THE LONG-awaited £50 million expansion of Didcot's retail park will finally take off this summer.

A schedule of works for revamping the Orchard Centre released this month shows work will begin on August 1.

The development will include 24 new shops, a Marks and Spencer's food hall, a gym, six restaurants and 105 extra parking spaces.

The long-anticipated works on the 7.9 hectare site are expected to take 53 weeks and finish on June 5 next year when a new restaurant quarter is complete.

The applicants, Hammerson Properties Plc, included their timeline in a planning application to South Oxfordshire District Council to agree final conditions of the planning permission which was granted on March 24 this year.

Mayor of Didcot Steve Connel said he remembered the first time the Orchard Centre was discussed when he was still a pupil at St Birinus School in Didcot.

The 34-year-old said: "Didcot is rapidly evolving into one of the most prominent locations in Oxfordshire and we have a duty to provide our residents and visitors with world class facilities.

"The first time I heard the orchard centre being discussed was on my first day at St. Birinus School, so I know how long Didcot has waited for a town centre that reflects its needs and wish the schedule would have enabled it to be open for Christmas 2016."

Mr Connel said the only aspect of the development he was "bitterly disappointed" with was a new bus route through a pedestrian area.

He added: "Didcot Town Council has stated repeatedly that our residents do not feel safe with busses passing through a pedestrianised area every few minutes and I want to let everyone know that we are still doing all we can to rectify this."

Oxfordshire County Council, the highways authority, approved the bus route on February 23.

Buses currently drive along High Street, which is shut to the general traffic, but under the new scheme they will run along Station Road to Broadway as the High Street will be built upon as part of the development.

The building schedule shows work to construct the bus route along Station Road will start on June 13 and last almost 14 weeks until September 16.

The application shows the build will be headed by Derbyshire based construction company Bowmer and Kirkland, which has been behind an £80m development of Aberdeen International Business Park in Scotland and a £20m development of The Moor indoor market and eight shops in Sheffield.

A spokesman for Bowmer and Kirkland said: "I can confirm that following the tender process we have been told that we are the preferred contractor."

For more information visit southoxon.gov.uk and search for P16/S1460/DIS in the planning register.