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City's unitary bid fails

9:31am Tuesday 27th March 2007

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Oxford City Council has failed to secure unitary status, it was confirmed this morning.

As expected, an announcement in Westminster put paid to any lingering hopes the Town Hall and the other district councils, after merging in the north and south, of taking over the services run by the county council.

The city council, under the stewardship on interim chief executive Brian Dinsdale, claimed that conferring unitary status would be the only way to bridge a so-called "democratic deficit" in Oxford.

Its bid, delivered earlier this year, played on the fact Tory-run Oxfordshire County Council had no representation in the city and little empathy with its needs.

Although the bid was said to have been one of the strongest the Government received, it was considered too costly.

Creating an Oxford city unitary - and one for the north and south of Oxfordshire - would have cost £27m. This was believed to have put ministers off.

County Hall, which had tried to scupper the city's bid since the start of the unitary, debate said it wanted an "enhanced" system of the current set-up.

The question now is how can the two authorities work closely together having been involved in such a public slanging match?

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Phil Gale, Oxford says...
4:28pm Tue 27 Mar 07

What a relief! The county coucil may have made some crass decisions for the city lately, but handing over all our local services to the shower who run the city now would have been a disaster.

The question now is how can the two authorities work closely together having been involved in such a public slanging match?


Perhaps they could try serving those who elected them, rather than trying to score party political points off each other? Perhaps they could accept the democratic mandate they have, rather than trying to second guess the decisions of another elected authority.

Maybe, good grief, they could realise that even if the Tories haven't managed to win any seats within the city, that doesn't mean they're without support locally.

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digweed, Oxford says...
5:06pm Tue 27 Mar 07

What a disaster for the city. Bad managers or not at least the city cares. The county Tories are self-serving parasites who do everything to maximise their appeal to their county voter-base and do as little as they like in the city in spite of what the people here want.

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Kevin, Oxford says...
5:37pm Tue 27 Mar 07

This was obviously never going to succeed. The City Council have again demonstrated complete lack of judgement and wasted time and money on a pointless exercise. Having looked at the shortlisted authorities for unitary status it is interesting to see that most of them are County Councils looking to wipe away unnecesary District Councils so that there is one tier of local government for the whole County. THis is the only way forward to provide improved seemless services and remove the lack of clarity about who does what. The best way to improve the City Council is replace it with a bigger, better, strategic authority, I am fed up with their silly party politics getting in the way of delivering services. THe most important thing they do is collect rubbish and what a mess they have made of that. The County should now look to take over all functions in the City and possibly the County.

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Henry Strivens, Oxford City Centre says...
6:10pm Tue 27 Mar 07

I for one do not trust the county council to not build a motorway down the woodstock and banbury roads, with a services in the middle of broad street, but then nobody can trust them with making sensible choices with roads, because they have a different view of sensible.

I'm not saying that the City Council are perfect, because they aren't, but they at least know and do what the people in the city want.


I suggest that we have the county look after the county, and the city look after the city, as I know **** well that I don't want them looking after my city, because they are screwing it up, but I'm also pretty sure the country tories won't want city in charge of them.

Simple, isn't it?

County for county,

City for city

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Kevin, Oxford says...
9:07pm Tue 27 Mar 07

Henry Strivens wrote:
I for one do not trust the county council to not build a motorway down the woodstock and banbury roads, with a services in the middle of broad street, but then nobody can trust them with making sensible choices with roads, because they have a different view of sensible. I'm not saying that the City Council are perfect, because they aren't, but they at least know and do what the people in the city want. I suggest that we have the county look after the county, and the city look after the city, as I know **** well that I don't want them looking after my city, because they are screwing it up, but I'm also pretty sure the country tories won't want city in charge of them. Simple, isn't it? County for county, City for city
I find that hard to believe. City Councillors are only interested in furthering their own power base and spending hours in committee wafling on trying to score political points. If they spent more time sorting out problems rather than trying to blame everyone else they might get dome respect. I have ben to City Council and County Council meetings. THe City ones are an embarrising shambles, the County are proffesional and buisiness like. I know who I would rather run the City's affairs and its not the City Council. Scrap it.

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John, says...
10:31pm Tue 27 Mar 07

It will be interesting to read what 'Plan B' is for Oxford City Coouncil.

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Paul Wilson, Cowley says...
11:14pm Tue 27 Mar 07

As a City resident I'm delighted with this news - we were all going to pay a heavy price for certain City Councillors ego trips. I wonder how much of our money that actually did spend on this wasted exercise - we know that it's at least £200,000 (consultants costs).

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Jane, Oxford says...
3:57am Wed 28 Mar 07

Digweed said:
The county Tories ... do as little as they like in the city in spite of what the people here want.


Our ward got a new Lib Dem County Councillor at the last County elections and he hasn't replied to ANY of the e-mails I've sent him so far.

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Henry Strivens, Oxford City Centre says...
6:04pm Thu 29 Mar 07

Interesting how people aren't really looking at it like a debate. All you are doing by saying 'oh my god city are all rubbish ego trippers' is making it blindingly obvious how unbelievably biased you are to the county. Unless you evaluate what is going on, you're argument is nothing more than a winge. As much as I hate to say it, nobody seems to do anything BUT winge nowadays...

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Kevin, Oxford says...
8:36pm Thu 29 Mar 07

Henry

THe problem is the City Council and its leadership. THe Leader Cllr Goddard (or Cllr God-awful as he is refered to by Council Staff for his lack of judgement and poor leadership) has continued a culture of inward looking parochialism. I know that City council staff want to do a good job but are thwarted. For example it has got to the point where they are not telling their political leaders of meetings they have with COunty Council staff for fear of being jumped on. THe honourable thing would be for the City's political leadership to admit theri missjudgement and stand aside so that a line can be drawn under this and relationshiops with the County rebuilt.

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