The newest addition to Bicester’s impressive retail offering, Kingsmere Retail Park reopens on Wednesday 2nd December as government restrictions lift in time for Christmas shopping.
The new retail park, which opened at the beginning of the year, is part of Kingsmere village by developer Countryside Properties (Bicester) Ltd.
Home to sportswear brand Nike’s ‘factory store’, the outlet offers a mixture of last season’s styles along with items made specifically for the outlet. Other retailers to open their latest format flagship stores include Boots, EE / BT mobile, and Next, with an in-store Costa Coffee. There is also a M&S Simply Food and Pure Gym on the site with further retailers and a new restaurant due to open in 2021.
A significant contribution to Bicester’s reputation as a retail destination, Kingsmere Retail Park is served by over 300 car parking spaces and a dedicated bus service. The retail park is a best in class development with a total capital investment of £40 million making it one of the most expensive retail schemes built in the UK with extensive use of natural stone, structural glazing and high-quality materials. The park will also create in excess of 300 full time equivalent jobs many of which will be part-time positions and will appeal to local residents. With nearly 1600 homes occupied at Kingsmere, there are over 4000 residents living within the village.
Now in its final stages of development, Kingsmere will provide 2,400 homes. A new primary school and a secondary school, sports village, parks and recreational spaces, a village centre with shops, a day nursery, a community and youth centre and the new Retail Park have already been delivered with a second primary school and a health centre also on the way.
In October, Whitelands Academy in Kingsmere – a brand new secondary school for Bicester – opened its doors to the first intake of school students. Marking a major milestone in the development of the new village and meeting Oxfordshire’s educational needs.
Residents are exceptionally well catered for with everything they need on site. The village centre is at the heart of Kingsmere providing a new community and youth centre, a range of local shops, including the Co-op, and a day nursery. Kingsmere is also home to a Premier Inn and Brewers Fayre and in addition to all of these on-site facilities, the scheme is positioned opposite the bustling Bicester Village shopping outlet and new Tesco.
Martin Leach, Director of Countryside Properties (Bicester) Limited said: “The Kingsmere Retail Park has attracted big brands and factory outlet stores, offering access to an excellent shopping experience in Kingsmere. It is well located for our residents as well as visitors coming from further afield in Bicester and Oxford. This has been a significant year for the Village with the opening of Whitelands Academy, we’re so pleased to see the vision for the development coming to life.”
