Banbury Roadworks This Week: Cherwell Drive and Britannia Rd

In Banbury, Cherwell Drive closes at night from Monday 9 November. Oxfordshire County Council has given notice of an order for road surface improvements. The whole road shuts from 21:00 to 05:00 on the nights of 9 to 12 November and 16 to 17 November, and stays open at all other times (T18423/AC). The alternative route is via Castle Street, the A361, the A422 and the A4260.

Britannia Road, Banbury, is due to close on Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November, outside The Hollies Court, to install a bulk water meter. The council has given notice that it intends to make the order, so treat the dates as planned. There are three signed alternative routes, the first via Gatteridge Street, Windsor Street, Oxford Street and St Johns Road.

The M40 has no planned closures between Junctions 8 and 12 this week. National Highways’ closure report, last updated at 16:43 on Friday 6 November, lists none on that stretch up to the morning of Friday 13 November. The Junction 9 southbound entry slip closure ended at 06:00 on Saturday 7 November.

Chiltern Railways warns of RMT industrial action on Thursday 12 November. Chiltern says it expects to run the vast majority of its services, with normal trains in and out of London Marylebone, but no Chiltern trains at or north of Birmingham Moor Street, or between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, all day. Its page does not name Banbury.

North of the town, Banbury Road at Boddington stays shut. West Northamptonshire Council made the order for 15 weeks from 13 October. The road is closed between Hill Road, Boddington and Blacksmiths Lane, Aston le Walls, while a water main is decommissioned. Boddington is about eight miles north of Banbury. The signed alternative route is the A361, Boddington Road, Byfield Road and Warwick Road (ref 26/27 W492).

On Sunday 8 November, Banbury’s Remembrance parade moves through the town centre from 10.15am. The town council refers to parade road closures, but we could find no published order on the Public Notice Portal when we checked again on 7 November. Timings and what to expect.

Every closure on this Banbury roadworks page comes from a statutory order or from National Highways, and carries its reference so you can check it yourself.

What is shut right now

• Banbury Road, Boddington, about eight miles north: closed for 15 weeks from 13 October, as above. Order made.
• Green Lane, Chesterton, at The Hale: the proposed closure for a water connection is due to end today, 7 November. The diversion is via Alchester Road, Bignell View, The Hale and The Green.
• Sterling Road Approach, Kidlington, outside the county fire station: closed to 17:00 on 8 November for electrical work by OCU Group (TTRO 637, made 12 October). The diversion is via High Street, The Moors and Banbury Road.
• Islip, about 17 miles south of Banbury beyond Kidlington: parts of King’s Head Lane, Lower Street, Mill Street, The Walk and the B4027 Wheatley Road are closed for traffic signal installation and footway improvements until 20 November (T17086/RMF). Islip’s one-way order is suspended while it lasts. The diversion is signed locally.
• Milcombe footpath 298/10/10 at South Newington is closed because of an unsafe bridge and boardwalk, from 29 September with completion expected by 31 August 2027 (TTRO 756). The diversion is signed locally.

Coming in the next fortnight

• Monday 9 and Tuesday 10 November: Britannia Road, Banbury, outside The Hollies Court, for a bulk water meter (proposed), as above.
• Monday 9 to Friday 13 November: Victoria Terrace, Deddington, outside Wychway House, for a new air valve (TTRO 442, proposed).
• Nights of 9 to 12 and 16 to 17 November: Cherwell Drive, Banbury, 21:00 to 05:00, as above.
• Nights of 9 to 12 November, A34 at Peartree, Oxford: the southbound carriageway between the Peartree slip roads shuts 21:00 to 06:00 each night (from 22:00 on the 12th) for resurfacing, and the northbound one on the nights of the 9th and 12th. The A34 southbound from Peartree to Hinksey Hill also shuts on the night of the 9th.
• Night of Monday 9 November, A43 southbound at Silverstone: the exit and entry slips shut 20:00 to 06:00, and a southbound lay-by from 13:00. National Highways signs diversions via its own network.
• Night of Tuesday 10 November, A34 northbound at Hinksey Hill and South Hinksey: the exit and entry slips at both shut 21:00 to 06:00 for maintenance.
• Thursday 12 November: RMT industrial action on Chiltern Railways, as above.
• Night of Thursday 12 November, A34 southbound at Weston on the Green, north of Kidlington: the exit and entry slips shut 21:00 to 06:00 for drainage work. The A43 southbound Whittlebury exit slip shuts 20:00 to 06:00 the same night.
• Tuesday 10 and Wednesday 11 November: Barford Road, South Newington, 19:00 to 07:00, for pre-surface dressing (proposed).
• Wednesday 18 to Saturday 21 November: Ledwell Road, Great Tew, at Maplewood Barns, for a new water connection (proposed).

