District Councillor’s Report June 2019, by Sam Casey-Rerhaye
District Councillor’s Report June 2019
Local Plan
The Council’s first priority, as I outlined in my last report, is to take a long, hard look at the emerging Local Plan (2011-2034), currently sitting with the government inspectors, and assess what we can do to turn it into something acceptable to our communities. As a result, we have already set in motion a major information-gathering exercise, which included a full Council briefing by SODC Officers on Monday 3rd June and will be forming a working group to research and review all options at our disposal. Full Council will be discussing and voting on options on 18th July. This is not a trivial undertaking, given the huge amount of work that has already gone into the development of the LP2034, but we are committed to doing everything in our power to reduce the impact of new housing on the environment and on our Green Belt. We are also determined to provide more truly affordable housing in our District and we need to be creative about new ways to do this.
We want to make it very clear that this review has no bearing on the validity or enforceability of the existing Neighbourhood Development Plans, or those currently under development, like in Sandford, Long Wittenham, Clifton Hampden etc. John Howell himself recently published a statement to this effect on his blog: http://www.johnhowellmp.com/news/. In summary, he says “it is wrong to say that if the Local Plan is withdrawn, all the Neighbourhood Plans are no longer valid.”
I am on the Scrutiny Committee and we will be meeting on 19th June to scrutinise the options the Cabinet have been presented with and it is likely that we will need to meet on at least one more occasion before further Cabinet meetings and Full Council.
Finances
We also urgently need to return SODC finances to better health, seeking innovative ways to increase revenue and manage all costs effectively and efficiently without continuing to dip into SODC reserves to prop up the operating budget. This is not easy in the current circumstances where central government are being slow with their ‘Fair Funding Review’ on local government funding which makes it challenging to make short- and medium-term financial plans. And, of course we will be seeking ways to put our money where our mouth is by examining ways in which SODC itself can operate in a more environmentally-friendly way. This will include how we specify and build the new South and Vale Council offices in Crowmarsh.
Cooperation with Vale of White Horse Council
As you know, SODC and Vale share a team of officers and facilities, so we were also delighted that Vale transferred to Liberal Democrat control following the elections, giving us an excellent basis for an on-going partnership. Sue and Emily Smith (the new Vale Leader) have already had a number of meetings to discuss how such collaboration will work in future and have agreed shared priorities for the coming year and beyond.
New SODC Website on its way
Andrea Powell’s Cabinet position covers Corporate Services and Communication, and during the first portfolio briefing, she was given a sneak preview of the new SODC website, which is long overdue and a vast improvement on the current one. It is much more modern in its look and feel and takes into account the key “user journeys”, or reasons why people come to the SODC website and what they want to do when they get there. The actual timetable for go-live is not yet known but I will let you know as soon as I hear
Recycling
South Oxfordshire was recently ranked in a DEFRA survey as the top recycling district in the South East of England, and third nationally, recycling 63% of its waste. Well done to all our residents who diligently separate their waste and use the facilities provided to ensure we minimise the rubbish we send to landfill. Keep up the good work!
If residents do experience any problems with their bins not being collected by Biffa, to whom the Council outsources rubbish collection, they need to report this online by visiting southoxon.gov.uk/missed bins before midnight on the next working day after the collection was due, or by calling 03000 610610 before 5pm on the next working day.