Oxfordshire County Council is bringing forward redevelopment work on its planned new headquarters in central Oxford, despite uncertainty over whether the authority will still exist in its current form when the building opens.
The council’s cabinet approved an earlier start to work on Speedwell House, on Speedwell Street, at a meeting on 20 October. The redevelopment is intended to create a new city centre hub following the planned departure from County Hall, with the new offices scheduled to open in April 2028.
The decision comes as the future structure of local government in Oxfordshire remains unsettled. Government plans announced in July proposed replacing the county, district and city councils with three new unitary authorities: Greater Oxford, Northern Oxfordshire and Ridgeway. The reorganisation was subsequently paused in September, with a review under way.
Shadow elections for the proposed authorities will not take place in May 2027 as originally planned. Instead, district council elections are expected to proceed.
Council leader Tim Bearder suggested that the Speedwell House project strengthened the case for a single unitary authority covering Oxfordshire, rather than the three-authority model proposed by the government.
“Either we’d be building a rather splendid building for Greater Oxford and then they’d have rather too many buildings, or we were building entirely reasonable headquarters for a countywide headquarters,” he said.
Dan Levy, the council’s finance lead, said the redevelopment could still have a future even if the proposed governance arrangements changed.
“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.
He added that uncertainty over local government reorganisation did not affect the project.
The work being brought forward includes stripping out the building’s interior, structural alterations, repairs to the building fabric and fire protection measures. The council also intends to procure window and roofing materials earlier.
Levy said bringing forward some expenditure could reduce the project’s exposure to inflation. He also described the development as an opportunity to regenerate the surrounding area and provide a modern, net-zero workplace for council staff and councillors.
The council says the sale of County Hall will fund the renewal of Speedwell House, describing the project as financially and operationally viable.
The authority plans to leave County Hall in late 2026. During 2027 and early 2028, staff currently based there are expected to be accommodated in existing council offices in Oxford and elsewhere, including Midland House in Botley. The council also plans to provide space for a council chamber and coroner’s court during the transition.
The Speedwell House redevelopment is therefore intended to support the council’s move away from County Hall while leaving open the question of which authority, or authorities, will ultimately occupy the building.
Reporting contribution by Isabella Harris, Local Democracy Reporter (LDR) for Oxfordshire, covering local politics, council meetings and planning decisions across six councils in the county.