From 17 November, Bodicote: the public right of way beside Oxford Road, from the Weeping Cross junction on the A4260 to Bushy Furze Barn, closes until 14 May 2027 for utilities, a new cycleway, a crossing point and access works by Cooper Grant Consulting (TTRO 883). The order covers the path, not the road itself.

National Highways’ closure report runs only to the morning of Friday 13 November, so motorway and trunk road closures after that are not published yet. It lists no M40 closures between Junctions 8 and 12 in that time.

Banbury footpath diversion order. Oxfordshire County Council published notice on 5 November that it has made the Banbury Footpath No. 116 (parts) & Bridleway No. 118 and Drayton (Banbury) Bridleway No. 2 (part) Public Path Diversion and Definitive Map and Statement Modification Order 2026, dated 28 October. It diverts paths, not a road; we could not read the route or the objection deadline from the published notice, so check the notice itself before you rely on either.

Looking further ahead, Water Street, Somerton, closes 09:30 to 15:30 from 11 to 14 January 2027 for drainage work (TTRO 1038, proposed). The alternative route is via Heyford Road, Somerton Road and Oxford Road.

Chiltern Railways: RMT action on Thursday 12 November

The RMT has announced industrial action on Chiltern Railways on Thursday 12 November, according to Chiltern’s industrial action page, updated on 5 November. Chiltern says it expects to run the vast majority of its services. Trains in and out of London Marylebone run as normal, with minor peak-time changes for a Wembley football match. No Chiltern trains run at or north of Birmingham Moor Street all day, and none between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa, where West Midlands Railway via Dorridge accepts tickets. No rail replacement buses will run. The page does not name Banbury, so we cannot confirm the timetable through the town; check the journey planner on the day. The page lists no December dates. The dispute is over how Chiltern intends to run the first stage of East West Rail between Oxford and Milton Keynes; the earlier action on 10 and 17 October has passed.

Evening parking stays free

The £1.60 overnight charge that a council notice set for 28 September is not going ahead. Cherwell District Council’s Executive said on 19 October that it will not introduce it, and it formally agreed that on 2 November for the current financial year. Parking in its Banbury and Bicester car parks is free from 6pm to 8am. The council asks drivers not to pay for overnight parking while the apps are updated, and offers a refund to anyone charged by mistake. What happened and how to claim.

Cycling through the pedestrianised part of Sheep Street, Bicester is also now permanent. It became so on 25 September under order CM/12.6.129/E0004. Cyclists must still dismount on Fridays between 9am and 4pm, during the street market.

The Michaelmas Fair closures are over

Oxfordshire County Council’s Banbury Michaelmas Fair (Special Event) Order 2026 (ref S26-039) closed Bridge Street, Cornhill, Market Place Road and parts of High Street and Broad Street from 6am on Tuesday 13 October to 6am on Sunday 18 October. The one-way rule in Parsons Street and Butchers Row and the taxi rank changes ended with it. What the fair brought this year.

What is shut, and when

Every closure below comes from a statutory order published by Oxfordshire County Council, West Northamptonshire Council or Warwickshire County Council, or from the National Highways closure report. Where an order has been made, the dates are fixed. Where a council has only given notice that it intends to make one, treat the dates as planned: they are the council’s own working programme and they do move.

Sources: the statutory traffic notices published on the Public Notice Portal on 10 September, 10 September (Michaelmas Fair), 17 September, 24 September (South Newington), 24 September (Islip, Chesterton, Shipton, Gosford), 1 October (Bicester), 1 October (Banbury, Sibford Gower, Great Tew, Milcombe), 1 October (Woodford Halse), 8 October (West Northamptonshire, including Boddington), 8 October (Aynho), 8 October (Warmington and Edge Hill) 8 October (Kidlington, Middle Barton), 15 October (Kidlington, Shipton on Cherwell) and 15 October 2026 (National Highways, A43), 22 October (Cherwell Drive, Banbury) and 22 October (Shipton on Cherwell, Heyford Park), 29 October (Barford St Michael, Bodicote) 29 October (Somerton) 29 October (National Highways, A43) and 5 November (Banbury path diversion), and Oxfordshire County Council’s Michaelmas Fair page. The motorway and trunk road closures come from the National Highways 7-day closure report for Friday 6 to Thursday 12 November, last updated at 16:43 on 6 November. National Highways updates that report every weekday and its dates do move, so check it before a late journey. The Public Notice Portal carried no new road closure notice for the Banbury area between 30 October and 7 November. Oxfordshire’s other notices of 7, 8, 15, 21, 22, 28 and 29 October cover Oxford, Witney and the south of the county, and add nothing for the Banbury area.

