Explore the local area with Banbury Bingo

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Every now and again, I’ll see someone mention looking for new things to do in the area. Maybe they are new to Banbury and they want to get to know it a bit better. Maybe they’ve been here ages and find themselves in a bit of a rut, looking to shake things up a bit.  And I’ve talked about staycations and local exploring before and shared details on all the things Banbury has to offer. SO my pushing this idea should come as a surprise to no one. But I wanted a new way to present the idea…

So I thought why not make a bit of a game out of it – and thus was born Banbury Bingo, a hopefully helpful way for people to find new things to try and places to see in and around Banbury.

You can download a PDF of this Banbury Bingo card if you like.

Now, on the assumption that if something is genuinely new to you, I thought a few links of helpful info might make choosing squares a bit easier so:

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Change Afoot in Northern Oxfordshire

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I did say I’d be back with more thoughts on the creation of the Northern Oxfordshire Council alongside Greater Oxford and the Ridgeway. And here I am.

Having had three options on the table, with each having strong and very vocal backers, no choice was ever going to get unanimous cheers – there are simply too many knock-on effects for that sort of unanimity. But sometimes you have a situation where a call must be made, and this was one of them.

IMO, pulling Banbury out from the administrative shadow and the massive tourist gravitational pull of Oxford is more positive than negative.

I don’t imagine that the adjustments and shifts will all be smooth. It’s not going to be a walk in the park. There will be plenty of serious administrative heavy lifting, new strategic alignments, a complete rethinking of how local services and budgets are managed, and political wrestling behind closed doors (and occasionally in the headlines).

Now, given what I’ve spent the last two years doing, it won’t surprise anyone to know I’ve looked at some of this through a visitor economy lens. Not exclusively, but it’s where my head is these days. 

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Lines Redrawn – Behold Northern Oxfordshire Council

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Well, well, well – that’s gonna make for some interesting conversations.  What am I on about?

Yesterday (Thursday July 16) the UK gov announced that Oxfordshire and West Berkshire’s seven existing councils will be replaced by three unitary councils on 1 April 2028. So, we say ‘so long, farewell, auf wiedersehen and goodbye’ to Oxfordshire County Council and hello to the three new councils:

  • Greater Oxford Council – covering Oxford and its immediate surroundings
  • Northern Oxfordshire Council – covering most of the existing Cherwell and West Oxfordshire districts
  • Ridgeway Council – covering most of the existing South Oxfordshire and Vale of White Horse districts, combined with West Berkshire

I know not everyone is thrilled but I think putting Oxford at the centre of its own universe instead of turning everything in the county into an ‘also ran, Oxford satellite’ makes sense. I’m sure there were reasons the Ridgeway council took shape the way it did but I don’t know enough about the logistics of that area where Oxfordshre and West Berkshire touch to say.

But I definitely have thoughts about Northern Oxfordshire Council and think it presents some great opportunities for planning and management suitable for the area. What do I mean? Just that trying to treat all of Oxfordshire like a homogeneous economic, social and cultural entity was always going to mean huge swathes of the area was being mismanaged. The new structure, IMO, means things are a bit more like for like administratively – and that makes planning and management easier.

Anyway – much more thoughts on this to come, especially for what it means for the visitor economy (because some of the big ticket destinations ended up in falling under the Northern Oxfordshire Council).

Opinions are not facts. Not even in Banbury

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When people moan about Banbury not being what it used to be, I usually ignore it. Partly because it’s boring, but mostly because nothing is what it used to be – not people, places or events. Not even those fading into the rose-tinted past. That’s simply how places evolve.

But today someone on another page pinned the decline of Banbury (as they saw it) to the creation of Castle Quay and I thought to myself ‘Well, that’s just nuts.’ I won’t labour the point that opinions aren’t facts, no matter how confidently they’re stated.

But this Castle Quay theory? No. Opinion it may be but it’s also nonsense. How do I know? Because I looked it up.

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Banbury and the MICE market: an opportunity we’re not quite claiming?

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I’ve been noticing something over the past few months.

Across both the hospitality and travel sectors, there’s been a noticeable shift toward meetings, conferences and events – what the industry tends to bundle together as “MICE” (I know it sounds like a pest problem but I promise it’s a profit centre). Hotels are talking about it more. Venues are investing in it. Destinations are actively competing for it.

Which makes absolute sense in the current economic climate. Leisure travel is still strong but it is also unpredictable. Business meetings and events, on the other hand, offer a lot more consistency and reliability.

And, as is often the case these days, that got me thinking about Banbury.

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