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Deal sees Westgate rebuild back on track

A DEAL has been agreed which puts the Westgate rebuild back on track, councillors will be told next week.

Oxford City Council has renegotiated its financial stake in the project with the Westgate Oxford Alliance (WOA), disposing of the existing car parks on the site and losing the rent it receives from the Westgate Centre in exchange for a stake in future profits of the new shopping centre.

The council’s executive board is due to discuss the details of the agreement in a closed session of its meeting next Wednesday.

The alliance is a 50:50 joint venture between Land Securities and the Crown Estate.

They have also secured the agreement of John Lewis to be the centre’s anchor store.

A timetable published by the council shows that once legal agreements are reached in March, a planning application should be submitted in January 2013, and building work could start in January 2015. The £330m shopping centre could open in April 2017.

The councillor responsible for city development, Colin Cook, said: “This effectively clears the decks and the developers can go back to their board and say, ‘Everything is in place and we are ready to go’.

“It gives them confidence to take things forward to the next stage.”


Comments (5)

03/02/12

Dilligaf2010 says...

"and building work could start in January 2015. The £330m shopping centre could open in April 2017."......
.......or it could be a non-starter yet again, and the only changes we'll see is a drive-through McDonalds.

03/02/12

mandate says...

The idea of a revamped Westgate is for me a waste of time and money. Why not abandon the idea completely and use the money to invest in an outlet or retail park in the vicinty of Cowley. Bicester Village comes to mind.

03/02/12

BigAlBiker says...

Its no good rebuilding the Westgate into a flash new shopping arcade when you rip people off to park there cars, basic economics will tell you that if you have to pay a fortune to park you wont bother to come at all.

But as we all know the council know best.

03/02/12

King Joke says...

BigAlBiker wrote:
Its no good rebuilding the Westgate into a flash new shopping arcade when you rip people off to park there cars, basic economics will tell you that if you have to pay a fortune to park you wont bother to come at all. But as we all know the council know best.
'Basic economics' may tell you one thing, but the fact you can't move for people in town most Sat afternoons suggests quite another. The existing shops seem to have no trouble extracting money out of the hordes, and the string of posh frock shops at the top of the High suggests it's a large amount of money as well. The Westgate should do very well, if it's ever built.

03/02/12

Andrew:Oxford says...

Very interestings news.

So if the City Council has now disposed of the car parks at the Westgate...

Will we see the new owner review pricing to maximise occupancy?

Or is there a hidden restrictive covenant?