Public say no to Castle Quay projects and three-weekly green bin collections
28/01/2026
Five times more people than last year took part in the budget consultation
Plans to move to a three-weekly general waste green bin collection in the Cherwell District need further consultation.
That’s the message Cherwell District Council has taken from the public engagement exercise on the budget proposals put forward for 2026-27.
The council also received negative feedback on its plans to spend £196,000 on work to improve visitor access at the Castle Quay Shopping Centre. As a result they have withdrawn a project to enhance one of the vacant units at a cost of £50,000.
The council’s Executive will now consider the updated budget proposals, which includes reinstating some funding for Banbury Museum.
1,184 people responded to this year’s budget consultation – over five times the number that let their views be know last year.
The council says that successful lobbying has resulted in a better-than-forecast funding announcement from central government, allowing them to revisit some of the savings initially proposed.
Councillor David Hingley, Leader of the Council, said: “Beyond protecting and maintaining our core services, we are ambitious about supporting the wellbeing and cultural life of our communities. We said from the start that we would listen carefully to residents, and I want to thank the very many people who took the time to respond to our consultation. We are therefore reviewing our approach to funding for Banbury Museum in 2027/28, recognising how passionately residents feel about the Museum’s special role in the community. The Executive will now consider options that address the feedback we have received.
“In terms of our core funding, it is pleasing that the government has listened to our arguments and provided a better-than-forecast funding settlement, which means we can now report a better medium-term funding outlook than we had initially anticipated. As a result, we can look confidently at balancing the books across future years and at investing in the frontline services our residents rely on, as well as funding key development strategies to deliver lasting, positive change across the district.”
Published: by the Banbury FM News Team
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