YEARS of waiting for a second phase of Didcot’s Orchard shopping centre appear to be over after council leaders announced a planning application was about to be put forward.

Business leaders and councillors have welcomed news that plans are to be submitted to expand Didcot’s Orchard shopping centre, including a new M&S food store.

About 20 new shops, including restaurants and cafes, are planned for the retail precinct off Broadway.

Hammerson, which owns the land, is preparing the planning application to expand the centre by 150,000sq ft.

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The existing 200,000sq ft centre, which opened in 2005 and includes the Cineworld cinema and Cornerstone Arts Centre, transformed the town. Expansion will be to the east of the current centre, where there are now warehouses and businesses.

According to the district council, Hammerson plans to submit its application in the new year, about four years after it first announced the proposal.

Didcot Chamber of Commerce president Di Chesterman said: “This is great news for Didcot to have more retail outlets.”

She said she hoped Hammerson would work with the chamber to promote other town businesses not in the centre.

She added: “We have some wonderful, quirky, special shops that don’t want to be swamped out.

“Any way of signposting the rest of town or a little bit of joint promotion with us would be great.”

Some 3,300 homes are due to be built at Great Western Park in Didcot, and more in surrounding villages like Harwell.

Didcot district councillor Bill Service said: “This is very good news for the town.’’

Supermarket chain Aldi is also planning to open a new store nearby, at the bottom of Broadway on the Jubilee Way roundabout.

Council leader John Cotton said: “It’s great news that Hammerson is now able to progress with the next phase of the Orchard Centre.

“People living in Didcot and the surrounding area want more shops and amenities in the town centre and I am confident that what Hammerson is proposing will add to the growing reputation of Didcot as a great place to live.”

Hammerson development manager Russell Beresford said: “As many people will be aware, we’ve been working on securing the right retailers for Didcot to deliver the extension of the Orchard Centre for a number of years and during a very tough retail environment.

“We’re now at a point where the scheme can once again progress and we very much hope people will visit the event to see the plans and give us their views.”

Hammerson will show its plans at two consultation events at the centre on Friday, December 5, from 11am to 3pm and the next day from 10am to 2pm.

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