Oxford Castle developer Trevor Osborne has given the seal of approval to the announcement that the Crown Estate is to develop the city’s Westgate Shopping Centre.

Mr Osborne, who transformed the Castle site into a restaurant and hotel complex four years ago, said it was a “deep disappointment” that the original £330m scheme by Capital Shopping Centres' had collapsed.

He added: “The Crown Estate taking it on is such good news for Oxford as it is a very responsible organisation.

“The economy is turning the corner and I am confident it will be of benefit to us all.”

The Castle development stood to gain from extra footfall from shoppers visiting the neighbouring Westgate Centre.

While the hotel and some of the restaurants have been successful along with the Castle Unlocked visitor attraction, there have been several closures including the Ha! Ha! Bar and Canteen and Tootsies, while Italian eaterie Carluccio’s has pledged to move from its prominent site once it has found another in the city centre with higher footfall.

The Ha! Ha! Bar has been replaced by the Swan and Castle operated by JD Wetherspoon which Mr Osborne said has been highly successful, while another new restaurant, The Real China, will open on the Tootsies site shortly.

And Mr Osborne believes new efforts to provide more events throughout this year will help bring more visitors including a folk festival in April, a three-day flower and garden festival in June and more outdoor cinema screenings in September.

He also revealed he would “love” to develop another site in Oxford if he found the right project.