The non-metropolitan district of Vale of White Horse and its council were created on 1 April 1974 under the Local Government Act 1972. The new district covered the whole of four former districts and part of a fifth, all of which were abolished at the same time:[3]
The new district was named Vale of White Horse, an old name used for the area around the Uffington White Horse.[4] The whole area had been in Berkshire prior to 1974, but was transferred to Oxfordshire as part of the reforms.[3]
The first election to the district council was held in 1973, initially operating as a shadow authority alongside the outgoing authorities until it came into its powers on 1 April 1974. Political control of the council since 1974 has been as follows:[8][9]
Since the last full review of boundaries in 2015, the council has comprised 38 councillors representing 24 wards, with each ward electing one or two councillors. Elections are held every four years.[14]
Premises
The Beacon, Wantage: Used for full council meetings
Full council meetings are generally held at The Beacon in Wantage. The council's main offices are at Abbey House in Abingdon, which is also used for committee meetings.[15]
The council was initially based in a number of offices inherited from its predecessor authorities across the district. In the early 1990s the council built itself a new headquarters in Abingdon called Abbey House (or "New Abbey House" to distinguish it from the neighbouring building formerly also called Abbey House, which was renamed "Old Abbey House").[16]
In 2014 the council largely vacated Abbey House, retaining only a small presence there, with most of Abbey House since 2014 being occupied instead by Oxfordshire County Council. Vale of White Horse moved most of its staff to share the offices of its neighbour South Oxfordshire in Crowmarsh Gifford, but in 2015 that building was destroyed in a fire following an arson attack. From 2015 until 2022, Vale of White Horse and South Oxfordshire shared temporary office accommodation at Milton Park near Didcot.[17] The two councils returned to Abbey House in 2022 as a temporary measure, with the intention being to build a new shared headquarters in Didcot.[18]
^Planning application P89/V0081/DA: Construction of new district council offices including alterations to Abbey House, at Abbey House, Abbey Close, Abingdon, granted 19 April 1989.