At Heyford Park, the county proposes new 20mph and 30mph limits on Camp Road and Upper Heyford Road, a horse and pedestrian crossing on Camp Road, and a ban on motor vehicles on the old Chilgrove Drive, for a new road and signalised junction. Objections close on 20 November (ref CM/12.6.388/P0445). In Banbury, the same week’s notice proposes removing disabled parking bays on Bankside, Cheviot Way, Kings Road, Orchard Way and Windrush; objections also close on 20 November.

Four of the coming closures carry a diversion worth knowing in advance:

• Banbury Road, Boddington: via the A361, Boddington Road, Byfield Road and Warwick Road.
• Green Lane, Chesterton: via Alchester Road, Bignell View, The Hale and The Green.
• Britannia Road, Banbury: three signed options, the first via Gatteridge Street, Windsor Street, Oxford Street and St Johns Road.
• Orchard Way, Bicester: via George Street, Leach Road and Blenheim Road.

For the rest, access is kept for emergency vehicles and for properties inside each closure where that is practicable.

Closures that have now ended

• M40 southbound Junction 9 entry slip: the overnight closures ended at 06:00 on Saturday 7 November.
• A34 southbound, Peartree to Hinksey Hill, and the A43 northbound Silverstone slips: the nights of 5 and 6 November have passed.
• Quarry Road, Edge Hill: the cable installation closure was due to end on 6 November.
• Road from Barford Road to Iron Down Hill, Barford St Michael: the order ran to 6 November (TTRO 499).
• Banbury Road, Shipton on Cherwell: the order ran to 7am on 3 November (TTRO 450).
• Shipton Road, Shipton on Cherwell: the order ran to 17:00 on 3 November (TTRO 286).
• The Oxford Road service road, Kidlington: the order ran to 3 November (TTRO 852).
• Acre Ditch and Pound Lane, Burdrop and Sibford Gower: the night closures were due to finish on 4 November (T18091/AC).
• Rollright, the road from the A3400 to High Street: the bridge repair order gave 30 October as the expected finish (T18170/RAG).
• M40 southbound, Junction 10 to Junction 9, with the Ardley entry and Bicester exit slips: the overnight closure ended at 06:00 on Friday 30 October.
• M40 northbound Junction 10 entry slip, Ardley: the second night, Tuesday 27 October, has passed.
• A34 southbound, Weston on the Green exit slip and Peartree to Hinksey Hill: the nights of 26 and 27 October have passed.
• A34 at Peartree, both directions: the resurfacing closure on the night of 29 October has passed.
• M40 northbound, Junction 11 to Junction 12, with the Banbury entry and Gaydon exit slips: the four overnight closures ended at 06:00 on Saturday 24 October.
• A34 southbound, M40 Junction 9 to Peartree: the two nights of road markings ended on 23 October.
• M40 southbound Junction 9 exit slip: closed overnight on Friday 23 October.
• M40 northbound Junction 10 entry slip: the first of its two nights, Saturday 24 October, has passed.
• M40 northbound, Junction 8a to Junction 9: the overnight closure on 19 October has passed.

• Farnborough Road, Warmington: the bridge joint works were due to finish on Monday 19 October.

• Banbury town centre, Michaelmas Fair: reopened at 6am on Sunday 18 October.

• Side road between 141 and 229 Bloxham Road, Banbury: the Thames Water order ran to Sunday 11 October (TTRO 100).
• M40 southbound, Junctions 14 to 12, and the Gaydon exit slip: closed overnight on Thursday 15 October.
• A34 southbound slips at Islip: closed overnight on Thursday 15 October.
• A43 southbound, Syresham to Brackley: the nightly closures in National Highways’ reports ran to 06:00 on Saturday 17 October, and none are listed to 22 October.
• Station Road, Aynho: the two-day surface dressing closure from 15 October (ref 26/27 W795).
• Eydon Road, Woodford Halse: the five-day closure from 8 October.
• M40 southbound Junction 11 entry slip, Banbury: closed overnight on 10 to 11 October.

