A new £15 million mixed-use development in Oxfordshire, with occupiers including a major supermarket chain and High Street retailers, has reached practical completion, property developer Henry Davidson Developments (HDD) announced today.
The district neighbourhood centre at Didcot boasts an Asda supermarket, 10 retail units, a public house, 20 apartments, a children’s day nursery, a dentist surgery, chemist and a care facility.
It has been delivered by Birmingham-based HDD – which specialises in retail-led and mixed-use developments – as part of a residential development of 3,300 homes at Didcot’s Great Western Park.
Anchored by an 11,000 sq ft Asda store, other secured occupiers in the 9,400 sq ft of ancillary retail space include Domino’s, Costa Coffee, an estate agent, vets and a hairdresser. The public house has been sold to Marston’s PLC, while Bright Horizons has purchased the nursery plot. Retirement house builder McCarthy and Stone has delivered Extra Care housing.
All of the residential units have been acquired by Oxford City Council as social housing. Knight Frank Investment Management (KFIM) acquired the Asda supermarket, while the retail units – which have all been pre-let – have been acquired by Oxford and Oriental Limited.
Located in the heart of Great Western Park, the district centre forms the social and retail hub for the parks’ residents as well as the wider Didcot population, catering for the day-to-day needs of the community. The entire site should be operational by the end of the year.
Scott Davidson, managing director of HDD, said: “We are delighted to announce practical completion of the district centre at Didcot. It is an important part of the wider Great Western Park development and, with a great range of retail occupiers, it will prove to be a real asset.There has been a lot of interest in its progress since the plans were announced, so it is very satisfying to deliver the much needed local centre. It highlights experience and our ability to deliver developments of this size and variety.”
Construction of Great Western Park began in 2011. Currently more than 1,600 homes are occupied, with completion of the whole site scheduled for 2022.
HDD is currently delivering major retail-led mixed-use developments across the UK, including Newton Leys in Milton Keynes, Hampton at Peterborough and the final phase of Lawley Village in Telford.
HDD recently completed the relocation of its headquarters to Birmingham and has quickly capitalised on the city’s booming commercial property market. The ambitious property developer – which specialises in retail-led, mixed-use developments – is expanding its operations after relocating from Nottingham with support from Finance Birmingham.
