Letter to the Parish Council from Cherwell District Council re public consultation on local government re-organisation
Local Government Reorganisation
Dear town and parish council clerks,
As you know, change is coming to local government. District and county councils have been asked to come up with proposals for new unitary councils and I am writing today with an update on our work.
Cherwell District Council’s preference is for two unitary authorities to cover Oxfordshire and West Berkshire and we are working positively and constructively with our neighbouring authorities to advance our proposal.
I am pleased to confirm that we have today started a period of public engagement on our preferred model of local government reorganisation (LGR).
We are inviting people to submit their views on a proposal for two unitary authorities with the working titles of Oxford and Shires Council and Ridgeway Council. If government decides to proceed with our proposal, further work will be done to decide the councils’ names.
This proposal aims to create strong, financially stable councils that provide high-quality, cost-effective, and locally driven services.
- Oxford and Shires Council would comprise the existing district areas of Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire.
- Ridgeway Council would be made up of the area of West Berkshire Council and the existing district areas of South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse.
Public engagement launched
From this week people are invited to take part in a wide-reaching series of public engagement activities, including an online survey and public drop-in events taking place across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.
The public engagement exercise runs from 4 June to 16 July and people can take part and find out more by visiting https://oxfordandshires.org/home.
In our district, public engagement events are taking place as follows, giving members of the public a chance to talk to councillors and senior officers, and fill in a paper copy of the survey:
- Monday, 23 June from 3pm to 7pm at Exeter Hall, Oxford Road, Kidlington OX5 1AB
- Tuesday, 24 June from 3pm to 7pm at Bicester Methodist Church (main hall), Bell Lane, Bicester OX26 6JQ
- Monday, 7 July from 3pm to 7pm at Banbury Town Hall, Bridge Street, Banbury OX16 5QB
The aim of these engagement activities is to give our residents, businesses and local organisations the opportunity to let us know what’s important to them based around some topics the government has identified.
The feedback gathered will help inform our final proposed LGR solution, which we will submit to government for consideration in November.
As you know, Oxford City Council and Oxfordshire County Council are both working on their own separate proposals and are carrying out their own public engagement independently to inform their work.
I will continue to keep you updated as our work on LGR progresses, but in the meantime, I would encourage you to visit https://oxfordandshires.org/home to find out more and to take part in the online survey.
With kind wishes,
Gordon.
Gordon Stewart
Chief Executive
Cherwell District Council
DD: 01295 221844
gordon.stewart@cherwell-dc.gov.uk
39 Castle Quay, Banbury, OX16 5FD