Issue - meetings

Cabinet Member:  Environment and Economy

Forward Plan Ref: 2026/111

Key decision

Contact: Hannah Battye, Head of Place Shaping (Hannah.Battye@oxfordshire.gov.uk)

Report by Director of Economy and Place (CAB10)

Seeking approval for Oxfordshire County Council to participate in, and help lead, a joint Thames Valley partnership (Oxfordshire, Berkshire unitary authorities and Swindon) to progress the pre-inception phase of work for a Thames Valley Spatial Development Strategy (SDS).

The Cabinet is RECOMMENDED to:   

a)    Approve the establishment of a partnership with the councils covering Oxfordshire and Berkshire, including Swindon in the initial pre-inception period of the statutory Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the Thames Valley area and pending agreement by Government on geography.

b)    Note the funding and resource allocations for the pre-inception programme.

c)    Agree that Bracknell Forest Council will act as the accountable body for funds held on behalf of the partnership and will host any staff appointed for the Thames Valley SDS programme.

d)    Agree the high-level interim governance and oversight, monitoring and assurance arrangements set out in this paper, covering the arrangements for the period before a statutory Strategic Planning Board (SPB) is established through secondary legislation.

e)    To delegate the detail agreements and working arrangements for pre-inception development of the SDS to the Director of Economy and Place in consultation with the Head of Legal and Governance and Deputy Monitoring Officer.

Cabinet considered a report recommending approval for establishing a partnership of councils from Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Swindon to collaboratively develop a pre-inception Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the Thames Valley area.  The report outlined governance, funding, staffing, data sharing, and risk management arrangements ahead of the statutory Strategic Planning Board’s formation expected in Autumn 2026, with Bracknell Forest Council acting as the accountable body and host for staff, supported by government funding and partner contributions to ensure readiness for the SDS statutory requirements by mid-2029.

Councillor Laura Gordon, Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, presented the report.

Cabinet noted that the SDS was a government-imposed process, with the geography set to include Oxfordshire, Berkshire, and Swindon, but not Buckinghamshire or Milton Keynes. Members expressed concerns about the logic of the boundaries and the practical implications for strategic planning.

Members clarified that participation in the SDS did not imply acceptance of a devolution deal including Swindon, and that spatial planning and devolution were being treated as separate processes. The importance of including Buckinghamshire for effective planning was reiterated.

Councillor Gordon moved and Councillor Gaul seconded the recommendations and they were approved.

RESOLVED to:-                                                                 

a)    Approve the establishment of a partnership with the councils covering Oxfordshire and Berkshire, including Swindon in the initial pre-inception period of the statutory Spatial Development Strategy (SDS) for the Thames Valley area and pending agreement by Government on geography.

b)    Note the funding and resource allocations for the pre-inception programme.

c)    Agree that Bracknell Forest Council will act as the accountable body for funds held on behalf of the partnership and will host any staff appointed for the Thames Valley SDS programme.

d)    Agree the high-level interim governance and oversight, monitoring and assurance arrangements set out in this paper, covering the arrangements for the period before a statutory Strategic Planning Board (SPB) is established through secondary legislation.

e)    To delegate the detail of the agreement and working arrangements for pre-inception development of the SDS to the Director of Economy and Place in consultation with the Head of Legal and Governance and Deputy Monitoring Officer.