A £6m recycling centre with a reuse shop is planned next to Bicester Park and Ride by 2030. Ardley stays open while the county seeks an extension to 2031.
Bicester is set to get its own household waste recycling centre, replacing the tip at Ardley Fields, which the county council says is more than 40 years old. Oxfordshire County Council wants to build the new centre next to the Bicester Park and Ride site by 2030, at an estimated cost of around £6 million.
The plan was announced in a county council press release on 13 October. It is still a proposal: the council says it depends on consultation and planning permission.
What is proposed
The council’s announcement sets out:
- a new recycling centre next to the Bicester Park and Ride site
- a preferred access point from a new junction off Vendee Drive
- a reuse shop, where suitable items handed in can be sold
- an estimated cost of around £6 million
- a 20 per cent biodiversity net gain across the wider project, with the habitats managed for years afterwards
- completion by 2030
The council runs seven recycling centres across Oxfordshire. It says the plan keeps that number the same, so the Bicester centre is a replacement for Ardley, not an addition.
Why Ardley is going
Ardley Fields sits off the Brackley Road at Ardley, OX27 7PH, close to junction 10 of the M40. The proposed site at the Park and Ride is about four miles south-east of it in a straight line.
Councillor Laura Gordon, the county’s Cabinet Member for Environment and Economy, said: “Ardley HWRC is more than 40 years old and no longer meets the standards expected of a modern recycling centre.”
“With the lease due to expire, we have an opportunity to plan a new facility, closer to population centres in Bicester and Kidlington and accessible from major roads,” she said.
She added that the new centre would include a reuse facility, “something residents have been requesting for a long time.”
Ardley stays open in the meantime
Ardley’s planning permission runs out on 30 December 2026. The council says it expects to submit a planning application later this month to extend it to March 2031. That would cover the years until the new centre is due.
Cllr Gordon said a programme of public consultation will support the planning application for the new centre, and that residents will be able to comment as the plans develop. No consultation dates have been published yet.
What it means for you
- Nothing changes yet. Ardley Fields is open 8am to 5pm every day, and every visit has to be booked first. Our Banbury and Bicester tip opening times page has the hours, the booking rules and the Christmas closures.
- Banbury’s tip is not affected. The announcement concerns Ardley only. Alkerton, on Stratford Road, remains the nearest centre to Banbury, which is about 14 miles north-west of Bicester.
- A reuse shop is new for this side of the county. If the scheme goes ahead, usable furniture and household items handed in at Bicester could be sold on rather than thrown away.
- You will get a say. Watch for the Ardley extension application this month and the consultation on the Bicester site, which the council says will support its planning application.
For everyday collections, see our Banbury bin collection days page.
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