18/07/2026
Todayโs announcement that the Government has chosen the ๐ญ๐ก๐ซ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ง๐ข๐ญ๐๐ซ๐ฒ ๐๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ฅ ๐จ๐ฉ๐ญ๐ข๐จ๐ง for Oxfordshire and West Berkshire marks one of the biggest changes to local government in a generation.
As someone ๐๐จ๐ซ๐ง ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐๐ ๐ข๐ง ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ๐ญ, I probably see these boundaries a little differently to some. I was born when Didcot was still in Berkshire, so like many long-time residents I donโt get too hung up on county boundaries. In many ways, Didcot has always had much more in common with Newbury and Reading than it has with Banbury or Chipping Norton.
But this isnโt about lines on a map.
Itโs about whether ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ ๐๐ญ ๐ ๐๐๐ข๐ซ ๐๐๐๐ฅ.
I support the principle of simplifying local government if it genuinely delivers better services, less bureaucracy and better value for taxpayers. But I have real concerns that this proposal risks years of expensive reorganisation without providing the answers residents are looking for.
My biggest concern is that while councils and officers spend the next two years restructuring organisations, local people will still be asking the same questions:
โ Why is SEND provision still so difficult to access?
โ When will infrastructure catch up with housing growth?
โ How will adult social care cope with increasing demand?
โ Will local taxpayers end up paying for financial problems inherited from elsewhere?
The proposed Ridgeway Council brings together South Oxfordshire, the Vale of White Horse and West Berkshire. West Berkshire has already required Exceptional Financial Support from Government because of its financial pressures. Residents deserve clear answers about what that means for the finances of the new authority and whether South Oxfordshire taxpayers could end up carrying additional financial risk.
Iโm also deeply concerned about the impact on Didcot itself.
Under these proposals, villages such as ๐๐ฎ๐ฅ๐ก๐๐ฆ ๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ๐ข๐๐ญ๐จ๐ง ๐๐๐ฆ๐ฉ๐๐๐ง move into the new Greater Oxford Council, taking significant housing allocations with them. If overall housing requirements remain, where will the pressure for additional development fall?
๐๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ซ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ ๐ ๐๐ฌ๐ญ๐ฌ ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ๐ญ ๐ฐ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐จ๐ง๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ข๐ง ๐๐ ๐๐ฑ๐ฉ๐๐๐ญ๐๐ ๐ญ๐จ ๐ฌ๐ก๐จ๐ฎ๐ฅ๐๐๐ซ ๐ญ๐ก๐ ๐๐ฎ๐ซ๐๐๐ง.
Our roads are congested, GP appointments are harder to get, school places are under pressure and our infrastructure continues to lag years behind the pace of development. Residents deserve investment before more expansion is forced upon our town.
There are also questions around democratic representation. South Oxfordshire residents must not find themselves with a weaker voice in the new authority while other areas enjoy greater representation. Any new council must be built around fairness for residents, not political convenience or gerrymandered to suit political parties before people.
This reorganisation only happens once in a generation. It needed to put communities first.
As your local councillor, my priority will remain exactly as it always has been: standing up for ๐๐ข๐๐๐จ๐ญ ๐๐ง๐ ๐จ๐ฎ๐ซ ๐ฌ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐๐ข๐ง๐ ๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ฌ, fighting for better services, protecting taxpayers, and making sure our community is never treated as the easy answer whenever difficult decisions need to be made.
People donโt care about council structures. They care about whether they can get an EHCP for their child, see a GP, drive on decent roads, find an affordable home and enjoy the services they pay for.
Those are the issues Iโll keep fighting for.
