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Cllr David Rouane elected as new Leader at South Oxfordshire District Council

Cllr David Rouane is the new Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council. He was chosen by councillors during a vote at the Council meeting last night.

New Leader Cllr David Rouane with former Leader Cllr Sue Cooper

His election as Leader comes after Cllr Sue Cooper chose to stand down having led the council since the local elections in 2019.

Cllr Rouane, who is ward member for Didcot North East, has been a district councillor in South Oxfordshire since 2019, and has served on the Cabinet since his election, as Cabinet Member for Housing and Environment, and Didcot Garden Town. He is also a member of the council’s Climate and Ecological Emergencies Advisory Committee.

He has a background in the charity sector, most recently as a director of the climate change charity, Possible.

Cllr Rouane paid tribute to Cllr Cooper and said: “I’m very proud to have been chosen as Cllr Cooper’s successor. Sue has done an excellent job as Leader – she has overseen the development and adoption of an ambitious and exciting Corporate Plan, the creation of the council’s first advisory committee to tackle the climate and ecological emergencies, and her leadership helped steer the council through the difficult pandemic while providing vital support to the most vulnerable members of our community.”

“Sue has laid the foundations on which we need to build. I will be pushing ahead with the actions set out in our Corporate Plan to tackle climate change, promote nature recovery, and build social housing.”

Cllr Rouane’s new role as Leader means there are some changes in the Council’s cabinet. They are as follows:

  • Councillor David Rouane: Leader
  • Councillor Pieter-Paul Barker: Partnership, Legal and Democratic
  • Councillor Robin Bennett: Economic development and regeneration, and deputy leader (statutory deputy leader during the following months: May, July, September, November, January and March)
  • Councillor Sue Cooper: Environment, Climate Change and Nature Recovery
  • Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers: Community wellbeing, and deputy leader (statutory deputy leader during the following months: April, June, August, October, December and February)
  • Councillor Andrea Powell: Corporate services, policy and programmes 
  • Councillor Leigh Rawlins: Finance and property assets
  • Councillor Anne-Marie Simpson: Planning

He also made the following executive joint committee/partnership appointments:

  • Health and Wellbeing Improvement Board – Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers 
  • Five Councils’ Partnership Corporate Services Joint Committee – Councillors Pieter-Paul Barker and David Rouane, with all other cabinet members as substitutes
  • Safer Oxfordshire Partnership Oversight Committee – Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers
  • South and Vale Community Safety Partnership – Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers
  • The Future Oxfordshire Partnership – Councillor David Rouane, with all other cabinet members as substitutes
  • The Future Oxfordshire Partnership Affordable Housing Advisory Sub-Group – Councillor Robin Bennett (substitute Councillor Maggie Filipova-Rivers)
  • The Future Oxfordshire Partnership Environment Advisory Sub-Group – Councillors David Rouane and Andrea Powell, with all other Cabinet members as substitutes
  • The Future Oxfordshire Partnership Infrastructure Sub-Group – Councillor Pieter-Paul Barker (substitute Councillor Leigh Rawlins)
  • The Future Oxfordshire Partnership Oxfordshire Plan 2050 Advisory Sub-Group – Councillor Anne-Marie Simpson (substitute Councillor Robin Bennett)

Note

Cllr Rouane was elected unopposed and by a unanimous decision.