Cherwell sits within the County of Oxfordshire. It is semi-rural and land use is largely dominated by agriculture.

The District’s population is primarily concentrated within its market towns. Access to the natural environment surrounding these market towns and attractive villages is key to Cherwell’s appeal as a place to live and visit. A small part of the Cotswolds AONB lies within the north west of the District.

Cherwell is well-connected by railway lines. These run through the major urban centres of Banbury, Bicester and Kidlington and connect residents to London, Birmingham and Oxford.

A number of strategic green and blue assets create the ‘skeleton’ of Cherwell’s GBI network. These ‘blue corridors’ have significant potential as continuous belts of aquatic, wetland terrestrial habitats.

Firstly, the District gets its name from the River Cherwell – which flows through the District and several of the towns and villages within it. The Oxford Canal is another important blue corridor and historic feature running north-south through the District.

While nationally and internationally designated sites are relatively sparse, the District has a number of areas of important and protected habitats. These include designated sites such as the Oxford Meadows SAC in the south west, and the floodplains of the Otmoor SSSI in the south east – the site of an RSPB reserve.

With a growing population, the District is set to continue to change and develop. Given significant existing deficits in publicly accessible open space across the District, it will be important that provision of open space and wider GBI forms a central part of Cherwell’s future development.

While Cherwell’s semi-rural nature means that there is a significant amount of open, undeveloped space, it will be crucial to address the fragmented habitats within these landscapes. This will require a focus on joining up habitats and creating wildlife corridors. The need to mitigate climate change through carbon sequestration, and adapt to climate change, may lead to changing landscapes in some areas.