West Oxfordshire Council maintains strong service performance despite rising pressures
West Oxfordshire District Council has published its latest quarterly report, showing that essential services, from planning and bin collections to leisure and customer services, continue to perform strongly, despite the challenges of growing demand and national financial pressures.
The period from January to March 2025 saw some of the highest levels of service delivery in recent years. Satisfaction with Council services remains extremely high, with 97% of residents surveyed saying they were happy with the help they received by phone, and 95% expressing satisfaction with face-to-face support.
Planning services also performed well, with 100% of major applications and over 97% of smaller applications determined within target timescales. Leisure services saw a significant increase in demand with gym memberships reaching over 5,200 and more than 269,000 visits made to the district’s leisure centres, the highest figure since before the pandemic.
Affordable housing delivery, although currently below the annual target, continues to move in a positive direction with a total of 198 affordable homes completed over the year, more than half of which were for social rent, and an additional 122 expected to be delivered by July 2025. The Council also helped prevent more than 220 households becoming homeless this year and has appointed a dedicated Homelessness Prevention Officer to further strengthen its efforts.
While the report acknowledges that some service areas continue to face pressures, the Council remains firmly committed to maintaining high standards, responding proactively to challenges, and delivering the services that residents rely on every day.
Councillor Andy Graham, Leader of West Oxfordshire District Council, said:
"This report shows we’re delivering on the things that matter to residents, such as timely planning decisions, reliable bin collections, truly affordable housing and accessible leisure services. Even with the financial pressures all councils across the country are feeling, we’re working hard to keep standards high and to continue investing in our services for the future.
" However, we’re not complacent. We know the cost of living is still biting, and we’re determined to do more to meet rising demands, from helping people access the right housing and support, to continuing to make our services more streamlined and efficient.
“We also recognise the importance of improving household recycling rates and remain focused on finding the right ways to support more sustainable waste management across the district. But overall the direction of travel is a positive one, and I want to thank all our staff and partners for their continued hard work."
The full performance report for January to March 2025 is available on the Council’s website.