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Approved Council motions 2026/27

Council meeting: Wednesday 17 June 2026

Proposer: Councillor Evans Seconder: Councillor Whiteman

Oxfordshire Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) and Fly-Tipping

This Council notes that Oxfordshire County Council introduced new rules for residents using Household Waste Recycling Centres (HWRCs) in 2026.

The Council further notes that the District Council has a direct responsibility for environmental enforcement, including fly tipping, and therefore a clear interest in the impact of County Council policy decisions about HWRCs.

This Council further notes the importance of ensuring public services are accessible and inclusive and the need for robust, transparent data to assess policy impacts over time.

This Council resolves to:

  1. Publish fly tipping data in the Vale of White Horse on the District Council’s website, specifically:
    • Monthly fly tipping data for the district, to be published on an ongoing basis
    • A 3 year dataset, broken down by month, to enable the identifying of fly tipping trends
  2. Ask the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Climate Action and Nature Recovery to write to the Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy on Oxfordshire County Council requesting that the County Council publish usage data for HWRCs, including:
    • Data for individual HWRCs in the Vale of White Horse, broken down by month, and including Stanford Quarry, which was missing from earlier data releases from the County Council.
  3. That the letter also invite them to respond on the topics of:
    • How the County Council is mitigating any risk of digital exclusion with the new booking system;
    • How the County Council is ensuring that there is no indirect discrimination arising from the new rules;
    • What more the County Council can do to ensure that residents can access the HWRCs regardless of infirmity or disability.
  4. That the letter also request that the County Council undertake a review of the HWRC booking system, including:
    • Whether the new rules should be maintained;
    • If the new rules are to be maintained, how the system can be made more flexible and resident-focused.
  5. Ask Cabinet to consider what mitigations the District Council can implement to reduce and minimise any adverse impact of new County Council policies for HWRCs, including:
    • Increased public awareness campaigns about responsible waste disposal and the risks of employing rogue traders and unlicensed waste carriers.
    • Increased promotion of sustainable alternatives to disposal of bulky waste as part of the Council’s Rethinking Waste – Waste Resource and Street Cleansing Strategy.
    • A review of the approach to investigating fly-tipping within the district with the aim of maximising the prosecution of offenders, whenever feasible.
    • The feasibility of introducing an “additional bag” kerbside allowance (similar to garden waste flexibility) for occasional excess household waste, recognising this would increase the waste collection service cost.
    • A review of bulky waste collection charges and accessibility, to ensure they do not act as a barrier to responsible disposal
  6. Ask the Cabinet Member for Environmental Services, Climate Action and Nature Recovery to report back to Full Council within 6 months, with:
    • Published data, as referenced above
    • Progress on engagement with Oxfordshire County Council
    • Any recommendations for further action from the District Council in response to the County Council’s new rules for using HWRCs

Council meeting: Wednesday 13 May 2026 

Proposer: Councillor Griffin Seconder: Councillor Clegg 

Lead officer: Director of Policy and Programmes 

Chalk Stream Protection Motion 

There are around 250 chalk streams globally, the vast majority of which are located in southern and eastern England. The Vale of White Horse District is home to 5 notable chalk watercourses including Letcombe Brook that rises in Letcombe Bassett and then Lockinge Brook, Goddard’s Brook, Betterton Brook and Ginge Brook that rise to the east of Wantage. Chalk streams are globally rare and ecologically important. They provide a unique habitat for many species, but are in need of protection from pollution and over-abstraction.  

