A large supermarket on the western side of Oxford is being put forward as the centrepiece of a proposal to redevelop Botley’s shopping centre.

Much of the 1960s precinct could be demolished to make way for a new shopping area with an upgraded public library and community centre.

Proposals to redevelop the West Way shopping precinct and the adjoining row of shops on Elms Parade is set out in a key planning document by the Vale of White Horse District Council, which owns about half of the site in Botley.

Traders in the shopping centre have been urging landlords to spruce up the precinct, claiming shoppers are being put off by its down-at-heel appearance.

And the view was supported by a district council survey showing that many Botley residents drove from the area to do their shopping.

Major supermarket chains can be expected to show a keen interest in creating what would be the only large supermarket on the western edge of Oxford, able to draw on shoppers from Cumnor, Eynsham, Wootton and Boars Hill. The Botley proposal is among a series of ambitous schemes set out in a core strategy planning document, which will guide the Vale’s development and investment decisions until 2026. It includes plans for a second bridge across the River Thames in Abingdon as a radical answer to the town’s worsening traffic problems, with a new southern bypass sweeping around the town. It also sets out how 11,500 new homes could be built in the district, including up to 800 in Botley.

The report says that in addition to new shopping, offices and car parking at Botley, the scheme could include “leisure facilities that may be open into the evening provided it could be achieved without harm to the amenities of nearby residents”.

It is hoped community facilities such as the cramped Botley library could be revamped from funding from developer contributions.

Mary de Vere, the Vale’s executive member for development control, said: “Our work shows that the Vale will need more shops in the future. We are keen to improve the shops in Botley, as well as other facilities in the centre and we want this aspiration to come to fruition. We will be working with landowners, residents and developers to make this happen.”

Vale councillor for North Hinksey and Wytham Terry Quinlan said: “It would be good to have a complete redevelopment of the precinct. I’m sure everyone living locally would agree with that view.

“Botley is currently served by the Co-op and an Iceland store. But perhaps some people would want a bigger supermarket so they do not have to jump in their cars and drive to Kidlington and Abingdon.”

The Baptist church in West Way recently submitted a planning application to demolish the existing church and rebuild it.

A Vale planning officer said the church would now be approached to see whether it wanted “a freestanding development or be part of an overall scheme”.

Roger Smith, director of planning at the Botley-based land agent Savills, said: “It would be an attractive location to the big supermarket chains.

“In terms of superstores in the Oxford area, there is Kidlington, Cowley and Heyford Hill. But we don’t have anything significant on the western side of the city. It would be important to get the balance right.

“The bigger the store the bigger the impact on existing businesses.”

Kate El-Barhdadi, who runs the Rocco Mediterranean restaurant, said: “It sounds like good news. In the winter it looks like an Eastern European bomb site.”