A Shopping and Leisure centre is being developed in Oxford city centre. Westgate Shopping Centre is being created as a refurbishment and extension of an existing city centre development. The £440 million project will see the creation of 100 new retail stores and a whole range of other leisure facilities including rooftop dining areas, a boutique cinema and more than 25 different restaurants and cafés.
The development has been approved by Oxford City Council and work on the centre is well under way, as preparatory works started in 2015. The development is actually reaching the finishing straight, and is expected to be finished by Autumn this year. Funding for this development has been acquired by the Westgate Oxford Alliance, which is a joint venture formed between Land Securities and the Crown Estate.
Laing O’Rourke has been nominated as the principal contractor for the development Essential Projects has been contracted to the project in order to offer a range of different services. Most recently, Essential Project shave been contracted to supply and install tailor made metal and glass work for the upcoming Next Retail store in the development.
Essential Projects is based in Nottingham and works to design, manufacture and install a wide variety of metal and glazing products. These products include staircases, balconies, canopies, metal railings and a range of other glass structures that are often seen in retail and commercial spaces as well as in a number of heritage buildings. The glass and metal work company have been required to manufacture a range of specialised steel architectural features at the Next Store. Essential projects has also been charged with the delivery of a range of bespoke metal and glass staircases and other structural alterations for the wider Westgate Shopping Centre development.
