Bicester services
A41 at Bicester
(Limited road signage.)
OX26 1BT
map and directions
Single site located at a junction.
The redeveloped Bicester services is now part of the urban area, standing opposite the Bicester Village shopping centre and a Tesco supermarket.
Facilities
Catering: Burger King Drive Thru, Starbucks Drive Thru Amenities: Tourist Information Sign Outdoor Space: No grass space Charging Points: EV Point 150kW CCS Forecourt: Esso, ASDA Express, Greggs, Starbucks on the Go, Free Cash Machine
Parking Prices
Parking and use of the facilities is limited to 90 minutes maximum stay and is strictly enforced by VARS.
No HGV parking is available.
This information is provided to us by third parties. You should always check with staff on site.
Contact Details
đ˘ Address:
Oxford Road
Bicester
Oxfordshire
OX26 1BT
Trivia and History
Following the addition of several new junctions on the A41, turning it from a fast road to an urban one, many of the road signs referring to the service area were taken down in 2011. It is now regarded as a local facility rather than a major road facility. It continues to have direct access from the main roundabout, but it's now dwarfed by the surrounding retail parks and housing estate.
The service area proved to be useful for the construction of the nearby Pioneer Way, but that access has since been closed. It is also used to provide the goods entrance to the nearby supermarket.
Opening
Bicester opened as a Happy Eater in the 1980s. As a popular site, it was one of the first to be converted to a Little ChefHistory. Granada added a Burger King in June 1996, and a Coffee Tempo! soon followed, although that later became Little Chef Express.
There was another Little Chef in Bicester town (London Road), which closed at the same time as the new Bicester branch opened. This one had opened in the 1980s.
Forecourt History
Throughout the 1990s the filling station was branded Shell.
In the early 2000s, the site was rebranded to Esso. In 2005, Esso planned to redevelopment the site building a new sales building including a On the Run cafĂŠ and Costa offering, new forecourt and pumps, new canopy and 2 new car and jet washes but these plans were later withdrawn.
The filling station was purchased by Euro Garages and, in late 2015, an extension was built on the left side of the shop to introduce a Greggs store to the site.
Single Operator
Euro Garages' rights to the Little Chef name expired in January 2018. It had been hoped that the restaurant would have been converted to something else before then, but having acquired such a large and busy site, they weren't sure what to do with it. The restaurant lived on under the holding name EG Diner until summer 2018 when it finally closed.
As they now owned both the forecourt and the restaurant, Euro Garages proposed re-building the whole site in February 2018. They suggested brands such as Burger King, Starbucks and Leon could be introduced alongside two drive thru restaurants and a drive thru coffee shop. This plan was initially rejected by Oxfordshire County Council, who suggested that it would be "cramped", "poor quality", as well as criticising the appearance of the buildings and the consequences for road safety.
An updated proposal was approved and the former restaurant building was demolished in spring 2020. A new-build Burger King Drive Thru opened that September on what had been a HGV parking area. A Starbucks Drive Thru soon followed, opening next door on 2 October 2020.
The SPAR store was rebranded to Asda On the Move in autumn 2021, before becoming part of the Asda estate in December 2023. Four EV Point chargers were also added to the forecourt in December 2023 too.
Alternatives
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| Family Farm (A34 northbound, 4 miles) Weston-on-the-Green (A34 southbound, 4 miles) | Services on the A41 | none nearby |