Sheep Street decision, Pride and September changes

Oxfordshire County Council is due to decide on Thursday, 3 September whether to make the experimental cycling arrangements on Sheep Street permanent. Council officers are recommending approval following a review of monitoring data, consultation responses and how the trial has operated since it began in March 2025.

The arrangement allows cyclists to travel in both directions through the restricted section of Sheep Street, between the Bell Lane end and Market Hill. There is one important exception: cyclists must dismount during the Friday market between 9am and 4pm. People using a cycle as a mobility aid because of limited mobility are exempt from that restriction. Those arrangements would remain if the scheme becomes permanent.

The trial has attracted mixed views. During the formal online consultation, Oxfordshire County Council received 38 responses, with 30 objections and 8 in support. Concerns included pedestrian safety, cyclists travelling too quickly and reports of near misses. However, council monitoring found cyclists slowed, stopped or moved aside for pedestrians in 85.6% of the 320 observed interactions, while a review of Thames Valley Police records found no personal-injury collisions on Sheep Street since the trial began.

The council says cycling now accounts for around 6.5% of recorded Sheep Street users. Earlier surveys recorded figures of about 2.5% in May 2023 and 4.7% in February 2024, although officers caution that the datasets are not directly comparable. Pedestrian activity has remained high throughout the experiment, including on market days.

The final decision rests with Oxfordshire County Council because it is the highway and traffic authority responsible for the Experimental Traffic Regulation Order. Cherwell District Council and Bicester Town Council were among those consulted, but they are not making Thursday’s decision.

If the recommendation is approved, the experimental order will become permanent rather than expiring later in September. The Friday market restriction will remain, and the council also plans additional “Share with Care” signage to reinforce that pedestrians have priority.

Cherwell District Council leader Lesley McLean wrote to the government on Friday, 28 August asking for action over the national shortage of specialist fridge and freezer recycling capacity.

The shortage has forced Cherwell and other Oxfordshire councils to suspend new bulky-waste bookings for fridges and freezers. Existing bookings are still being collected. If you are replacing an appliance now, the council recommends checking whether the retailer will take the old one away until collections resume.

The Chesterton and Launton county division by-election takes place on Thursday, 3 September, with the formal Notice of Poll published on 25 August. This applies to voters in that county division rather than Bicester as a whole.

Anyone voting in person needs an accepted form of photographic ID. Replacement postal votes can still be issued until 5pm on polling day, while emergency proxy applications are available until the same deadline in specified circumstances.

Anyone travelling early on Sunday, 6 September should check their train before leaving home. Engineering work closes the railway into London Marylebone until 10.35am, with Chiltern services operating north of West Ruislip and passengers able to connect with the Underground.

There is another early closure between Oxford Parkway and Oxford until 8.35am. Replacement buses will operate between Oxford and Oxford Parkway and/or Bicester North, so allow extra time for morning journeys in either direction.

September starts differently depending on the school. The Bicester School has INSET days on Tuesday and Wednesday; Years 7, 11 and 12 return on Thursday, 3 September, followed by all students on Friday.

At Glory Farm Primary School, Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are all INSET days, with pupils returning on Friday, 4 September. Other schools have their own arrangements, so it is safer to check your school calendar rather than assume everyone is back on Tuesday.

Bicester Pride returns to Garth Park on Saturday, 5 September from 2pm to 10pm. We included it as a plan-ahead date last week; now it is here, the useful part is knowing the arrangements before turning up.

The family-friendly programme includes four tribute acts, local performers and a DJ, alongside market stalls, face painting, inflatables, food and licensed bars. The organiser says this is a pre-purchased ticket only event, with tickets currently starting from £5.58. Tickets are available at eventbrite (not affiliated).

Bicester Pride is a Community Interest Company, and the organiser says proceeds from the not-for-profit event support its outreach work in Bicester and surrounding villages. Dogs and glass are not permitted at the event.

Bicester Good Neighbour Scheme has a simple idea behind it: match somebody who could use a little company or practical help with a nearby volunteer who has some time to spare.

A current volunteering opportunity asks for people who can offer as little as 30 minutes a week in Bicester or the surrounding villages. That might mean visiting for a chat, making a regular phone call, collecting a prescription, helping with shopping or tackling a small practical job.

Volunteers must be 18 or over. The scheme provides an enhanced DBS check and safeguarding training, then tries to match people within walking distance or a short drive depending on what the volunteer can offer.

It is easy to overlook work like this because it does not arrive with a ribbon-cutting or a big announcement. But a regular conversation with someone who might otherwise spend much of the week alone is exactly the sort of small local service worth knowing exists.

Sheep Street: We will check the formal decision from Thursday’s meeting and whether any further action or signage changes follow.

12–13 September rail works: No direct Chiltern trains between Bicester and London Marylebone are planned that weekend. We will recheck the final timetable and replacement-bus arrangements before it arrives.

September has arrived quickly. If something is changing on your street, at a school, inside a local business or within a community group, that is often where the most useful HelloBicester stories begin.

Which Bicester group quietly does useful work and deserves a future “Good Thing in Bicester” feature?

HelloBicester is Bicester's free weekly community newsletter. Share it with a friend who loves this town. And if you hear about a new Bicester‑area good news story, send it to HelloBicester ([email protected]) so we can share it with the whole town next week.

See you next week.

Cheers!!