What is the future of Oxford's Castle Quarter?

Plans to rejuvenate a historic part of Oxford will soon be under way, following investment from a local authority.

Oxford's Castle Quarter already includes a luxury hotel, restaurants and pubs, as well as Oxford castle prison, but improvements will be made to encourage more people to visit the area.

Oxfordshire County Council has bought the lease for £28.5m, with initial plans to improve signage and bring more business to the quarter.

It is part of a wider regeneration of the western approach into the city that is expected to take 10 years to complete.

The local authority is already the freeholder, but agreed to buy the lease from the Westgate Partnership in May 2026, bringing the Castle Quarter back into public ownership.

The area lies behind the city's main council offices, County Hall, to the west of Westgate shopping centre.

It includes the remains of an 11th Century Norman castle and parts of the old county jail.

Businesses, including the hotel chain Malmaison, have already invested in the area, following an initial regeneration in 2006.

But, according to county council cabinet member for finance Dan Levy, it is time for a "spruce up" of the area.

"It's a little bit tired and needs livening up to become a more vibrant part of the city centre," he said.

One of the early plans is to improve signage so more people walk through the area.

"It hasn't been signposted very well in the past," Levy said.

"We want to see this place full of people, restaurants, going to the hotels, just to use it as a way through."

But while some businesses have done well in the area, there are a significant number of empty units in the quarter. The council hopes these will be filled by increasing the footfall.

It is part of a wider redevelopment of the western approach to Oxford, including the redevelopment of Oxford railway station.

Levy described the current walk as "complicated" and "not very attractive".

"That's all going to change with the redevelopment of the whole area between County Hall and the Westgate and the station, to make it more attractive and more vibrant," he said.

But any significant change will take 10 years to come to fruition.

Questions have been raised about the decision by the council to buy the leasehold, with the local authority facing £24m funding cuts from central government.

But Levy said it had made good financial sense for taxpayers, with the rent from the current tenants already covering the costs.

"We're only allowed to use capital resources on capital items - so buying things like Castle Quarter - we're not allowed to spend that money on delivering services. That comes from our revenue budget," he said.

"But what this will do, as well as making the place more vibrant, is it will bring in some additional revenue that can be spent on services."

"So it's not going to fill the hole, but it will fill a little bit of the hole."