West Oxfordshire

West Oxfordshire District
Non-metropolitan district
Witney, the largest settlement and administrative centre of the district.
West Oxfordshire shown within Oxfordshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Oxfordshire
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Witney
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	West Oxfordshire District Council
• Leadership	Leader & Cabinet
•  MPs	Sean Woodcock Calum Miller Charlie Maynard
Area
• Total	275.83 sq mi (714.40 km2)
• Rank	46th (of 296)
Population  (2022)
• Total	116,928
• Rank	207th (of 296)
• Density	420/sq mi (160/km2)
Ethnicity (2021) [1]
•  Ethnic groups	List 95.2% White 1.9% Mixed 1.7% Asian 0.6% Black 0.6% other
Religion (2021) [1]
•  Religion	List 51.5% Christianity 40.6% no religion 5.9% not stated 0.7% Islam 0.5% other 0.4% Buddhism 0.2% Hinduism 0.2% Judaism 0.1% Sikhism
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	38UF (ONS) E07000181 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SP3591610698

West Oxfordshire is a local government district in northwest Oxfordshire, England, including towns such as Woodstock, Burford, Chipping Norton, Charlbury, Carterton and Witney, where the council is based.

Area

The area is mainly rural downland and forest, with the main economic activities being farming and associated trades. West Oxfordshire lies within the River Thames catchment area, with the Thames itself and its tributaries including the River Evenlode and River Windrush running through the area. ^[2] Parts of the district suffered severe flooding during the 2007 floods in the UK. ^[3] Some areas of the district lie within the Cotswolds Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

History

West Oxfordshire district was created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of five former districts, which were all abolished at the same time: ^[4]

• Chipping Norton Municipal Borough
• Chipping Norton Rural District
• Witney Rural District
• Witney Urban District
• Woodstock Municipal Borough

The new district was named West Oxfordshire, describing its location within the wider county. ^[5]

Governance

West Oxfordshire District Council
Type
Type	Non-metropolitan district
Leadership
Chair	Elizabeth Poskitt, Liberal Democrats since 22 May 2024 [6]
Leader	Andy Graham, Liberal Democrat since 18 May 2022 [7]
Chief Executive	Giles Hughes
Structure
Seats	49 councillors
Political groups	Administration (36)   Liberal Democrats (21)   Labour (11)   Green (4) Opposition (13)   Conservative (13)
Elections
Last election	2 May 2024
Next election	7 May 2026
Meeting place
Council Offices, Woodgreen, Witney, OX28 1NB
Website
www.westoxon.gov.uk

Oxfordshire has a two-tier structure of local government, with the five district councils (including West Oxfordshire District Council) providing district-level services, and Oxfordshire County Council providing county-level services. ^[8] There is also a third tier of local government in West Oxfordshire of civil parishes.

Political control

The council has been under no overall control since the 2022 election. The Liberal Democrats subsequently formed an administration with Labour and the Greens, with Liberal Democrat Andy Graham becoming the leader of the council. ^[9] The same coalition continued following both the 2023 and 2024 elections. ^[10]

The first election to the district council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows: ^{[11] [12]}

Party in control		Years
	Independent	1974–1976
	No overall control	1976–1983
	Conservative	1983–1984
	No overall control	1984–1987
	Conservative	1987–1990
	Independent	1990–1992
	No overall control	1992–2000
	Conservative	2000–2022
	No overall control	2022–present

Leadership

The leaders of the council since 2001 have been: ^[13]

Councillor	Party		From	To
Barry Norton [14]		Conservative	2001	8 May 2016
James Mills [15]		Conservative	18 May 2016	28 Oct 2020
Michele Mead [16]		Conservative	28 Oct 2020	18 May 2022
Andy Graham [17]		Liberal Democrats	18 May 2022

Composition

Following the 2024 election, the council's political make-up was: ^{[18] [10]}

Party		Councillors
	Liberal Democrats	21
	Conservative	13
	Labour	11
	Green	4
Total		49

The next election is due in 2026. ^[19]

Elections

See also: West Oxfordshire District Council elections

Since the last full review of boundaries in 2002, the council has comprised 49 councillors representing 27 wards. Elections are held in three out of every four years, with one third of the seats on the council being elected at each election. Oxfordshire County Council elections are held in the fourth year of the cycle when there are no district council elections. ^[20]

Premises

The council is based at the former Witney Rural District Council offices on Woodgreen in Witney. The building was built as a large house in 1887 for one of the town's blanket manufacturers, and was originally known as Springfield, 39 Woodgreen. ^{[21] [22] [23]} The building was acquired by Witney Rural District Council around 1966 and is now known as Council Offices, Woodgreen.

Towns and parishes

Further information: List of civil parishes in Oxfordshire

The whole district is covered by civil parishes. The parishes of Burford, Carterton, Charlbury, Chipping Norton, Witney, and Woodstock have been declared towns and their parish councils therefore take the style 'town council'. ^[24] Bampton is a post town, but has a parish council rather than a town council. ^[25]

References

1. UK Census (2021). "2021 Census Area Profile – West Oxfordshire Local Authority (E07000181)". Nomis. Office for National Statistics . Retrieved 5 January 2024.
2. "West Oxfordshire District Council – Preparing for Flooding".
3. "Witney Flood Gallery".
4. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Definition) Order 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1972/2039, retrieved 25 April 2023
5. "The English Non-metropolitan Districts (Names) Order 1973", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 1973/551, retrieved 25 April 2023
6. "Council minutes, 22 May 2024". West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
7. "Council minutes, 18 May 2022" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
8. "Local Government Act 1972", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, 1972 c. 70, retrieved 3 March 2023
9. "Lib Dems set to join forces with Labour and the Greens to take control of West Oxfordshire District Council".
10. Ingham, Jack (14 May 2024). "Lib Dem, Labour and Green groups maintain hold on West Oxfordshire District Council". Banbury Guardian. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
11. "Compositions calculator". The Elections Centre. Retrieved 19 February 2023.
12. "West Oxfordshire". BBC News Online . Retrieved 2 August 2015.
13. "Council minutes". West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 25 April 2023.
14. Oliver, Matt (5 April 2016). "Council leader Sir Barry Norton to stand down as West Oxfordshire councillor after 43 years". Oxford Mail. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
15. "Council minutes, 18 May 2016" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
16. "Council minutes, 28 October 2020" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
17. "Council minutes, 18 May 2022" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 25 May 2022.
18. "West Oxfordshire result – Local Elections 2024". BBC News.
19. "West Oxfordshire". Local Councils. Thorncliffe. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
20. "The District of West Oxfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2001", legislation.gov.uk , The National Archives, SI 2001/48, retrieved 2 June 2023
21. "Oxfordshire History Centre Archive Catalogue". Oxfordshire County Council. 11 November 2005. Retrieved 17 March 2022. F17/1/P1/20: 2 postcards of Springfield, Witney, c. 1920, an Early family home, later used by Witney Rural District Council.
22. 1911 United Kingdom census, Class RG14; Piece 8227; Schedule 158. List address: "Springfield", 39 Woodgreen, Witney.
23. "Springfield". Witney Blanket Story. Retrieved 17 March 2022.
24. "Parish / Town Council Elections" (PDF). West Oxfordshire District Council. Retrieved 15 July 2024.
25. "Bampton Parish Council" . Retrieved 15 July 2024.

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