A planning application for the new £300m Westgate shopping centre has been submitted to Oxford City Council, as councillors were approving plans for a transformed Bonn Square.

Fifty copies of the massive 1,600-page application were delivered to city council offices, with the Westgate Partnership confidently predicting Town Hall backing.

Partnership director Richard Cable said: "Hopefully the scheme will not be called in and we will receive planning consent before the year is out. "

The proposals include new shopping streets, a John Lewis department store, a new car park and 127 city centre homes. Plans for 90 new shops, bars, restaurants and cafes are also included in the application, which contains a green initiatives, such as solar panels.

Mr Cable said the planning application had taken two-and-a-half years to evolve, following a major consultation.

He said: "It has been a long process but it is important to get it right. We hope that this will provide a vibrant new shopping area and reconnect the Westgate with the rest of the city centre."

The city council's central, south and west area committee approved a scheme to transform Bonn Square into "a 21st century public space". The designs are from the Edinburgh architects, Graeme Massie, who won a competition that attracted 100 worldwide entries.

The Westgate developers are expected to contribute towards the £1.5m improvements to Bonn Square, as well as transport improvements to Oxford.

Jane McFarland, group development manager for the Westgate Partnership, said: "The financial contribution for strategic transport improvements, which could include park-and-ride, is still being very carefully considered "

She said the project would produce more than 2,000 retail and construction jobs, with plans to link up with Oxford and Cherwell Valley College for training programmes.

The new leader of the city council, John Goddard, said: "I'm delighted that there is a real prospect that Westgate and Bonn Square will move ahead within the next year. At last, the Westgate looks like moving forward with a serious and well-considered application."

He said it now looked like Oxford shoppers would have to wait for the pedestrianisation of Queen Street.

Labour group leader Bob Price said: "From the city's point of view, this is one of the most important developments for many years."

Oxford Preservation Trust, which opposed an earlier scheme rejected four years ago by the Deputy Prime Minister John Prescott, expressed cautious optimism.

Director Debbie Dance said: "We are expecting it to be significantly better than the earlier application. We have made our views about the need to integrate the scheme with the city known and have been out with the architects to assess any impact on the Oxford skyline and closer to the city."

The developers are hoping the new centre will open in 2011.