Banbury · Local news you can trust
Police recorded 273 crimes in central Banbury in September, the fewest since February 2025, and violent crime fell to 97. Bicester rose 14% over the year.
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Christmas
Ice Rinks Near Banbury: 8 Places to Skate, From an F1 Garage to Blenheim
We checked 8 ice rinks near Banbury and Bicester, from Silverstone's Ice Trak to Blenheim Palace, for dates, prices and age rules. Updated November 2026.
Christmas
Christmas Shopping in Banbury: 17 Shops From Parsons Street to Hooky
We checked 17 shops in Banbury, Bicester and Deddington, from Abraxas Cookshop to Hook Norton Brewery's shop, for hours and what they sell. Updated November 2026.
Council
Cherwell Abolition Back On: New Council From April 2029
Banbury and Bicester would move to a Northern Oxfordshire Council on 1 April 2029, a year later than planned, and Kidlington to Greater Oxford. Views are open for about three weeks.
Christmas
Banbury Toy Appeal: Drop New Toys at Town Hall by 1 Dec
The Town Mayor's Toy Appeal is back: leave new or excellent-condition toys for 0 to 18s at Banbury Town Hall, 9.30am to 4.30pm, until Tuesday 1 December.
Food & Drink
Christmas Dinner in Banbury: 11 Tables to Book, From £61 to a Castle
11 Christmas Day lunches near Banbury with 2026 prices, child rates and deposits, from £61 in Bicester to £130 at Edgehill. Checked November 2026.
Recycling
Cherwell Kerbside Glass Tops 2,000 Tonnes, Up for 2 Awards
Banbury and Bicester homes put over 2,000 tonnes of glass in blue bins in under a year, and Cherwell is shortlisted for two national recycling awards.
Council
Thames Valley Mayor in 2028: Cherwell Gets No Board Seat
Banbury and Bicester will help elect a Thames Valley mayor in 2028. The board would seat upper-tier councils, so Cherwell would speak through Oxfordshire.
Sport
Chipping Norton Sports Hub: 4 Clubs Want It in Local Plan
Four Chipping Norton clubs want a 3G pitch, padel courts and a clubhouse secured in West Oxfordshire's Local Plan after an under-13 side folded.
Sport
Banbury Playzones: £3 an Hour, 100+ Bookings a Month
Banbury's two floodlit Playzones take over 100 bookings a month in their first year. Book Chandos Close or Princess Diana Park for £3 an hour, 7am to 10pm.
Transport
Banbury Cherwell Street Collapse: Two Workers in Hospital
Two of nine workers went to hospital, one severely hurt, after part of a Cherwell Street flats site collapsed. The HSE is now investigating it.
Housing
Cherwell House Prices Up 2.6%, 4th in the South East
The average Cherwell home was £355,981 in August, up 2.6% in a year while the South East fell 0.8%. July's 4.7% rise has been revised down to 4.1%.
Bicester
Bicester Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Bicester
Bicester roadworks: no temporary traffic orders in force within 3 km of Bicester right now. Checked every morning from the council's notices.
North Oxfordshire has two towns and they are nothing like each other. Banbury sits on the Cherwell and the canal at the top of the county, an old market and manufacturing town with the cross in the middle of it. Bicester, fifteen miles south, is a growing town on the M40 with new estates going up around its edges and a long-running argument about the roads to serve them.
Banbury Online covers both, along with the villages strung between them. They share a district council, which means they share a planning policy, a bin round and a set of car park charges, and the decisions behind those are published where few people look. We read them and report what is in them, linking to the document each time.
Nothing goes up without a link to the source it came from.