CYCLISTS have warned there will not be enough bike-parking spaces at the redeveloped Westgate Centre amid plans to turn it into a “cycling hub.”
Cyclox chairman Simon Hunt said current proposals for the new £440m shopping centre fell short by hundreds of spaces and would not cater for different kinds of bikes.
His warning came as developer Westgate Oxford Alliance said it wanted to make the site a “destination” for cyclists.
It has proposed that a cycle repairs and equipment shop, a “cycle cafe” and extra cycle parking be offered at a new public square at the end of Turn Again Lane.
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Project director Neil Read said: “It would be an area for the cycling community. We would get an operator in to offer the services and we are already talking to various firms about it.
“The hope is that it could be a destination for cyclists in Oxford to meet, although it would need cycling groups to get behind it.”
An artist’s impression of part of the new Westgate Centre now being built.
But Mr Hunt warned that the scheme did not yet include enough cycling spaces.
He said: “We are very strongly in favour of a cycling hub and have been pressing for one, but the number of cycle spaces required has always been underestimated.”
The Westgate Oxford Alliance is set to submit further details to Oxford City Council about where cycle parking will be placed and how many spaces it will deliver.
The overall scheme for the redevelopment was approved in principle in March 2014 and a detailed plan was signed off in November.
Rough designs already submitted included space for about 790 bikes overall, Mr Hunt said.
He added: “But we estimate that the need is between 1,500 and 2,000 spaces, so it will only include about half of that.”
Demolition of the Westgate multi- storey car park, where a new shopping arcade will be built, began last month.
On Tuesday the city council’s west area planning committee approved detailed plans for the new public square, to be called Greyfriar’s Place, that would house the cycle hub. City council executive board member for transport, and planning committee member John Tanner said he and other councillors would be seeking a high number of cycle spaces.
He said: “We will be pressing for more.”
The new centre, due for completion in autumn 2017, will include a John Lewis store, 100 new shops, a five-screen cinema and 25 cafes and restaurants.
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