Banbury Roadworks This Week: M40 J11 Slip and Fair Closures

Banbury’s own motorway junction loses a slip road on Saturday night. National Highways will close the M40 southbound Junction 11 entry slip from 22:15 on Saturday 10 October until 06:00 on Sunday 11 October, with the hard shoulder closed between Junctions 11 and 10 for maintenance. The diversion is on the National Highways network.

The side road off Bloxham Road is in its last week. The stretch between numbers 141 and 229 has been shut since 21 September for Thames Water, and the order runs to Sunday 11 October (TTRO 100). Bloxham Road itself stays open and is the signed alternative route.

Then the town centre closes for the Michaelmas Fair. Four streets in Banbury close from 6am on Tuesday 13 October to 6am on Sunday 18 October.

Every closure on this Banbury roadworks page comes from a statutory order or from National Highways, and carries its reference so you can check it yourself.

What is shut right now

• Side road between 141 and 229 Bloxham Road, Banbury: closed until Sunday 11 October for Thames Water (TTRO 100). Use Bloxham Road.
• A43 southbound between Syresham and Brackley, every night this week: closed 20:00 to 06:00 each night from Monday 5 October to the night of Saturday 10 October, with the Syresham entry slip shut on the same nights. This is National Highways’ junction improvement scheme between Barley Mow Roundabout and Towcester Lay-by, which also keeps narrow lanes and lower speed limits in place around the clock. Brackley is about nine miles east of Banbury.
• Main Street, Farnborough, about six miles north of Banbury over the Warwickshire border: closed from 5 October for a new electricity supply, expected to finish on Friday 9 October. The order is made. The diversion is via Ducketts Lane, Banbury Road, Southam Road, Farnborough Road and Mollington Lane.
• Rollright, the road from the A3400 to High Street, near Chipping Norton: closed for bridge repairs under an order in force since 14 September, with the work expected to finish by 30 October (T18170/RAG). The diversion is signed locally.
• Islip, about 17 miles south of Banbury beyond Kidlington: parts of King’s Head Lane, Lower Street, Mill Street, The Walk and the B4027 Wheatley Road are closed for traffic signal installation and footway improvements until 20 November (T17086/RMF). Islip’s one-way order is suspended while it lasts. The diversion is signed locally.

Coming in the next fortnight

• Thursday 8 October, overnight: the A34 southbound exit slip at Weston on the Green, 21:00 to 06:00, for maintenance.
• Friday 9 October, overnight: the M40 southbound Junction 9 exit slip at Wendlebury, Bicester’s junction, 22:15 to 06:00, with lane closures between Junctions 10 and 9.
• Saturday 10 October, overnight: the M40 southbound Junction 11 entry slip at Banbury, 22:15 to 06:00.
• Saturday 10 and Saturday 17 October: RMT industrial action on Chiltern Railways (below). Most trains run close to normal.
• 12 to 19 October: Farnborough Road, Warmington, about five miles north west, closes so UK Road Services can replace bridge expansion joints. Warwickshire has proposed the order. The diversion runs via Dassett Road, Banbury Road, Village Road and Mollington Lane.
• 13 to 18 October: the Michaelmas Fair closures in Banbury town centre (below).
• 15 October, for about two days: Station Road, Aynho, about six miles south east, from the B4100 to the county boundary, for coring and surface dressing. Proposed by West Northamptonshire Council (ref 26/27 W795). The diversion is via the B4100, A4260 and B4031.
• From 19 October: Shipton Road, Shipton on Cherwell, at the Cowells Road junction, 08:00 on 19 October to 17:00 on 3 November, for a water meter exchange and chamber installation. Proposed (TTRO 286). The diversion is via the A4095, the A44 and Cowells Road.

National Highways’ closure report runs only to the night of Sunday 11 October, so motorway and trunk road closures for the second week are not published yet.

What we could not confirm today. Last week this page listed a 15-week closure of Banbury Road, Boddington, from 13 October (West Northamptonshire ref 26/27 W492). The council notice it came from could not be read today, so we have taken it off rather than repeat it. Check one.network before driving that way.

Chiltern Railways: industrial action on 10 and 17 October

Members of the RMT have voted for industrial action on Saturday 10 and Saturday 17 October. Chiltern says most customers will see a near normal service, with the usual London Marylebone frequencies. Two Banbury journeys change on both days:

• the 06:44 Stourbridge Junction to London Marylebone starts at Banbury;
• the 19:32 London Marylebone to Stourbridge Junction terminates at Banbury.

