Our proposal: why we believe in the power of three

Our cities, towns and villages each have their own strengths, challenges and needs, and what works well in one place might not in another.

That’s why we’re proposing three new unitary councils, to support each area in its own way. Our proposal best safeguards local identity and unlocks the full potential of each area, while respecting their distinct identities and needs.

Each council will be responsible for all council services in their area, including:

Oxford city and rural Oxfordshire are very different, with different demographics, cultures, needs and challenges. 

The 3Councils proposal will give residents a stronger say over how their local council is run, compared to the larger two-council and one-council proposals. 

3Councils is the only proposal that separates urban Oxford from rural Oxfordshire, meaning each council can better tailor services to meet local needs.  

Northern Oxfordshire would have its own council to take decisions that affect people in Banbury, Witney and surrounding areas.  The new Ridgeway council would reunite the historically linked areas of southern Oxfordshire and west Berkshire, ensuring decision-making to meet their distinct needs. 

Oxford has a highly specialised local economy – with world-leading medical research, education, and health – while the rest of Oxfordshire’s and West Berkshire’s economy is more diverse – with important clusters of manufacturing, motorsport, hospitality, farming and other sectors.

3Councils is the only proposal that separates urban Oxford from rural Oxfordshire, meaning each council can better focus on supporting the needs of its local economies.

Economists have found that enabling Oxfordshire and West Berkshire’s economy through the 3Councils proposal would generate £170bn for the UK’s economy by 2050 – £43bn more than the one-council proposal.

Oxford and Oxfordshire are one of the least affordable places to live in the country. Average house prices in Oxford are now £570,000 – 13.6 times the average household income of £42,000 a year.

3Councils is the only proposal that aims to tackle Oxfordshire’s housing crisis.

It will do this by concentrating 40,000 new homes – including 16,000 social and affordable homes – within the boundaries of Greater Oxford by 2040.

This would be achieved by using 2.6% of Oxford’s 35,000-hectare Green Belt.

This would enable local people to afford to live near their friends, family and workplace, while also protecting rural Oxfordshire from overdevelopment and sprawling towns and villages.

This also means Northern Oxfordshire and Ridgeway will be able to focus on housing delivery for their local communities, rather than meeting Oxford’s housing need.

Abolishing Oxfordshire and West Berkshire’s seven existing councils and replacing them with three will generate significant savings.

By year five of the transition, the 3Councils proposal is expected to save £47m every year across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. The additional growth that 3Councils unlocks will boost council tax and business rates revenues on top of these cost savings.

This will create three councils that will be efficient and able to withstand financial shocks, while also tailoring services to meet the needs of local residents and businesses.

The government is looking to create devolved strategic authorities across all regions of England to coordinate strategic issues like housing, transport and economic growth. 

3Councils is the only proposal that would give Greater Oxford, Northern Oxfordshire and Ridgeway separate seats at the strategic authority table to represent their areas’ distinct interests, alongside places like Reading, Slough and Swindon. 

Our proposal was shaped by feedback from residents, businesses and key stakeholders through a series of in-person events and an online survey last summer. It strongly showed that residents prefer smaller, more responsible councils. In total, 1,580 people from across Oxfordshire and West Berkshire took part.

Engagement with businesses in Oxford found that 68% of companies supported going beyond Government targets for the delivery of new affordable housing around Oxford. 

The government has launched a consultation on the future of local government in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire.