It plans to use £358,080 from the Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL) fund, which is a charge the council levy per square metre on existing developments when it is given planning permission, which is used to fund infrastructure in the city.
The money will be given to the county council, which is responsible for transport and highways, including CPZs.
The proposal was discussed at the Oxford City Council cabinet meeting on Wednesday, December 11.
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At the meeting, councillor Louise Upton, cabinet member for planning, said: “This is a good opportunity to improve them and get some input from local residents.
“The £358,000 is the worst-case scenario.
“Any money leftover from that pot once the reviews have been completely will be returned to our general CIL fund.”
She added that the council would press the county council to make sure the reviews are held by local people.
Councillor Susan Brown, leader of the city council, said: “I do want to emphasise that it is important that [the county council] engage with city councillors as well as county councillors (…) and local residents.”
Councillor Alex Hollingsworth questioned the legality of using CIL funding, which he understood were not supposed to be used to redevelop existing infrastructure, but the team leader for CIL, Data Analysis and Reporting explained the regulations change often, and that the proposal would be legal under the regulations as they currently stand.
The cabinet voted to agree releasing the money in principle, but the final decision will be delegated to the head of planning in consultation with Ms Upton, subject to a public consultation.
They will also commit to checking the legality of the plans before they are approved.
The city council previously agreed to use £500,000 of CIL money to roll out CPZs over the next 10 years in 2018, because they support the city’s planning and transport policies.
The £358,000 will be taken from the remaining £443,000 from the pot, after £57,000 was used to deliver CPZs in Donnington and Upper Wolvercote.
Speaking outside the meeting, councillor David Henwood, who represents Rose Hill and Iffley, said he was “very concerned” about how the current administration were using CIL money.
“If the city council were commissioning an independent review on their performance to consider their removal, modification, or expansion the public could understand.
“However, the objectives of the report highlight an emphasis on social economic demographics within the CPZ and their impact on the poorer areas of our community.
“Surely this should have been done by the city council prior to the installation and not after.
“The Labour group should realize the horse has already bolted and should have spent the £358,080 on research prior to the installation of a CPZ not after.
“The city council will be simply burning public money as it does not influence the installation of the current CPZ scheme.”
(Image: Ed Nix) He added he “feels strongly” the city council should not be paying for the review because the county council is responsible for CPZs.
When approached for comment, the city council affirmed the use of CIL funds was appropriate.
A spokesman for the council said: “CIL funds can be spent on infrastructure projects including repair and expansion of existing infrastructure, which means activities such as CPZ reviews are an appropriate use of funds.
“These reviews will provide co-ordination and coherence within the CPZs and ensure that these important zones are fit for purpose.”
Oxfordshire County Council identified the need to review some CPZs in December 2023, and requested the release of CIL money from the city council to review seven CPZs in August 2024.