A PLANNING application for a £50m extension to Didcot’s Orchard shopping centre will be submitted next month, its developer has said.

Hammerson is to put in plans for 24 new shops, including a Marks & Spencer, six restaurants and cafes and 225 parking spaces.

The centre opened in 2005 with a new Sainsbury’s, shops and restaurants, Cineworld cinema and the Cornerstone Arts Centre.

Proposals for £125m phase two extension – to open by next Christmas – were outlined in 2011 and included homes, which are now not part of the plan.

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Phase two will be built off Broadway between Sainsbury’s car park and land off Lower Broadway. No details of new jobs have been given.

The developer said homes could be later built off Lower Broadway but it is focusing on retail to create a “viable and deliverable” plans.

Hammerson development manager Russell Beresford said: “We’re very pleased both with the level of engagement and the support for the proposals, which provides a great platform for us to submit the application next month.”

South Oxfordshire District Council leader John Cotton said: “We are expecting the planning application within weeks and I am genuinely confident this time.

“We are at such a detailed stage now that I have no doubt we will see new shops opening, hopefully by the target date of Christmas 2016.”

Plans also include a new bus route as the current service road between Broadway and Hitchcock Way would be built on, he said.

He added: “A compromise is being discussed and Oxfordshire County Council highways staff are involved.

“The debate is whether buses should be rerouted via the Jubilee Way roundabout as that gets congested, particularly at peak times.”

More than 200 people attended a public exhibition last month and 50 people filled in feedback forms, with 72 per cent supporting the proposals.

Mr Cotton said: “The desire in the town for a sports store has been noted.

“M&S is a high-quality brand and we are confident that Hammerson will be able to bring in other high-quality retailers.”

Didcot Town Council leader Margaret Davies said: “The homes element has been dropped for now but that means developers can get on with it.

“I am very optimistic that phase two will now go ahead.”

She said: “At the moment every bus in Didcot calls at the Orchard Centre and Didcot Parkway and that needs to continue.”

Developers are seeking views on removing the stepped ampitheatre next to the entrance to Sainsbury’s.

Didcot Chamber of Commerce member Jeanette Howse said: “One proposal is replacing the amphitheatre with a kiosk-style cafe but I think we should keep the amphitheatre – we need as many open spaces for the public as possible.”

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