Mace JV appeals shopping centre revamp refusal

Mace has lodged an appeal against an Oxfordshire council’s decision to unanimously reject a £100m shopping centre redevelopment in Bicester, even though the two sides have agreed a land deal for the site. 

The appeal to the Planning Inspectorate follows the Vale of White Horse council planning committee’s decision earlier this month to reject the plans for the regeneration of the town’s rundown West Way district centre.
 
Mace and its joint venture partner Doric Properties want to replace the sixties shopping centre with a mixed-use development featuring 50 apartments, shops, restaurants and cafes, business starter units, a 100-bed hotel and a six-screen cinema. 

Chiquitos, Coal Grill & Bar, Dean’s Diner, Prezzo, Premier Inn and TGI Fridays are among the occupiers that Doric say they will bring to the Oxfordshire town, which was lined up for a garden city development in the chancellor of the exchequer’s recent Autumn Statement. 
Doric and Mace are also proposing nearly 600 beds of student accommodation, a library, a new Baptist church, community hall, creche, gymnasium and a public square. 

Mace took a 50% stake in Doric Properties earlier this year to take forward the West Way development.  

Doric signed an agreement with the Vale of White Horse district council in December 2012, to purchase the shopping centre, which is conditional on planning consent being secured for the site. 

Councillor Matthew Barber, leader of Vale of White Horse, said: “Given the unanimous decision by the planning committee to reject the application, and the strength of feeling from local residents, it is disappointing that Doric have decided to appeal the decision rather than working to better address the numerous concerns that people have.”