FT insight puts Oxfordshire at heart of local government debate

By Cllr Liz Leffman

A day after big decisions were taken about the future of local government in other parts of England there has been a very prominent article in a national newspaper that uses Oxfordshire as the basis to provide excellent analysis about what is at stake for economic growth, the future vitality of our rural areas, expansion of cities and the subject of housebuilding.

Chris Smyth has written an article for The Financial Times in which he writes about how city councils are pursuing control of towns and villages to deliver on promises of 1.5 million new homes.

It’s written after a visit to our Oxfordshire town of Kidlington that is currently served by us as Oxfordshire County Council and Cherwell District Council but which Oxford City Council wants to absorb into one of three new unitary councils in the future, the one that would be based headquartered in Oxford.

This piece gets to the heart of the debate here in Oxfordshire (and elsewhere in England) and I recommend all local people have a read.

I also hope key decision makers in government read it as it might persuade them to revisit their original stated logic when embarking on local government reorganisation.

Very salient independent comments are made by Anthony Breach the director for policy at the Centre for Cities think-tank saying that allowing cities to take on extra neighbouring areas for short-term housebuilding purposes is not the route to economic growth at scale and in line with the government’s devolution agenda.

Our argument remains that having one unitary council for Oxfordshire in future is the only proposal that fully meets this government’s criteria while also simplifying and streamlining planning to provide sustainable and equitable growth – housing, transport and infrastructure – for the whole county so people can move about easily wherever they live, work and play.

We welcome recent news that the government is planning to create a Greater Oxford Development Corporation. We believe the real opportunity lies in taking an approach that reflects the county’s network of science parks, innovation campuses and high‑growth businesses across our towns and rural areas, and our countryside which plays a huge role in our local economy, making Oxford and Oxfordshire great places to live, work and visit.

A unified council, working alongside a strong, properly scoped development corporation, would provide the clarity of leadership, democratic accountability and delivery capacity needed to unlock sustainable growth that benefits all our communities.

By aligning strategic planning, infrastructure investment and local decision‑making across the whole county, we can build the homes people need, support sustainable transport, support nature recovery and preserve our green spaces, and secure long‑term economic prosperity for Oxfordshire as a whole.

To keep up to date with local government reorganisation in Oxfordshire, take a look at One Oxfordshire, where you can find all the latest news and updates.