| Local government reorganisation across Oxfordshire Posted by Mark A at 15:34, 16th July 2026 |     |
... may have implications for transport, including rail, across the county. Article from the Oxford Clarion, which among other things wonders what now happens to the work done on the County Council's OxRAIL 2040 project.
Mark
https://oxfordclarion.uk/the-final-cut-its-three-councils/
| Re: Local government reorganisation across Oxfordshire Posted by Bob_Blakey at 09:26, 17th July 2026 | |
Likewise Devonshire although we have raised Oxfordshire's plan by one council; Devon County Council and eight district councils together with the two existing unitary authorities - Plymouth & Torbay - are to be replaced by four new unitary authorities - 'Greater Exeter', 'Greater Plymouth', 'Greater Torbay' (I've no idea what they are actually going to be called) and Devon Coast & Countryside.
Personal Opinion Alert: I have always thought, and said so in the online consultation (using more polite language), that this was, is, and will remain a completely crap proposal. Largely driven by the self-serving administrations in Plymouth, Torbay & Exeter who were seemingly more interested in retaining their own influences rather than acting in the interests of all Devonians. I think this will lead to the three urban-centric authorities sucking up all the commercial & financial resources of Devonshire with the new Devon Coast & Countryside unit left to deal with the scraps of a largely rural community stretching from Ilfracombe (N) to Start Point (S) and Holsworthy (W) to Axminster (E), around 110 miles in each direction.
FWIW my view was that three unitary authorities centered around Exeter, Plymouth & Barnstaple would have been a better model, which would have allowed the total population of c. 1,260,000 to be split into three bits of roughly equivalent size. Does Torbay warrant being a unitary authority in it's own right? Nah!
| Re: Local government reorganisation across Oxfordshire Posted by CyclingSid at 12:22, 17th July 2026 | |
... may have implications for transport, including rail, across the county. Article from the Oxford Clarion, which among other things wonders what now happens to the work done on the County Council's OxRAIL 2040 project.
Mark
https://oxfordclarion.uk/the-final-cut-its-three-councils/
Mark
https://oxfordclarion.uk/the-final-cut-its-three-councils/
If it happens West Berkshire will be happy that they don't have to have any connection with Reading. They probably moan that they didn't get there to include Swindon.
Can't many advantages to West Berks, it has been a unitary authority for over 30 years. Like the rest of Berkshire unitaries they were full of grand ideas until it cam to coughing up the money.
