Agenda item

To receive and consider a request from Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service to use the County Park & Lake Area for Training Exercises.

The Committee received the report of the Biodiversity & Green Spaces Officer (B&GSO) along with a verbal update which gave additional detail of the request from Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue.

In response to a Member question, the B&GSO explained that he would advise the promotion of the use of the lake by the fire & rescue services be kept to a minimum as witnessing such use could send a mixed message with some residents believing that the Lake was safe to access. However, he was confident that should visitors to the Lake witness the training, the Fire & Rescue Service would utilise it as an opportunity to educate.

The B&GSO advised that the Memorandum of Agreement would be very clear to state the specific limitations such as the extent to which any Fire tenders and vehicles could access the Lake area so as not to cause damage to the surrounding footpaths and would also outline the occurrence and type of exercise to be carried out.

Members agreed that the memorandum of agreement be delegated to Officers with a view that training could commence ahead of the better weather, when the chance of an incident could increase.

A Member raised that the Council had an earmarked reserve of £10,000 to be used towards Water Safety and though it was agreed that the Lake was not a suitable location in which to provide practical education, the organisation Active Oxfordshire did provide water safety education using local swimming pools.

It was proposed by Cllr R Smith, seconded by Cllr J Treloar that the Council consider utilising the funds to provide water safety education for Witney children. All members were in agreement.

Recommended:

1.      That, the report be noted and,

2.      That, Officers work with pace with Oxfordshire Fire & Rescue Service to draw up a memorandum of agreement and,

3.      That, Officers investigate the options to utilise the earmarked reserve to provide Water Safety training.