• Scroll through the images above to see the progress of the new centre, from the latest images all the way back to its previous incarnation 

AS shoppers count down the remaining 12 weeks until the new Westgate Centre opens, concerns have been raised about its impact on the environment.

Extra traffic generated by shoppers visiting the new £440m retail attraction will lead to an increase in harmful carbon emissions, it has been claimed.

The city council’s Green group spoke out after contractors working for Westgate Oxford Alliance said measures have been taken to minimise the impact of the 800,000 sq ft revamped shopping centre, which will reopen on October 24.

Construction firm Laing O’Rourke said the project was ‘on course to eliminate an estimated 30,000-plus tonnes of carbon’.

But Green councillors have estimated there could be 2.75 million additional car trips per year, generating an increase in carbon dioxide emissions.

Sustainability manager for Laing, Paul DiMambro, said: “Retaining much of the original core structure reduces the use of energy for manufacturing new materials and transporting them.

“The design changes made by Laing O’Rourke to the underground car park, for example, have saved carbon by using less concrete.

“All this helps to make Westgate one of the lowest carbon retail schemes in the UK.”

Mr DiMambro added that the company aimed to ensure 25 per cent of the materials for construction were recycled.

He added: “So far, we’ve reused or recycled 99 per cent of the construction, demolition and excavation waste, while ensuring certified sustainable timber is sourced through our specially developed tracking system.”

The new centre will feature a new John Lewis, more than 100 new stores, 25 restaurants and cafes, a boutique cinema, and new public spaces including a rooftop garden area.

Green city councillor Ruthi Brandt said the centre’s pledge to save 30,000 tonnes of carbon emissions had to be weighed up against the county council’s prediction that the number of shopping trips will increase from five million to 16 million.

She added: “If it is assumed that a modest 25 per cent are by private car then that equates to approximately 2.75 million additional car trips per year or 7,500 per day.

“Even if everyone drove a Toyota Prius hybrid electric car and travelled just 11km that would mean an additional 3,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions per year, or 90,000 over a 30-year period.”

Patsy Dell, head of planning, sustainable development and regulatory services for Westgate Oxford Alliance, said: “The environmental impact of the Westgate development was assessed as part of the planning process and was found to be acceptable.

“Oxford City Council also worked with the developers during the planning process to achieve the council’s environmental sustainability objectives.”

A full environmental impact assessment was completed as part of the planning application.

There will be 1,000 parking spaces at the shopping centre.

Oxfordshire County Council spokesman Martin Crabtree said: “We do not accept the validity of these (the Green group’s) figures.”