The facility charges £5 per day and is located on Higham Way, just 150 metres from the station, where parking costs £9.30 per day at the APCOA-operated east car park.

Opened by E5 Group in partnership with Birmingham-based Gallan Group, the site aims to ease the financial burden for regular travellers.

Kevin Stevens, president of E5 Group, said: “Commuters across the country are under real financial pressure and parking costs are a significant part of that daily burden.

“At nearly £10 a day, the cost of leaving your car near Banbury station has become genuinely punishing for regular travellers.

“We wanted to do something practical about that.”

The site was acquired by E5 Working, the commercial property division of E5 Group, and has been brought into use as a ‘meanwhile’ car park while longer-term development plans are progressed.

The car park launch follows months of disruption for Banbury commuters in 2025, when improvement works carried out by Oxfordshire County Council and Chiltern Railways closed the west car park from June 2025.

This left travellers reliant on the east-side multi-storey until just before the Christmas period.

Paul Garry, director of Gallan Group, said: “Banbury commuters have already had a difficult year, with months of disruption to parking at the station during the improvement works.

“The last thing people need on top of that is to be paying close to £10 a day just to leave their car.”

Company failures jumped higher again in March due to a surge in firms collapsing into administration as experts warned more may go bust as the Iran war and soaring wage bills send costs surging.

Last month, Kidlington-based Cooper & Franklin Limited collapsed into liquidation, as did William Harvey Medical Limited of Weston-on-the-Green, Oxford-based Netvide Limited and Park Lane Developments (Oxfordshire) Limited of Bampton.

Latest data from the Insolvency Service shows the number of company insolvencies in the UK rose seven per cent month-on-month in March to 2,022.

READ MORE: UK electric car company collapses into administration as 69 lose jobs

Company administrations surged 52 per cent between February and March to 235, and were 82 per cent higher when compared with March 2025, while compulsory liquidations jumped 18 per cent.

Company voluntary arrangements doubled during the month to 20, the figures showed.

Fuel and energy costs have been jumping higher due to the Iran war, which has hit some sectors hard already, such as manufacturing.

But experts warned the underlying picture is worrying for businesses as cost pressures bite.

Tom Russell, president of restructuring professionals trade group R3, said: “While it may be too early to see the full impact of the worsening economic situation in the formal insolvency statistics, energy and fuel costs have risen significantly, and for many businesses this has come at the same time as customers are becoming more cautious with their spending.

“That combination is extremely challenging, particularly for businesses with limited financial headroom.”

Inspectors rated Chicken Cottage on Cowley Road as ‘very good’ across all areas, including food handling, cleanliness, and management of food safety.

This marks the third consecutive time the Oxford store has achieved a five-star food hygiene rating.

In-store management representatives Mr Alam and Mr Sadat said: “We achieved this rating through strict daily cleaning schedules, consistent hygiene checks, and a strong culture of accountability across the entire team.

“Most importantly fresh, unfrozen ingredients are delivered regularly, and we maintain strict temperature control and storage procedures at all times to ensure the highest quality.”

They also emphasised the store’s pest control measures.

Mr Alam and Mr Sadat said: “Pest control is in place with a local business who visit our site every 2 weeks for inspections across all areas of our premises & everything is documented.”

Staff training was also highlighted as a key part of maintaining standards.

Mr Alam and Mr Sadat added: “All staff are trained to a minimum of Level 2 EHO food hygiene certification, with ongoing refresher training to maintain consistently high standards.

“This third consecutive 5-star rating reflects the consistency, discipline, and teamwork that underpin everything we do.”

Chicken Cottage is a fast-food chain that sells fried or grilled chicken, chips, burgers, wings and other things in a ‘no-nonsense setting’, according to the website.