THE early opening of the new link road for Bicester is a great metaphor for the town.

It may only be a mile and comparatively short in length, but it is the first in a series of infrastructure projects that have long been waited for.

We have reported on the start of the £70m redevelopment of the town centre, and the two major rail projects to improve links in and out of Bicester to make it more of a hub.

As county council leader Keith Mitchell said after cutting the ribbon to declare Vendee Drive open: “Big things are really starting to happen in Bicester.”

It has been looked down upon and the town centre project, especially, has been too long in coming.

But there is now a real positive mood coming from the town. The construction of the link road itself – which hopefully will ease the chronic traffic problems caused by the success of Bicester Village – was brought forward by at least a year.

That’s proof that the town is by no means a purposely-neglected satellite, but a place most certainly moving down the right road.