THE south side of Oxford's new £440m Westgate Centre is a 'major oversight' by architects and needs to be rethought, according to a city conservationist.

Peter Thompson, former chairman of Oxford Civic Society, said a larger entrance should be created from Oxpens Road before hundreds of new homes are built at Oxpens.

And he added that window shapes looking out onto the busy route should not remain blocked up.

A £200m redevelopment scheme is being put forward by the city council and Nuffield College, featuring a mixed housing and commercial quarter, including more than 300 houses and flats and a 155-bedroom hotel.

Mr Thompson said Westgate Centre architects should have created a ‘major entrance’ on the Oxpens Road side of the centre to take into account plans to redevelop Oxpens.

He added: “It’s a major oversight by the architects - the Oxpens Road facade is too inactive and has not properly considered the prospect of hundreds of new homes being built at Oxpens.

“More windows could be created in spaces where there are window shapes but the key thing is a proper entrance from the Oxpens side.”

While developers have made efforts to ensure the centre is accessible from Oxpens Road, via Bridge Street, Mr Thompson said this was not enough.

John Lewis has also created a back entrance on Oxpens Road.

Mr Thompson praised the design of the Bonn Square entrance to the £440m shopping complex but said it was unlikely to win any architectural awards as the Oxpens Road facade was ‘ so awful’.

The former civic society boss said it was not too late to make changes and urged shopping centre owners to increase ‘permeability’ when any revamp was taking place.

In May last year chairman of the society Ian Green said he had lobbied Westgate Oxford Alliance, the owners of the new centre, at the design stage for improvements along Oxpens Road.

He said at the time: “We did manage to get some more windows into the John Lewis building – there were virtually no windows at the start – I don’t think it’s a great piece of 21st century urban design.’

The society also called for as much landscaping as possible, including trees and other plants, to reduce the ‘stark’ quality of the Oxpens Road facade.

Colin Cook, chairman of the council’s West area planning committee, said: “Nothing is ever permanent and changes could be made when circumstances suit.

“I know there is talk about some shopping centres trying to keep shoppers ‘kettled in’ but I don’t think that’s the case with the Westgate Centre at all.

“Compared to other retail centres of its size I think it’s incredibly permeable. We argued long and hard at the planning stage that there should be a more active frontage on Oxpens Road and more windows were created, compared to the original design.”

Mr Cook added that centre managers may have avoided including a major Oxpens Road entrance in a bid to prevent shoplifting.

“If you have too many exits it could make it easier for shoplifters to whip stuff out,” Mr Cook added. Westgate Oxford did not comment.