PLANS to build a park-and-ride in Bicester as part of a package of measures to ease traffic congestion have been delayed.

Oxfordshire County Council has confirmed the £3.5m facility, off the A41 at Vendee Drive, will not be ready for this Christmas as planned but hopes work will still get under way this year.

The Bicester Village shopping centre is paying for the 580-space park and ride car park as part of its expansion plan.

Last year, Tesco was given planning approval to build a new and bigger store off Oxford Road, which was scheduled to open in 2015, and Bicester Village was given permission to expand into the existing supermarket site.

However, this March Tesco put its plans on hold, effectively delaying the entire project. Tesco said it will start work on its new store next year, but has refused to say when.

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