Extension approved at Bicester Tesco Superstore

A proposed retail extension at Tesco Bicester has been approved by Cherwell District Council.

Arising from alterations made at Lakeview Drive, the Tesco store occupies less of the site than was first designed, leaving a notable gap between the store and the A41 embankment. This is presently occupied by backfill from land grading works associated with the construction of the superstore and its car park, and presently appears as a landscaped earth ‘mound’.

Tesco propose to remove the spoil, thereby providing a site adjacent to Tesco for further development. That development would manifest as an extension to the Tesco store, not dissimilar to the originally approved Tesco store.

In its planning application, Tesco states that the proposed development will provide two large format, non-food retail units at a highly accessible, pre-existing retail destination, where the prospect of linkages with existing retail (Tesco) and (related facilities McDonald’s and Tesco PFS) can be maximised.

Whilst the units will have an independent structure, they will ‘appear’ as a physical extension to Tesco, with the same height and broadly the same depth as the existing superstore. The units will have independent customer entrances from the car park, with mezzanines accessed via stairs close to the store entrance.

The proposal would result in a minor increase to 519 parking spaces, arising from the provision of 15 new spaces adjacent to the non-food units.