OX5 3AY Cherwell
Live postcode, introduced January 1980. Ward: Launton and Otmoor. Region: South East.
Streets
- Canal Way, Enslow: 19 addresses
- Station Road, Enslow: 15 addresses
- Lince Lane, Cherwell: 1 address
Council tax
What each band costs in Cherwell in 2026-27: Band D £2,583 a year on average, including the police, fire and any county and parish charges.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| £1,722 | £2,009 | £2,296 | £2,583 | £3,157 | £3,731 | £4,305 | £5,166 |
Homes by band in the neighbourhood around this postcode: most are in band C (33% of about 730 homes).
Planning and heritage
- Conservation area: no postcode centre in this postcode is in one.
- Listed buildings within 100 m of this postcode: 2.
- Article 4 direction (removing permitted development rights): none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Tree preservation orders: none recorded, though not every council has published theirs.
- Green belt: no.
Listed buildings
- CANAL BRIDGE APPROXIMATELY 60 METRES WEST OF THE ROCK OF GIBRALTAR PUBLIC HOUSE, grade II
- ROCK OF GIBRALTAR PUBLIC HOUSE, grade II
Brownfield land registered for housing within 1 km (0.6 miles)
- B Line Business Centre, Station Road, Enslow, permissioned (280 m)
- OS Parcel 9521, Underdowns, Lince Lane, Kirtlington, permissioned (870 m (0.5 miles))
Flood risk
Rivers, the sea or surface water: in this postcode, 0 addresses are in areas at high risk, 0 at medium risk and 10 at low risk. Each address counts once, at the higher of its rivers-and-sea and surface-water risk.
Rivers and the sea alone: of the 8 homes the Environment Agency counts, 0 are in areas at high risk, 0 medium, 6 low and 0 very low.
High: 3.3% (1 in 30) or more chance of flooding a year. Medium: 1% to 3.3%. Low: 0.1% to 1%. Very low: under 0.1%. The rivers and sea figures allow for flood defences. Counts cover whole postcodes, which can include other streets.
Flood zone for planning: the postcode centre is in flood zone 3. Zone 3 is a 1% (1 in 100) or greater annual chance of flooding from rivers, or 0.5% from the sea, ignoring defences.
Height above sea level
The postcode's 35 addresses are between 65 m and 77 m above sea level (68 m on average).
Broadband
Superfast 96%, ultrafast 96%, gigabit 96% of premises; 0% cannot get 10 Mbit/s. Ofcom Connected Nations, data as at January 2026.
Getting around
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Railway stations | Tackley 25,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 2.2 km (1.4 miles) |
| Islip 39,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 6 km (3.7 miles) | |
| Hanborough 376,000 journeys in 2024–25 | 6.3 km (3.9 miles) | |
| Bus stops | 2 stops within 400 m (0.2 miles), 2 within 800 m (0.5 miles); nearest The Rock Of Gibraltar Enslow | 80 m |
| EV charging points | bp pulse Charging Station | 3.6 km (2.2 miles) |
| Airport with scheduled flights | London Luton Airport LTN | 64.4 km (40 miles) |
Local services
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| GP surgeries | Woodstock Surgery | 3.9 km (2.4 miles) |
| Pharmacies | Woodstock Pharmacy | 3.9 km (2.4 miles) |
| NHS dentists | Hensington House Dental Practice | 3.7 km (2.3 miles) |
| Hospital | Bicester Community Hospital | 10.7 km (6.7 miles) |
| Police station | Thames Valley Police | 3.4 km (2.1 miles) |
| Cash machines | Midcounties Co-Op Kidlington Cashzone | 4.3 km (2.7 miles) |
Parks and green space
| Nearest | Distance | |
|---|---|---|
| Park or garden | The Green 2,910 m² | 2.2 km (1.4 miles) |
| Play area | Unnamed 860 m² | 2 km (1.3 miles) |
| Playing field | Unnamed 2,320 m² | 1.5 km (0.9 miles) |
| Allotments | Unnamed 2.0 ha | 2.3 km (1.4 miles) |
Landmarks
The nearest historic landmark is Long barrow 730m south west of Enslow Bridge, a scheduled monument, 1 km (0.6 miles) west. 6 listed buildings are within 1 km (0.6 miles).
