Looking back at early days of Westgate and Clarendon Centre

It reopened in 2017 followed a multi-million pound revamp. The Clarendon Centre off Cornmarket opened in 1984. Here we look back at some photos of the early days.

In 1972 the £1.8m Westgate Shopping Centre opened with a large Selfridges and a Sainsbury’s.

But plans to revamp it took many years and included many false starts.

In 1999, artists’ impressions of Capital Shopping Centres’ £220m revamped mall were unveiled.

Read again: Redesign of Clarendon Centre will create public spaces

In 2000, Oxford City Council approved the Westgate extension application but Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott threw out the plans.

The decision was overturned but CSC withdrew its application and in 2006 submitted fresh plans for the £300m redevelopment of the Westgate Centre.

In 2010, CSC sold the Westgate Centre to the Crown Estate and Land Securities, which forms a consortium named Westgate Oxford Alliance.

In 2013, Westgate Oxford Alliance signed a development agreement with Oxford City Council and in 2014 plans for the £440m revamp of the centre are approved and it opened in October 2017, with 100 new shops and restaurants, a cinema and rooftop terrace.

READ MORE: Update on toucan crossing outside town's Aldi

A multi-million pound revamp of the Clarendon Centre has been announced by Lothbury Investment Management.

Help support trusted local news 

Sign up for a digital subscription now: oxfordmail.co.uk/subscribe 

As a digital subscriber you will get: 

• Unlimited access to the Oxford Mail website 
• Advert-light access 
• Reader rewards 
• Full access to our app 

About the author 

Andy is the Trade and Tourism reporter for the Oxford Mail and you can sign up to his newsletters for free here. 

He joined the team more than 20 years ago and he covers community news across Oxfordshire.

His Trade and Tourism newsletter is released every Saturday morning. 

You can also read his weekly Traffic and Transport newsletter.