Westgate Social renamed to Social Street Food

Westgate Oxford (formerly the Westgate Centre) is a major shopping centre in

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

city centre, England, that was extensively remodelled and extended between 2016 and 2017. The original centre was built between 1970 and 1972, designed by Douglas Murray and built by

Taylor Woodrow Taylor Woodrow was one of the largest housebuilding and general construction companies in Britain. It was listed on the London Stock Exchange and was a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index until its merger with rival George Wimpey to create Ta ...

. The centre was closed in February 2016 for comprehensive redevelopment, and reopened on Tuesday 24 October 2017. Westgate social food court

Location

Westgate is at the west end of Queen Street, facing onto

Bonn Square Bonn Square in Oxford, England, is named after the German city of Bonn with which Oxford is twinned. It is close to the original west gate of the city of Oxford, where the Westgate Shopping Centre is now located. To the east is Queen Street, ...

. The West Gate into the city of Oxford stood at the adjacent junction of Castle Street, Norfolk Street and

Paradise Street Paradise Street is a short street in the core area of Birmingham City Centre, in England. Paradise Street runs roughly from Victoria Square to Suffolk Street and Broad Street. The street existed in 1796 when a congregation gathered at a meeti ...

until the mid-17th century, having stood there since the

Saxon The Saxons ( la, Saxones, german: Sachsen, ang, Seaxan, osx, Sahson, nds, Sassen, nl, Saksen) were a group of Germanic * * * * peoples whose name was given in the early Middle Ages to a large country (Old Saxony, la, Saxonia) near the Nor ...

period, and the shopping centre is named after this former gateway into the city. The site is bordered by Bonn Square, Castle Street, Norfolk Street,

Oxpens Road Oxpens Road is a road in central Oxford, England, linking west and south Oxford. It is named after the marshy area of Oxpens, next to one of the branches of the River Thames in Oxford. It forms part of the A420 road. Locale To the northwest, Ox ...

, Old Greyfriars Street, Roger Bacon Lane and St Ebbes Street, and is adjacent to the medieval

Oxford Castle Oxford Castle is a large, partly ruined medieval castle on the western side of central Oxford in Oxfordshire, England. Most of the original moated, wooden motte and bailey castle was replaced in stone in the late 12th or early 13th century and ...

quarter to the northwest.

History

The Westgate Shopping Centre opened in 1972, and was originally owned by

Oxford City Council Oxford City Council is the lower-tier local government authority for the city of Oxford in England, providing such services as leisure centres and parking. Social Services, Education and Highways services (amongst others) are provided by Oxfo ...

. The centre included branches of

Selfridges Selfridges, also known as Selfridges & Co., is a chain of high-end department stores in the United Kingdom that is operated by Selfridges Retail Limited, part of the Selfridges Group of department stores. It was founded by Harry Gordon Selfridge ...

Sainsbury's J Sainsbury plc, trading as Sainsbury's, is the second largest chain of supermarkets in the United Kingdom, with a 14.6% share of UK supermarket sales. Founded in 1869 by John James Sainsbury with a shop in Drury Lane, London, the company wa ...

and C&A. The central library was also moved to the centre from the

Town Hall In local government, a city hall, town hall, civic centre (in the UK or Australia), guildhall, or a municipal building (in the Philippines), is the chief administrative building of a city, town, or other municipality. It usually houses ...

, being opened by

Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother Elizabeth Angela Marguerite Bowes-Lyon (4 August 1900 – 30 March 2002) was Queen of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Commonwealth from 11 December 1936 to 6 February 1952 as the wife of King George VI. She was the l ...

, on 31 October 1973.

Queen Elizabeth II Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until Death and state funeral of Elizabeth II, her death in 2022. She was queen ...

and the

Duke of Edinburgh Duke of Edinburgh, named after the city of Edinburgh in Scotland, was a substantive title that has been created three times since 1726 for members of the British royal family. It does not include any territorial landholdings and does not produc ...

visited in 1976. The centre was sold in the 1980s to private owners; in 1986, they refurbished it, at a cost of £3 million. Two years later, an early proposal was made to extend the centre by its then owners, CIN Properties and Arrowcroft, but did not proceed. The large Selfridges, latterly a branch of

Lewis's Lewis's was a chain of British department stores that operated from 1856 to 2010. The owners of Lewis's have gone into administration many times over the years, including 1991. The first store, which opened in Liverpool city centre, became ...

and then

Allders Allders was an independent department store operating in the United Kingdom. The original store was established in 1862 in Croydon by Joshua Allder. In the second half of the 20th century, this parent store was developed into a chain of depart ...

, closed in 2005, and became a

Primark Primark Stores Limited (; trading as Penneys in the Republic of Ireland) is an Irish multinational fast fashion retailer with headquarters in Dublin, Ireland. It has stores across Europe and in the United States. The Penneys brand is not u ...

in 2006.

