Over the course of two years, 100 new shops, 25 cafes and restaurants, and a cinema with five screens are set to be added to the centre, as part of a project costing £440 million.
The stores already confirmed include Primark, John Lewis and Next, with the developer behind the scheme – Westgate Oxford Alliance – announcing further brand names recently.
The hope is that this redevelopment will make Oxford a retail location on a par with Milton Keynes and Reading, once it is finished in 2017, and there are services like catalogue printing in Oxford that will help the new stores promote their products to customers when they open.
Westgate Oxford Alliance is a partnership between The Crown Estate and Land Securities, and Robert Noel, the chief executive of the latter, told the Oxford Mail that:
“Alongside our growing list of customers, we are committed to creating a new Westgate Oxford which not only complements the city’s beauty and heritage status but also enhances its global reputation as a great place to spend time.”
Westgate Oxford Alliance has confirmed that 28 percent of the available space within the planned new centre has already been leased to restaurants and shops, claiming that Oxford is now the most highly prized location in Britain.