Agenda item
Receipt of Announcements
To receive any announcements from the Leader of the Council, Members of the Executive or the Chief Executive.
Minutes:
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of the Council, welcomed Members and Officers to the meeting.
The Leader advised that the Annex to the final Agenda Item contained commercially sensitive information, and if the Executive wished to discuss the information contained within the Annex, the meeting would need to agree to enter private session. The Leader advised the attendees that this would be highlighted at the appropriate juncture.
The Leader also highlighted that Annex A to Agenda Item 14: Retail Relief – Business Rates was an incorrect Annex contained within the printed agenda papers, adding that printed copies of the correct Annex were available on Members’ benches, and was available to view on the Council’s website.
Councillor Tim Sumner, Executive Member for Leisure and Major Projects, provided the Executive with updates regarding regeneration work being undertaken at leisure locations in Chipping Norton, including refurbishment work at Chipping Norton Leisure Centre. The Executive Member stated that sign off on the works was imminent and that staff were very happy with works nearing completion.
The Executive Member also shared updates regarding the Open-Air Swimming Pool in Woodstock. The Executive Member gave an overview of the wide range of activities that were available and confirmed that the venue would be open throughout the summer months between May and September 2024.
Councillor Charlie Maynard, Executive Member for Planning and Sustainable Development, announced that in conjunction with Cotswold District Council, the Council had been awarded £95,000 from Round 4 of the Proper Tech Innovation Fund, which would help the Council to develop online tools to engage with the public, on several planning related issues such as site identification. The Executive Member stated that the work would begin in the coming months and would allow the Council to be more accessible to the public.
Councillor Geoff Saul, Executive Member for Housing and Social Welfare, provided the Executive with an update on the Homelessness Prevention Grant. The Executive Member stated that the fund would allow local authorities to make further provisions for the prevention of homelessness, as well as funding for the provision of temporary accommodation.
The Executive Member gave an overview of funding received from Central Government which included an additional £215,177 towards prevention measures in West Oxfordshire.
Councillor Duncan Enright, Deputy Leader of the Council and Executive Member for Economic Development, gave an update regarding the West Oxfordshire Small Business Grant Scheme. The Deputy Leader highlighted that 41 applications had been received from different organisations around the local economy, with 36 applications successfully passing Counter Fraud checks thus far. The Deputy Leader further highlighted that all applicants had been invited to a session with the Oxfordshire Local Enterprise Partnership (OxLEP), with 34 successful applicants being awarded a grant of £5,000, to help further grow their businesses and employ further staffing resources.
Councillor Joy Aitman, Executive Member for Stronger, Healthy Communities, provided the Executive with an update regarding 3-Year Service Level Agreement awards. The Executive Member stated that in March 2023, the Executive agreed a new approach to funding, better aligned to the intended outcomes of the Council Plan. The Executive Member announced that 17 applications had been forthcoming and that total funding across the applications totalled £1.1 million.
The Executive Member gave an overview of the applications that fell into the three ‘lots’ that Executive had previously agreed to in March 2023, and thanked the projects associated with the applications for their continued hard work across the district.
The Executive Member further highlighted that 1 of the 5 projects which were currently live on the ‘WestHive’ platform had reached its target - ‘Cycles of Good’. The Executive Member stated that additional workshop was held at the end of February 2024 for new round of funding, with 25 applicants attending.
The Leader advised that the next meeting of the Executive would take place on Wednesday 17 April 2024, at 2.00pm in the Council Chamber at Woodgreen, Witney.