Having two unitary councils will improve the service our communities receive
We know that people want better public services that are responsive and locally focused. Our proposal responds to the government’s priorities and the priorities of those we have engaged with as we have developed this proposal.​
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On the first day of the new councils, known as ‘Vesting Day’, services will be designed to transform and improve over time.
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The councils will make the most of the cost-savings and service improvements from a more sustainable geography. They will maximise the benefits of existing high-performing service and transform services that aren’t currently performing well or are costing too much at a county scale.
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Below are some of the main service improvements identified in our proposal.
Photo by Matt Hoffman on Unsplash
Adult Social Care, Children’s Services and SEND
Social care transformation will focus on helping people stay independent. Local teams will provide better services as they will work across more manageable areas.
​Children’s Services and SEND will also benefit from more early intervention, better commissioning and shared best practice. This could save £20 million a year and provide a better service for users.
Homelessness
The proposal aims to integrate housing, health and care services to prevent homelessness earlier and reduce reliance on costly emergency accommodation. Working across a larger, unified geography offers a more strategic approach to temporary accommodation, move-on pathways and long-term housing solutions.​
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Oxford & Shires and the Ridgeway Councils will enable a tailored approach to the different communities across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.
Planning and Development
A single planning system within each new unitary will provide clearer strategic oversight, better alignment with growth priorities and stronger capacity for long-term place-making for each area. Each council will be big enough to deliver the growth and infrastructure we need but small enough to tailor plans to local needs. By streamlining policies and decision-making the councils could achieve greater consistency, speed and effectiveness.
Housing Delivery
The proposal will deliver more of the right homes in the right places. It will combine capacity and build stronger relationships with housing providers. It will utilise council owned land and assets proactively to build homes, especially social and affordable homes. Larger authorities can leverage scale to secure more affordable housing, accelerate regeneration and better align housing with social care and economic needs. Being the right size allows the ability to plan for community needs.
Transport and Highways
The new structure aims to address longstanding concerns about road conditions by unifying strategy, standards and delivery capacity. It will include a change in approach to road maintenance delivering a much better maintenance programme. The councils will be forward thinking to ensure new developments have the right infrastructure and better co-ordination with public rights of way and countryside access.
Waste and Environmental Services
Having two councils creates opportunities to standardise waste collection models, consolidate contracts and improve recycling rates through a more consistent service offer.
It would include investment and aligned environmental policies aiming to build more sustainable waste systems and improve resident experience.
Parks and Grounds Maintenance
Each new unitary will move to a single, streamlined approach, using the strengths of existing in-house teams to improve quality and efficiency. This enables consistent maintenance standards, better performance management and more cohesive support for nature recovery strategies while focussing on the needs of each area.
Leisure
Aligning currently fragmented leisure contracts into single-footprint models will widen access, increase investment and support carbon-reduction and health goals. A unified approach creates more consistent service offers, greater participation opportunities and improved financial sustainability.
Cultural, Arts and Communities
The proposal integrates cultural services with local community teams to create a richer, more cohesive cultural offer across rural and urban areas. Investment, community participation and stronger links to education and health will help sustain libraries, museums, heritage assets and community programmes.