Marriotts dream to become reality? (From Witney Gazette)

Marriotts dream to become reality?

9:00am Wednesday 5th July 2006

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PICTURE Welch Way car park, the neighbouring former football ground and the old Highways Depot to the left of the new West End Link Road known as Woodford Way stretching over more than nine acres of land in Witney town centre.

Now try to imagine this: in place of the existing car park entrance, near the public toilets in Welch Way, a new pedestrian shopping street running northwards, curving slightly to the left, and finishing in a public space, with a new park, and a five-screen cinema to the right.

Walking along the new street, there are 16 retail units dotted either side the smallest with an internal space of 18sqm, and the largest set over 2,018sqm. Three of the stores would be 'major' operators think along the lines of Next or M&S two restaurant/ bars, one a coffee shop, and the rest smaller retail outlets.

The shops have 65 apartments above, ranging from studio to three-bedroom, making the buildings up to three-storeys high.

To the west of the new shopping street, a ten-storey car park, with space for up to 656 vehicles, including 28 disabled spaces replacing the existing 375-space car park. Set around part of the car park, there are three- and four-storey buildings, with 70 one- to two-bedroom apartments which front Welch Way and Woodford Way.

To the north-west of the entire development, across the Woodford Way road, there are a further 50 homes 38 one- and two-bedroom apartments, nine two-bedroom bungalows and three three-bedroom houses on the former Oxfordshire County Highways Depot site.

This is the vision of West Oxfordshire District Council, set into action by Lincoln-based Simons Developments.

We have taken the development firm's proposed layout plan, submitted to the district council as part of a detailed outline planning application last week, to create a simplified version, aimed at giving a flavour of what might be built on the site, and where.

FOR FULL DETAILS, SEE OUR TWO-PAGE SPECIAL REPORT IN THE GAZETTE THIS WEEK

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