None of these has been extended by any later notice we can find. If you meet cones at any of them, the order behind them is a new one.

Two things that are not roadworks but will change your journey

Residents’ parking is now enforced in the Hightown Road and Broughton Road areas. The orders came into force on 17 August, and permit-only bays and shared-use bays now apply on nine streets. If you have been parking free all day near the station or off Broughton Road, that has ended. The streets, the hours and the permit costs are here.

The School Street at Harriers Banbury Academy started on 2 September. Harriers View is closed to most motor vehicles at its junction with Bloxham Road, 8.15am to 9.15am and 2.30pm to 4pm, on term-time weekdays, enforced by camera. It runs under an experimental order, so objections can be made for six months from the day it came into force. What it means, and who is exempt.

Two proposals where the deadline has passed

Double yellow lines on Overthorpe Road, Banbury. Oxfordshire County Council proposed “No Waiting at Any Time” lines on both sides of Overthorpe Road, for road safety. They would run west from the roundabout with Ermont Way and Dorcas Road to the traffic calming at the entrance to St Leonard’s CofE Primary School. Objections closed on 30 October 2026 (ref CM/12.6.120/P 0434). We have not seen a decision yet.

Three Bicester footpaths diverted for new development. Cherwell District Council made an order on 15 September diverting parts of Bicester Footpaths 6, 6A and 10, to let development under planning permissions 22/03513/F and 25/00119/F go ahead. Objections to prow@cherwell-dc.gov.uk closed on 5 November 2026 (ref JH/KD/12094). Source: the council’s notice of 8 October.

Finished: the Cherwell Street scheme

The roadworks that dominated Banbury town centre for most of this year are over. On 4 August Oxfordshire County Council confirmed the Cherwell Street bus service improvement project is complete.

Construction started in January 2026. What Banbury got for seven months of disruption is an extended running lane along Cherwell Street for left-turning northbound traffic, retimed signals at the George Street and Bridge Street junctions, improved pedestrian crossings and cleaned drainage. It was paid for through the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan programme, with section 106 money from local developers covering the crossing and signal work at Bridge Street.

The routes that carry Banbury

Roadworks come and go. The geography does not, and Banbury’s is simple enough to hold in your head.

The M40 is the spine. Junction 11 is Banbury’s, on the A422 east of the town. Junction 10 at Ardley takes the A43 towards Northampton and has the Cherwell Valley services. Junction 9 at Wendlebury is Bicester’s, meeting the A34 and the A41. The five miles between junctions 9 and 10 are the busiest stretch of the whole motorway, which is worth knowing before you commit to it at five o’clock.

Into Banbury itself, four routes matter. The A422 runs east to the M40 and west towards Stratford. The A361 comes down from Shipston and heads south for Chipping Norton. The A423 links north to Southam and Coventry and south towards Oxford. And the A4260 is the old Oxford road, running south through Bodicote, Adderbury and Deddington to Kidlington. That last one is the road most likely to be affected by anything happening in the villages, and it is the diversion for most things that are not.

Longer-term schemes

Two county council schemes are live in the district and both will disrupt traffic before they help it.

Access to Banbury Station extends Tramway Road to meet Station Approach Road at a new roundabout, and rebuilds the pedestrian, cycle, bus and taxi access to the station along with parking, drop-off, lighting and drainage. Work touches Station Approach Road, Bridge Street and Hightown Road. Permission was granted on 27 October 2022; the west car park has reopened and a new drop-off facility was programmed for spring 2026 subject to a further application. Funding is from the Housing and Growth Deal and developer contributions.

A4095 and B4100 Banbury Road, Bicester is the county’s scheme to add capacity for Bicester’s growth. It is listed among Oxfordshire’s major current roadworks.

Checking before you set off

• one.network is the live map every council and utility feeds. Search Banbury or Bicester for what is dug up today.
• Oxfordshire County Council roadworks for the county’s own schemes and the full list of current closures.
• National Highways for the M40 and the A34, which are not the county’s roads.
• Public Notice Portal for the legal notices behind closures, which carry the dates and diversion routes before the cones appear. Search by an OX16 or OX26 postcode.
• Parking in the district’s own car parks is listed on Cherwell District Council’s parking pages.

Checked on 7 November 2026. If you are heading for the station rather than through town, the train times are here.