THOUSANDS of residents have backed West Oxfordshire District Council’s campaign against 'super council' proposals.

Oxfordshire County Council claims that creating a single unitary authority for Oxfordshire could save £20m a year by scrapping the six biggest local authorities and replacing them with one organisation.

West Oxfordshire Council has objected to the proposals, claiming they will present a risk to valued services. It launched its 'Too Good to Lose' campaign against the county council's plans.  

A survey asking for West Oxfordshire residents’ views was completed by 4,364 people, with 97 per cent agreeing they wanted to see more options to improve and safeguard local services than the single proposal put forward by Oxfordshire County Council.

A further 92 per cent said they wanted to see greater savings than the 2.4 per cent identified in the county proposal which could be secured through initiatives like councils working together and more efficiently without cutting frontline services.

Councillor James Mills, leader of WODC, said: “It is crystal clear from this survey that our residents do not want to see the creation of a unitary authority devised by Oxfordshire County Council.

“We all recognise there is far too much at risk in the district including free parking and low council tax which are of huge benefit to everyone.”

As well as the survey, Mr Mills has received 160 letters, more than 250 emails and nearly 200 phone calls of support.

He believes the county’s proposals which will involve creating a whole new council and sweeping away existing district councils, would take at least two years.

He said: “We have been feeling the effect of the county’s cuts including potholed roads, shrinking social care and disappearing rural bus services for years and it is getting worse.

“Creating a new council would be hugely expensive for the taxpayer and there is no guarantee key services would be maintained and restored let alone improved.”

Mr Mills is in favour of creating a combined authority model with a local mayor which would pave the way for devolution, unlocking central government funds for major infrastructure developments.

He added: “We know we can continue to provide efficient services and great benefits as well as delivering the homes and road improvements that are so urgently needed.”

County council spokeswoman Emily Reed said: “All the evidence shows that a single county unitary is the most efficient and effective model of local government.

"Having listened to residents in West Oxfordshire, our new proposal will explain how communities will be given control over local services such as parking.

"West Oxfordshire has no alternative to offer residents. Instead it is again resorting to scare tactics, which unsurprisingly produced a negative response in this wholly unrepresentative exercise. We are confident this does not reflect true public opinion in West Oxfordshire.”