West Way Square, Botley

SDC has recently completed the redevelopment of West Way Square in Botley. The outdated 1960’s shopping precinct has been replaced by a multi-million-pound mixed-use scheme, transforming the area into a welcoming community hub. SDC’s appointment was to deliver five buildings, each of which is detailed below.

All blocks in the development are reinforced concrete frames on podium slabs for the lower floors. The upper floors are built from a lightweight SFS Metek Structure. The exteriors are a mixture of brickwork façade, cladding and render to match the surrounding buildings. 

Block B1 comprises a seven-storey Premier Inn hotel atop a reception, restaurant and bar area, and a Co-operative Store. The East side of the block utilises a feature sawtooth brick and render façade to dull the noise from the adjacent A34 trunk road. The block partially spans over an undercroft multi-story car park to the south of the site. The building comprises PV panels and an Air Source Heat Pump system to meet the renewable criteria for the hotel.

Block B2 provides student accommodation for Oxford Brooke’s University. The building is 5 stories tall and provides 118 studio apartments, as well as a gym, laundrette and a games area. This block is accessed from the main student reception in Block C via a link bridge. Block B2 has an external podium space with feature landscaping, providing an outside social area for students.

Block C provides 89 bedrooms, shared amenity and dining areas, and a media room. The main student management suite is housed in the reception area. The first floor offers student bedrooms with terrace space to the south elevation. Chancellors Estate Agents and Lloyds Pharmacy currently occupy the retail space on the ground floor. Block C also holds the Central Energy Centre which feeds Blocks B2, C and D.

Block D offers 42 studio apartments, plus 12 larger apartments with separate living and sleeping arrangements (with the first floor again benefitting from outside space), shared amenity spaces and a 4th floor roof terrace garden. The ground floor retail space is home to Iceland and Tesco.

All the student rooms are finished to a high quality, with televisions included. The bathrooms are a combination of prefabricated shower pods and traditionally built bathrooms. Each block has bespoke accessible rooms with an alarm system which links to the main reception, as well as worksurfaces that can be adapted to suit the residents individual needs.

Block E is a three-storey accommodation building comprising 1, 2, and 3 bedroom apartments, with retail and office space for six businesses on the ground floor. The exterior and roof of this block is clad in Brown Euroclad Vieo Standing Seem Cladding. Car parking spaces are provided to the North.

Block F is a three-storey building for community use, with five apartments to rent. The building provides a Baptist Church, library, and community hall, with office space on the top floor. The exterior includes feature recessed red brick panels. The roof of the block is accessible for residents, and community and church use.

Lastly, the external boulevard, designed by Macgregor Smith Landscape Architects, creates an attractive thoroughfare between the blocks. Featuring tiered planters, block paving, a variety of tree species, feature lighting, and numerous benches and seating areas, the soft and hard landscaping makes the area an attractive place to shop, walk, or sit and take a break. The external boulevard also benefits from pop up power for visiting market stalls, a split deck car park for 190 cars, and secure cycle parking. 

Now complete, West Way Square is a bustling centre that contains 22 retail units (38,000 sq.ft.), flexible office space (3,000 sq.ft.), food stores (14,5000 sq.ft.), 314 car parking spaces, 140 residential units, 261 study apartments, and a 123-bed hotel.