Redevelopment

Plans for the redevelopment of the Westgate area were originally published in 2004. Over the next several years, the plan underwent several rounds of consultation and inquiry. The eventual plan was adopted in the early 2010s, and development permission granted in November 2014. Work on the development started in early 2015, and the original centre closed in 2016. The developer is the Westgate Oxford Alliance, a joint venture between the

Crown Estate The Crown Estate is a collection of lands and holdings in the United Kingdom belonging to the British monarch as a corporation sole, making it "the sovereign's public estate", which is neither government property nor part of the monarch's priva ...

and Land Securities Group Plc. The new centre has almost of retail, restaurant and leisure space including a new

John Lewis John Robert Lewis (February 21, 1940 – July 17, 2020) was an American politician and civil rights activist who served in the United States House of Representatives for from 1987 until his death in 2020. He participated in the 1960 Nashville ...

, a rooftop dining terrace with views across Oxford's skyline, and a five screen Curzon Cinema. According to

, "the £500 million redevelopment of the Westgate Centre is a key part of the regeneration of Oxford city centre, creating high quality buildings designed by world-class architects and providing more than 3,400 new full-time equivalent jobs." The new centre reopened on 24 October 2017.

2017 facilities

The 2017 Westgate has features and facilities including: *Over 100 new shops including a John Lewis department store and various high street retailers *Cafés and restaurants *Leisure facilities including a cinema *New landscaped walkway along

Castle Mill Stream Castle Mill Stream is a backwater of the River Thames in the west of Oxford, England. It is 5.5 km long. Course The stream leaves the main course of the River Thames at the south end of Port Meadow, immediately upstream of Medley Foo ...

*Two new public squares *New pedestrian routes through the site *Re-routed bus lane and new taxi drop-off / pick up *Cycle parking *Two-storey basement car park of between 900 and 1100 spaces *59 new one- and two-bedroom

flats Flat or flats may refer to: Architecture * Flat (housing), an apartment in the United Kingdom, Ireland, Australia and other Commonwealth countries Arts and entertainment * Flat (music), a symbol () which denotes a lower pitch * Flat (soldier), ...

Criticism

Archeological remains

When the original centre was built in the 1970s, excavations for the service basements destroyed archaeological remains of part of medieval Oxford. During the 2015–2017 redevelopment,

Oxford Archaeology Oxford Archaeology (OA, trading name of Oxford Archaeology Limited) is one of the largest and longest-established independent archaeology and heritage practices in Europe, operating from three permanent offices in Oxford, Lancaster and Cambridge, ...

, working in conjunction with the developers and contractors, carried out architectural investigations into "the extensive remains of the medieval Greyfriars friary (AD 1244–1538)", with stone foundations, wooden and other artefacts, and part of a medieval tiled floor being discovered. The tiled floor is now on display in the centre. Remains from the excavations were temporarily displayed in the

Museum of Oxford The Museum of Oxford (MOX) is a history museum in Oxford, England, covering the history of the City and its people. The museum includes both permanent and temporary displays featuring artefacts relating to Oxford's history from prehistoric time ...

Urban planning and architecture

A local campaign group, called "Oxford Against Westgate Expansion", was formed to oppose the proposed redevelopment, holding a public meeting at the

Oxford Town Hall Oxford Town Hall is a public building in St Aldate's Street in central Oxford, England. It is both the seat of Oxford City Council and a venue for public meetings, entertainment and other events. It also includes the Museum of Oxford. Although ...

on 28 February 2008. At the meeting, protestors voiced concerns about increased traffic and potential risk of flooding from the construction of an underground car park. A second meeting was held on 13 March that year. There have also been concerns over the imposing and largely windowless wall at the southwest of the latest redevelopment on

by conservationists, including the

Oxford Civic Society The Oxford Civic Society is a civic society that was founded in 1969 to oppose plans to build inner relief roads in Oxford, England. The Society comments on all aspects of urban planning and is a founder member of the Oxfordshire Blue Plaque ...

Queen Street closure

Oxfordshire County Council sought to ban buses from using Queen Street, which passes the Westgate Centre's main entrance. The council alleged that the increase in pedestrian numbers generated by the enlarged shopping centre would mean that it would no longer be safe for buses to use the street. The

Secretary of State for Transport The Secretary of State for Transport, also referred to as the transport secretary, is a secretary of state in the Government of the United Kingdom, with overall responsibility for the policies of the Department for Transport. The incumbent i ...

Chris Grayling Christopher Stephen Grayling (born 1 April 1962) is a British Conservative Party (UK), Conservative Party politician and author who served as Secretary of State for Transport from 2016 to 2019. He has served as Member of Parliament (United King ...

, declined the application, pointing out that the council had failed to provide evidence of its claim.

References

External links

Westgate Oxford
{{Shopping centres in Southeast England 1972 establishments in England Shopping malls established in 1972 Shopping centres in Oxford Town Gates in England Former gates