Oxford News
Local elections – Oxfordshire’s last district elections?
Local government reorganisation is set to come into force in April 2028, with elections for a temporary shadow authority or authorities taking place next year, 2027.
Today, May 7, voters in Oxford city and areas of Cherwell and West Oxfordshire will likely be the last to head to the polls under the two-tier system.
Currently, the running of services such as social care, roads, libraries and waste disposal by a county council, with five district and borough councils responsible for rubbish collection, housing and planning, and environmental health.
According to proposals made by the existing councils in November 2025, Oxfordshire will be divided into either one, two, or three unitary authorities, and the government is set to decide on this before the parliamentary summer recess in July of this year.
There was a consultation on plans, which ended on March 26.
The government has described its reasoning for the change.
A statement from the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government states: “Our ambition is to simplify local government, ending the two-tier system and establishing new single-tier unitary councils that are responsible for all local government services in an area.”
The reorganisation also saw the potential for the postponement of today’s elections across 30 councils.
However, the government abandoned plans to hold off the polls after receiving advice from lawyers following a legal challenge from Reform UK.
The Thames Valley Police Abingdon unit arrested a man for “breaching court bail conditions” on Saturday, August 29.
A spokesperson said: “On Saturday, PC Hackett attended reports of a male breaching court bail conditions.
READ MORE: Public told ‘DO NOT APPROACH’ as wanted man sighted in Oxford centre
“With assistance from PC Ellingworth and PC Harvey, the male was arrested. Following a search, a knife was recovered from his possession.”
In a wide ranging update, the force also revealed it had supported in a “concern for welfare incident linked to the night-time economy.
In addition, it had carried out licensing checks across Abingdon with drug wipes used and sent off for testing
OXFORD Mail Camera Club members have been taking photos of their dogs
Source link
The collision happened on the southbound carriageway between Junction 6 for Lewknor and Junction 5 for Watlington in the late morning on Saturday, August 29.
The emergency services attended the scene and closed the road,
National Highways said lanes two and three of the three-lane motorway were shut as a result while crews dealt with the incident, leading to delays of around 40 minutes.
Congestion was worsened by separate lane closures between Junctions 4 and 5 in both directions following damage to the central reservation from an earlier incident.
Traffic built up on approaches to the crash, with nearby areas including Stokenchurch and Lewknor also affected.
Images from traffic cameras showed long queues of vehicles and emergency workers at the scene throughout the afternoon.
AA Travel also reported that one lane was closed on the northbound carriageway between Handy Cross and Stokenchurch due to emergency repairs.
National Highways later confirmed that all southbound lanes between Junctions 6 and 5 had reopened and that the lane closures linked to the earlier incident were also being removed.
Despite the reopening, delays of around 40 minutes remained on the approach as traffic slowly returned to normal.
-
Oxford News3 weeks agoTrain cancellation alert amid ‘fault’ near London Paddington
-
Oxford News2 weeks agoMuseum evacuated and Oxford University closed amid incident
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoBritish Business Bank backs PhysicsX with USD $25 million
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoNuggit launches GBP £5 million fund for UK YouTubers
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoMuscle Food at risk of closing after entering administration
-
Business & Technology4 weeks agoHistoric town faces series of high street shop closures
-
Student Life4 weeks agoMy year of rest and rustication
-
Student Life4 weeks agoAcademic tourism: Oxford University and its summer schools