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Long barrow 730m south west of Enslow Bridge | Scheduled monument | 1 km (0.6 miles) west |
| Whitehill medieval settlement immediately south of Old Whitehill Farm | Scheduled monument | 1.1 km (0.7 miles) north |
| Shipton-on-Cherwell churchyard cross | Scheduled monument | 1.8 km (1.1 miles) south |
| Tackley Water Garden | Registered park or garden, Grade II* | 2.1 km (1.3 miles) north |
| Blenheim Palace | World Heritage Site | 5 km (3.1 miles) west |
| Name | What it is | From the postcode's centre |
|---|---|---|
| Lincelane Copse | Wood | 630 m (0.4 miles) east |
| Bunkershill Copse | Wood | 630 m (0.4 miles) west |
| Woodstock Gap | Wood | 1 km (0.6 miles) east |
| Pound Hill | Hill | 1.1 km (0.7 miles) north |
| Mill Stream | Lake or reservoir | 1.3 km (0.8 miles) north-east |
| Busby's Spinney | Wood | 1.3 km (0.8 miles) south-east |
Air quality
| Pollutant | Here | UK limit | WHO guideline |
|---|---|---|---|
| Nitrogen dioxide (NO2) | 6.4 | 40 | 10 |
| Fine particles (PM2.5) | 6.6 | 20 | 5 |
| Particles (PM10) | 11.5 | 40 | 15 |
All three are within the UK legal limits; PM2.5 is above the WHO guideline, as in most towns and cities.
Road and rail noise
| Level | Road traffic | Railways |
|---|---|---|
| 65 to 69 | 1 | 0 |
| 60 to 64 | 3 | 10 |
| 55 to 59 | 8 | 9 |
| Under 55 | 23 | 16 |
12 of the postcode's 35 addresses are modelled at 55 dB or more from road traffic, and 19 from railways, above the WHO guidelines.
Climate, daylight and earthquakes
Monthly temperatures and rainfall, sunrise and sunset through the year, and earthquakes recorded nearby since 1970 are much the same across the area, so they are worked out once for Cherwell: see them on the Cherwell page.
People and work
Who lives here
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Median age | 40 | 40 |
| Children under 15 | 19% | 17% |
| Aged 65 and over | 13% | 18% |
Homes
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Owned (outright or with a mortgage) | 62% | 61% |
| Owned outright | 29% | 33% |
| Shared ownership | 5% | 1% |
| Social rented | 18% | 17% |
| Private rented | 15% | 21% |
Work and commuting
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Adults (16 and over) in work | 72% | 57% |
| Unemployment (of those working or looking for work) | 4% | 6% |
| Retired (of adults) | 13% | 22% |
| Long-term sick or disabled (of adults) | 2% | 4% |
| Work mainly from home (of those in work) | 32% | 32% |
| Travel to work by car or van | 58% | 48% |
| By train, Underground, metro or tram | under 1% | 4% |
| By any public transport, including bus | 2% | 8% |
| On foot or by bicycle | 6% | 10% |
| Work within 10 km (6 miles) of home (of those who travel to work) | 42% | 65% |
| Work 30 km (19 miles) or more away | 12% | 8% |
Education and languages
| Around this postcode | England | |
|---|---|---|
| Degree or other higher qualification, Level 4+ (of adults) | 38% | 34% |
| No qualifications | 15% | 18% |
| Apprenticeship as highest qualification | 7% | 5% |
| Main language English (aged 3 and over) | 98% | 91% |
| Cannot speak English well or at all | under 1% | 2% |
Deprivation
The neighbourhood around this postcode is in decile 6 of 10 on the English Indices of Deprivation 2025, where 1 is the most deprived tenth of England's 33,755 neighbourhoods and 10 the least.
The full dossier for this postcode's main street is on Canal Way.