Bicester North
Cherwell 012 · 4 sub-areas · 6,844 residents
Cherwell 012 is a mid-sized neighbourhood within Cherwell district in the South East, home to around 6,800 people. A typical two-bedroom home lets for about £1,200 a month — roughly in line with the UK median — while two-thirds of residents own their home outright or with a mortgage, well above the regional norm. It's a predominantly owner-occupied, family-oriented area with strong greenspace access.
Bicester North is a mid-density neighbourhood of Cherwell in the South East region. It sits between busier and quieter parts of the local authority and isn't dominated by a single use — there's a mix of workplaces, housing and local services.
Overview
What's it like to live in Bicester North?
The area is unusually green for its density — 6 parks and 19 playgrounds sit within five minutes' walk of the centroid; The streets feel safe by national standards — police-recorded crime is well below the country-wide median; Public transport is genuinely strong; most errands and a fair share of social life don't need a car; rents are roughly in line with the national norm, at around £1,289 a month for a typical home; gigabit broadband is effectively universal.
Generated from the latest May 2026 data · refreshed automatically
Figures are aggregated across 4 sub-areas — population-weighted means for rates, sums for counts. Sources cited beneath each section.
Bicester North in Cherwell
Living in Bicester North
This part of Cherwell has a noticeably settled, residential feel. Nearly all of the neighbourhood — around 96% — is within a short walk of greenspace, and the nearest patch is typically less than 200 metres away. That's the kind of thing you only appreciate once you've lived somewhere without it. The area sits comfortably in the lower end of South East rental costs, without the premium you'd pay closer to Oxford.
On rent, Cherwell 012 sits close to the national midpoint. A two-bedroom home runs about £1,200 a month, and a three-bedroom comes in at around £1,450. That's decent value for the South East, though it's worth knowing that the public-transport commute to London takes close to an hour — so if you're commuting to the capital, factor in the season ticket alongside the rent.
The neighbourhood skews toward families and working-age households. Around one in four households is a couple with children, and the under-18 share — at roughly 21% — is slightly above the national average. Owner-occupation is high at 67%, which gives the area a stable, low-turnover character. Only about one in four residents rents privately.
The resident workforce is notably well-qualified, with around 37% holding a degree-level qualification. Many residents commute out — the gap between what jobs based here pay (around £33,200 median) and what residents actually earn (around £36,600) tells you most people travel somewhere better-paid for work, rather than relying on local employment. The nearest rail station is roughly 1 km away, or about a 13-minute walk — the practical starting point for most of those outbound commutes. See the streets and sub-areas below for more detail on how different parts of the neighbourhood compare.
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Frequently asked
- Is Cherwell 012 a nice place to live?
- It's a quiet, stable neighbourhood with low crime, strong greenspace access — nearly 96% of the area is within walking distance of green space — and a predominantly owner-occupied, family-oriented character. The trade-off is a mixed school picture and limited local public transport. If you work from home or commute by car, it suits well.
- What is the rent in Cherwell 012?
- A one-bedroom typically runs around £960 a month, a two-bedroom around £1,200, and a three-bedroom around £1,450. Rents rose about 4% over the past year. These are estimates scaled from council-level data using local sale prices, rather than directly measured neighbourhood figures.
- Is Cherwell 012 safe?
- Yes, by most measures. The crime rate is around 37.5 incidents per 1,000 residents annually — less than half the UK national rate of roughly 80 per 1,000. The area ranks in the top 10% least deprived neighbourhoods in England, which tends to correlate strongly with lower crime across most categories.
- What's the commute from Cherwell 012 to the nearest major city?
- The nearest mainline rail station is about a 13-minute walk away. From there, London takes around 59 minutes by public transport, Birmingham around 77 minutes. Most residents drive rather than use public transport, and around a third work from home — so the commute burden is lower than the rail times suggest.
- Who lives in Cherwell 012?
- Mostly families and settled working-age households. Around 27% of households are couples with children, two-thirds own their home, and the under-18 share is slightly above average. It's a well-qualified area — about 37% of residents hold a degree — with many commuting out to higher-paid roles elsewhere in the South East.
- What schools are near Cherwell 012?
- There are 45 schools within typical catchment distance, but only around 27% are rated Good or Outstanding — well below the national average of roughly 89%. The nearest Outstanding school is approximately 16 km away. If school quality is a priority, it's worth checking current Ofsted ratings for specific local schools before you move.
- What is the council tax in Cherwell 012?
- Council tax at Band D is £2,583 a year — around £215 a month. That's a meaningful addition to rent or mortgage costs, so factor it into your monthly budget alongside housing costs.