City councillor Val Smith is stepping down beacuse she says the authority has no power to make key decisions One of Oxford's most senior councillors has called for the city and county councils to be scrapped -- and replaced with a single authority.

Val Smith, the wife of Oxford East Labour MP Andrew, has quit her seat on Oxford City Council after becoming increasingly frustrated by the fact that big decisions affecting the city are made mainly by the county council, which is responsible for services like social services, education and housing growth.

She has now put herself up for election in May for the new Leys and Lye county council division and, if she wins, the former Blackbird Leys member has vowed to push for Oxford to become a unitary authority like neighbouring Reading, Swindon and Milton Keynes.

Mrs Smith said: "This is the great unitary debate and in the fullness of time it's one that makes a lot of sense.

"I am getting very frustrated that Oxford is running out of land and hasn't got anywhere to expand to build homes. I am a great supporter of moving into the Green Belt, in a measured way, but get frustrated I can't make any decision on this for the people of Oxford. My frustration has been there for a number of years. We had a debate on this subject a few years ago when Milton Keynes and Reading became unitary authorities and I felt we missed out on a real opportunity. "People don't understand there are two authorities and that the county council takes a huge chunk of their money through council tax.

"Having a unitary authority will allow councillors to become more involved in their local areas -- something I can't do at the moment."

A groundswell of local support is required to prompt changes to the current local government set-up, but ultimately Government legislation is required for areas to become unitary authorities.

One idea would be to hold a joint referendum on whether there should be an elected mayor and unitary authority.

It is possible there could be a unitary authority for the entire county, or three -- one for Oxford and one each for the north and south of the county.

The city and county councils clash on a number of issues -- not least housing.

While the city wants an urban extension to Oxford and permission to build on land south of Grenoble Road, the county wants to preserve the Green Belt.

Mrs Smith added: "The single biggest issue facing the city is housing and my answer would be to build on some of the Green Belt because we have run out of space.

"We are now in the position where some of the major employers in the city are getting into real trouble because they can't attract local people because they can't find places to live -- and that's going to have a serious effect on our economy." County council leader Keith Mitchell was unavailable for comment last night.

City council leader Alex Hollingsworth added: "This is long overdue. At my area committee meeting 75 per cent of issues raised are to do with traffic and parking -- and responsibility for them lies with the county council.

"Having a unitary auth- ority would mean key decisions taken locally and by a body that is more clearly accountable."