A £7.5m CONTRACT to build Bicester’s new civic building and sports pavilion has been awarded.

Morgan Sindall Group Plc has been named as the developer that will design and build the new £5m civic building in Claremont carpark, and the £2.5m pavilion and carpark at the planned sports village at Kingsmere, off Vendee Drive.

The new civic building will house the library and Cherwell District Council’s office. The development is also expected to include more shops.

It is phase two of the town centre development. The first phase, a Sainsbury’s supermarket, carpark, Vue Cinema and shops, opened in July.

George Reynolds, deputy leader for Cherwell District Council, said: “The regeneration of Bicester has been the focus of our attention for quite some time.

“Having successfully completed and opened Pioneer Square last summer, we are now ready to make a start on the next phase of two major projects and we are confident that Morgan Sindall will do a fantastic job.”