Greater Oxford is expected to be a unitary authority area in the ceremonial county of Oxfordshire, England. It was planned to be formed on 1 April 2028. The largest settlement will be the city of Oxford, and it will encompass the entire urban area around the city, including Botley, Kennington, Kidlington, and Sandford-on-Thames, and various outlying villages. In 2024 the population of the area was estimated to be 241,000. Plans to create it were halted in September 2026 and the first election was cancelled.
Formation It will be formed from Oxford district, 15 parishes from Cherwell, 25 parishes from South Oxfordshire and nine from the Vale of White Horse. The remainder of the Cherwell district will form part of a new Northern Oxfordshire unitary, and the remainder of the South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts will join with West Berkshire to form a new Ridgeway unitary.
The district is being formed as part of ongoing local government changes throughout England, in which all areas of the country that have separate county councils and district councils will see those replaced with single-tier, or unitary, local governance. Alternative proposals for a single unitary area for Oxfordshire (leaving West Berkshire unchanged), or for creating two unitaries in Oxfordshire and West Berkshire, were not accepted.
In September 2026, the Oxfordshire proposals were halted by the government and placed under review. The first election in 2027 was cancelled.
Governance It will be run by Greater Oxford Council, which will comprise 72 councillors.
Parishes The majority of Oxford is currently unparished, while the rest of the area is parished. The parishes in the area are: From Oxford: Blackbird Leys, Littlemore, Old Marston and Risinghurst and Sandhills From Cherwell: Begbroke, Bletchingdon, Charlton-on-Otmoor, Fencott and Murcott, Garsington, Gosford and Water Eaton, Hampton Gay and Poyle, Horton-cum-Studley, Islip, Kidlington, Noke, Oddington, Shipton-on-Cherwell and Thrupp, Wendlebury, Weston-on-the-Green, Yarnton From South Oxfordshire: Beckley and Stowood, Berinsfield, Clifton Hampden, Cuddesdon and Denton, Culham, Dorchester, Drayton St Leonard, Elsfield, Forest Hill with Shotover,Garsington, Great Milton, Holton, Horspath, Horton-cum-Studley, Little Milton, Marsh Baldon, Nuneham Courtenay, Sandford-on-Thames, Stadhampton, Stanton St John, Toot Baldon, Warborough, Waterperry with Thornley, Waterstock, Woodeaton From Vale of White Horse: Appleton-with-Eaton, Besselsleigh, Botley and North Hinksey, Cumnor, Kennington, South Hinksey, Sunningwell, Wootton, Wytham.
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