Community Governance Review in South Oxfordshire 2026 - Final Consultation on Proposed Changes - Join the conversation - South Oxfordshire & Vale of White Horse

Overview

Earlier this year we asked for your views on proposed changes to community governance in some towns and parishes in South Oxfordshire, including changes to their boundaries, the number of elected councillors and how local wards are organised.

Once the consultation closed, the Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee (the 'Committee') reviewed the feedback and made final recommendations on which proposals should be taken to a second round of consultation, and which ones should not be considered any further. To learn more, please visit their website to read the report and the minutes of the Committee meeting.

We are now seeking your views on the following, finalised proposals:

A) Recommendation to increase the number of parish councillors

Ewelme Parish Council - to increase the number of councillors from 6 to 7.

Stoke Row Parish Council - to increase the number of councillors from 6 to 7.

B) Recommendation to amend parish warding arrangements due to be implemented as part of the Local Government Boundary Commission Review for England

Didcot Town Council - to amend the parish warding arrangements introduced by the 2023/24 Local Government Boundary Commission for England review for Didcot Town Council, by merging the parish wards of Broadway and Orchard, and Jubilee and Millbrook, whilst leaving the overall number of parish councillors unchanged. Further information on this proposal is available in the survey.

Henley-on-Thames Town Council - to amend the parish warding arrangements introduced by the 2023/24 Local Government Boundary Commission for England review, more specifically to remove the new parish ward (Newtown) and re-establish pre-LGBCE review warding arrangements. Further information on this proposal is available in the survey.

Thame Town Council - to amend parish warding arrangements as revised by the 2023/24 Local Government Boundary Commission for England review and to divide the new parish ward of Thame East into 'Thame North East' and 'Thame South East'. Further information on this proposal is available in the survey.

C) Recommendation to amend boundaries

Shirburn and Pyrton Parishes - to amend the boundary between the parishes in order to include the whole of Shirburn Castle Park in the parish of Shirburn.

Thame and Great Haseley Parishes - to amend the boundary between the parishes to include land currently in Great Haseley parish within Thame parish. This would allow the changes highlighted in both Phase 1 and Phase 2 to take place. More information on this proposal is available in the survey.

If these recommendations are approved by the Committee, the intention is that they would come into effect in time for the May 2027 elections.

You will have the opportunity to comment on as many of the proposed changes as you wish. Please provide your feedback by 11.59pm on Thursday 30 July 2026.

Why is the Council undertaking the review? Why is the Council undertaking the review?

District councils are responsible for reviewing parish arrangements and implementing any appropriate changes with the aim to improve local democracy and service delivery.

The guidance on community governance reviews (CGRs) issued by the Department of Communities and Local Government and the Local Government Boundary Commission for England in March 2010 states that it is good practice for principal councils (in this context that means this council) to undertake CGRs every 10-15 years. The council completed a review of the whole district in 2014 and agreed to undertake a further review every four years with any changes to be implemented for the next scheduled elections. Reviews were subsequently undertaken and changes were implemented at the scheduled elections in May 2015, May 2019 and May 2023. It is the intention that any changes agreed as part of this review will be implemented for the elections in May 2027.

In late 2025 the council invited parish councils to submit matters for review. The council’s Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee considered all the formal requests at its meeting on 13 January 2026 and agreed to review those matters set out under proposals for consideration.

Reviews can consider:

altering the existing boundary of a parish
creating, merging or abolishing parishes
changing the name of existing parishes
the electoral arrangements for parishes (e.g. how many councillors are required and parish warding)
grouping parishes under a common parish council, or de-grouping parishes.

What happens next? What happens next?

Once the survey closes, we will collate all feedback received and produce a summary report. The report will be presented to the council's Community Governance and Electoral Issues Committee in September. The Commitee will consider the responses and decide whether to adopt the proposed changes.

We are aiming to implement any changes agreed so that they can be applied in time for the May 2027 elections. More information is available on our website.

Personal details Personal details

If you are responding as an individual/member of the public, you are not required to provide your name or contact details.

If you are responding on behalf of a business/organisation or neighbouring local authority, we will ask for its name and this information may be published. Any personal information you provide to the councils within your comments that could identify you will not be published. Further information on data protection is available in our privacy policy.