Didcot vs Newbury: Battle for Ridgeway Council HQ

The Government has approved a new Ridgeway Council, but the big question is where it will sit.

Didcot could give Newbury a serious run. A four-storey complex opposite Didcot Parkway station - which was on, then off, after Local Government Reorganisation uncertainty - could have housed 300 staff.

"The site benefits from planning permission for an office building and future decisions regarding its development will be a matter for the new authority once established," said a South Oxfordshire spokesperson.

"In the meantime, the council has continued to undertake limited work required to protect the site's future development potential and associated planning position."

Didcot is seen as strategically central because of its rail links, but without a confirmed main base it risks losing out to West Berkshire's Newbury.

The new unitary authority, due to go live on 1 April 2029, will merge West Berkshire, South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse.

Didcot and Newbury both sit on the A34 corridor, a key north-south link that joins parts of the three areas. Newbury also anchors an M4 tech and telecoms corridor, while Didcot anchors the Science Vale UK zone.

West Berkshire has a strong institutional case: as an existing unitary it already runs adult social care, children's services and major highways. But it doesn't have space for a council meeting of up to 90 councillors - it can hardly fit the 43 it already uses for full West Berkshire meetings.

Given the scale of the merger, a hub-and-spoke model is likely rather than one town taking everything. Central corporate operations such as legal, HR, finance and IT are prime candidates to be consolidated in Didcot, whose rail proximity makes it an efficient meeting point.

The final number of councillors is projected at between 76 and 96, down from 117 across the three councils. Boundary reviews before 1 April 2029 will finalise the figure.

Reductions won't be spread evenly. West Berkshire is expected to lose only around five councillor positions, largely by shifting three-member wards to two-member wards, while most seat losses are set to fall on South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse to balance resident-to-councillor ratios.

Niki Hinman, Local Democracy Reporter