There are no trains between Stratford-upon-Avon and Leamington Spa on either day. Advance tickets are on sale as normal except for the affected journeys. Source: Chiltern Railways’ industrial action page, updated 2 October 2026.

Parking is no longer free in the evening

This is not a closure, but it changes what a trip into town costs. Since Monday 28 September, Cherwell District Council’s car parks in Banbury and Bicester charge £1.60 for up to 14 hours between 6pm and 8am, every day. Season ticket prices went up on the same date. Blue badge holders, West Bar Street on the north side and the Bridge Street disabled bays were marked as no change in the council’s notice. What changed, car park by car park.

Cycling through the pedestrianised part of Sheep Street, Bicester is also now permanent. It became so on 25 September under order CM/12.6.129/E0004. Cyclists must still dismount on Fridays between 9am and 4pm, during the street market.

The Michaelmas Fair closes the town centre for five days

The biggest closure of the autumn is not roadworks. Oxfordshire County Council gave notice that it proposed to make the Banbury Michaelmas Fair (Special Event) Order 2026 on 5 October. Its event page still carried the proposal wording when we checked on 6 October, and we have not yet seen a notice that the order has been made. The traffic measures run from 6am on Tuesday 13 October until 6am on Sunday 18 October, which is longer than the fair itself.

Vehicles are banned from:

• Bridge Street, from the bus station access road to the High Street and Broad Street junction, and from The Tchure along the north and east sides of the Town Hall to where it meets the main length of Bridge Street.
• Market Place Road and Cornhill, for their whole lengths.
• High Street, from the George Street junction outside White Lion Walk to the Broad Street junction.
• Broad Street, from the High Street junction to the George Street junction.

Two things change that catch people out every year. The one-way restriction in Parsons Street and Butchers Row is suspended, so both take two-way traffic for the week. And the taxi ranks in Bridge Street and Horse Fair move to Broad Street and High Street.

The signed alternative routes are Cherwell Street, George Street, Broad Street, Marlborough Road, High Street, Horse Fair, North Bar Street and Castle Street westbound, and the reverse eastbound. Emergency services are exempt, and loading and unloading is allowed at Broad Street premises that can only be reached that way. Fairground vehicles not at the fair are to be permitted to park on the Wildmere Road industrial estate. The order reference is S26-039 and Cherwell District Council sponsors the event.

The Michaelmas Fair dates and what is on are here.

What is shut, and when

Every closure below comes from a statutory order published by Oxfordshire County Council, West Northamptonshire Council or Warwickshire County Council, or from the National Highways closure report. Where an order has been made, the dates are fixed. Where a council has only given notice that it intends to make one, treat the dates as planned: they are the council’s own working programme and they do move.

Sources: the statutory traffic notices published on the Public Notice Portal on 10 September, 10 September (Michaelmas Fair), 17 September, 17 September (Farnborough), 24 September (South Newington), 24 September (Islip, Chesterton, Shipton, Gosford), 24 September (Aynho), 24 September (Warmington) and 1 October 2026 (Bicester), and Oxfordshire County Council’s Michaelmas Fair page. The motorway and trunk road closures come from the National Highways 7-day closure report last updated at 15:33 on 5 October 2026, which covers nights up to Sunday 11 October. National Highways now updates that report every weekday and its dates do move, so check it before a late journey. Oxfordshire’s notices of 30 September and 1 October added nothing for Banbury itself.

Last week’s table also listed six closures for late October and November (Fox Lane, Middle Barton from 19 October; Banbury Road, Shipton on Cherwell; Barford St Michael; Water Lane, Adderbury; South Street, Middle Barton; Marsh Close, Yarnton). We could not match them to a notice we could read today, so they are off the table until we can.

The Orchard Way closure in Bicester comes with a separate proposal for new double yellow lines on Bardwell Terrace, Bucknell Road and Graham Road. Objections close on 30 October.

Four of the coming closures carry a diversion worth knowing in advance:

• Shipton Road, Shipton on Cherwell: via the A4095, the A44 and Cowells Road.
• Green Lane, Chesterton: via Alchester Road, Bignell View, The Hale and The Green.
• Britannia Road, Banbury: three signed options, the first via Gatteridge Street, Windsor Street, Oxford Street and St Johns Road.
• Orchard Way, Bicester: via George Street, Leach Road and Blenheim Road.

For the rest, access is kept for emergency vehicles and for properties inside each closure where that is practicable.

