The council has confirmed the intention to move ahead with building new council offices, assembly and meeting spaces, a coroner’s court and administration space at Speedwell House, just off St Aldates.

This comes after a government decision to progress with the abolition of Oxfordshire’s county, district and city councils, which are set to be replaced by Greater Oxford, North Oxfordshire and Ridgeway authorities.

The government timetable for this would see elections for the planning of the new councils take place in May 2028 and the end of the current councils on April 1, 2029.

Under current plans, the county council intends to move into Speedwell House in April 2028, moving into temporary office spaces during 2027 and early 2028.

A digital image of Speedwell House (Image: The plans for Speedwell House)

placeholder image — A digital image of Speedwell House (Image: The plans for Speedwell House)

This would give the authority one year in its new ‘campus’ if the development’s timetable is not delayed.

The council has repeatedly refused to declare how much it is spending on the project, which its leader recently admitted will likely be redundant under the three-council plan.

The authority has instead explained that the redevelopment is being funded by having sold off the current County Hall, which was council-owned, to an international investor, L&G, which has plans to transform the space into a hotel.

Speaking at a meeting on October 20, where the county cabinet voted to start building at Speedwell House ahead of schedule, leader Tim Bearder said it would mean Greater Oxford would “have rather too many buildings”.

County finance boss Dan Levy added: “Were there not to be a single unitary and were the new city council, or Greater Oxford Council, not to move into Speedwell, it would make a lovely office for somebody else.”

He said this means that the uncertainty around the future of Oxfordshire’s governance “in no way affects the project”.

After the government announcement on its plans to end Oxfordshire’s current system of local governance, a spokesperson for the county council said: “The development will continue.

“It will be paid for entirely from the sale of County Hall and the building would be available for use in successor local government arrangements as we have explained repeatedly.

“It isn’t yet clear exactly what buildings will be required in the new set up, and in the event that the new Speedwell House is not required, it has been configured to be of value to potential non-government occupants.”

The government’s decision on the future of new councils has been met with condemnation from the county council, which wants a new county council with increased powers to run Oxfordshire rather than the three new authorities set to be created.

Mr Bearder said that when a three-week consultation opens on the abolition and replacement plan, he will continue to “make that case forcefully” and the authority will also “consider our legal options”.

Several authorities across the country are undertaking judicial reviews over the government’s proposals for councils.

Earlier this month, the county council sent a legal letter to the government and also issued a protective claim in court in relation to a potential judicial review.