The government has paused the plan to fold South Oxfordshire into Ridgeway Council in 2028. Elections in May 2027 go ahead on today's council boundaries.

The plan to abolish South Oxfordshire District Council and move Henley into a new Ridgeway Council on 1 April 2028 has been paused. The local government minister wrote to council leaders on 7 September and asked them to stop work on it.

Elections due in May 2027 will now go ahead on existing council boundaries. Under the July plan, those elections would have chosen the first councillors for Ridgeway.

Nobody has said how long the pause will last. South Oxfordshire’s own reorganisation page says the council is “currently awaiting further clarification from government on what the announcement will mean for our area”.

What the minister wrote

The letter is from Jim McMahon MP, Minister for Local Government, Devolution and Regional Growth. He wrote it after the Prime Minister told the Commons the government was “prepared to look at decisions”. It says:

  • the government is reviewing the whole reorganisation programme, and the review includes “the 14 decisions made in July”, Oxfordshire’s among them
  • decisions made in March for Essex, Hampshire, Norfolk and Suffolk have been withdrawn outright
  • councils should “cease work on implementing the decisions that were announced in July” until the review ends
  • “elections scheduled to take place in May 2027 will go ahead to existing council boundaries”

The letter gives no date for the review to report. It promises that next steps will be “communicated early and clearly to the sector”. It is published in full on GOV.UK.

Oxfordshire’s decision has been paused, not withdrawn. That is the difference between this county and the four in the March group.

What the July plan meant for Henley

On 16 July the then Housing Secretary, Steve Reed, chose a three-council model for Oxfordshire and West Berkshire. His decision letter put Henley in the southern council, Ridgeway. It was to cover:

  • South Oxfordshire, less 25 parishes near Oxford
  • Vale of White Horse, less nine parishes
  • the whole of West Berkshire

Henley is not one of the 25 parishes. The district council’s 16 July release lists them all. They are villages on Oxford’s side of the district, such as Wheatley, Berinsfield, Garsington and Dorchester, and they were going to a Greater Oxford Council.

A follow-up implementation letter of 20 July set out the detail:

  • Ridgeway would have 88 councillors
  • elections to a “shadow” Ridgeway Council would replace any scheduled local elections in May 2027
  • a joint committee of 12 would oversee the move: four members from West Berkshire, four from Oxfordshire County Council, and four shared between South Oxfordshire and the Vale
  • West Berkshire would chair that committee, and West Berkshire’s chief officer would act as deputy lead of the implementation team

The minister’s letter now asks councils to stop that work.

Henley's council reorganisation: the July plan against the position since 7 September A comparison table. Under the July plan, Henley would move to Ridgeway Council with West Berkshire from 1 April 2028; since 7 September that decision is under review. Under the July plan the May 2027 election was to a shadow Ridgeway Council of 88 councillors; now elections go ahead on existing council boundaries. Under the July plan a 12-member joint committee chaired by West Berkshire would prepare the move; now councils are asked to stop implementation work. The review has no published end date. Ridgeway on hold: what changed for Henley on 7 September The 16 July decision for Oxfordshire and West Berkshire, set against the minister's letter of 7 September 2026. The July plan Since 7 September Henley's council from April 2028 May 2027 election Preparation work End of the review Ridgeway Council, with the Vale and West Berkshire Shadow Ridgeway Council, 88 councillors Joint committee of 12, chaired by West Berkshire No review planned Undecided: the decision is under review Goes ahead on existing council boundaries Councils asked to stop implementing it No date published Source: MHCLG decision letter 16 July 2026, implementation letter 20 July 2026, ministerial letter 7 September 2026. Graphic by The Henley Post
The July plan set dates for everything. The pause leaves only the May 2027 election fixed.

Henley’s vote in May 2027

South Oxfordshire District Council has 36 councillors. Its councillor index says elections “are held every four years”. The last whole-council poll was on 4 May 2023, so the next is due in May 2027.

The Henley-on-Thames ward elects three district councillors. All three seats are held by the Henley Residents’ Group: Ken Arlett, Stefan Gawrysiak and Kellie Hinton.

Under the July plan, that election would have been replaced by a vote for Ridgeway. The minister’s letter says it now goes ahead on existing boundaries.

Oxfordshire County Council is still asking for detail. Its cabinet member for reorganisation said the county would seek clarity on “what this means for local elections in May”.

What the councils said

South Oxfordshire’s leader, Cllr Maggie Filipova-Rivers, issued a joint statement with the Vale on 7 September. She said:

“Every pound and every officer hour spent responding to a process that is subsequently paused, is a resource that could have been spent on housing, social care, roads, planning and other frontline services. The uncertainty this has caused is a further erosion of our trust in government.”

She also said the councils had received the information “at such short notice”. The council has not published a figure for what it has spent on reorganisation so far.

The county council took the opposite view. Its leader, Cllr Tim Bearder, said in a statement that he welcomed the pause. He said he has written to the government asking to see the advice and evidence behind the July decision.

Why the July choice was contested

South Oxfordshire never wanted three councils. When the decision came in July, its leader called it “deeply disappointing” and said the district had “consistently argued” for two.

The government’s own consultation analysis drew 4,676 responses. Among all respondents, every option drew more negative answers than positive ones:

Option Positive Negative
One council 37% 51%
Two councils 32% 53%
Three councils (chosen) 37% 50%

The 38 named consultees, such as councils and public bodies, ranked the chosen model last. Their answers to it were 19% positive and 39% negative. The analysis says their “preference in order is for the 2 unitary proposal followed by the 1 unitary proposal then the 3 unitary proposal”.

The July decision letter itself conceded that the chosen option “may take longer than the other proposals to payback the upfront costs of reorganisation”.

What it means for you

  • Nothing changes to your services now. South Oxfordshire still collects the bins and Oxfordshire County Council still runs the roads and schools. Your bin collection days are unaffected.
  • Your council tax bill still comes from the same councils. The Henley council tax bands page sets out what each one charges.
  • The planning change on 31 October is separate. New national rules on who decides applications come in regardless, and South Oxfordshire is still preparing for them.
  • Expect to vote for a district councillor in May 2027, not a Ridgeway one, on the minister’s letter as it stands. Check you are on the electoral register before then.
  • The 2028 date is no longer safe to plan around. Ridgeway may yet happen, happen later, or be redrawn. The review will decide, and it has no deadline.

We will report the review’s outcome for Henley when it is published.

Sources