News from the Parish Council Chair (September 2026)

Dear Parishioners,

The major item of Parish Council-related news this month is publication of the Government’s plans for reorganisation of local government in Oxfordshire. In December 2024 a White Paper proposed replacing the existing scheme of district and county councils in many parts of the country by a set of unitary authorities who would be responsible for all the services currently provided by the two-layer scheme. We are one of the areas affected by this plan.

Three proposals were put forward to the government for consideration and they have chosen the one that the Parish Council favoured the least, which will see us becoming part of a Greater Oxford Council, consisting of the current City of Oxford and 49 parishes surrounding the City. In effect the new Council area will consist of the City plus almost the entire Green Belt encircling the City. The proposal envisages up to 40,000 new homes being built in the Green Belt by 2040. The argument is made that this need ‘only use 2.6% of the Green Belt’.

There is a possibility of a judicial review of the decision being sought but, in the meantime, in an effort to try to avoid the plan being simply a takeover of the rural surroundings by the urban City, we have supported an initiative led by Beckley and Stowood Parish Council aimed at ensuring that the rural voice is heard during and after the implementation of the new authority. In a document sent to the Secretary of State for Housing, Communities and Local Government, signed by Parish Councils representing 61% of the population being subsumed into Oxford, detailed requests are made for creation of formal mechanisms including a parish charter to set out standards for engagement, consultation, information-sharing and dispute resolution between the unitary and parishes. Assurance is also sought that existing Neighbourhood Plans will retain their statutory weight and be explicitly recognised in the first Greater Oxford Local Plan.

A ‘shadow’ council which will work alongside the existing district and City council will be elected in May 2027 and will take over formally on 1st April 2028 when the existing councils are dissolved.

Clearly this is an unsettling time for those of us who live in the rural fringe around Oxford. The Parish Council, which is not being altered by these changes, will do its best to keep abreast of developments and bring significant items to your attention.

Best wishes,
Stuart Flockton