The mayor of Bicester and the leader of Cherwell District Council have taken some time to reflect on the year gone by, and share thoughts on the year ahead.

Bicester has seen a slew of political and planning activity, as well as leisurely and outright fun events over the last year.

Now that the year is almost over, it’s time to reflect, and to make plans for the year ahead.

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Barry Wood, leader of Cherwell District Council, said: “I hope readers are enjoying a very merry Christmas period.

"I am sure that as 2024 approaches many of us are starting to make plans for the new year, and as always at the council one of our hopes for the Bicester community is that anyone who is looking to get more active as part of their new year resolutions will make the most of the fantastic leisure facilities and activity programmes that we provide.

“You might have noticed an extra flurry of activity at Bicester leisure centre during December – that’s because of a major refurbishment we’ve been doing to get ready for January, with a host of new Life Fitness equipment arriving and being installed to help residents kickstart the new year!

“We want our activity offers to be accessible for people with long term health conditions; and by signing up to Move Together eligible people can get 50 per cent off at the newly refurbished gym as well as a tailored exercise programme suitable for their particular needs.

“You Move – the programme that helps parents and children enjoy sports and games together – will also be hitting the ground running in 2024, and I encourage families whose children get free school meals to take part.

“There’s also a range of free downloadable local walks for anyone to enjoy from the Go Jauntly App. “Whatever you decide to do to get more active may I wish everyone living in the Bicester area, a happy, and healthy, new year.

Mayor of Bicester, councillor Harry Knight, added his good wishes and extended his thanks.

He said: “I would like to take this opportunity to wish all the people of Bicester a very happy Christmas and all the best for 2024 and a special thank you for all the support given to my chosen charity the Bicester and surrounding area baby bank.”

For those of you who are without plans for New Years Eve, and fancy doing something a bit different, why not take a look at the list of ideas we have published here: New Year's Eve: Here's some ideas for last minute plans | Oxford Mail

 

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This story was written by Matthew Norman, he joined the team in 2022 as a Facebook community reporter.

Matthew covers Bicester and focuses on finding stories from diverse communities.

Get in touch with him by emailing: Matthew.norman@newsquest.co.uk

Follow him on Twitter: @OxMailMattN1