District Councillor’s Report August-September 2019, by Sam Casey-Rerhaye
District Councillor’s Report June 2019
Sorry for the long report this month but I want to let you all know the position of the Council regarding the Local Plan.
The Local Plan
Regrettably in the past, while Didcot was allowed to expand, the infrastructure was not put in at the same time, and it is now a catch-up situation, but with a catch, as money for the “much needed” roads is only available from the Housing Infrastructure Fund (HIF) from central government, which itself requires more houses as a condition of the fund.
The proposed housing developments in N.E. Didcot and Didcot A rely on this HIF infrastructure to go ahead. Oxfordshire County Council say that without it they will object to planning permission for these developments on traffic grounds. The houses that are planned here are part of SODC’s minimum ‘5-year housing land supply’ forecast (at the moment this stands at 9.7 years and includes these sites) but without them, the 5-year housing land supply forecast is likely to fall below a 5-year supply in approximately 2023 – although this is a forecast only and subject to many other pressures and influences. This housing land supply condition is imposed upon all district councils by central government and we cannot change it. If a council falls below a 5-year supply, developers can apply and get permission to build houses in any area not under other protections (such as greenbelt or Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty). These are known as speculative planning applications.
The infrastructure from HIF is also crucial for the Valley Park development in Didcot which is mostly in the Vale of the White Horse. If this development is blocked by OCC on traffic grounds, Vale will immediately lose their 5-year Housing Land supply and become open to speculative planning applications.
When SODC Full Council met on 18th July a motion that was driven by Councillor Leigh Rawlins (Cabinet Member for Planning) attempted to address the conundrum of the conflict between the Local Plan and the desires of a significant proportion of the new council to scrap it, while also balancing the need to keep the Council in a positive 5-year Housing Land supply, and ensuring the right infrastructure is funded for any new houses built.
The motion passed neither endorsed the draft Local Plan 2034 nor rejected it, calling instead for work be done to resolve issues with it in the light of the Climate Change emergency and the HIF infrastructure proposals. This work is ongoing in discussions with OCC, the Ministry (MHCLG) and Homes England.
I am hopeful a better way forward will be found in the coming weeks, but this does rely on all parties being constructive and flexible. I know many of you voted for me to prevent development on the greenbelt as well as to develop green, sustainable alternatives for our district in any way I can. The evidence is clear that just building new roads is inconsistent with the magnitude of the task ahead of us to prevent catastrophic climate change and I am really hoping Oxfordshire County Council as the highways authority can develop some more innovative and ‘Garden Town’-relevant ideas to help people move about the District, without requiring massive over-development.
There are councils all over UK doing this and I hope OCC will not leave us to catch up where others are leading.
The popular demand for the scrapping of the current draft Local Plan was well evidenced by the large number of people attending and speaking at the District Council Meeting. Although the local plan is supposed to be meeting a huge unmet need for new housing in the District, the only people who spoke in its favour were hired hands from corporate landowners and consultants from unknown clients. There were no people demanding homes.
Other motions agreed at Full Council
Other motions that were passed were to show support for the development of rail in the District and County. The Leader of SODC will write to the relevant minister urging the prioritising of electric rail links in the county and supporting the East-West rail link. This is especially important in light of another motion passed opposing the Expressway, supported by all councillors except two, who abstained.
Another motion was passed urging the Local Government Pension Fund trustees to consider divestment from fossil fuels as soon as possible. This was motivated both by fiduciary responsibility, with fossil fuel investments becoming increasingly unreliable, as much as by climate change.
Climate Change Committee
The Council has created a Climate Change Committee and I am a member on this. Our first meeting will be informal and held on 12th September; thereafter meetings will be in public and dates will be on the SODC website. The committee will be looking at all areas that the council is responsible for, including carbon-zero houses (although directives from this government have made that more difficult), and also where we can influence other policy and organisations.
Councillor Grant Scheme
This grant scheme is open again this year. There is £5000 per councillor for local projects in each ward. Please help to promote the scheme to groups in your ward area and direct interested organisations to the council website for further information and how to apply, or drop me a message.
Parishes encouraging insects and wildlife in a time of ecological and climate crisis
‘Plantlife’ are an organisation promoting better and more productive verges and grassy areas across the country. There is a growing movement of parishes managing some areas of verge and grassland for the good of insects and wildlife, where it is safe to do so. This is the link I promised to send round to you all:
https://plantlife.love-wildflowers.org.uk/roadvergecampaign/management-guidelines
Cycling Survey
I have been appointed the Cycling Champion for South Oxfordshire! A formal announcement of this will be coming soon. Please do contact me if you have anything about cycling you would like to know or ask. The new Council administration at SODC plans to prioritise safe cycling routes in any new developments, and we are supporting the Oxfordshire Cycle Survey, currently underway, from Oxfordshire County Council (the highways authority across the county). The survey asks what you like or dislike about cycling in Oxfordshire, particularly looking at Oxford, Didcot and Bicester but also about any problems you encounter across the county. The results of the survey will support the production of the first ‘local cycling and walking infrastructure’ plans for Oxford, Bicester and Didcot and is open for comments until 6 September. The survey can be found at https://consultations.oxfordshire.gov.uk/consult.ti/Cyclesurvey2019/consultationHome
Polling Station review
SODC is reviewing all its polling stations and want to hear from members of the community about them. They are particularly keen to hear from people with disabilities if they have experienced any difficulties accessing the polling stations. This is a legal obligation, and must be carried out to ensure that all electors have “such reasonable facilities for voting as are practicable in the circumstances”.
Any representations or comments should be sent to elections@southandvale.gov.uk and the consultation ends on 27th September. More information can be found on the SODC website at http://www.southoxon.gov.uk/news/2019/2019-07/have-your-say-polling-stations-southern-oxfordshire
Earth Trust is SODC’s Chair’s charity fund raising quiz night
The Earth Trust is the Chair of SODC’s chosen charity this year. A quiz night, on 4 September, is planned to help raise funds for this local environmental charity and will take place in their beautiful 19th century barn. You can register your team at https://earthtrust.org.uk/whats-on/charity-quiz-night/ or if you have any questions, you can contact Karen Dodd on 01235 422082.
Food and Safety success
Environmental Health is a District Council responsibility and the South and Vale Food and Safety team are officially among the top performers in the country. The Food Standards Agency has just released their stats for 2018/19 and they confirm that the team carried out 100 per cent of their planned food safety inspections, well above the national average of 89 per cent. In fact, only 14 per cent of authorities achieved this level. They were also the only Food and Safety team in Oxfordshire to carry out all their inspections.
You can contact me at:
Sam.casey-rerhaye@southoxon.gov.uk or phone on 01235 799489 and leave a message.