SHOPS, fine dining and "landscape roof activities" are part of the plans unveiled to replace a long-standing Bicester sports ground.

The new development would be called St Edburg's Walk and developers U+I and Adalta Real hope it will help link shoppers through to the town centre.

But the plans have prompted concerns as the development would be on one of Bicester remaining open green spaces, and Bicester Sports Association would move out of the town.

Adalta chief executive James Hill said: "Our vision for St Edburg’s Walk is to create a new vibrant retail and leisure space with strong links to the town centre, which would enable the delivery of state-of-the-art sports facilities in Chesterton for the local community to enjoy. Our proposals are at an early stage."

Callum Vinall set up a petition to "save Bicester's communal sports ground", which has now attracted nearly 1,700 signatures.

He said: "I can see what they are trying to do but it is simply the wrong location.

"They want to add more shops into the town, when we have so many empty units already in the town centre.

"The argument that it will make people walk through from Bicester Village to the town centre is not going to happen - people go to Bicester Village only for Bicester Village.

"It is also wrong to be moving sports out to Chesterton.

"I spent a lot of time there as a kid, it has a lot of significance for families in Bicester.

"The plans are not providing any facilities for senior football, so we have all these kids going through the ranks but no senior provisions to look ahead to."

Plans were put to residents over a series of public consultations at the beginning of June and included proposals to build the retail and housing mixed site, with traffic lights at the junction of Middleton Stoney Road, and a widened road at Pingle Drive, plus car and cycle parking.

Bicester Sports Association's Len Payne said: "We are very excited. We talked about it 25 years ago moving the Oxford Road site to Chesterton but couldn't.

"Now we have that opportunity to provide much better quality facilities for clubs.

"It is our job to provide the best quality facilities for a discounted price for those grass-roots sports.

"Running the Oxford Road ground is wearing away our money at an alarming rate so to address that problem we want to have it all under one roof.

"Nobody wants to leave Oxford Road but we have no choice."

The plans for its existing Chesterton sports site would see it double in size – making it six times the size of the Oxford Road ground.

It could include archery facilities, tennis courts, rugby and football pitches and an indoor shooting range.

Resident Robert Thurlow said: "I believe St Edburg's walk will be the new town centre as the old one is virtually shut down.

"Estate agents, takeaways and charity shops are more prominent in our town centre.

"The Chesterton sports hub does not serve the people of Bicester as it is too far out of town for users to walk, especially in the cold dark wet long winter nights."