Residents at Kingsmere, the new village development being created by Countryside, on the edge of Bicester are now benefitting from extended local bus services through the neighbourhood, taking them to and from Bicester town centre and beyond. The recent opening of Whitelands Way, the new road through Kingsmere, has allowed Stagecoach to extend two of its Bicester and Oxford services with six new bus stops along Whitelands Way.
The Stagecoach Route 26, already running between the northern part of Kingsmere to Pioneer Square and Bicester North Station, will now run through Kingsmere serving the whole development, with services running up to every 30 minutes, Monday to Saturday. Route S5 through to Oxford will also offer a number of journeys routed through Kingsmere during peak morning and evening times on weekdays, with journey times of around 40 minutes. Up to four S5 buses per hour are already available adjacent to Kingsmere from stops near Bicester Village.
Longer distance commuters will have even more public transport links available with the new 580-space Park and Ride facility is planned for the edge of Kingsmere, allowing travellers to access a wider range of services across the region.
Lord Borwick, Chairman of Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited, comments: “We are delighted that existing and new residents can take advantage of a dedicated bus route through Kingsmere. Having access to direct bus services into Bicester and Oxford city centre on the doorstep makes living at Kingsmere particularly attractive to people.”
Martin Sutton, Managing Director for Stagecoach in Oxfordshire said “We’re delighted to be working with Countryside in delivering Stagecoach buses to Kingsmere linking with Bicester, Oxford city centre and rail stations and offering a greener travel choice. We hope to be able to extend our services as Kingsmere grows over the next few years”.
Kingsmere is already well on its way to establishing itself as a thriving new community on the south western edge of Bicester. Up to 2,450 high quality new homes are being developed, alongside a wide range of amenities including a new secondary and two primary schools, a village centre with shops, community and health facilities and two major recreational areas with sports facilities. A hotel and restaurant have already been opened.
As part of the scheme, Countryside Properties (Bicester) Ltd is contributing major investment toward infrastructure improvements in and around Bicester including public transport, education, library services and highway improvements.
