Parking in Banbury

For a few hours in Banbury, use a council long-stay car park such as Bolton Road (OX16 5UL) or Castle Quay South (OX16 5UN), both about four minutes from the Town Hall. Council car parks charge £1.60 for an hour from 8am to 6pm. For a full day, NCP's Cherwell Centre on George Street is cheapest on the published tariffs, at £4.

Council car parks

Cherwell District Council's long-stay car parks are all on one tariff from 1 July 2026: £1.60 for an hour, £2.80 for two, £3.90 for three, £5 for four and a £7.50 day rate up to 6pm. South Bar (West) is the one exception we found, at £2.90 for two hours. Bolton Road (150 spaces, pay on exit) is four minutes from the Town Hall by Banbury Town Council's reckoning, and Upper Windsor Street (OX16 5AS, 115 spaces) is five. Spiceball North (the council's Spiceball Park Riverside, OX16 2AY, 44 spaces) is eight minutes and suits Spiceball Country Park, and Compton Road (OX16 2PP, 80 spaces) is 10.

The short-stay car parks are for a quick errand. Market Place (OX16 5LJ, 41 spaces) is one minute from the Town Hall and costs £1.60 for 30 minutes or £2.30 for an hour, with no return within an hour on the same day. Chamberlaine Court and The Mill, on Spiceball Park Road, and Calthorpe Street (West Side) all allow three hours at the long-stay rate, again with no return within an hour.

On Sundays and bank holidays every council car park we read charges £1.60 for up to an hour and a flat £2.20 for anything longer. The daytime charges run from 8am to 6pm on all seven days. The council's own car park pages still say parking is free after 6pm, but its public notice of 3 September 2026 adds an overnight charge of £1.60 for up to 14 hours, from 6pm to 8am on all days, with effect from 28 September 2026. Read the board at the machine before you leave the car for the evening.

Castle Quay

Castle Quay's two public car parks are South, off Cherwell Drive (530 spaces), and North 1, off Spiceball Park Road (295 spaces, the one for The Light cinema and the canal-side restaurants). They are privately run. The centre's own site gives £1.60 for up to an hour, £2.50 for two, £3.20 for three, £4 for four, £5.40 for five and £7.50 for more. On Sundays and bank holidays it is £1.60 all day, and parking is free from 6pm to 7am. It takes cards, coins and notes.

The site says both car parks are open 24 hours, while the town council's July 2026 sheet gives 7am to 8pm, so if you are parking overnight ask the centre first. North 1 is the only Castle Quay car park with charging points. Banbury Museum and Tooley's boatyard are both in this part of town.

NCP and the station

NCP has two car parks, both open all hours, and the town council's sheet gives their charges. Cherwell Centre on George Street (OX16 5BH, 179 spaces) is £2 for an hour, rising to £4 for anything from four to 24 hours, which makes it the cheapest full day on these figures. Marlborough Road (OX16 5EX, 240 spaces) is £1.50 for an hour and £6 for four to 24 hours. The station's three car parks are about £9.70 for a weekday: see Banbury station. Lidl on Spiceball Park Road is for its customers only, 90 minutes and enforced by camera, with validation needed.

Blue Badge, charging and fines

Blue Badge holders park free in the council's car parks up to the maximum stay, with the badge and clock on display. The bays are not evenly spread: seven at Market Place, seven at Bolton Road, six at The Mill, three at Calthorpe Street (West Side) and two at Spiceball North, but none listed at Upper Windsor Street, Compton Road, Chamberlaine Court or South Bar (West). The council's on-street bays on Bridge Street's south side are listed separately. Castle Quay's site does not state a Blue Badge rule, so ask.

Upper Windsor Street has 10 charge points, the only ones the council lists among the car parks we read. You pay for the bay and pay the charge point's operator for the electricity, and a car in an electric bay that is not charging can be fined. The council's penalty is £50 for overstaying and £70 for other contraventions, halved if paid within 14 days. Motorbikes must use a marked bay and pay.

When it fills

We have not surveyed the car parks yet, so this page does not say which fill first or when. If your first choice is full, the longer walk from Compton Road or Spiceball North is a sensible second, and on the days of the Michaelmas Fair allow extra time. For a longer visit, things to do in Banbury helps you decide how many hours to pay for.