Reg Little on the latest (and hopefully final) development in the Westgate Centre story

As the idea of a bus tunnel under Oxford High Street was being contemplated by Oxfordshire County Council leader, Ian Hudspeth, an altogether more achievable development was moving forward.

If anyone needed a reminder of what it takes to secure backing for a major development in Oxford, the Westgate Centre would surely take some beating.

But detailed design proposals to redevelop and expand the Westgate Centre were finally submitted to Oxford City Council at the end of last week.

The creation of a new retail and leisure destination in the heart of the city might never have appeared quite as ambitious as the idea of moving buses through the city in a tunnel passing beneath the Cherwell and the High, which Mr Hudspeth set out in The Oxford Times last week.

But there have been times — what with all the doomed schemes, inquiries, consultations and planning battles — when it has seemed that the existing, unloved Westgate might outlast Christ Church.

The new detailed proposals — known in planning jargon as reserved matters — show 70 new shops, including a 14,500 sq m John Lewis department store, cafes, restaurants, a multi-screen cinema, new open and covered streets and public squares.

Wider benefits will be a two-storey car park, 59 new homes and a new walkway along Castle Mill Stream.

The plans were submitted by the Westgate Alliance, a joint venture between the Crown Estate and Land Securities Group PLC.

The involvement of the Crown Estate — the UK’s largest commercial property company, which manages more than 24 million square feet of property, with a retail portfolio totalling £5.5bn made up of shopping centres and retail parks attracting 350m customer visits a year — led to a degree of confidence that this time the scheme would not fail.

Sara Fuge, development manager for the Westgate Alliance, said the new submission, including appearance, landscaping, layout and scale, follows a major consultation with local people, stakeholders and the city council’s new Oxford Design Review Panel.

She said: “The application is a major step forward for the new Westgate. It has been subject to a rigorous public consultation programme.”

Amendments made to the proposals include changes to the entrance of Oxford Central Library, when viewed from Queen Street and Bonn Square, with windows added in the tower facade.

The entrance to the basement car park and pedestrian crossing on Thames Street have also been changed.

It has now emerged that the developers behind the £400m redevelopment have taken out an insurance policy against a city centre road collapsing.

There had been concerns about which body would have to pay out if Norfolk Street collapsed because the centre’s planned underground car park would be beneath it.

The processing of the latest planning application for the shopping centre had been held up while Oxford City Council, Oxfordshire County Council and the Westgate Alliance reached agreement on this.

City council leader Bob Price said the developer had now agreed to pay the premiums for insurance against that happening.

He said: “What it boils down to is the fact there is a policy in place which will provide the funding for whichever authority is responsible for the car park.”

Responsibility for the policy would be passed on to whoever bought the Westgate Centre if it is ever sold.

Mr Price added: “I am pleased the Westgate Oxford Alliance has carried out such extensive consultation and made significant improvements to the submitted scheme in response to comments it has received.

“The council’s own consultation process will now kick in and we look forward to getting people’s comments on this key regeneration project for Oxford.”

A decision on the planning application is expected to be made by the end of the year.

Mr Hudspeth, the man who is wrestling with the issue of how Oxford’s already congested roads will be able to cope with both a growing population and influx of shoppers to the new centre, said: “The transformation of the Westgate Centre is part of the major improvements that are happening in and around the city in the coming months and years.

“The commitment to the prosperous future of Oxford that is shown by the Westgate Alliance through their plans are matched by the county council’s programme of investment in the city’s transport infrastructure.”