West Oxfordshire District Council

Page navigation

Home << Council and Democracy << Elections << Elections - information for the media << Brief guide to the Council

Site directory

Publications listings
List our publications

Brief guide to the Council

West Oxfordshire District Council is made up of 49 elected Councillors, with one third elected three years in four. On Thursday 3 May 2012, 17 of the Council's seats will be up for up election. See Future elections for more details.

The Council is currently Conservative-led. For more details of the Council's political make-up, Councillors and the areas they cover, see Councillor information.

Shared arrangement with Cotswold District Council

The Council is currently sharing its Chief Executive, David Neudegg, Strategic Director of Resources (finance), Frank Wilson, Strategic Director of Environment, Ralph Young and a number of other posts, with neighbouring Cotswold District Council in a bid to boost efficiency and make savings. See our shared working arrangements page for more details.

Services provided by the Council

A two-tier form of local government operates in Oxfordshire. Oxfordshire County Council provides services across the county, while West Oxfordshire and four other district councils provide services at a more local level to different areas.

The following are some of the services provided by West Oxfordshire District Council (click on the relevant link to find out more):

Waste and recycling - household, commercial, bulky waste, green waste, hazardous and clinical collections. There are weekly kerbside collections for food waste and for recycling. Refuse and garden waste collections are on alternative weeks. The Council currently recycles over 60% of its waste.
Development and planning - this includes dealing with around 5,000 building control and planning applications each year, as well as long-term planning of the development of the District.
Housing - working with Registered Social Landlords (Housing Associations) to provide more affordable housing and advising and assisting people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The Council hopes to develop at least four hundred new homes over the next four years.
Housing and council tax benefits - the Council administers benefits to those eligible for help towards costs of their rent and council tax.
Leisure centres - the Council owns leisure centres in Carterton, Chipping Norton and The Windrush, Witney, as well as Woodstock open-air pool and artificial turf pitches. More than one million visits were made to the leisure centres in 2010/11.
Community Safety - the Council works with police and other organisations on a number of initiatives aimed at reducing crime and the fear of crime.
Car parks - the Council has a policy of providing free car parks. There are 16 free Council-operated car parks across the District.
Public toilets - the Council operates public conveniences in the District and has invested £800,000 in recent years in refurbishing these facilities.
Street cleansing - about £650,000 is spent each year cleaning streets and paths, which includes emptying street bins and picking up litter. The Council also has a grounds maintenance team which looks after Council-owned land and carries out work for other organisations.
Environmental health - this includes food hygiene, health and safety and other protection issues such as monitoring pollution and air quality, private sector housing regulation, noise and public nuisance.
Tourism and visitor information centres - latest figures show that tourism contributes an estimated £249 million to West Oxfordshire's economy annually.
Economic development - the Council works to encourage economic growth and diversification throughout the District, and supports local businesses.

The Council is also responsible for licensing and provides services such as pest control, home improvements for elderly and vulnerable people, and runs grants schemes to support local communities, promotes energy efficiency and works closely with partner organisations on a wide range of issues that affect residents and businesses.

Second lowest council tax in England

The Council set its share of the annual council tax bill for a Band D property in 2012/2013 at a meeting in February as £81.63. The Council continues to have the second lowest council tax charge of all 201 district councils in England.

Other councils in Oxfordshire

The four other district councils servings other areas of Oxfordshire are:

Oxfordshire County Council covers the whole of the county and provides different services, including education, highways and social care.