The government wants to simplify local government and give more power and money to local areas.
To do this, the government wants to do two things:
- Devolution
- Local government reorganisation
Local Government Reorganisation - what does this mean for Oxford?
Oxford currently has two councils:
- Oxford City Council – responsible for services such as planning, council housing, community centres, leisure centres, parks, and bin collections
- Oxfordshire County Council – responsible for services such as social care, children’s services, education, highways, public health, and the fire service
The government will replace these with a single council, which would be responsible for providing all local services for the Oxford area. This is known as local government reorganisation, or LGR.
Local Government Reorganisation proposals for Oxfordshire
There are three proposals being developed for how local government in Oxfordshire should be reorganised.
The proposals would each replace Oxfordshire’s existing six councils as follows:
- 3Councils
- Greater Oxford Council – covering Oxford and its Green Belt
- Northern Oxfordshire Council – covering most of the existing Cherwell and West Oxfordshire districts
- Ridgeway Council – covering most of the existing South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts combined with West Berkshire
- Two councils
- Oxford and Shires Council - covering all of the existing district areas of Cherwell, Oxford City and West Oxfordshire
- Ridgeway Council - covering all of the existing district areas of South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse, and the whole of West Berkshire Council’s area
- One council: covering Oxfordshire County Council’s current boundaries
Oxford City Council is leading the proposal for 3Councils and this is our preferred option. We submitted our full proposal to Government in November 2025.
Next steps
The Government has opened a consultation to seek opinions from the public and stakeholders on the options. Find out more and share your thoughts
The final decision on local government reorganisation across England, including in Oxford and Oxfordshire, will be made by the Government in 2026.
New councils are expected to be created in 2028.