Council notes that:  

  • Our Council’s Plan 2025-29 places climate action and nature recovery at the heart of everything we do.  
  • We have a responsibility to protect the chalk streams that are defining features of our area’s natural heritage and contribute to biodiversity, flood mitigation and public wellbeing. 
  • Our council provides grant funding to the Letcombe Brook project to enable them to maintain the chalk stream from source through to where it joins Childrey Brook. The project provides management advice and practical help to the landowners along the brook corridor.  
  • Nationally chalk streams are under severe threat due to abstraction, pollution and run-off, modification and inappropriate development, invasive non-native species and climate change. 
  • Provisions included within the draft National Planning Policy Framework are not sufficiently strong to ensure the protection and enhancement of chalk stream habitats, currently only requiring consideration.  
  • Proposed amendments to the Planning and Infrastructure Bill to include protection for chalk streams were not included in the Act. 
  • The draft Oxfordshire Infrastructure Strategy (OxIS) includes an upgrade to the Wantage Sewage Treatment Works. Due to high levels of new housing the treatment works are already over capacity, resulting in frequent sewage discharges that put our chalk streams at risk. 
  • The Thames Water website currently states that they expect Wantage to meet all government targets for storm overflows by 2040-2045. 

Council resolves to: 

  1. Ask the leader to apply pressure to Thames Water to bring forward the upgrade of sewage treatment works that discharge into chalk streams, such as Wantage Sewage Treatment Works, and to publish the timescales of this work on their website. 
  1. Ask the Leader to write to the Secretary of State for MHCLG making the case to; Redefine chalk streams and their catchments as ‘irreplaceable habitats’, alongside ancient woodland; and to introduce an evidenced based minimum ‘no new development buffer’ around chalk streams. 
  1. Continue to provide financial support to independent/non profit organisations working to protect chalk streams and work with them to publicly promote the protection of chalk streams. 
  1. Ask the Joint Climate and Nature Advisory Committee to consider what actions can be taken to provide further support for all our chalk streams building on the work done with the Letcombe Brook Project.

Council meeting: Wednesday 13 May 2026 

Proposer: Councillor Cooke Seconder: Councillor Stevens 

Lead officer: Director of Policy and Programmes 

Motion On Targeted Consultations For The SESRO/”White Horse Reservoir” DCO Pre-Application Process 

Council notes that: 

  • This council passed a motion on 11 February 2026, citing the inadequacy of the Thames Water Statutory Public Consultation for their proposed reservoir near Abingdon, specifically in a number of areas in which wholly inadequate information was provided. 
  • These areas, which shall be described in this motion as “the Council’s defined areas of immediate concerns,” include: 
  • Flood risks – Fluvial and Groundwater 
  • Dam Breach analysis and Emergency Planning 
  • The viability and effects of Emergency Drawdown 
  • Water Quality in the Reservoir and water environment 
  • Biodiversity analysis and net gain proposals 
  • Construction and Logistics Strategy and related Community Impacts, including traffic effects and access and management of construction 
  • Security Implications of this unparalleled fully-bunded reservoir and major strategic asset 
  • Thames Water has not responded with a new Public Consultation and has indicated that they wish to apply for a Development Consent Order (DCO) in November of this year. 
  • DCOs typically aim to resolve contentious or unclear issues during the Pre-Application process.  Targeted Consultations are often used to effect this. 
  • Vale of White Horse District Council are the responsible Planning Authority for consultation in such a putative DCO.  The issues of inadequate information have been raised to councillors by many of our residents and we wish to represent them appropriately with clear and sufficient information for meaningful consultation. 
  • This Council notes the intention of Thames Water to use the name “White Horse Reservoir” for the site commonly known as SESRO.  Whilst this Council have not been not been consulted on and has neither endorsed nor supported this change of name, to avoid confusion this motion shall use the term “White Horse Reservoir” 

Council resolves to: 

  1. Ask the Leader to engage with Thames Water in respect to the White Horse Reservoir DCO Pre-Application Process and request Targeted Consultation to cover the Council’s defined areas of immediate concerns (as defined above) to assist the Council in contributing towards the DCO Adequacy of Consultation milestone report. 
  1. Ask the Leader to request the support of the Secretary of State for DEFRA, OFWAT, and the Environment Agency in obtaining such necessary Targeted Consultations. 
  1. Ask the Leader to write to all MPs representing parts of the Vale of the White Horse to inform them of our actions and to request their support in the above.