Councillor Laura Gordon, Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, approved updates to the thresholds for Section 19 Flood Investigation Reports and authorised an increase in the budget for the DSIT 5G Innovation Regions Project.

Updating Thresholds for Section 19 Flood Investigation Reports

The Cabinet Member approved proposed simplifications and updates to the thresholds for initiating Section 19 Flood Investigation Reports. This decision aims to support clearer, more consistent, and timely decision-making regarding flood investigations. The changes are informed by a review of current thresholds, analysis of recent investigations, and align with national guidance from DEFRA published in April 2025. The updated thresholds are designed to better reflect real-world flood impacts and local circumstances, while ensuring efficiency and proportionality. Testing against the 2024 flood events indicated that the revised thresholds would result in a similar number of investigations, with a marginal reduction from 43 to 42 externally completed investigations, suggesting improved efficiency without a material reduction in coverage. The cost of undertaking these reports is met from the Flood Risk Management Team's core budget, with an annual allocation of £60,000. The team has increased its internal resources, enabling more reports to be delivered in-house.

DSIT 5G Innovation Regions Project – England's Connected Heartland

Approval was given to increase the budget for the England's Connected Heartland (ECH) programme by £1.44 million, bringing the total programme budget to £6.14 million. This increase is funded by an additional £540,000 in grant funding from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology (DSIT) and £900,000 from the Digital Infrastructure Gainshare fund. The additional investment is necessary to address unforeseen technical and site-related challenges encountered during the delivery of the programme's two flagship 5G infrastructure projects: a 5G Private Mobile Network (MPN) for the Harwell Science and Innovation Campus and a 5G MPN along the new East West Rail line between Bicester and Bletchley.

The original designs for both projects faced complexities. At Harwell, ongoing campus redevelopment and future building plans rendered the initial rooftop deployment approach unsuitable, necessitating a revised design using alternative infrastructure locations, such as lighting columns. For the rail project, the initial reliance on existing Network Rail GSM-R mast infrastructure proved unviable, requiring a complete redesign using new mast locations on privately owned land. This has led to additional costs for land agreements, wayleaves, planning, power supplies, fibre connectivity, and civil engineering works.

Without the budget increase, both projects would still be operational but with materially reduced coverage. At Harwell, this would limit availability to a smaller proportion of businesses and innovation facilities. Along East West Rail, coverage would extend across only part of the route. The decision to increase the budget aims to ensure both schemes achieve their intended coverage, benefits, and long-term commercial viability, thereby enhancing their value as demonstrator schemes for future private 5G deployment. The ECH programme is a key initiative supported by Oxfordshire County Council's Corporate Plan, aiming to foster innovation, economic growth, and improved connectivity across the region.

The meeting also confirmed the minutes of the previous meeting held on 10 July 2026.