Bicester ( BIST-ər) is a market town and civil parish in the Cherwell district of north-eastern Oxfordshire. Notable areas include the eco-town development at North West Bicester, the self-build village at Graven Hill, and the Bicester Village shopping centre. The local market is also located on Sheep Street, a pedestrian zone in the conservation area of the town.
Bicester is one of the fastest-growing towns in Oxfordshire and has expanded rapidly in recent generations due to the town's picturesque historical town centre, garden town layout, independent and high-street shops and restaurants as well as rail connections to London, Birmingham, and Oxford. The town is located on the East West Rail route currently in development, which will link Bicester to towns and cities like Milton Keynes extending up to Cambridge. The town is close to Brackley, Buckingham, Banbury, Milton Keynes, and Aylesbury by road. A considerable volume of high-quality and environmentally friendly housing stock has been constructed, particularly at the Elmsbrook eco-town and the self-built homes at Graven Hill. Its flat topography and compact sizing make it well-suited to walking and cycling, which together with an active cycle campaign, attracted significant focus on further developing the active travel infrastructure within the town. This is part of a £14 million central government award to Oxfordshire County Council for safer walking and cycling schemes.
Bicester also has a town council. In 2014, the government, in concert with the local planning authority, planned for Bicester to become a garden city on the basis of the size of its buffers and distance from the Metropolitan Green Belt. This also aimed to accommodate the growing demand of commuters to London and Oxford, with up to 13,000 new homes promised to be built. In 2024, Bicester elected its first Green Party mayor.
Distance between:
London to Bicester52 Miles / 83 Kms Liverpool to Bicester130 Miles / 209 Kms
51.899603,-1.1535899
