Focus on… Bicester
From postwar boomtown to ‘garden town’ development area, Bicester just keeps on growing, says Gary Parkinson
It’s pronounced to rhyme with “Mister” and has been spelt dozens of different ways over the years, and Bicester is still changing. In 2014, the historic Oxfordshire town - dating back to 643 AD – was given ‘garden town’ development status and therefore permission to build 13,000 new homes.
Change is nothing new for a former market town which was swollen postwar by the Ministry of Defence, then again by the nearby M40 extension from Oxford to Birmingham; Bicester’s midpoint position between England’s two biggest cities has helped double its population since the 1980s.
That growing population is housed in a variety of estates radiating out between the centre and the ring-road – loosely, postwar to the north and east and newer to the west (and M40). Not without controversy, the garden-town plan may nearly double Bicester’s population again, but not necessarily in Noddy houses: Kevin McCloud fans will know the alternative-thinking, self-build development of Graven Hill from Grand Designs: The Street.
Many commuters eschew the M40, as the capital is an hour away from either of two railway stations, Bicester North and Bicester Village. The latter was formerly known as Bicester Town, which would seem an unusual linguistic gauge of progress until you realise it’s named after the huge luxury-goods shopping outlet, a sort of consumerist Disneyworld which sprang up in 1995 and within 20 years had become the second most popular UK tourist spot for Chinese tourists (bowing only to Buckingham Palace).
Starting out Within the encirclement of estates is a bona fide old town. There’s a one-bed flat on North Street - which soon turns into the pedestrianised Sheep Street - for £150,000, within an unsteady amble of the Good Beer Guide-rated pub The Bell.
Great for families… There’s plenty of choice, but many settlers are lured by Bure Park; steps away from its nature reserve is a three-storey, three-bed terrace on Purslane Drive for £325,000.
Just won the lottery? In the heart of the old town, next to St Edburg’s Church, is a must-see eight-bed period piece with a self-contained annex, three receptions and a private garden for £950,000.
THE COST OF LIVING
Average rent: One-bed properties average £800 pcm – including houses, like the semi-detached at that price on Avocet Way near the Jubilee Lake. Four-bed houses to rent are rare, averaging £1,575 - slightly less for a two-bath, three-storey newbuild terrace on Ascot Way in the new Kingsmere development, just west of the centre.
Average house price: One-bed flats average £180,000 but start around £150,000 - like the box-fresh one-bed on Westholme Court, 100m from Bicester Village train station. Four-bed houses average £445,000 but there’s a remodelled terrace for £300,000 on St Edith’s Way, within a mile of both stations and overlooking sports fields.
Average rental yield: Hovering somewhere north of five percent for one-beds, just south of it for two-beds, it’s much higher than nearby towns like Oxford.
Average house price rise: Current average property price of £366,965 is 2.92 percent up on 12 months ago.
Average salary: £32,464 in the enclosing 150,000-population district of Cherwell, above the UK average of £30,629. Employment rate is 75.3 percent, a point below the UK average of 76.3 percent.
Average price of a pint: £3.75.
Council tax: £1,286.95 to £3,860.86.
BICESTER AT A GLANCE
Connections: Halfway along the M40 between Birmingham and London, Bicester is 75 minutes’ drive from either (traffic permitting); by train it’s 50 minutes from the capital and 15 from Oxford. Milton Keynes is 40 minutes’ drive away.
Amenities: 3/5 Besides the Bicester Village outlet for designer gear, shoppers can hit weekly markets and pedestrianised Sheep Street; Lone Wolf comedy club; Bicester Heritage park at the former RAF site.
Festivals and events: Sunday Scrambles at Bicester Heritage (Jan, Apr, Jun, Oct), beer festival (Apr), gin festival (Apr), Big Lunch (food festival, Jun), Front Row festival (music, Jun), Cornbury (major music festival nearby, Jul).
Open space: 4/5 Town-centre Garth Park is an award-winner, plus Island Pond Wood, Gavray wildlife meadows, Jubilee Lake, Bure Park nature reserve, RSPB Otmoor – and the Cotswolds AONB is only 15 miles away.
Landmarks: St Edburg’s church, Market Square. Blenheim Palace, Rousham Park and Waddesdon Manor are nearby.
Schools: 2/5 A dozen primaries and three secondaries rated Good by Ofsted; nearest Outstanding primaries and secondaries are seven to 10 miles away.
Crime: 4/5 Crime rate for Cherwell is 66.8, well below the 89.3 average for England and Wales.
Famous faces: Deep Purple drummer Ian Paice was brought up here, while residents have included former Grand Prix world champion Jenson Button.
HEAD FOR RURAL BLISS IN…
Middleton Stoney
Three miles west across the M40, this ever-so-Englishly named 350-population village is dominated by Middleton Park – a Grade I-listed country house designed in the 1930s by Edwin Lutyens (the architect of Whitehall’s Cenotaph). You can get a two-bed apartment within Middleton Park for £350,000.
Brill
Besides its excellent name (which literally means “Hill hill” - hence the village’s windmill), you might like Brill for its absence of rat-run traffic, as the pretty 1,000-population village isn’t on the road to anywhere. £350,000 will get you a three-bed.
Kirtlington
Situated on pre-Roman road, Kirtlington has a pretty church, more than its fair share of village greens, an international polo ground, a decent primary school and an annual festival called the Lamb Ale (which may contain morris dancers). £350,000 should get you a four-bed.
Originally published in the Metro newspaper, Tue 3 Mar 2020
