Local Government Reorganisation
The big news of the last week has been the announcement of the Government’s preferred shape of local government in Oxfordshire. It has said it is minded to accept the 3 Unitary Authority (UA) proposal proffered by Oxford City Council.
That will create a Greater Oxford Council, taking in much of the area currently in other authorities, Ridgeway Council comprising West Berkshire and the bits of South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse that aren’t taken into Oxford, and Northern Oxfordshire comprising the current West Oxfordshire and most of Cherwell. Eynsham will be in the Northern Oxfordshire UA. Greater Oxford will start at the Toll Bridge, A40 to the east of Cassington and the railway between Cassington and Yarnton.
The UA will provide all services – bins, planning, public health, roads, social care, education and all the other things currently done by the County Council and WODC.
The decision appears to have been made to promote building on the Green Belt, and for nakedly party political advantage (which incidentally is unlikely to work, given the absorbed areas). The structure hasn’t met any of the criteria that the government set out as being required when starting the process.
The County Council is looking to get the rationale for the decision and the advice given to the Secretary of State into the public domain. There isn’t room for a full explanation of the impact, which will be colossal for residents, but I will give a few pointers. For those interested in more, the brilliant Oxford Clarion has a thoughtful write up: https://oxfordclarion.uk/the-final-cut-its-three-councils/
1. Northern Oxfordshire will be tiny. With a small tax base it will required to support all the services for the area, which contains some areas of deep deprivation and need. Banbury will comprise approximately a quarter of the population. I would expect the main council offices to be based there. Much of the expenditure will have to be on the urban areas.
2. I would expect each of the three UAs to have real financial difficulties. Ridgeway will have to absorb the highly indebted West Berkshire. Northern is far too small. Greater Oxford contains some of the most deprived and costly areas in the south east.
3. Transport is going to be interesting. How bus services are going to be organised when virtually every journey will cross a UA boundary will be challenging. Things like MyBusOxfordshire tickets are unlikely to survive. Concessionary tickets for people like senior bus passes will be come much more complex as each journey will require a repayment to the bus company from several authorities. The subsidised services, like the H2 from Eynsham to the hospitals, will be more difficult to maintain.
4. Oxfordshire Fire and Rescue service will need to become a standalone authority. That means that the underwriting of expenditure from the County Council will disappear, and the democratic influence residents have over decisions will disappear. The example of other standalone fire services suggests that they are cash strapped – Dorset are making very difficult cuts, for instance. There are hundreds of other areas that will be affected, from park and ride charges to SEND provision to fostering to public health.
So, it is a deeply regrettable decision. The County Council has called on the new PM to reconsider it. The timetable for implementation is for a new shadow authority to be elected in May 2027, which will run alongside the existing authorities for a year, and then be vested with its powers in May 2028, at which point the County Council and District Council disappear.
There have of course been other things going on.
Roads
Road maintenance
As the weather improves, the number of holes filled is now significantly greater than that being reported. Please keep using FixmyStreet to report defects.
New Road construction
Shores Green is open. On time. On budget. That means people can get on and off the A40 to the east of Witney, reducing traffic through the town, and meaning people from places like Hanborough can join the A40 without using Lower Road or coming through Cassington.
Construction work on the A40 improvements between Eynsham and Wolvercote has commenced. The first activity is tree clearance along the road. There will be disruption as the work happens – the team will do their best to minimise the disruption to traffic and to residents, and are in regular communication with the parish councils along the route.
EV Charging
The County Council is trying to encourage the take up of EV vehicles and support residents to make the change. That means places need chargers, where there is no off street residential parking. There is a consultation on the possibility of chargers in Mill Street.
Oxfordshire: Countywide - proposed Electric Vehicle charging only parking spaces (July 26) | Let's Talk Oxfordshire
There clearly are issues with removing parking in an area without a Residential Parking Zone, and I appreciate how emotive the whole area of parking can be.
Buses
Botley Road is due to reopen next month. Stagecoach will be announcing the new bus arrangements, once they have gone through the necessary formalities. Bus companies have to get approval for timetables. The likeliest format is the S1 reverting to its old route via Farmoor, the E1 being withdrawn, and a new service running along the A40 (so like the S2 did). In addition, the Go Ahead services H2 and X52 will continue to run.
Congestion Charge
The reopening of Botley Road means the congestion charge will be replaced by the Filter Scheme, which was due to come into effect two years ago. It is designed to make it easier for buses to run freely and easier for people to use active travel. You will be able to drive to anywhere in Oxford without passing a filter point, providing you choose the right route. So to get to the Westgate, go via Botley Road. To Jericho via Wolvercote. In addition, as under the Congestion Charge, residents will have 25 passes which enable them to go past a filter point without charge.
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