Carterton

The Town of Carterton lies about 4 miles from Witney. It is the second largest town in West Oxfordshire and one of the newest towns in Oxfordshire.

Up until the early 1900s, the Carterton area was farmland and belonged to the parish of Black Bourton. The land was then sold to William Carter, the director of a building company. Hence the name.

The Town was initially created and flourished as a result of the railway line that ran between Witney and Fairford. Carterton had its own railway station until 1962. The RAF airbase at Brize Norton was opened in 1987 as a training base, but is now the largest military airbase in the UK. It is the base at 'Brize' which largely drives Carterton's local economy and provides it with many military inhabitants, both permanent and temporary.

There are a number of shops and parking is plentiful in the town centre. Two supermarkets serve the town and both are in the centre. There are plans to improve and expand the retail space in Carterton and create more parking spaces. A new development, West Oxfordshire Retail Park is being built in the town as is a new business park. The Countryside Agency has awarded Carterton 'Beacon Status' for the work that the Fast Forward team is undertaking on the regeneration of the town centre.

The Town's Badge of Office is designed to represent local outstanding features - the round red shield is the local tomato around which the green circle represents the surrounding countryside. The four bars are the Crossroads from which the town radiates, with the Eagle of St. John, the Patron Saint of Carterton Church, in the centre.