The proposal for two unitary councils covering Oxfordshire and West Berkshire is a response to an announcement made by the Government in December 2024, which will see two-tier authorities, as seen in Oxfordshire, end and new unitary councils created. Unitary councils provide the same services as county and district councils - bringing them together under one roof.

The proposal includes the creation of Ridgeway Council, covering the current council areas of South Oxfordshire, Vale of White Horse and West Berkshire.


How will this affect your business?

South and Vale District Councils are hosting an event offering small and medium sized local businesses* the opportunity to find out more about the changes coming to local government.

Come and find out why your business needs to know about local government reorganisation and what the changes may mean for you and the services you access - such as economic development, licensing, planning and business rates.



Date and time

The event will take place online via Teams on Friday 18 July, from 11am to 12pm.

We are asking that you send one representative from your business.

Please register your interest by 16 July. You can submit any questions you have ahead of the event.



Unable to attend the event?

For those unable to attend, we will record the presentations and circulate the video afterwards on request. You will also have an opportunity to provide online responses to the questions that we ask attendees.

If you can’t make it but would still like to receive this information, please email jointheconversation@southandvale.gov.uk.

You can also find out more and take part in the public survey, explore our virtual exhibition or read a summary of our proposal for a new Ridgeway Council via the Two Councils website.

*Please note that we will be reaching out to large employers and commercial site operators separately.