Council changes on hold

The announcement that the plans for Oxfordshire’s (and West Berkshire’s) new councils have been paused spells more chaos for local residents. 

At best it shows political confusion by the Government, at worst it demonstrates incompetence. 

Locally both Labour and Lib Dems have supported breaking up the current shape of Oxfordshire (yes I know it’s not the same as the historic county) and the lack of a consensus between our local leaders has lead to accusations of gerrymandering and threats of legal challenges- hardly a demonstration that they can work together on strategic issues!

Remember it is less than two months ago that the Government decided to scrap our existing councils and now we’re back to square one with no timescale given for the review. 

Most people don’t care which council area they live in, but this uncertainty has real implications. 

What does this means for the future of Oxford’s unpopular congestion charge? Will we see more plans to turn off street lights and introduce “quiet lanes”? What about Oxford City’s land grab of Green Belt villages such as Sandford, Nuneham Courtenay, Culham and Clifton Hampden. 

Sadly it looks like more delays, more cost and more confusion.