any necessary editorial corrections and minor amendments to the documents, and agree the final publication style, in liaison with the Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning, subject to agreement with their counterparts in the other four partner Local Planning Authorities.

Supporting documents:

 

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