A DEVELOPER has responded to claims its revamped shopping centre is harming local shops, saying its extension will instead boost the local area.

Hammerson, owners of the Orchard Centre in Didcot, said it has designed the £50million extension with local shops in mind - intending to provide an easy link to independent retailers in Broadway.

Local businesses, particularly cafes, have suffered a steep drop in profits since new businesses, including Starbucks and Costa Coffee, moved in.

Andrew Berger-North, UK Director of Retail Parks at Hammerson, said: “The extension has been specifically designed to integrate with and complement existing shops and to provide a network of public spaces with Orchard Street linking to the Broadway to form Didcot’s retail circuit.

“We expect the extension to attract more visitors and shoppers to the town, making Didcot a destination for retail, dining and leisure.”

Hammerson has used units at the shopping centre to support independent businesses through pop up shops but retailers want it made easier for them to move in permanently.