Closures that have now ended

• M40 northbound Junction 9 entry slip, Wendlebury: the overnight closure ran from 22:15 on 5 October to 06:00 this morning, 6 October.
• Quarry Road, Hornton: the chamber rebuild order ran from 29 September to the end of 1 October.
• Cow Lane, Swerford: closed for one day, 1 October, for a BT pole replacement (TTRO 204).
• Blacklocks Hill, Middleton Cheney, about three miles east of Banbury: a one-day closure between the A422 and the B4525 on 30 September (ref 26/27 W639).
• M40 northbound, Junctions 11 to 12, and the J11 entry and J12 exit slips: the overnight closure was booked for 28 to 29 September.
• Footpaths on Harewood Road, Kedleston Rise and Arbury Close, Banbury: the National Grid order ran to 30 September (T18140/AC).
• Centre Street, Banbury: microsurfacing, reopened at 16:00 on 24 September (TTRO 71).

None of these has been extended by any later notice we can find. If you meet cones at any of them, the order behind them is a new one.

Two things that are not roadworks but will change your journey

Residents’ parking is now enforced in the Hightown Road and Broughton Road areas. The orders came into force on 17 August, and permit-only bays and shared-use bays now apply on nine streets. If you have been parking free all day near the station or off Broughton Road, that has ended. The streets, the hours and the permit costs are here.

The School Street at Harriers Banbury Academy started on 2 September. Harriers View is closed to most motor vehicles at its junction with Bloxham Road, 8.15am to 9.15am and 2.30pm to 4pm, on term-time weekdays, enforced by camera. It runs under an experimental order, so objections can be made for six months from the day it came into force. What it means, and who is exempt.

Finished: the Cherwell Street scheme

The roadworks that dominated Banbury town centre for most of this year are over. On 4 August Oxfordshire County Council confirmed the Cherwell Street bus service improvement project is complete.

Construction started in January 2026. What Banbury got for seven months of disruption is an extended running lane along Cherwell Street for left-turning northbound traffic, retimed signals at the George Street and Bridge Street junctions, improved pedestrian crossings and cleaned drainage. It was paid for through the Department for Transport’s Bus Service Improvement Plan programme, with section 106 money from local developers covering the crossing and signal work at Bridge Street.

The routes that carry Banbury

Roadworks come and go. The geography does not, and Banbury’s is simple enough to hold in your head.

The M40 is the spine. Junction 11 is Banbury’s, on the A422 east of the town. Junction 10 at Ardley takes the A43 towards Northampton and has the Cherwell Valley services. Junction 9 at Wendlebury is Bicester’s, meeting the A34 and the A41. The five miles between junctions 9 and 10 are the busiest stretch of the whole motorway, which is worth knowing before you commit to it at five o’clock.

Into Banbury itself, four routes matter. The A422 runs east to the M40 and west towards Stratford. The A361 comes down from Shipston and heads south for Chipping Norton. The A423 links north to Southam and Coventry and south towards Oxford. And the A4260 is the old Oxford road, running south through Bodicote, Adderbury and Deddington to Kidlington. That last one is the road most likely to be affected by anything happening in the villages, and it is the diversion for most things that are not.

Longer-term schemes

Two county council schemes are live in the district and both will disrupt traffic before they help it.

Access to Banbury Station extends Tramway Road to meet Station Approach Road at a new roundabout, and rebuilds the pedestrian, cycle, bus and taxi access to the station along with parking, drop-off, lighting and drainage. Work touches Station Approach Road, Bridge Street and Hightown Road. Permission was granted on 27 October 2022; the west car park has reopened and a new drop-off facility was programmed for spring 2026 subject to a further application. Funding is from the Housing and Growth Deal and developer contributions.

A4095 and B4100 Banbury Road, Bicester is the county’s scheme to add capacity for Bicester’s growth. It is listed among Oxfordshire’s major current roadworks.

Checking before you set off

• one.network is the live map every council and utility feeds. Search Banbury or Bicester for what is dug up today.
• Oxfordshire County Council roadworks for the county’s own schemes and the full list of current closures.
• National Highways for the M40 and the A34, which are not the county’s roads.
• Public Notice Portal for the legal notices behind closures, which carry the dates and diversion routes before the cones appear. Search by an OX16 or OX26 postcode.
• Parking in the district’s own car parks is listed on Cherwell District Council’s parking pages.

Checked on 6 October 2026. If you are heading for the station rather than through town, the train times are here.