| Client | Westgate Oxford Alliance (Land Securities and the Crown Estate) |
|---|---|
| Turley office | London |
| Status | Complete |
| LPA | Oxford City Council |
Integrated planning services for major town centre regeneration
Our role
- Co-ordinated the complete planning process, from strategy and pre-application discussions to approval of the outline planning application and subsequent reserved matters.
- The largest development site in Oxford’s city centre, the refurbishment of the Westgate Centre and redevelopment of adjacent land strengthens Oxford’s retail and leisure offer, and reinforces its regional role.
- Our Heritage & Townscape and Landscape & Visual Impact Assessment (VIA) teams assessed the impact of the scheme on key city views and nearby designated and non-designated heritage assets.
- A combined Heritage, Townscape and Visual Impact Assessment was prepared which formed part of the Environmental Statement. This reflected current best practice advocated by Historic England, The Landscape Institute and Institute of Environmental Management and Assessment.
Results
- Creating consensus and shared objectives enabled us to progress a form of outline planning application which satisfied both the client and city council.
- Outline planning permission was secured in October 2014 and reserved matters approval in December 2014. Turley coordinated the discharge of planning conditions and Section 106 obligations, and provided the client with ongoing planning advice up to completion of the project.
- Westgate opened in November 2017. Final construction work was completed in mid 2018.
- The retail-led mixed-use scheme extends Oxford’s retail core, comprising 81,000 sq m of retail space (100 shops), 25 restaurants and cafés, a 13,000 sq m multi-level John Lewis, a new cinema, 59 residential units, retention of the existing public library, and car and cycle parking.