District 'saved' as Oxford's bid rejected (From Witney Gazette)

District 'saved' as Oxford's bid rejected

2:27pm Tuesday 27th March 2007 in Witney By Tim Hughes

PLANS to scrap West Oxfordshire District Council and merge the area with neighbouring Cherwell district as part of a unitary North Oxfordshire authority have been thrown out by the Government.

The plans were being driven by Oxford City Council, as part of its own bid to secure unitary status.

If successful, they could have led to the creation of there separate authorities: one in the north, one in the south, and an independently-run Oxford city, with each taking over the services run by Oxfordshire County Council.

The city council claimed that conferring unitary status would be the only way to bridge a so-called 'democratic deficit' in Oxford.

Its bid, delivered earlier this year, played on the fact the Tory-run county council had no representation in the city and little empathy with its needs.

Although the bid was said to have been one of the strongest the Government received, it was considered too costly.

The city council estimated the costs would be in the region of £27m, but the county council said the cost of creating three unitary authorities would be more than £53.8m, with ongoing costs of £18.5m.

West Oxfordshire District Council had fiercely opposed the plans.

Its leader, Barry Norton, wrote to Ruth Kelly, the Minister for Communities and Local Government, on behalf of members, outlining the council's objections. He said the plans would have led to higher council tax bills for West Oxfordshire householders. The district charges one of the lowest rates of council tax in England.

West Oxfordshire district councillor David Harvey welcomed the Government's decision. He said: "I'm not surprised Oxford City Council has failed in its bid. It is not rated very highly for its financial acumen.

"Now this is out of the way we can all concentrate on providing increasingly improved services to the people of West Oxfordshire on an economic basis, and, where possible, closer working with neighbouring authorities. That is the way forward. There was considerable reluctance to see West Oxfordshire absorbed into a greater Cherwell - which could have been the upshot of a successful Oxford City bid."

The mayor of Witney, Chrissie Curry, said: "If this bid had been successful, it would have been detrimental to the whole of West Oxfordshire. There is a strong identity in this part of the county and to have seen it disappear would have been a travesty."