South Oxfordshire is a local government district in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. Its council is temporarily based outside the district at Abingdon-on-Thames pending a planned move to Didcot, the district's largest town. The areas located south of the River Thames are within the historic county of Berkshire.

South Oxfordshire District
Non-metropolitan district
River Thames, which flows through the middle of the district.
Coat of arms
South Oxfordshire shown within Oxfordshire
Sovereign state	United Kingdom
Constituent country	England
Region	South East England
Non-metropolitan county	Oxfordshire
Historic county	Oxfordshire (north of River Thames) Berkshire (south of River Thames)
Status	Non-metropolitan district
Admin HQ	Abingdon-on-Thames
Incorporated	1 April 1974
Government
• Type	Non-metropolitan district council
• Body	South Oxfordshire District Council
• Leadership	David Rouane [1] Leader & Cabinet (Liberal Democrat and Green Coalition)
• MPs	John Howell David Johnston
Area
• Total	261.99 sq mi (678.54 km2)
• Rank	56th (of 309)
Population  (mid-2019 est.)
• Total	142,057
• Rank	151st (of 309)
• Density	540/sq mi (210/km2)
• Ethnicity	95.2% White 1.7% S.Asian 1.0% Black British 1.0% Chinese or Other
Time zone	UTC0 (GMT)
• Summer (DST)	UTC+1 (BST)
ONS code	38UD (ONS) E07000179 (GSS)
OS grid reference	SU6571895057
Website	www.southoxon.gov.uk

History

The district was formed on 1 April 1974, under the Local Government Act 1972, covering the area of six former districts, which were abolished at the same time:[2]

• Bullingdon Rural District
• Henley-on-Thames Municipal Borough
• Henley Rural District
• Thame Urban District
• Wallingford Municipal Borough
• Wallingford Rural District

The two Wallingford districts had previously been part of the administrative county of Berkshire, whilst the other four districts had been in the administrative county of Oxfordshire. The new district was originally given the name "Wallingford District".[3] The shadow authority elected in 1973 to oversee the transition requested a change of name to "South Oxfordshire District", which was approved by the government before the new district formally came into being in 1974.[4]

Geography

The River Thames flows for approximately 47 miles through South Oxfordshire,[5] forming the historic county boundary between Berkshire and Oxfordshire. It is also joined by the River Thame within the district. A characteristic of the rivers within the district is that they have wide floodplains with few houses on them so that fluvial flooding is a lesser problem than flash flooding.[6] Towns in the district are Didcot, Henley-on-Thames, Thame, Wallingford and Watlington.

Villages

See List of civil parishes in South Oxfordshire

The larger villages in the district include:

• Benson
• Berinsfield
• Chalgrove
• Chinnor
• Cholsey
• Dorchester
• Ewelme
• Goring-on-Thames
• Lewknor
• Shiplake
• Sonning Common
• Wheatley

Population change and distribution

The 2001 Census recorded a population of just over 128,000 in the district. This was an increase of 7% since 1991. Much of the district is rural in nature, with the land in agricultural use and around 70% of the district has a green belt or AONB designation (The northeast of the district forms part of the Oxford Green Belt). 50% of the district’s population lives outside its four main towns of Didcot, Henley-on-Thames, Thame and Wallingford.

Governance

South Oxfordshire District Council
Type
Type	District Council
History
Founded	1 April 1974
Leadership
Leader	Sue Cooper, Liberal Democrat
Co-Deputy Leader of the Council	Robin Bennett, Green Party
Co-Deputy Leader of the Council	Maggie Filipova-Rivers, Liberal Democrat
Structure
Seats	36 councillors
Political groups	Administration (19)   Liberal Democrats (13)   Green Party (6) Opposition (17)   Conservative (9)   Independent (5)   Labour (3)
Length of term	4 years
Elections
Voting system	First-past-the-post, third of council elected three years out of four
Last election	May 2019
Next election	May 2023
Website
southoxon.gov.uk

South Oxfordshire District Council is elected by the district. Prior to the May 2019 local elections the council had a strong Conservative Party majority, though following the 2019 election the council moved to No Overall Control, with the Conservatives reduced to 10 seats.[7] The council is currently administered by a Liberal Democrat and Green Party coalition.[1]

2019 local election results[7][1]

2015 local election results[8]

At the first elections in 1973, 62 district councillors were elected.[9] Currently thirty-six district councillors are elected from twenty one electoral wards, which cover the principal towns of Didcot, Henley, Thame and Wallingford and surrounding villages.[10] This was a result of The South Oxfordshire (Electoral Changes) Order 2014, effective from the 2015 local elections.[11]

The Conservative Party held a majority on the council between 2003 and the 2019 UK local elections, when the Liberal Democrats became the larger party. After two independent councillors changed allegiance to the Liberal Democrats and the Green Party shortly after the May 2019 election, the two parties formed a coalition, led by Liberal Democrat, Sue Cooper.[12]

Elections

Full elections of the council take place every four years.

Prior to the May 2019 local elections the Conservative numbers on the council had been reduced from 33 to 25, after several resignations and six councillors suspended for voting against a major housing plan.[13] Following the election the Conservatives went from a controlling majority of 18, to having no overall control, with the Liberal Democrats having 12 councillors, the Conservatives having 10 and the Green Party winning 5.[14]

Premises

The council was initially based in various premises across the district in Henley, Thame, Wheatley, Wallingford and Didcot inherited from its predecessor authorities.[15] In 1981 the council moved to a purpose-built headquarters on Benson Lane, Crowmarsh Gifford, near Wallingford.[16]

On 15 January 2015, an arson attack destroyed the district council's main offices in Crowmarsh Gifford.[17] As the fire started in the early hours of the morning there were no fatalities or injuries.[18] Immediately after the fire, the council was temporarily based in Abingdon, in the neighbouring Vale of White Horse district.[19] From later in 2015 until 2022 the council was based at Milton Park, sharing a building with Vale of White Horse District Council.[20] The Council initially intended to return to Crowmarsh,[21] but in October 2020 it was announced that both councils plan on relocating to a new building in Didcot, to be built on a site known as Didcot Gateway opposite Didcot Parkway railway station, aiming for completion in 2023.[22] In 2022 the councils vacated Milton Park and returned to Abingdon, again on a temporary basis, whilst waiting for the Didcot Gateway scheme to be ready.[23]

Energy consumption

In May 2006, a report commissioned by British Gas[24] showed that housing in South Oxfordshire produced the 5th highest average carbon emissions in the country at 7,356 kg of carbon dioxide per dwelling.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to South Oxfordshire.

• Official website
• Visit South Oxfordshire

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