Strong performance and major project milestones delivered for West Oxfordshire residents

The quarter three review, covering October to December 2025, highlights both consistent day-to-day service delivery and tangible progress on major priorities set out in the Council Plan. 

During the quarter, regeneration and community projects moved forward across the district. At Marriotts Walk in Witney, new lettings were secured while design work continued to improve the public realm. The Salt Cross Area Action Plan moved to adoption following receipt of the Planning Inspector’s final report, marking a major step towards delivering a sustainable integrated new community that creates solutions to climate change and lowered energy bills. 

At Windrush Leisure Centre, the decarbonisation project reached a major milestone with the installation of a new low-carbon heating system, a significant step in reducing carbon emissions from council-owned buildings. Leisure participation continued to grow strongly, with more than 237,000 visits to council leisure centres during the quarter and gym memberships increasing to 5,668, in comparisons to last quarter’s 5,200. 

Community investment also continued at pace, with 22 local projects approved through the Witney Community Insight Profile grant round and  Westhive Round 5 was completed, providing funding for 10 new community projects and securing Executive approval to continue the Council’s community crowdfunding approach for a further three years by moving to a new platform.  

Shop Front Improvement Grants are helping to revitalise market town high streets, while plans for the future development of Woodford Way continued to move forward to deliver much needed social housing and ensuring the continuation of free parking in the town. 

Alongside project delivery, performance across frontline services remained strong. Customer satisfaction reached 97%, well above target. Planning services significantly exceeded national benchmarks with 90% of major applications and nearly 94% of minor applications determined within target timescales, and 267 affordable homes were delivered, substantially above target, helping more local people access suitable housing. 

Waste collections remained highly reliable, with missed bins well below target, and environmental health teams maintained full inspection rates for high-risk food premises.  

While overall performance remains strong, targeted improvement work is underway in a small number of areas, with action plans in place to ensure standards remain high across all services. 

Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said: 

“This has been another strong quarter for the Council. Residents are seeing reliable waste collections, high-quality planning decisions, growing leisure participation and record levels of customer satisfaction. 

“We are also making real progress on major projects - from regenerating our town centres to decarbonising our leisure centres and investing in community groups and local businesses. 

“Where performance has dipped however small, we are taking clear and focused action. Our commitment is to keep improving while continuing to deliver the dependable, high-quality services that residents rightly expect.”