Latest news with #DavidRouane
BBC News
11-07-2025
- Business
- BBC News
South Oxfordshire District Council leader backs plan to scrap new HQ
Scrapping plans for a new council headquarters after government proposals for devolution and local government reorganisation is "clearly the right decision", the authority's leader has Didcot Gateway scheme, which aimed to regenerate land opposite the town's railway station, was halted after councillors unanimously voted to redirect funds towards purchasing about 30 homes for social at a cabinet meeting on Wednesday, council leader David Rouane said £1.9m would have been spent on the project by the time it was stopped, correcting earlier reports of £2.2m. A final decision on the project will be made at a full council meeting on 17 July. The proposed four-storey complex, also intended for use by Vale of White Horse District Council staff, had recently received planning permission. The project followed the destruction of the previous headquarters in a 2015 arson attack. Staff have since been working from temporary offices.A council report said it would be "inappropriate" to proceed, as the councils are expected to cease operating in their current form by April 2028."Whilst the final outcome of [local government reform] for the south will not be known until early in 2026," the report said, "delivery of the proposed new office accommodation... is no longer justified."Cabinet member for communities Georgina Heritage thanked officers for "responding so effectively to the request that funds could be moved to where it's needed most right now"."If there's any legacy that I could wish for following local government reorganisation, it's more council houses," she said. The council said regenerating the Didcot Gateway site remained a priority. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X (Twitter), or Instagram.
BBC News
27-02-2025
- BBC News
Oxfordshire district councils HQ might face further delays
The leader of a district council has said plans for the local authority's new home may be set back due to local government Oxfordshire District Council (SODC) wants to build a new complex opposite Didcot Parkway train station to use as its HQ with the Vale of White Horse District former home was destroyed by fire in 2015 and staff have been using Abbey House in Abingdon since leader David Rouane said it might have to pause any decision "until we have a clearer picture of our future". The project has already experienced several delays and SODC has not said publicly what it expects the project to last permanent office in Crowmarsh Gifford burned down after Andrew Main, from Rokemarsh, near Wallingford, drove a car filled with gas canisters into was detained in a mental health unit in May Rouane said it had been progressing plans for a potential permanent home at the Didcot Gateway. "However, in light of Local Government Reorganisation, we may now have to pause any decision until we have a clearer picture of our future," he said, referring to Oxfordshire County Council's cabinet unanimous support for the government's fast-track council move would likely mean reducing the number of councils in the county to one or more unitary authorities. You can follow BBC Oxfordshire on Facebook, X, or Instagram.
