The Westgate Partnership, a joint venture between Liberty International’s Capital Shopping Centres and Coal Pension Properties, has submitted a detailed planning application for the £300m refurbishment, redevelopment and extension of its Westgate Centre in Oxford.
The proposals include the creation of new shopping streets, a John Lewis department store, a prominent new entrance for the library, a new car park and city centre homes.
The shopping centre will be extended to around 750,000 sq ft, with 90 new shops, bars, restaurants and cafes.
Richard Cable, director for The Westgate Partnership said: “We are delighted to have reached such a major milestone.
“The evolution of our scheme over the last two and half years has been a truly interactive process, with local people and stakeholders making a significant contribution to our proposals at every step of the process, initially through the major public consultation on the Westgate Masterplan and then through extensive consultation and feedback on the detailed designs of the individual buildings.”
The new buildings, designed by architects Allies and Morrison and Building Design Partnership working with renowned landscape designer, Robert Townshend, aim to reconnect Westgate to the rest of Oxford city centre and the wider West End.
The proposals include: –
- a major extension to the overall retail provision within Oxford providing new and flexible accommodation to meet modern retailers’ requirements
- a total refurbishment of the existing Westgate Centre to ensure that it blends seamlessly with the new buildings and with its surroundings, particularly the City Council’s proposals for the redesign of Bonn Square
- a prominent new three storey glazed entrance for Oxford’s County Library at the junction of Queen Street, Castle Street and New Road
- a variety of street facing shops, kiosks, and cafes to bring new vitality to Castle Street and Norfolk Street
- a roof-top garden at the heart of the development, providing a local habitat for wildlife and a unique location for a restaurant operator
- a full-line John Lewis department store designed specifically to respond to its Oxford location with a cafe providing some of the best views across the Oxford skyline
- 127 new city centre apartments, 50% of which will be affordable homes, developed in conjunction with Bromford Housing Group
- an extensive landscaping strategy for the streets and green spaces around the development, including enhancements to the existing Paradise Square and the area alongside Castle Mill Stream
- a new 1,335 space multi-storey car park
References: EGi News 13/06/06
