Bicester news
Bicester news, newest first, from Banbury Online: planning, roads, schools, business and what's on in Bicester, with every story linked to its source.
Top story
Bicester Roadworks: Road Closures and Traffic Orders Near Bicester
Bicester roadworks: Bicester Footpath No.6, No.6a, and No.10 (from 5 Nov) and every other traffic order within 3 km, checked each morning with the...
More stories
Bicester
Bicester Weather: 7-Day Forecast and Today's Hourly Outlook
Bicester weather today: overcast, 15°C by day and 8°C overnight, with a 0% chance of rain and winds up to 5 mph. Seven-day forecast, updated every morning.
Banbury
Banbury Overnight Parking Charge Dropped: Refunds Offered
Cherwell will not bring in the £1.60 overnight charge in Banbury and Bicester car parks. Anyone who paid for an evening can claim a refund. How to ask.
Bicester
Bicester London Road Underpass: County Commits £10m
Oxfordshire's cabinet backed £10m so East West Rail can build an underpass, not a footbridge, when Bicester's London Road level crossing closes.
Bicester
MOD Bicester Asylum Plan: MPs Reject Motion 309 to 113
MPs voted 309 to 113 against a motion condemning the MOD Bicester asylum plan. Banbury's MP voted against it; Bicester's MP opposed the plan but did not vote.
Broadband
North Oxfordshire Full Fibre: 3,880 Village Homes and Firms
Gigaclear has finished the £8.2m Project Gigabit build in villages round Banbury and Bicester, four months early. Here is who can now order full fibre, and how.
Recycling
Bicester Tip: £6m Plan to Replace Ardley Fields by 2030
Ardley Fields stays open and bookable while the county plans a £6m Bicester tip off Vendee Drive by 2030 and asks to keep Ardley running until March 2031.
Christmas
Santa's grotto in Banbury: where to see him, with prices
See Santa free at Banbury's lights switch-on on 29 November, at The Mill's Dear Santa from 14 December for £18, or at Bicester's garden centre from £22.
Planning
Baynards Green Warehouses: Cherwell Won't Defend Refusal
Cherwell refused three giant warehouse schemes at Baynards Green, then dropped its defence at appeal. A parish fights on at an inquiry due to end 29 October.
Half Term
Banbury October half term: 26 to 30 October, what's on
Half term is 26 to 30 October. Banbury Museum runs £4 crafts every weekday, Brickworks ends 1 November, and Upton House has £2 Halloween crafts.
Remembrance
Banbury Remembrance Sunday: parade 10.15am, 8 November
Parade from the Town Hall at 10.15am on Sunday 8 November, service at St Mary's at 10.45am, wreaths at People's Park at noon. Bicester's starts at 11am.
Christmas
Banbury panto 2026: The Mill's Dear Santa and The Snow Queen
The Mill's Christmas show is Dear Santa, 14 to 24 December, £18 with a Santa's grotto. The nearest panto is The Snow Queen at Chipping Norton Theatre.
Bicester
Bicester Buses: New 25 Route Brings Back Chesterton Service
Chesterton has daytime buses again. New routes 25 and 25A replaced the H5 and 29 on 20 September, with up to two buses an hour from Bicester to Upper Heyford.
Bicester
Bicester Asylum Camp: Police Put Cost at £1.7m a Year
Thames Valley's commissioner says policing the MOD Bicester camp would cost £1.7m a year. The Home Office grant that would pay it excludes his biggest worry.
Bicester
Bicester Asylum Site A: Three Councils Lodge Objections
Cherwell, Oxfordshire and Bicester Town Council all objected by the 17 September deadline. What each letter says, and the 21 days Cherwell now wants.
Bicester
Bicester Asylum Plan: Cherwell Officers Now Urge Refusal
Cherwell's officers have moved from a likely objection to asking the government to refuse the 1,256-place plan. Councillors vote at 4pm on 16 September.
Banbury
Banbury Parking: Overnight £1.60 Charge Dropped, Refunds
Cherwell has dropped the £1.60 overnight charge planned for Banbury and Bicester car parks from 28 September. Paid for an evening? You can claim a refund.
Banbury
Cherwell District Council Abolition Paused: May 2027 Vote
Cherwell's abolition on 1 April 2028 is on hold and 16 district seats go to the polls in May 2027 after all. The leader heard it first from a BBC reporter.
Bicester
Bicester Asylum Site: Cherwell Likely to Object on 16 Sept
Officers say the council is likely to object or hold. Councillors debate the 1,256-bed plan at 4pm on 16 September, and there is no public speaking on it.
Bicester
Bicester Asylum Plan: 11 Days to Comment from 7 Sept
Comments on the Home Office plan for 1,256 asylum seekers at MOD Bicester run 7 to 17 September. Its own papers say the ten-year use is designed to last longer.
Banbury
Banbury Fireworks: No Town Display, Kidlington Is On
Bodicote's display at Banbury Cricket Club has ended after 54 years. Kidlington's is confirmed for 5 November, gates 6pm, and Bicester has not set a date yet.
Banbury
Banbury Christmas Lights Switch-On: Sunday 29 November
Free in the Market Place, 11am to 6pm, with fireworks at about 5pm. Bicester switches on the Saturday and Kidlington on Thursday 26 November.
Bicester
Bicester Village Licence: Alcohol to 1am, 7 Days a Week
Value Retail has applied to open Bicester Village until 01:30 daily and sell alcohol from 08:00. It shuts at 20:00 now. Comments close 15 September.
Bicester
Bicester cricket pitch scrapped, unused since 2017
Cherwell has agreed to dig up the cricket square at Whitelands Farm Sports Ground, never booked since it opened, and turn it over to rugby. Fringford gets the money.
Council Tax
Banbury council tax bands 2026/27: Band D is £2,603.38
Every Banbury and Bicester council tax band for 2026/27, A to H, with the county, police, district and town council shares, and how to challenge your band.
Bicester
Bicester Motion plans: 200 flats, comments close 18 Sept
Three outline bids landed this month: 200 apartments, a 3.1km circuit and 86,700sqm of floorspace. The NHS says Bicester's GP surgery is already over capacity.
Bicester
Banbury house prices: £290,000, £56k below Bicester
The typical Banbury home sold for £290,000 over the last year, £56,000 less than Bicester. Prices by ward and property type, from Land Registry sales.
Bins
Banbury Christmas bin collections: two Friday rounds move
Christmas Day and New Year's Day both fall on a Friday, so those Cherwell rounds move. 2025's changes, tree collection dates and tip hours at Christmas.
Schools
Banbury term dates 2026/27: October half term is 26 to 30 Oct
Oxfordshire half term is 26 to 30 October, Christmas break from 21 December, back 4 January. Plus the INSET days at six Banbury and Bicester schools.
Recycling
Banbury tip opening times: Alkerton, 8am to 5pm, book first
Alkerton tip near Banbury and Ardley Fields open every day, but each visit must be booked first. Opening times, the booking rules and the Christmas closed days.
Trains
Banbury Christmas trains and buses: what runs and when
No trains on Christmas Day and Birmingham New Street is disrupted 24 to 28 December. Last year's final London to Banbury train on Christmas Eve left at 20.36.