Three council model chosen for Oxfordshire local government reorganisation
16/07/2026
The proposals by Oxfordshire County and Cherwell District Councils were rejected
by Isabella Harris, Local Democracy Reporter
The future governance of Oxfordshire has been decided with the abolition of its councils, which currently run services, including roads, planning and education.
The county, city and district authorities are set to be abolished and replaced by three new councils in local government reorganisation.
The announcement was made in a ministerial statement at the House of Commons by Secretary of State for Housing, Steve Reed, today, July 16.
The plan, put forward by the Labour-run city council, has been chosen by the Government – it will see a Greater Oxford Council created, taking parishes from Cherwell, South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.
There will also be a North Oxfordshire Council with the remainder of Cherwell, along with West Oxfordshire, as well as a Ridgeway Council taking up South Oxfordshire, the rest of Vale of White Horse and West Berkshire.
An overarching county council will no longer exist, and all powers previously separated between it and the districts will go to the new authorities.
The map below shows the new borders of councils:
Critics suggested this plan would be a ‘land-grab’ for housing, but the city council’s cabinet says it would help achieve much-needed targets and affordable homes.
The new councils will come into force in April 2028, and the existing councils will continue running until that point.
There will be elections for a temporary shadow authority or authorities taking place next year – this will oversee the transition to unitary bodies.
A director for Oxfordshire’s reorganisation is set to be paid a six-figure salary between £125,350 and £135,928 from the county council payroll to manage this.
Each new council is set to receive at least £900,000 from a £63 million Government pot to support “transition costs”.
The Lib Dem-run district councils and county councils had put forward different proposals for reorganisation.
The districts of Cherwell, South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Oxfordshire proposed an Oxford and Shires Council (Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire) and a Ridgeway Council (South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse, plus West Berkshire).
The county council wanted a single council to run Oxfordshire, incorporating all the districts and city councils into one – without the inclusion of West Berkshire.
At county cabinet, fears have been shared about Oxfordshire residents bearing the brunt of West Berkshire Council’s financial distress.
The local authority has secured government bailouts and exceptional financial support to avoid effective bankruptcy.
Questions had been raised about whether the reorganisation should go ahead, with hopes shared by the Local Government Association (LGA) that a change of prime minister presents an “opportunity to revisit some of the practicalities” of the reforms.
Local Government and English Devolution Minister Alison McGovern said the plans are “on track” and she regularly meets with LGA leadership.
She said: “These reforms matter so much because councils do very important things.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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