CITY bosses are going to London to seek approval for the redevelopment of Oxpens for offices and up to 400 homes near Oxford Ice Rink.

Oxford City Council leaders will meet officials from the Department for Transport (DfT) to try to reach a deal on December 17.

The offices would face Oxpens Road and homes will go on land around the ice rink and half would be affordable, council leader Bob Price, pictured, said.

The two authorities are the biggest landowner on the site, which runs alongside the railway line.

If the DfT gives approval then city council planners will seek a developer for the scheme.

Mr Price said he was confident of an agreement as it featured in February’s £55.5m ‘City Deal’ with the Government.

He said: “We are working with the [DfT] to produce a joint scheme for the whole site.

“It will include a significant amount of housing, half of which will be affordable, as well as commercial and office buildings.

“With the accommodation we are talking about the kind we could have had at Westgate, but better, and in one group as opposed to fragmented.

“There will also be something for the universities if they are interested. We are pushing them to say what their plans are.

“We are hoping to have that completed before Christmas and it is going well. The constraints with regards to the roads are understood but we are pretty optimistic we are getting somewhere.”

Mr Price said work could begin in 2016 but is more likely to start in 2017.

This is because neighbouring land is needed for parking during a redevelopment of the nearby Westgate Shopping Centre.

The redevelopment was approved on Tuesday to demolish the multi-storey car park for shops including a John Lewis and cinema, for a 2017 opening.

It is hoped the Oxpens scheme will continue the planned transformation of Oxford’s west end.

Mr Price said the council was in continuing talks with Royal Mail, which runs Kings Mead House as a delivery centre off Osney Lane.

The council wants Royal Mail to move but this is not essential. Other owners of the land, such as Milton Property Investments, are supportive, he said.