District Council Restructuring Proposals
Background
The Government wants to simplify local government in England and Wales. So that we can quickly gauge the views of people who live in the affected Parishes a short SURVEY has been created which we would ask you to complete. It should take no more than a few minutes.
At the moment, some areas have three levels of local government:
- County Council
- District Council
-
Parish Councils.
The Government’s aim is to move to two levels of local government, removing the County Councils where they still exist. For example, West Berkshire already has this two-level system.
They also want each District Council to cover about 500,000 people. To achieve this, District Councils have been asked to suggest possible changes.
So far two proposals have been put forward.
Proposal 1
West Berkshire proposes merging West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire, and the Vale of White Horse Councils into a new authority called Ridgeway District Council. South Oxfordshire and the Vale of White Horse are currently part of the three-level system with Oxfordshire County Council which would be abolished.
Proposal 2
Reading Council have proposed that the following West Berkshire Parishes should become part of Reading Council.
- Calcot
- Holybrook
- Pangbourne
- Purley on Thames
- Theale
- Tidmarsh
- Tilehurst
The remainder of West Berkshire should then amalgamate with the District Councils that currently come under Oxfordshire County Council.
To find out more detail read the following documents.