£50m expansion of Didcot's Orchard Centre to start in May

By

Sandra Halliday

Published
Mar 29, 2017

The £50 million expansion of the Orchard Centre in Didcot, Oxfordshire, will start in May with major new retail names signed up for the shopping centre including H&M, River Island and TK Maxx.

The move follows the signing of a 250-year lease agreement by Hammerson and South Oxfordshire District Council for phase two, providing up to 21 new shops and seven cafés and restaurants.

The company said the 95,000 sq ft extension will also see new public areas and extra parking spaces with a spring 2018 opening date.

The expansion plans are particularly interesting given Didcot’s status as a ‘garden town’, a planned community surrounded by green belt land. There is significant money being invested in this with 15,000 new homes and 20,000 new jobs planned over the next 20 years.

That would deliver a major new boost to the Orchard Centre with tens of thousands of potential new customers. The local ‘science vale’ is also important offering a local community of higher-earning shoppers.

Cllr John Cotton, Leader of South Oxfordshire District Council, said: “It’s vital that we have a town centre that meets the needs of the town’s growing population and supports the wider Science Vale and Didcot Garden Town. The expanded site will provide a significantly improved shopping area, helping to attract more visitors and potential investors to the town.”