Anyone moved to or living in Banbury?

[Lyrixs21]

Hi everyone,

My partner and I are currently looking to move to Banbury. We live and work in London and after looking at several towns within about 90 mins drive of London, Banbury fits with its transport links, smaller size and more affordable housing.

One thing that we have noticed, is the strong smell from the JDE factory. We've noticed it seems (based on our visits) to be stronger on the north side of the town than the south. Weekend just gone we were viewing a couple of properties in Hanwell Fields (an area we like) and the smell was particularly strong and made us think how liveable is the smell from the factory.

Does anyone on here live in Banbury and know how often the smell is around? Is it plausible that the north side of town is cheaper than the southern areas because the former has the smell wafting around more? Is it something that is seen as particularly undesirable about Banbury? Our 2 concerns are will it grate on us and how much could it affect selling a property further down the line.

Would this be reason enough for you not to buy a house?

Thanks so much in advance!

I know exactly the smell you mean!! Kind of coffee/sugar puffs.. I grew up in a village 15 miles north of Banbury and could smell it when the wind was in the right direction! Hopefully someone with more knowledge of the area can be more helpful, sorry for the pointless post - just brought back a memory. Good luck with your property hunt!

Banbury is a mix of the coffee factory smells, and the muck spreading from farms takes over the town too at certain times of year too.

It’s not all the time however, you get a strong whiff when visiting the Tesco but rest of the time it’s not really noticeable.

As a commuter town, it’s very convenient - though the peak time train is quite expensive .

Yes it smells like yeast and coffee. We smell it when driving into Banbury but fairly regularly adjust. Have you looked at the other train line, Paddington out on the Cotswolds line? Lovely villages and towns, nicer than Banbury I personally think. Maybe house prices to match though but cheaper than London

This is definitely a non thing!! It's only at certain times of the day and when you're near the factory - ie. Tesco's like a previous poster said. I've never in my years here had a discussion about it with anyone and would be amazed if it affected house prices!!!

I live on the edge of Banbury (south), and never smell it! I only smell it if I’m driving past the factory. We’ve been here for 3 years and I don’t think I’ve ever smelled it anywhere else in the town.

I live in Banbury and it's rare to smell it - sometimes you get the nice coffee smell, sometimes there's smell of bread from fine lady sometimes there is the smell of chocolate from Banbury Callebaut and sometimes you get the less nice JDE smells. It's really not an issue.

However I'd be very wary of the houses on Hanewell Fields I know a few people who have lived in them over the years and although they're a bit older now, they suffer from the typical new build problems - small rooms, lack of storage, insufficient parking and poor quality materials. Some of that might have been rectified by people who have lived there over the years adding extensions and general improvement, but it's not something I'd look at. Also if you're driving to the station the traffic would be a nightmare (although in all fairness there is a reasonable mostly off road cycle route you could take).

Somewhere like bankside/Cherwell Heights might be better - the houses probably don't look quite as nice from the outside but will be a more solid construction, it would be easier to get to the station as well. Plus you'd be well out of the way of the smell.

Bath road, queens road and kings road are all within a mile of the station and have some really nice houses.

I'd also consider some of the nicer parts of Grimsbury - has a bit of a reputation but it's perfectly safe and has some lovely victorian terraces.

I currently live in Banbury