Located 12 miles from Oxford and 24 miles from Milton Keynes, Bicester is one of the fastest growing areas in Oxfordshire with excellent transport links by rail and road to the cities of London, Oxford and Birmingham.
The town is a historic market centre, but has shown major ambitions for growth through the development of the internationally recognised Bicester Village Shopping Centre, the town centre redevelopment and the proposed Bicester Eco-town.
At the centre of the Oxfordshire sits one of Europe’s best universities and the UK’s best new university. They have the vision and skills to grasp emerging technologies and discover and exploit their commercial and economic possibilities.
While academic excellence is how many envisage Oxford, the city’s offer is far greater. Oxford is one of eight ‘buoyant cities’ in the latest Centre for Cities report, regarded as ‘prime candidates for major expansion to support further economic and employment growth’.
Already globally competitive, Science Vale Oxford UK, the county’s science and technology heart, is larger than that of Cambridge and, indeed, larger than that of MIT in the USA. Oxfordshire has the largest concentration of research and development activity in Western Europe, and in total the Science Vale Oxford UK area contains 13% of all research and development employment in the south east (4% nationally).
As part of Science Vale Oxford UK, the Harwell Oxford Campus is being developed as a world-class centre for science, innovation and enterprise. Home to the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, the Medical Research Council and the European Space Agency Space Centre, Harwell has more than 4,500 people working in over 140 organisations comprising large-scale research councils, high technology companies and a range of rapidly growing start-ups.
Elsewhere within Science Vale Oxford UK, Culham is home to the UK’s fusion research programme – the Culham Centre for Fusion Energy (CCFE) – as well as the world’s largest fusion experimental facility – the Joint European Torus (JET).
Milton Park is one of Europe’s largest multi-use business parks and is home to more than 160 companies that form one of the UK’s foremost science communities. The 6,500 people on the site work for companies of all sizes and ambitions, ranging from start-ups to world-class plcs with particular strengths in the biotech and ICT sectors.
Roads: Within the county, Oxfordshire has been undergoing major improvements to its roads in order to improve access and reduce congestion. The M40 enables easy access to London and Heathrow in the East, and J9 by Banbury connects to Birmingham and the mid-West. The A34 provides great access to Southampton and the M27, as well as to the M4 and Bristol. The A40 also connects Oxfordshire to Gloucestershire and the rural West via the picturesque town of Burford, thus earning its nickname as the "Gateway to the Cotswolds".
Trains: Oxford's train station lies just outside the heart of the city, merely a ten minute walk to the city centre with an array of bus and taxi connections. Oxfordshire has many local stations around the county (Didcot Parkway, Radley, Appleford, Cholsey, Long Hanborough, Banbury, Bicester) which all connect to the city. Trains depart reguarly to London, taking only an hour to reach Paddington station. The recent addition of Oxford Parkway has enabled even greater access to the city from the north.
Bus & Coach: There are excellent bus connections connecting the towns and villages around Oxfordshire. Many of Oxford's buses have been replaced with electric-hybrid buses in order to maining an eco-friendly city environment. There are also dedicated luxury bus services that connect Oxford to London, which travel frequently at all hours of the day and night.
Airports: Driving to Heathrow airport from Oxford takes only an hour by car; to Gatwick, an hour and a half. Oxford airport is also located just to the north of the city in Kidlington.