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Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee - Wednesday, 23 April 2025 10.00 am

April 23, 2025 View on council website
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Summary

The Place Overview & Scrutiny Committee was scheduled to meet on Wednesday, 23 April 2025, to discuss a range of topics including the council's rail strategy, updates on Section 106 agreements1, and a report from the Transport Working Group. The committee, chaired by Councillor Liam Walker, also planned to review responses to previous scrutiny recommendations and consider its forward work plan.

Transport Working Group Report

The Committee was scheduled to consider the Transport Working Group's report, which scrutinised the council’s delivery against the objectives set out in the Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP). The group conducted deep dives into the Oxford Local Cycling and Walking Infrastructure Plan (LCWIP) and the Science Vale Movement and Place Strategy.

The Transport Working Group, comprised of Councillor Robin Bennett, Councillor Charlie Hicks, Councillor Liam Walker and a Councillor Haywood, with Councillor Hicks as Chair and Councillor Walker as Deputy Chair, sought to assess whether the council was on track to meet its LTCP objectives.

The report included 20 recommendations to the Cabinet, grouped under the headings of:

  • Data and monitoring
  • Governance and responsibility/skills and capacity building
  • Funding and budgets
  • Working with other organisations
  • Co-production and public engagement

These recommendations were intended to ensure that the council makes necessary changes to meet its LTCP targets, including allocating resources, monitoring progress, and building skills and capacity. The report noted the need:

(a) for a clear vision to guide the document and supporting strategies;

(b) to ensure alignment between policy goals;

(c) for strong policy wording and more specific policies;

(d) to improve internal processes, understanding of the LTCP, and a consistent application of policies;

(e) for SMART (specific, measurable, achievable, relevant and time-bound) targets/objectives;

(f) to establish a monitoring framework and to improve the reporting of progress;

(g) to consider language used and how policies/schemes are explained – including why they are needed and how they will benefit residents.

The report also identified the need for a consistent countywide approach that aligns with LTCP policy, a move away from 'predict and provide' transport planning, more ambitious measures to support overarching objectives, a greater focus on activation and healthy place shaping, and robust consultation and engagement.

Rail Strategy

The Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the development of the council’s Rail Strategy. Councillor Judy Roberts, Cabinet member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, and Robin Rogers, Director of Economy and Place, were invited to present the report.

The requirement to publish a new rail strategy is set out in Policy 21 of the council’s Local Transport and Connectivity Plan (LTCP). The council is producing the rail strategy in its role as statutory Local Transport Authority.

The council is developing the rail strategy to plan and coordinate required work, influence the allocation of government funding, leverage private sector investment and deliver increased passenger and freight services. Following public consultation, a new strategy is expected to be completed in late 2025.

The rail strategy is being planned around three key themes: enhancing infrastructure and improving connectivity, climate action, and rail as place-shaper.

Initial key projects include:

  1. Oxford Station expansion and redevelopment
  2. ‘Electrifying Oxfordshire’ freight spine wiring
  3. Oxfordshire Metro/Oxfordshire Connect network
  4. Signalling, track and rolling stock improvements
  5. Cowley Branch Line open for passenger services
  6. Four new rail stations by 2040 – at Begbroke, Oxford Cowley, Oxford Littlemore, Wantage and Grove
  7. Business case development for a Carterton-Witney-Oxford connection
  8. East West Rail - phased introduction from December 2025
  9. Rail stations embedded in the community with better active travel and bus connections

Section 106 Improvement Programme Update

The Committee was scheduled to receive an update on the management of Section 106 (S106) planning obligations funding and associated processes. Councillor Judy Roberts, Cabinet member for Infrastructure and Development Strategy, and Robin Rogers, Director of Economy and Place, were invited to present the report.

As of year-end 2023/24, the council held £236m in S106 contributions for infrastructure projects, excluding Highways Maintenance commuted sums and Public Transport provisions. Nearly two-thirds of these funds are allocated to Education Infrastructure, such as new school developments and expansions. Over the past five years, the council has spent more than £125m of S106 funding, with £112m directed towards education projects. During the same period, the council has received over £271m in new S106 contributions.

Since the November 2024 update, Phase 2 of the S106 Improvement Programme has been delivered, focusing on accelerating current delivery and a more transparent and systematic approach for the future. Following year-end processes 2024/25, a fully reconciled and accurate overview of S106 funds will be available, providing a clearer picture of both the level of available funding and future planned expenditure. With Phase 2 now complete, Phase 3 will commence in April 2025, shifting focus to delivery and implementation of key projects.

As part of Phase 2, various options to accelerate design and delivery were investigated. Of the options investigated it was determined that the most efficient and cost-effective solution would be to engage with established internal design and delivery teams to develop and deliver the works at pace to alleviate the S106 funding backlog. An initial 49 minor transport schemes were identified with £11.6m of associated S106 funding, of which £9m is held.

From January 2025, the addition of a Business Analyst has facilitated significant progress in engaging key stakeholders across the council in a detailed review of S106 and related processes.

Dashboards are being built for core stakeholder groups: members, senior managers and operational teams. Each dashboard will be designed with the end users’ requirements in mind and content displayed based on a user group. A beta dashboard for members exists, with deployment planned through the member induction and training process following the May 2025 local elections.

The Capital Pre-delivery portal has been built to capture and log all capital schemes not yet in the funded capital programme and will significantly improve the delivery and monitoring of early-stage projects.

Through the S106 Funding Review, £92m of funding has been reclassified as committed, meaning that service departments are clear on the details of the delivery project. These funds are now being moved fully into the pre-delivery pipeline with on-going challenge from a senior panel on deliverability and timescales.

£449,000 of funding has been identified that can be applied to the Cowley Branch Line and £5.1m to support capital investment in Special Education Needs provision, both identified corporate priorities.

Responses to Scrutiny Recommendations

The Committee was scheduled to note the Cabinet responses to the Place Overview and Scrutiny Committee reports on:

  • Local Nature Recovery Strategy
  • City Centre Accommodation Strategy – Disposal of Old and New County Hall
  • Infrastructure Funding Statement and s.106 Funding Review Report

Committee Forward Work Plan

The Committee was scheduled to agree its work programme for forthcoming meetings, taking account of the Cabinet Forward Plan and of the Budget Management Monitoring Report.


  1. Section 106 agreements are legal agreements between local authorities and developers, used to mitigate the impact of new developments on the community and infrastructure. 

Attendees

Profile image for Councillor Liam Walker
Councillor Liam Walker  Oxfordshire Alliance (Conservative Party Member)
Profile image for Councillor Robin Bennett
Councillor Robin Bennett  Deputy Leader of the Green Group •  Green Group
Profile image for Councillor Charlie Hicks
Councillor Charlie Hicks  Labour & Co-operative Party Group
Profile image for Councillor Felix Bloomfield
Councillor Felix Bloomfield  Leader of the Reform UK Group •  Reform UK
Profile image for Councillor Duncan Enright
Councillor Duncan Enright  Labour & Co-operative Party Group
Profile image for Councillor Susanna Pressel
Councillor Susanna Pressel  Labour and Co-operative Group
Profile image for Councillor Nigel Simpson
Councillor Nigel Simpson  Conservative Independent Alliance (Conservative Party Member)
Profile image for Councillor Bethia Thomas
Councillor Bethia Thomas  Liberal Democrat
Richard Doney

Meeting Documents

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