Bicester Village slammed by residents over new plans

Bicester Village recently held its first exhibition event to gauge public opinion on its proposals for a new community park, car and cycle hub to be built in the centre of town.

A second exhibition will be held Thursday from 4pm to 8pm.

But residents’ leisure club, Bicester Bikers’ Group, said the plans are just “an attempt to greenwash a flawed proposal." 

Read more: Bicester livestock keeper breached animal health laws

Chairman of Bicester Bike Users' Group, George Bennett, said: "Building a large multi-storey car park on sports fields in the centre of town is the opposite of sustainable, and the promise of a few cycle parking spaces will not change that.

"Vehicle storage is the least efficient use of valuable central space. This will take up a huge amount of room while also snarling up the centre of town.

"Oxford's experience with the Westgate Centre has demonstrated what a mistake this approach is.

"A much more suitable solution would be to build the car park on the existing park-and-ride site and shuttle visitors in using coaches.

"Bicester Village is already served by a motorway wide six lanes of traffic which leaves almost no space for safe and welcoming pedestrian and cycle routes.

At the centre of the plans is a new public park to be delivered at Oxford Road.

While the proposals are at an early stage, Bicester Village said the new green space could include landscaped gardens and orchards, water features, as well as improvements to support natural wildlife and wildflower meadows.

In addition, the developer claims their proposals will offer a range of new and improved pedestrian routes, connecting Bicester Village to the local area, with new footpaths that feature throughout the proposed landscaped park.

A new car and cycle hub will provide electric charging, cycle and car parking facilities, with on-site renewables that the developer said will support the green economy at a gateway location in the town.

Miranda Markham, Community Relations Director, said: "We are delighted to be presenting the proposals for a new public park and travel hub within Bicester.

"We encourage the local community to be involved with the evolution of the proposals by taking part in our public consultation and joining us at the upcoming public exhibition event.

"We are particularly interested in shaping plans for the landscaped public park for use by the local community in Bicester and want to work closely with local residents to bring this forward."

Bicester Village first opened its doors in 1995. Since then, the setting has grown to include more than 160 boutiques lining the village’s landscaped streets.

Read more from this author

This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1

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