Oxford Clarendon Centre: Shopping complex revamp approved

A public space will be created on the site after the plans were approved

A major revamp of a shopping centre will see its roof removed and other buildings demolished after councillors unanimously approved the project.

The Clarendon Centre in Oxford will include student accommodation, shops, public spaces and offices.

Its owner Lothbury Investment Management said it had been difficult to fill units after the reopening of the city's Westgate Centre in 2017.

The last of three phases at the centre could be complete by 2028 or 2029.

Buildings, including the current McDonald's in Cornmarket Street and others on Queen Street, will make way for the development.

The redevelopment will affect part of Cornmarket Street in the city centre

Adam Smith, from Lothbury, told city councillors at a meeting on Tuesday: "The Clarendon Centre needs to change and we believe that our proposals are not only good for the Clarendon Centre and city centre but for Oxford as a whole."

Mr Smith said his company was in "fairly advanced legal discussions" with Brasenose College, Oxford, over it using proposed student accommodation.

He said other proposed lab space would "create high value jobs right in the heart of the city centre, not in the suburbs or the out-of-town research parks".

Oxford City Council planning officer Felicity Byrne said the development was a "very exciting and positive development for the city centre".