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A new council for the Vale, South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire?

Published Friday 21 February 2025

Councillors in the Vale of White Horse have held a public meeting to discuss the future of the district council in light of the government’s plans for devolution and local government reorganisation. Among the topics discussed was the possibility of a brand-new council combining the Vale with those in neighbouring South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.

In a White Paper published in December, the government has expressed its intention to bring an end to two-tier council arrangements like in Oxfordshire. This is where district councils provide services like recycling and waste collection, planning, housing need and environmental protection; and the county council provides social care, transport, education, fire and rescue, libraries and more. The government’s plans would mean all of these services would be provided by a single council, known as a ‘unitary’.

Earlier this month, the government invited the Oxfordshire councils to bring forward proposals for unitary councils in their area. Initial plans must be submitted in March, with final proposals due in November.

Alongside all of the Oxfordshire councils Vale of White Horse District Council officers are working openly and constructively to discuss a number of options on how to set up new unitary councils in the area that meet the government’s criteria and best serve the needs of local communities. With that in mind, officers from Vale of White Horse District Council are also in discussions with colleagues from South Oxfordshire District Council and West Berkshire Council about the possibility of a unitary council for an area that combines the existing geographies of those three councils.

Cllr Bethia Thomas, Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council, said: “We were keen to speak to West Berkshire as there are strong demographic and economic similarities between the areas, and there are deep historical connections too. The Vale has been working very successfully with South Oxfordshire for over 15 years, and as two district authorities, combining with an existing neighbouring unitary council would make the process relatively straightforward. I believe it would protect and enhance existing services, increase financial resilience and provide the best possible outcomes for our communities with little in the way of disruption through the period of change.”

Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire District Councils have been working under shared agreements from as early as 2009, with the councils now having a shared officer structure and long-established joint contracts, including one of the country’s most successful recycling and waste collection services.

In the government’s White Paper, it also set out plans to create a raft of new large, regional “strategic authorities” that would cover an area of 1.5 million residents or more and would be overseen by an elected mayor.

At the meeting, the Vale’s councillors also discussed the possible geography of a strategic authority for their area – a topic that has already been discussed among council Leaders from across the Thames Valley. Whilst decision making on which geography to propose rests with the County Council, conversations with them continue. However, the Leader of the Vale of White Horse District Council has previously stated her preference for a strategic authority made up from Oxfordshire County Council and the Berkshire authorities, or Oxfordshire County Council, the Berkshires and Buckinghamshire. This area would align well with the proposal for a unitary council between the Vale, South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.

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