Bicester Garrison comments open, plus weekend rail changes

The government published the full Urgent Crown Development application for Bicester Garrison on Wednesday 2 September. The application has been validated, and the formal period for representations runs from Monday 7 September until Thursday 17 September.

The Home Office is seeking temporary planning permission for up to 1,256 people seeking asylum at the former Ministry of Defence site off Launton Road. The proposed ten-year use includes modular accommodation, health and welfare facilities, changes to an existing building, demolition of some structures, new infrastructure, internal roads, security, parking, recreation areas and wastewater treatment.

This is not planning approval. It is the full application that earlier HelloBicester editions were waiting for, and it gives the town considerably more detail about exactly what is being proposed.

There is also an unusual part of the process to keep in mind: Cherwell District Council is not deciding this application. The government is handling it through the Urgent Crown Development route, with Cherwell participating as a consultee. Anyone who wants to make a representation must therefore send it directly to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government, quoting application reference PCU/RARE/C3105/3378843.

The government says representations relevant to material planning considerations will be taken into account. With the consultation window closing on 17 September, there is less than two weeks between its opening and deadline.

What happens after that will depend on consideration of the application, consultation responses and representations. There is currently no confirmed final determination date, so we will keep watching the process rather than guessing when a decision may arrive.

The decision we previewed last week has now been made. On Thursday 3 September, Oxfordshire County Council approved making the current two-way cycling arrangement on Sheep Street permanent.

The arrangement retains the restriction requiring cyclists to dismount during the Friday market between 9am and 4pm, with the existing mobility-aid exemption. This is a final decision on the trial rather than another consultation stage, so the town now has certainty over the longer-term arrangement.

Ofsted registered Canopy Bicester on Wednesday 2 September at Bicester Avenue Garden Centre on Oxford Road, listing the childcare provider as open on the Early Years Register.

The nursery says it will care for children from birth to five years old and is opening during September. A public launch event is also planned for 25 September. Registration is the fresh milestone here; there is not yet an Ofsted inspection report or rating to report.

Anyone heading towards London by rail on Saturday 12 or Sunday 13 September should allow extra time. Engineering work means there will be no Chiltern Railways trains between Bicester and London Marylebone during the weekend.

Rail-replacement buses are planned from Bicester North and Bicester Village towards Aylesbury Vale Parkway and Hillingdon, with amended rail services and some London Underground ticket acceptance. This disruption was flagged ahead in previous editions; this is the week to actually plan around it.

Liberal Democrat candidate James Hartley was elected to Oxfordshire County Council in Thursday’s Chesterton & Launton by-election, receiving 985 votes, or 41.7% of votes cast. Conservative Sandy Dallimore received 683 votes and Reform UK’s Ian Hodgson 547.

The division covers communities immediately around Bicester rather than the whole town, but its roads, development and local services overlap closely with everyday Bicester life. The result follows several weeks in which we tracked the vacancy, candidates and 3 September vote.

Concerns about e-scooters and some e-bike use around the town centre have moved from public discussion to an official neighbourhood policing priority.

Thames Valley Police says feedback gathered through its August consultation and online survey highlighted issues particularly around Sheep Street, Pioneer Square and Crown Walk. Concerns included unsafe riding in pedestrian areas, privately owned e-scooters being used illegally in public places, and speeding or modified electric cycles.

Bicester’s Neighbourhood Policing Team has now made the issue a priority from September through December, with education, engagement, visible patrols and enforcement planned. It is a useful example of local feedback turning into something residents can actually track over the next few months.

Alexandra House of Joy says its fundraising campaign is now less than £20,000 away from its first £1 million milestonetowards creating a specialist care centre in Bicester.

The charity’s plans are focused on adults with profound and severe learning disabilities and their families, with the proposed centre intended to provide services including respite care, day support and end-of-life care. The charity says reaching the milestone would enable the first phase of the project to move forward.

Supporters will also take on the Snowdon Challenge on Saturday 12 September. The climb may be happening hundreds of miles from Oxfordshire, but the project it is raising money for is firmly Bicester-based.

Bicester Garrison: The representation window closes on Thursday 17 September. We will watch for consultation responses and the next formal step in the government’s planning process.

Bicester buses: Network changes previously announced for several local services are due to take effect on Sunday 20 September. We will recheck operator timetables before they begin rather than repeat the August announcement now.

September is settling into a useful rhythm: a few decisions to understand, one major consultation deadline and plenty to get out for. If you spot something changing on your road, at a school or inside a local business, send it our way.

Which Bicester service or project should we explain properly next week?

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See you next week.

Cheers!!