Councils' HQ plan set to be axed, costing £2.2m

Plans to regenerate an area opposite Didcot's station and build new council offices are expected to be scrapped.

South Oxfordshire District Council officers said the Didcot Gateway scheme is "no longer justified" because of government plans for council devolution and reorganisation.

The authority will have spent £2.2m on the regeneration project by the time it is stopped.

Money saved by stopping the scheme will be used to purchase social housing.

The proposals for new council offices were given planning permission earlier this month.

The four-storey complex opposite Didcot Parkway railway station was due to be used by both South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse District Council staff, with further office space rented to a third party.

Opposition councillor, Conservative Ian Snowdon, said that the project should have been scrapped by South Oxfordshire District Council sooner.

He said: "Instead of accepting that they'd gone the wrong route, and doing a U-turn, they've doubled-down on it.

"The devolution thing has come out and they're using it as an excuse to finally draw a line under this awful scheme."

The two authorities were based in Crowmarsh Gifford until 2015, when their building was gutted during an arson attack.

Council officers have said in a report that it would be "inappropriate" to continue on the plans for Didcot Gateway, because of the government's plans for devolution and local government reorganisation (LGR).

The report added: "Whilst the final outcome of LGR for South will not be known until early in 2026, what is clear is that delivery of the proposed new office accommodation for South and Vale district councils' staff on the Didcot Gateway site is no longer justified.

"This is because, based on the government's published timeline, the councils will cease operating in their current form no later than April 2028."

The £10m that was set to be invested in Didcot Gateway will instead be used to purchase 30 homes for social housing.

South Oxfordshire District Council's cabinet will decide on the future of the Didcot Gateway project on Thursday, before a final decision by the full council.

In a statement South Oxfordshire District Council said "The regeneration of the Didcot Gateway site remains a priority for the council.

"Continuing to secure planning permission was a common sense approach so that any future unitary council would have maximum flexibility for what to do at the site."

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