A greater Oxford unitary council covering the city and surrounding area leading to better services, enabling local decision-making on transport and saving taxpayers up to £27m a year is proposed.
The Government asked councils across England for interim proposals on simplifying the structure of local government in their areas.
Oxfordshire’s six councils submitted joint proposals to the Government on Friday 21 March.
The proposals would see Oxfordshire’s six councils abolished and replaced with three, two or one unitary councils.
Oxford City Council’s Cabinet decided on 19 March its preferred option would be to create three unitary councils covering Oxfordshire and West Berkshire:
- A Greater Oxford Council – comprising Oxford on expanded boundaries
- A Northern Oxfordshire Council – comprising much of the existing West Oxfordshire and Cherwell districts
- Ridgeway Council – comprising much of the existing South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts combined with existing West Berkshire unitary
The proposals would give local residents control over key services, including transport and education, for the first time in 50 years. These services have been managed at the countywide level since 1974 – when local government in Oxford was last reorganised.
A greater Oxford council could also help solve the housing crisis, accelerating the delivery of genuinely affordable homes and secure, well-paid jobs for residents in Oxford and the surrounding area.
A greater Oxford
Oxford City Council’s current administrative boundaries are drawn tightly around the city’s existing housing estates and business parks. The conurbation continues to expand, and the city exerts a gravitational influence on surrounding areas which make use of both the work and leisure facilities it offers. But there is little available space to meet the significant demand for new housing, office space, laboratories, leisure facilities and more.
A greater Oxford council would enable the creation of an additional 43,000-67,000 new homes by 2040 – 40% of which (17,200-26,800 homes) under our current local planning policies would be council homes.
There are sites outside the city in South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, Cherwell and West Oxfordshire already allocated to provide additional housing to meet Oxford’s need. A unitary based on the city with expanded boundaries could take charge of some of these sites, ensure that land is used efficiently, increasing density where appropriate to produce well-planned new communities. It would also release Grey Belt land as the Government has directed. It is anticipated that city-adjacent housing sites would be built to higher density low-rise development - which would help reduce pressure on additional housing around existing villages.
Oxford has one of the UK’s most successful local economies:
- A net contributor to the Exchequer – generating £7.6bn annually
- Ranked the top performing city in the UK by PwC in 2023 and 2024
- Fifth in the UK for attracting overseas investment
Yet much more economic growth could be unlocked as there is huge unmet demand for lab, innovation and office space in Oxford. There will be further opportunities for local and regional supply chain businesses, high demand for construction and retrofit skills, and new demand within key sectors such as hospitality and leisure to support an expanded workforce and pace of business.
We want to ensure that as Oxford’s economy expands and grows, that local people gain from that growth and don’t lose out. They need to get job and training opportunities at all levels.
Oxford City Council is currently working through different boundary options, taking into account local geography, economic and transport links, and the Green Belt and will be engaging with stakeholders, residents, and businesses in the city and neighbouring areas.
Service transformation and efficiencies
The creation of a greater Oxford council would enable us to join up and improve services that are currently split between Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council, including council housing and social care, and planning and transport.
A new central Oxfordshire unitary council would reflect local identities, bringing the design and delivery of these services much closer to local residents than the current countywide decision-making on services such as transport. Improving bus services into the city from neighbouring villages would be a priority for the new council.
A greater focus on prevention and ensuring access to good jobs would be central to tackling the inequalities that drive pressure on the social care system. Partnerships are key – a greater Oxford council would work with institutions, businesses and grassroots organisations to prioritise action on inequalities, like health issues, supporting young people, ensuring community safety.
Pixel Financial, a local government finance consultancy, has estimated annual savings of between £18m and £27m are achievable across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire by reducing council expenditure through the creation of the three unitary councils.
A greater Oxford unitary would be financially robust, inheriting the “Oxford Model” with significant assets and wholly owned companies that deliver services for the council and private clients and generate income.
Devolution
Alongside local government reorganisation, the government also wants to create new directly elected mayors across all regions of England.
The government plans to devolve powers and money to the mayors, who would lead Mayoral Strategic Authorities to coordinate housing, transport and economic growth across the region.
A greater Oxford council on expanded boundaries would give the city a powerful voice at the Mayoral Strategic Authority.
Three unitaries for Oxfordshire would also give the county three seats on the Mayoral Board – to balance Berkshire having up to six seats, including Reading and Slough.
Initial surveys
In February, Oxford City Council carried out a survey on the interim proposals using its Residents’ Panel. The panel is a representative sample of Oxford residents managed on the Council’s behalf by independent polling company Beehive.
The survey, which had 266 responses, found:
- 82% think the current two-tier local government arrangements could be improved; 7% disagreed
- 67% think councils should not be too large, so they better meet the needs of local residents; 11% disagreed
- 61% think a single council covering the greater Oxford area would best meet the needs of residents; 17% disagreed
- 37% think a single council covering the whole of Oxfordshire would best meet the needs of residents; 40% disagreed
The Council has also been engaging with stakeholders about the proposals, including Oxford businesses, universities, civic organisations, parish councils and MPs.
Comment
“Many of the issues facing Oxford today can be traced back to the last time local government was reorganised in 1974, when the city’s boundaries were so tightly drawn around existing housing and business areas that the city couldn’t grow.
“This historic mistake caused Oxford’s housing crisis and forced many people to live further and further away from their jobs in the city, which has seen Oxfordshire’s roads gridlocked.
“The conurbation continues to expand, and the city exerts a gravitational influence on surrounding areas which make use of both the work and leisure facilities it offers. Redefined boundaries will crystallise this into direct and mutual responsibility.
“We would not simply be asking communities to join the city, we will ourselves be joining well- established communities. We will need to draw on the wider identity that exists within areas beyond the city to help them become part of a cohesive whole.
“A single council covering Oxford and the surrounding area will see services better designed to meet local people’s distinct needs, as well as delivering service improvements and cost savings.”
Councillor Susan Brown, Leader of Oxford City Council
For more information about the local government reorganisation proposals, visit the A greater Oxford webpage.
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